Basic Level of Service for Mobility and Transports in Road and Railway Network

The Ministry of Transport and Communications appointed a Working Group on 18.9.2001 for specifying the basic level of service for road and railway network. The task of the Working Group was to determine the basic level of service for road and railway network, which is the level of service that is necessary to secure balanced regional development. The Working Group was assigned to evaluate the impacts of different factors contributing to the level of service, prepare a proposal for the basic level of service of road and railway network and examine the cost effects of this proposal. The Working Group should also consider street network in its work. The needs of citizens, business life and regions as well as the social conditions (environment, safety etc.) have constituted the starting point for the task of the Working Group. The basic level of service for mobility and transports has been derived from these needs. Finally, it has been evaluated what kind of transport infrastructure services will secure this basic level of service. In addition to the basic level of service, the required measures and the costs of a higher "preferred level of service" have also been evaluated. The Working Group made a distinction between the minimum level of service, the basic level of service, the preferred level of service and the special level of service. The minimum level of service should always be secured. The basic level of service should be the next to be achieved, then proceeding on to the preferred level of service. The special level of service will be decided on separately. The Working Group has defined the basic level of service as follows: "The basic level of service for transport network operations will enable regional and community development by meeting the common mobility and transport needs of population, business life and regional functions in a sustainable way." Transport infrastructure services, which secure the basic level of service for mobility and transports, can be divided into basic transport infrastructure management or maintaining daily basic level of service (maintenance of road and railway network, traffic management, replacement investments and acute new investments) and the development of transport network (securing of the basic level of service in the long run). Additional financing of about 10-15% will be needed in basic transport infrastructure management for achieving the basic level of service. The preferred level of service would require about 30-40% of additional financing. The need for new transport network investments will be estimated separately later. This report is available at http://www.mintc.fi or http://www.mintc.fi/www/sivut/dokumentit/julkaisu/julkaisusarja/2003/a032003.htm