The Asian Transport Observatory (ATO) has launched a new Pacific Transport Data Platform, an open-access knowledge resource designed to support better transport planning, investment prioritization, and policy monitoring across Pacific Island countries.

The platform responds to a clear need: Pacific transport systems are vital for connectivity, trade, access to services, and disaster response, but the evidence base for decision-making remains fragmented. Many Pacific countries face high transport costs, dispersed populations, exposure to climate and disaster risks, limited fiscal space, and growing pressure to improve road safety, accessibility, and low-carbon mobility. The new platform brings key data together in one place to help governments, development partners, researchers, and practitioners better understand these challenges and track progress over time.

It showcases new features that have also been included in the main ATO portal, specifically the "catalog" which functions like a smart search engine that returns datasets, ATO knowledge products, and external references based on the search terms. New insights and tools focused on the Pacific Island Counties are also featured in the portal. 

The Pacific platform forms part of the broader ATO initiative, which supports open, comparable, and transparent transport data across Asia and the Pacific. It provides a dedicated space for Pacific economies, presenting transport indicators and analytical outputs in a way that reflects the region’s specific geography, development context, and investment needs.

The platform includes data and evidence on transport infrastructure, access, road safety, vehicle fleets, emissions, climate resilience, and development finance. It is designed to help users explore trends, compare indicators, and identify gaps that can inform national planning, regional cooperation, and project preparation.

The development of the Pacific platform was co-supported by the World Bank's "Accelerating Decarbonization of Road Transport Sector in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands Road Transport" Programmatic Advisory Services and Analytics (PASA). This support helped strengthen the platform’s focus on road transport decarbonization, data systems, and the specific policy needs of the Pacific Island Countries. In addition, various knowledge products such as the Transport in Review reports for the focus countries (Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea), a regional report focusing on the Pacific Island Countries, and various interactive tools have been produced.

The platform is intended to support several practical uses. Governments can use it to inform transport strategies, investment plans, climate commitments, and monitoring frameworks. Development partners can use it to identify financing gaps, align support with country needs, and improve project design. Researchers and civil society organizations can use it to better understand regional transport trends and policy priorities.

The launch comes at an important time for the Pacific. Transport networks in small island developing states are often lifelines rather than optional infrastructure. Roads, ports, airports, and inter-island connections provide access to schools, health services, markets, tourism, emergency response, and regional trade. At the same time, these systems are highly exposed to sea-level rise, flooding, storms, and other climate-related hazards. Strengthening the evidence base for transport planning is therefore essential for resilience, inclusion, and long-term development.

The Pacific platform also supports efforts to connect transport planning with wider development goals, including the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and regional priorities on climate resilience, safe mobility, and sustainable infrastructure. By making transport data easier to access and interpret, ATO aims to help shift the conversation from isolated projects toward system-wide outcomes.

The platform will continue to be updated as new data, country inputs, and analytical products become available.