Sustainable Transport and City Development Vision, Infrastructure and Policy

Emmerson Richardson Sinclair Knight Merz

ABSTRACT
This paper looks at the transport systems we might expect in Australian and New Zealand cities in about 50 years time. The future movement patterns and systems and city form will be largely dependent on:

Vision for social, environment & economic improvements, including health and community safety; How existing and future infrastructure can be developed and adapted for use; The policy framework developed to influence travel behaviour and regulate travel and land use planning and development.

To understand how cities will function 50 years out, it is necessary to understand how they will function 10, 20, 30 and 40 years out. Transport and building infrastructure, in particular, has taken many years to develop. Its physical form and presence can only be changed gradually and at considerable cost and disruption to the community. Most city and state governments around Australia and New Zealand have endorsed community led visions of cities where people can move around freely with reduced car dependence, reduced congestion, reduced energy consumption, reduced pollution and an increased level of safety and amenity. The paper will examine both the community's preferences and demonstrated factors that have been influential in changing travel behaviour. Existing evidence from TravelSmart behaviour change programmes in Australia shows that a desire to improve health and fitness and to save money are the two factors most likely to reduce car use and increase walking, cycling and public transport. In support of these visions most governments are working towards increasing the capacity of the public transport system in the current infrastructure development timeframe - 5 to 10 years. A much more significant increase in capacity will be required to meet the anticipated long term change in demand. The major conclusions of the paper are:

Increased road capacity for private vehicle travel will induce increased demand for car travel and contribute to increased congestion over time. A very large increase in the capacity and service of the public transport system will be needed to meet the travel demands of future generations in growing cities. Public Transport infrastructure and rolling stock expansion takes years to plan and deliver. There is an immediate need to put in place an ongoing infrastructure and rolling stock expansion programme in each city. A comprehensive transport and land use policy framework is required for each city. This should include the role and principles of all major elements of the transport system, including integration with land use and the role of travel demand management. It should also include guidelines on location, design priority and funding, to assist development of the long term infrastructure plan.

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1.

INTRODUCTION

This paper examines likely and desirable movement systems in Australia and New Zealands largest cities in the first half of the 21st Century. It concludes that the major drivers for change are climate change, road congestion, health and fitness, affordable living and road safety. It suggests a vision for the future that is focussed around the theme of reducing car dependence and improving the more sustainable forms of transport walking, cycling and public transport. It notes that, whilst there is strong in principle support for strategies seeking to move in this direction, no Australian or New Zealand city has committed to this course of action through development of a comprehensive suite of policies and a long term infrastructure plan designed to deliver the desired outcomes. The paper provides examples of how different cities have influenced transport and land use through different investment strategies. It shows that consistent strategic policy frameworks and targeted long term infrastructure plans are critical to moving towards a community vision for a sustainable transport and land use system.

2.

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE

Transport is a means to an end. Its role is to provide access for a whole range of purposes where people need to meet for work, social and other reasons and to provide for the efficient movement of goods and to enable services to be provided. In the future, it will be necessary to develop and maintain a transport system that provides a high level of accessibility for all in the community, without creating or contributing to unacceptable environmental, economic or social consequences. Importantly, it will be necessary to balance present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The Brundtland Report (1987) defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The drivers for change are increasingly likely to reflect the communitys desire to improve liveability and quality of life. In this environment, transport improvements will need to move beyond improving accessibility alone, to development of more integrated systems, providing more holistic and sustainable societal benefits. This was recognised by the Western Australian Department of Transport in 1999, when it established an integrated transport planning unit with the objective of maximising accessibility of the transport system, utilising a variety of transport modes and to manage transport demand in a way that improves liveability and minimises overall costs to users and the community. The following drivers for change reflect the growing community desire to improve quality of life, now and in the future.

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2.1

CLIMAGE CHANGE

Climate change is now a major community concern and is firmly on the political agenda of most countries, including Australia and New Zealand. As the awareness of potential consequences rises, it is reported and discussed daily in newspapers and discussed by the populace at large in cafes, golf clubs and other social gatherings. Last century, the worlds average temperature increased by 0.74C and eleven of the twelve years from 1995 to 2006 rank amongst the warmest years on record (United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007). The Stern Review that reported to the UK Government summed it up as follows: The scientific evidence is now overwhelming; climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent response. (Stern Review: Economics on Climate Change, 2006). In 2000, the transport sector accounted for 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (14% in Australia and 18% in New Zealand). Of greater concern, emissions from transport are growing. In Australia, greenhouse emissions from transport grew by 28.4% between 1990 and 2004, and are estimated to grow to 42% above 1990 levels by 2010 (Australian Greenhouse Office, 2006). Table 1 compares greenhouse gas emissions per person in Australia, the UK and the USA.

Table 1 Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emissions per Person

AUSTRALIA
Population Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions (CO2 equivalent) Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions per person Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transport (CO2 equivalent) Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transport per person Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Cars (CO2 equivalent) Greenhouse Gas from Cars per person 20.1 million 565 mt/yr 28.1 t/yr 100% 76 mt/yr 3.8t/yr 100% 41.7 mt/yr

UK
60.3 million 656 mt/yr 10.9 t/yr 39% 125.3 mt/yr 2.1 t/yr 55% 62.8 mt/yr

USA
296.4 million 7147 mt/yr 24.1 t/yr 86% 2000.3 mt/yr 6.75 t/yr 178% 1170.5 mt/yr 3.95 t/yr 191%

2.07 t/yr 1.04 t/yr 100% 50% Analysis of data supplied under UN Framework on Climate Change, 2004

Table 2 provides comparisons of CO2 emissions from public and private transport in urban areas around the world.

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Table 2 World Comparisons of Public and Private Transport Emissions (1995 data)

Region or Country

Total private transport CO2 emissions per capita (kg/person)

4322 2107 2348 1133

Total public transport CO2 emissions per capita (kg/person)

83 119 74 134

Total passenger transport CO2 emissions per capita (kg/person)

4405 2226 2422 1269

USA Cities Australian/New Zealand Cities Canadian Cities West European Cities

High Income Asian 688 162 825 Cities Source: Kenworthy JR Transport Energy Use and Greenhouse Gases in Urban Passenger Systems: A Study of 84 Global Cities

The above tables show a direct relationship between car dependence and use and greenhouse gas emissions from transport. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be a driver to reduce car use in cities and to increase walking, cycling and public transport.

2.2

CONGESTION

Traffic congestion is a growing problem in Australian and New Zealand cities and in cities around the world. Commuters are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of congestion on their quality of life, and businesses are concerned with the impact on efficiency and profitability. In response to a perception of growing community concern about the sustainability of Sydneys transport system and land use development, the Warren Centre (2001) launched a major research study in 1999. Market research for this study found the most important transport problems to be:

42% traffic congestion 12% lack of public transport 11% reliability of public transport

Amongst the many findings in the Warren Centre study were:

Both the public and decision-makers favour strategies to reduce traffic over building more freeways as the solution to traffic congestion. But the decisionmakers underestimate public support for demand management. There is a strong preference among residents for improving public transport even at the expense of the road budget. Decision-makers underestimate this support.

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At a superficial level, it may appear that building more or wider roads would reduce congestion in cities. However, more roads can induce more traffic to travel by car and can have a detrimental effect on public transport usage. The fact that induced traffic exists and is significant in congested areas is now widely accepted (refer to SACTRA, 1994; Noland, 1999; Richardson, Chalmers and James, 1999; and Nolan and Lem, 2001). Figure 1 shows that the delay per driver (a measure of congestion) is totally unrelated to the number of miles of freeway and arterial roads per 1000 population in the 20 biggest cities in the USA.

Figure 1 Measure of Delay Americas 20 Biggest Cities

Source: Urban Transportation Monitor 1999 (Data from Texas Transportation Institute)

Similarly, cities with good public transport encourage more use of public transport. Table 3 shows that cities with large rail systems have significantly more public transport use, less car driving and less deaths from car accidents than cities with bus only systems on a per capita basis.

Table 3 Travel Characteristics in Americas 50 Largest Cities

Increase/Decrease Compared to Bus Only System Cities Indicator Large Rail System (7 Cities)
+500% -20%

Small Rail System (16 Cities)

+50% -10%

Bus Only System (27 Cities)

0% 0%

Public Transport Ridership (kms per person) Car Driver Travel (kms per person)

Traffic Safety(Deaths per -35% -15% 0% 100,000 persons) Source: Rail Transit in America - A Comprehensive Evaluation of Benefits: Litman, T (2004)
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An increase in public transport and a reduction in car travel will create more space on the road network for freight and emergency service vehicles. This increase in the transport system efficiency will contribute to reduced freight costs and result in more reliable response times by emergency and other service vehicles. The desire to reduce congestion will continue to be a driver in developing efficient and sustainable transport systems in cities. This will require there to be a per capita reduction in car driving.

2.3

HEALTH AND FITNESS

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the problem of obesity as an epidemic on a world wide scale. The Australian Society for the Study of Obesity has reported:

Almost 60% of Australian adults are either overweight or obese (2.5 times higher than in 1980). 25% of Australian children are either overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is growing by 1% per annum. Obesity is costing the Australian Government more than $1.5 billion per annum.

New Zealand figures are similar, with about 52% of the population either overweight or obese. Obesity in New Zealand increased by 50% between 1989 and 1997. A lack of exercise is one of the main reasons for the increase in obesity the other main reason is inappropriate diet. For weight loss and general health, the US Surgeon General recommends be physically active for at least 30 minutes (adults) or 60 minutes (children) on most days of the week. Some of this exercise can be undertaken as part of the daily travel routine walking or cycling to work, or walking to or from public transport. For children, more walking and cycling as a part of independent transport access (i.e. not driven by parents) can assist. The Western Australian TravelSmart behaviour change programme (refer to James 1998, James 2002, Ker 2002 and Brog and John 2001) found that improving health and fitness was one of the two major motivators to drive less and walk, cycle or use public transport more. The desire to lose weight, or for your children to lose weight, will be a driver for some to use the car less and to walk, cycle or use public transport more.

2.4

AFFORDABLE LIVING

Citizens around the world are obliged to balance their personal and family budgets. There is a general desire to reduce day-to-day expenditure so that money can be saved for an individual or family holiday, savings for retirement or some other personal preference expenditure.

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The Western Australian TravelSmart behaviour change programme found that the potential to save money was one of the two major motivators to drive less and travel more by walking, cycling and public transport. The RAC in Western Australia has produced the following information on the cost of owning and operating a private car.

Table 4 Cost of Running a Car in Australia ($ Australian)

Vehicle Type
Light (up to 1.6 litre) Small 1.6 to 2.0 litre) Medium (2.0 to 3.0 litre) Large (> 3.0 litre) Medium 4WD

Average Weekly Cost

$116.67 $152.32 $194.98 $208.09 $247.79

Average Annual Cost

$6,067 $7,921 $10,139 $10,821 $12,885

Source: RAC Western Australia (2007) (www.racwa.com.au/go/search then click Operating Costs Guide)

These costs include depreciation, fuel, etc, but do not include the cost of parking. For a person on the average take home pay of about $41,000, the percentage income expended on owning and operating a car would vary between:

14.8% light car 19.3% small car 24.7% medium car 26.4% large car 31.4% medium 4WD

It is clear that families who are able to avoid buying and using a second car will have the potential to make a considerable saving. Kenworthy and Laube (2001) have estimated the proportion of metro GDP expended on transport (refer Table 5):

Table 5 International Comparison of Metro GDP Expenditure on Travel

City or Region

Total private passenger transport cost as a percentage of metro GDP

12.2% 11.2% 12.9% 5.6%

Total public passenger transport cost as a percentage of metro GDP

1.2% 0.6% 0.9% 1.8%

Total passenger transport cost as a percentage of metro GDP

13.4% 11.8% 13.7% 7.4%

Australian average US average Canadian average West European average

Asian average 3.6% 1.3% 4.9% Source: Kenworthy and Laube (2001) Millennium Cities, Database for Sustainable Transport

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Cities with high car use spend a much higher proportion of their wealth on transport than do cities with good public transport systems and lower car use. The desire to save money will be a driver to walk, cycle and use public transport more as a trade-off with lower car use.

2.5

ROAD SAFETY

Over 1 million people lose their lives each year as a result of road crashes. In Australia, about 1,700 people die from road crashes each year. In an attempt to put this in perspective, more lives have been lost in road crashes in Australia than the 100,000 Australians killed in wars. Road crashes have a particularly high impact on young people. In addition to the personal trauma, the economic cost is high. The Australian Bureau of Transport Economics estimated the annual cost in Australia to be about $15 billion, or about $750 per person. Table 6 compares the deaths per million people from road crashes in Australia, the UK and the USA.

Table 6 Comparison of Road Death Rates (Australia, UK and USA)

Australia (2005)
Population Road Deaths 20.1m 1,636

UK (2005)
59.6m 3,201

USA (2005)
295m 43,443

Deaths/Million People 81.4 53.7 147.2 Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Road Deaths Australia, 2005 Statistical Summary, and US Department of Transportation (www.dot.gov/safety.html), and UK National Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1208)

The death rate from road crashes in the USA is 81% higher than in Australia, which in turn, is 52% higher than the UK. Whilst there will be different factors responsible for this variation, the figures demonstrate that countries with lower car use and higher proportions of people travelling by other modes, are likely to have lower death rates for road crashes. The desire to reduce road deaths may become a driver to reduce car use and increase travel by other modes, though this has not occurred to date.

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3.

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

This vision for the future has been formulated by the author taking account of:

The desire of communities to achieve an improved quality of life, based on improved accessibility for all and improved social, economic and environmental outcomes based on reduced dependence and use of cars; expert analysis that shows that congestion and associated negative impacts are unlikely to be reduced by building more and bigger roads in urban areas; the need to develop an integrated and sustainable transport system 1 that will deliver a greater travel choice for more people and global and local environmental benefits with tangible benefits to community health.

3.1

Vision

By 2060, major Australian and New Zealand cities will have developed a sustainable and integrated urban transport and land use system, where:

Fast, frequent, electric trains, zero emission buses and light rail vehicles on priority routes, will provide an integrated network of services and move large numbers of people in an efficient manner; car travel will remain an important choice mode of transport for dispersed trips and for trips outside of centres and in outer areas, but smaller, more energy efficient, low emission vehicles will be predominant; reduced car travel will result in reduced congestion and an improved level of safety and amenity, particularly in city and town centres and in inner city areas; reduced car use and congestion will result in more efficient freight movement and more reliable response times for emergency and other service vehicles; walking and cycling will increasingly become transport modes of choice, particularly in inner city areas, in mixed use centres and in transit oriented developments around stations; a network of cycle paths and safe cycle friendly streets will induce more cycling, both as an independent mode and as an access mode to public transport.

Whilst this vision may seem idealistic to some, the drivers for change, discussed in section 2, would seem to indicate an inevitable move in this direction. The extent to which this vision is fulfilled will be dependent on the way infrastructure is developed and adapted for use and the extent to which government policy is implemented in support of the vision.

A sustainable transportation system is one that: allows the basic access needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between generations. Is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy. Limits emissions and waste within the planets ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable resources, limits consumption of renewable resources to the sustainable yield level, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and the production of noise. Source: Centre for Sustainable Transportation, University of Winnipeg (cst.uwinnpeg.ca)

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4.

LONG TERM INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

The urban transport infrastructure necessary to provide for the accessibility and mobility needs in cities has taken many decades to develop, at a cost of many billions of dollars. Infrastructure for future transport needs will cost many more billions of dollars. A long term transport plan is needed for all major cities so that future infrastructure needs can be planned, funded and implemented on a progressive basis. The long term infrastructure plan should:

be capable of meeting projected future long term travel needs; address the communitys desire to improve overall quality of life objectives (environmental, economic and social), in addition to the specific transport goal of improving accessibility for all; ensure efficient use is made of existing transport infrastructure by increasing its people moving capacity and/or freight moving capacity through progressive adaptation and renewal; fund and implement new transport infrastructure, continually and progressively, as part of a sustainable transport plan that will meet the communitys vision for the future and address concerns in relation to climate change, congestion, health and fitness, affordable living and road safety.

Planners and engineers need to be continually on the lookout for innovative solutions that will address all or some of the drivers for change discussed above. However, it seems inevitable that these innovations will continue to require existing infrastructure to be used with increased efficiency. Without doubt, we will continue to see the development of low and zero emission vehicles. There is also likely to be new technology options for the propulsion of public transport vehicles. It will also be necessary to move more people in less vehicles, using less space in a way that is more energy efficient. In the foreseeable future, this means a higher utilisation of public transport. In recent years, there has been a resurgence in the use of public transport, especially rail (or bus or light rail operating along dedicated rights of way). An example is Perths Northern Suburbs Railway that was constructed in the centre of a major 6 lane freeway in 1993. It now moves more peak hour travellers than the adjacent freeway, in considerably less space. Peak hour rail travel increased by 33% between 2002 and 2005 in response to increased system capacity and frequency. The rail system, which has trains running at 4 minute average frequencies during the peak period, is again at full capacity and further growth is again constrained by the lack of train capacity. There is now significant evidence that increased use of public transport can be induced by improvements to service and frequency. For a summary of Australian experience, refer to Richardson and Burgess (2005).

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In Australian and New Zealand cities, there is an immediate and urgent need to improve public transport infrastructure. Whilst the specific needs will be different in different cities, the following options are likely to be appropriate in a number of cities:

increase the number of trains on existing systems on a progressive basis to increase system capacity and frequency to meet ongoing patronage growth; increase the number of buses and provide priority running on an ongoing basis to improve frequency and capacity; plan and construct new railways, subways, busways and light rail systems to meet patronage demand growth and to assist in reducing congestion in inner city areas and along major transport corridors; improve the integration of the public transport system by constructing bus/rail interchanges with improved frequency of feeder bus services, park and ride, and improved cycling and walking access to stations; plan and develop high density mixed use communities around rail stations in green field areas and consider re-zoning and redevelopment to permit transport oriented development in existing areas.

5.

INTEGRATED POLICY FRAMEWORK

During the last 10 to 12 years, most major cities in Australia have produced strategic reports that have set targets for increased mode share of public transport, walking and cycling and reduced use of cars. A common theme has been to reduce dependence on cars by improving other modes and, to varying degrees, improving land use transport integration. For example, Melbourne 2030 (2003) is a high level broadly based plan for the growth of Melbourne over a 30 year period. Key features of the plan are;

recognition that a projection of current trends would not meet the aspirations of most Melbournians; targets to increase public transport as a percentage of motorised travel from 9% (2003) to 20% (2020) and walking and cycling from 18.6% to 24.4% of all trips; more compact growth management and more integrated transport and land use planning.

Whilst Melbourne 2030 provided a vision and a reasonably clear direction for future planning, it did not articulate specific policies or a public transport infrastructure plan that would be required to meet the transport mode share targets. Some 4 years later, there is still no long term transport infrastructure plan and the new State transport Minister has commented that the transport mode share targets in Melbourne 2030 were aspirational. The Melbourne 2030 experience is by no means unique. Government agencies and political leaders throughout Australia and New Zealand have produced a number of transport strategies for a 20 to 30 year timeframe. These strategies are a step forward from transport plans produced in the 1970s and 1980s, in that they recognise the need to reduce car dependence and improve use of public transport, walking and

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cycling. It is also true that a number of excellent public transport projects have been implemented or are being implemented. Examples include the southern suburbs railway in Perth, which will almost double the size of Perths rail system; and a number of busway projects in Brisbane. However, it is also true that many cities are continuing to spend a significant proportion of the transport budget on major urban road capacity expansion projects. Examples include an inner city bypass tunnel recently opened in Sydney and inner city bypass tunnels planned for Brisbane. At this point in time, it seems that no city has developed a comprehensive suite of policies to support their integrated transport strategies and to provide guidance for long term infrastructure planning and implementation. Without such policies and long term infrastructure plans, there is little prospect of any of the current strategies meeting their objectives or targets. A comprehensive suite of transport and land use policies is required for each city to assist in the development and implementation of long term public transport infrastructure plans. Key policy initiatives should include;

public transport role and principles; role and principles of road network development; induced demand and implications of building more and bigger roads and building more high capacity, high frequency public transport systems; long term (50 years +) capacity requirements of the strategic public transport system; location and design guidelines for major public transport routes and for public transport integration infrastructure, including rail/light rail/bus interchanges and park and ride facilities; guidelines on density, form and mix of development around train and major transit stations and along activity corridors and in activity centres; guidelines on the location of intensive development in relation to existing and future planned public transport systems; guidelines on the priority and the means of funding major transport infrastructure, taking account of the desired vision, cost and long term benefits; travel demand management and behaviour change programmes; road user and public transport user pricing and charging for use; parking as a means of influencing modal travel demand.

In addition to development of policies and guidelines, it will be necessary to undertake locational place-based studies using enquiry by design and other techniques. These techniques can be very helpful in understanding both the need and the means of delivery of high capacity public transport in city and town centres and along major activity corridors.

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6.

NOT ALL CITIES AND TRAVEL PATTERNS ARE THE SAME

Even the most cursory comparison of public transport in cities shows that some cities have been much more successful in retaining and growing patronage than others. For example, the following three cities on the west coast of North America were developed in the same area of the world around the same time but have vastly different public transport use.

Table 7 Mode Share Comparison North American West Coast Cities

City and Public Transport Mode Share

Vancouver (British Columbia) 8% to 9% Portland (Oregon) About 5% Los Angeles (California) 2% to 3%

Comment
Vancouver has put a reasonable effort into developing its public transport system over most of the last 50 years and has generally not built urban freeways within the inner city area. Portland changed direction in the 1970s and has greatly increased investment in public transport since that time. Los Angeles allowed its rail system to be removed and its public transport system generally to fall into disrepair, whilst it invested heavily in major road systems. More recently, it has begun re-investing in rail based public transport.

Richardson and Burgess (2005) have examined a number of case studies in Australian cities and have found the following factors are important in inducing increased travel on the public transport system:

Improved frequency of service; improved speed and reliability of service; safer, more comfortable and more convenient modal interchanges, including park and ride; integrated easy to use ticketing systems; improved passenger security; TravelSmart behaviour change programmes; and demand management measures designed to progressively increase restraint on car usage in certain areas.

The general conclusions reached by Richardson and Burgess were: It is both possible and practical to induce greater usage of the public transport system through improvements to frequency and service, improved management of transport infrastructure and through behaviour change programmes such as TravelSmart.

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Sustained increased growth in the mode share of public transport will require the public transport system to be improved continuously at a rate greater than the improvement to the road system. The UK Commission for Integrated Transport has undertaken a number of benchmarking studies (e.g. Atkins - 2001, MVA 2005) on cities that have been successful in promoting high use of public transport. Table 8, below, compares public transport and car mode share in Munich, Manchester and Glasgow 3 European cities of about the same size.

Table 8 Mode Share Comparisons Medium to Large Size Cities

Munich
Metropolitan population Public transport mode share Car (driver plus passenger) mode share Source: WS Atkins, 2001 2.9m 25% 41%

Manchester
2.6m 14% 59%

Glasgow
2.2m 12% 55%

SE Queensland
2.5m 7% 80%

Munich has invested heavily in its public transport system since around 1970. In particular, it has implemented an efficient regional rail (S-Bahn) and subway (U-Bahn) system to complement its tram and bus system. It has constructed 4 new U-Bahn lines since 1972 at a cost of over AUS $5 billion. The extent of the current public transport system is:

S-Bahn U-Bahn Train City bus routes Regional bus routes

517 kms 138 kms and 100 stations 98 kms 656 kms 3600 kms

Munich has invested more on public transport and less on roads when compared to the UK cities of Manchester and Glasgow.

Table 9 Annual per capita Investment in Infrastructure (Euros)

Public transport
Munich Manchester 221 (65%) 32 (18%)

Roads
121 (35%) 149 (82%) 216 (89%)

Roads plus public transport

342 181 239

Glasgow 23 (11%) Source: WS Atkins, 2001

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Other factors contributing to the success of Munich in attracting patronage to its public transport system are:

High frequency of the public transport system. The U-Bahn and S-Bahn operate at 2-3 minute frequencies in peak periods and 5 minutes off peak. Trains and buses operate at about 10 minute frequencies all day. Ticketing and Information System. A fully multi-modal ticketing system with a variety of discount tickets is available. Real time information on vehicle arrivals is available at stations and on the internet and is being expanded. 20,000 park and ride bays have been provided at stations providing improved access to public transport and reduced traffic in the city. High quality pedestrianisation and demand management measures to limit driving including supply and price of parking. Improved accessibility to the system by people with disabilities. The entire UBahn system is fully accessible. In 2001, the S-Bahn was 20% accessibly with plans to improve this to 50% by 2011. All trains and 50% of buses are low floor compared to 20% in Glasgow and 18% in Manchester.

Munich intends to continue to improve its public transport system through improvements to the rail system, potential enhancements and additions to the UBahn and further priority measures for buses. In 2001, a target was set to reduce car modal share from 40% to 35%. There are also significant changes to mode share travel within cities as shown for Sydney and Melbourne (Tables 10 and 11).

Table 10 Sydney Mode Share (2000)

Region
All Sydney Inner East Sydney North East Sydney North West Sydney South West Sydney

Car Driver
48% 35.6% 47.7% 54.6% 52.8%

Car Passenger
21.7% 14.5% 19.9% 23.3% 24.6%

Public Transport
10.9% 16.4% 12.1% 8.7% 8.6%

Walk Only
17.4% 29.1% 17.6% 12.4% 13.3%

Other2
1.8% 4.4% 2.6% 1.1% 0.7%

Source: 2000 Household Travel Survey, Transport NSW Transport Data Centre

Other trips include bicycle, taxi, light rail and ferry.

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Table 11 Melbourne Mode Share (1997 1999)

Region
All Melbourne Inner
3

Car Driver
43.7% 24.6% 43.3% 49.8% 49.9% 49.6%

Car Passenger
23.1% 9.7% 21.5% 24.4% 28.2% 30.7%

Public Transport
6.6% 15.8% 6.6% 4.6% 3.6% 3.1%

Walk Only
25.6% 48.3% 27.5% 20.2% 17.5% 15.8%

Other
1.0% 1.6% 1.1% 1.0% 0.8% 0.8%

Middle pre 1960 Middle post 1960 Outer Stable Outer Growing Source: VATS 1997/1999

Other than the fact that walking is more widespread in Melbourne than in Sydney, the trends are very similar. Both sets of figures clearly show that walking and public transport are more viable transport modes in areas where there are more mixed uses and convenient public transport services are available.

7.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

There is growing evidence that the community is seeking transport solutions that will not only improve accessibility for all, but will contribute to broader economic, social and environmental outcomes. In particular, there is a strong desire to ensure that transport solutions result in overall positive outcomes and have few, or limited, negative consequences in relation to the following key societal issues;

climate change road congestion health and fitness affordable living road safety

A reduction of car travel in large cities has the potential to make a positive contribution to each of the above key societal issues. A vision for a sustainable transport future has been presented around the theme of less dependence and use of cars and greater use of public transport, walking and cycling. It is concluded that achievement of the vision will be dependent on strong political commitment delivered through a comprehensive policy framework and a long term infrastructure plan. The paper demonstrates that some cities have been much more successful than others in retaining and growing public transport and reducing dependence on cars. Important factors are the extent to which public transport infrastructure and services
Comprises municipalities of Melbourne, Port Phillip and Yarra (total population 208,000) 16% of all transport trips in Melbourne are made in this area.
3

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have been retained or improved relative to road infrastructure and the form and density of development, particularly around transit stations. The major conclusions are:

Increased road capacity for private vehicle travel will induce increased demand for car travel and contribute to increased congestion over time. A very large increase in the capacity and service of the public transport system will be needed to meet the travel demands of future generations in growing cities. Public transport infrastructure and rolling stock expansion takes years to plan and deliver. There is an immediate need to put in place an ongoing infrastructure and rolling stock expansion programme. A comprehensive transport and land use policy framework is required for each city. This should include the role and principles of all major elements of the transport system, including integration with land use and the role of travel demand management. It should also include guidelines on location, design priority and funding, to assist development of the long term infrastructure plan.

REFERENCES
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Kenworthy, JR (2005). Transport Energy Use and Greenhouse Gases in Urban Passenger Systems: A Study of 84 Global Cities (ISTP, Perth) Ker, I (2002) Preliminary Evaluation of the Financial Impacts and Outcomes of the TravelSmart Individualised Marketing Programme (Department for Planning and Infrastructure, Perth) Litman, TA (2004) Rail Transit in America A Comprehensive Evaluation of Benefits (Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Victoria, BC, Canada) Noland, RB (1999) Relationships between Highway Capacity and Induced Vehicle Travel (Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, January 1999) Noland, RB and Lem, LL (2001) A Review of the Evidence for Induced Travel and Changes in Transportation and Environmental Policy in the United States and the United Kingdom (Centre for Transport Studies, Imperial College, London) RAC Western Australia (2007) (www.racwa.com.au/go/search then click Operating Costs Guide) Richardson, E and Burgess, M (2005) Inducing Increased Demand for Public Transport Experience in Australia (European Transport Conference, Strasbourg) Richardson, E, Chambers, L and James, B (1999) Induced Traffic in Urban Areas Technical Report (Department of Transport, Perth) SACTRA (1994) Trunk Roads and the Generation of Traffic (UK Department of Transport, London) Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, 2006 (HM Treasury, London) UK National Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id+1208), March 2007 Urban Transport Monitor (1999) Summary information from Texas Transportation Institute Annual Mobility Report 1999, Urban Transportation Monitor, Vol 13, No 22 November 26, 1999 (Lawley Publications, Burke, Virginia) US Department of Transportation (www.dot.gov/safety.html), March 2007 Victorian Government (2002) Melbourne 2030 Planning for Sustainable Growth (Department of Infrastructure, Melbourne) Warren Centre (2001) Sustainable Transport in Sustainable Cities Project: Report on Community Values Research Study (Nelson Taylor Fox, Sydney) WS Atkins (2001) European Best Practice in the Delivery of Transport Planning (Commission for Integrated Transport, London)

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