Frequency and Connectivity Key Drivers of Reform in Urban Public Transport Provision
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The selection of appropriate public transport investments that will maximize the likelihood of delivering the levels of service required to provide a serious alternative to the automobile is high on the agendas of many metropolitan governments. Mindful of budget constraints, it is crucial to ensure that such investments offer the greatest value for money. This paper promotes the view that integrated multi-modal systems that provide frequency and connectivity in a network-based framework offer the best way forward. A mix of public transport investments with buses as feeder services and bus rapid transit (BRT) as trunk services can offer a greater coverage and frequency than traditional forms of rail, even at capacity levels often claimed the domain of rail.Keywords:
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Faced with the need to address issues like urban sprawl, traffic congestion, accessibility and climate change, a broad range of policy options must be considered in order to reach a sustainable future. One of these opportunities brings residences, shops, jobs and leisure closer together by locating them in close proximity to a network of rapid, reliable and high capacity public transport corridors. Public transport oriented development (PTOD) and its associated policy tools are a way of generating a critical mass of traffic that can justify the large-scale investments that need to be made in rapid transit networks. By attracting an intense level of mixed-use activity within a five-minute walk of stations, it is possible to greatly reduce the need for car use, which is more attractive when daily activities are dispersed. As a larger number of stations generate PTOD, the network becomes highly interconnected, and a greater proportion of daily activities enter the catchment of a node on the network. This paper discusses the policies that can be used to increase densities, provide public amenities, reduce parking and provide strong linkages between the station and surrounding areas. A partnership between the public and private sector is required. The public sector must be willing to invest in a system that is capable of reducing the need for new road infrastructure and reducing crime by presence. The private sector can benefit by providing a more desirable location for its workers and potential cost savings through the reduction of parking provision. One of the keys to promoting PTOD is by connecting its local objectives to strategic regional and national objectives. By intensifying station precincts with mixed-uses, it can be demonstrated that congestion growth, carbon emission growth, social exclusion and crime can be reduced. Additionally, accessibility and community vitality can be increased. Policy tools like eminent domain (compulsory purchase), density bonusing, public sector coordination, tax increment financing and joint ventures will be reviewed, as a means of overcoming the many barriers that restrict the widespread implementation of PTOD. These barriers include NIMBYism, a lack of public sector financial and policy commitment, complicated land acquisition and planning processes, financing and marketing with the perception of risk, and the accommodation of multiple transport modes in station areas. A review of international best practices presents empirical evidence of the implementation of various policy tools for the successful development of specific PTOD projects in the developed and developing world. The creative adaptation of various planning tools to local circumstances has been proven to succeed in places as diverse as Portland, USA and Hong Kong, China. In the current context of urbanisation and climate change, PTOD becomes increasingly important. By clearly articulating how its success has been achieved it will be possible to make PTOD a part of mainstream planning, rather than a selectively implemented idealistic alternative. For the covering abstract see ITRD E137145.
Urban sprawl
Private transport
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New transit capital expenditures are typically evaluated in isolation from the transit/transport systems to which they belong. Problems with reporting performance elements such as ridership and costs are discussed. A focus on evaluating the total transport systems impact of new transit project implementation is called for. On this basis, new US rail transit systems have generally performed poorly. Total transit ridership has generally shown only minimal improvements and, at times, has declined. Financial performance has been disappointing in most cases, particularly when understood in the context of the additional system costs imposed through the reconfiguration of bus networks to serve the new rail systems. Low-cost approaches to improving basic transit services can often be more effective than either rail or bus capital-based projects. An obsession with technology leads to the wrong questions being asked. We should instead start inquiry with the study of needs.
Urban transit
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Deregulation
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This paper states that the challenges to come in public transport can only be met if the sector reinvents itself. Flexible forms of transport services represent one element to reduce costs and maintain or even increase the attractiveness of public transport. Unlike current practice, however, it is crucial that this type of service is introduced in the centre of metropolitan areas and not only in suburban areas during off-peak hours; and it shall substitute fixed route bus services rather than complement them. This approach is now ready for implementation due to technological progress: the complexity of coordinating supply and demand without fixed timetables and routes can be easily achieved by means of telematics applications.
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In smaller cities and rural areas it is not efficient to provide fixed bus services with high frequencies. However, there are opportunities to improve public transport in these areas. During the last 15 years, a lot of flexible systems in Germany have been developed and successfully operated. They offer for relatively low operational cost an alternative form of transport for those people without access to a private car and also for those seeking to support a sustainable and carbon neutral environment. The current economic and environmental climate will make it more and more important to consider public transport also in rural Australia. There are lots of variations regarding the flexibility of scheduling and routing, institutional and operational concepts, booking systems and integration within fixed networks. This paper will present the basic concepts of these demand responsive services (e.g. for call-a-taxi services and demand responsive bus corridor services). It will show and explain some examples and will discuss how these concepts can be adapted to work within an Australian context.
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The methods of evaluation of in vestment for buses and light rail systems are different, being the product of the objectives of the bodies responsible for making decisions. Problems will arise for bus operators, not from the methods used, but from the uncertain world in which they live. For light rail schemes, the appraisal may not select the best set of schemes for reducing congestion and it may lead to misallocation of resources amongst alternative investments. In principle it would be better if a more comprehensive evaluation method was applied in a similar way to all transport investments.
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Nowadays most cities are faced with increasing traffic congestion and decreasing public transport market share. This situation calls for a new strategic approach to urban public transport, where multi-modal transport should assume a more important role in the competition with private car. Intermodality is not an objective in itself but an instrument to achieve system integration. To increase its market share public transport should offer a level of fluidity equivalent to the one offered by private car, and for this network integration is one of the key factors. The paper demonstrates that the main requirements for successful system integration are: (1) regulatory harmonization, assuring a transparent allocation of responsibilities and mission between modes and agents; (2) integrated management, assuring the achievement of the mobility policy goals through a product mix including public and private transport modes; and (3) network articulation, offering effective economies o scale and scope to the users.
Harmonization
Scope (computer science)
Market Integration
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The rise in private car use in recent years has led to a dispersal of activity centres. In response, lifestyle choices and land use patterns present challenges in providing public transport to meet the needs of a large section of the population. In addition, governments now see public transport as being important in meeting an ever expanding range of public policy goals. At the same time, costs in providing bus services have risen significantly and the Global Economic Crisis is exerting further pressure upon budgets for subsidising existing provision. As a result, there is a need for new cost-effective modes of transport that can operate effectively in areas and at times where demand levels are lower. Such modes include Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), an intermediate form of public transport, encompassing a whole range of service delivery options. However, unlike for buses, relatively little research has been carried out to determine how, why, when and where DRT services function effectively, particularly in economically more developed countries. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to report the current status of DRT schemes in Great Britain, drawing on a survey of public authorities. It examines the design, performance, operating contexts and likely futures of DRT schemes. Key findings suggest that budget cuts in some cases are leading to funding being reduced or withdrawn so decreasing service provision, while in other cases, where fixed route buses are withdrawn, it is identified as the most cost-effective way of ensuring public transport meets local needs.
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