The Asian Transport Observatory (ATO) is pleased to share the release of The Asian Transport Observatory Approach: Tracking Progress. Shaping Policies. Guiding Investments.

As a leading regional platform for tracking transport progress across Asia and the Pacific, the ATO has strengthened the region’s transport knowledge base by consolidating comprehensive data and insights across themes, time horizons, and spatial scales. This integrated approach supports more informed transport policy and investment decisions throughout the region.

This newly released document sets out the core principles that guide the ATO’s work and its continued evolution. It articulates our structured Avoid–Shift–Improve–Finance framework, which underpins how we monitor progress, contextualize data, and translate evidence into action.

The framework is built on four pillars:

Avoid
Safeguard credibility by preventing biased or unbalanced data representation, relying only on verifiable sources, and promoting transparency without a blame-oriented approach.

Shift
Broaden monitoring to cover all dimensions of the transport sector, link outcomes with policies, apply structured analytical frameworks, and provide benchmarking at regional, national, and urban levels.

Improve
Strengthen storytelling, expand and refine the data framework over time, build the capacity of data producers and users, and deepen partnerships across institutions and regions.

Finance
Support sustainable and flexible funding arrangements that ensure transport monitoring systems remain credible, adaptive, and responsive.

These principles provide a practical foundation for monitoring transport progress across the region. They are particularly relevant for strengthening monitoring mechanisms that support regional and global initiatives, including the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035).

Through this approach, the ATO continues to translate data into insights, policies, and investments for sustainable transport in Asia and the Pacific.