| Overview and Perspectives |
| A European Perspective on Congestion and Travel
Demand Management |
| By Antonia Cornaro, London, U.K. +44-171-242-2898,
Antonia_Cornaro@pbeurope.com |
| If an approach to congestion management is to succeed,
it must complement the societal, cultural and economic mores of the
region it serves in addition to the local travel patterns and land
use development. Antonia discusses some approaches that work, some
that have not caught on, and a relatively new one-"deconstruction."
|
|
Reductions in traffic must see road space recycled into
better provision for public transport, walking and cycling. |
Curbing traffic growth and urban traffic congestion is at the core
of today’s transport policies worldwide. In Europe, measures
to reduce car use differ from those in the U.S. due to different travel
patterns, land use development, and distances.
UK
Authorities Encourage Fewer SOVs
In the UK, major employers are encouraged to play a key role in reducing
single occupancy vehicle (SOV) commutes through Green Transport Plans.
This measure was prompted by the British government’s white
paper on the future of transport, A New Deal for Transport –
Better for Everyone, which identifies Green Transport Plans as
a means of reducing car commuting and increasing commuting alternatives
like public transport, cycling, walking, and ride-and car-sharing.
These plans address corporate use of transport for business purposes
and employees’ travel choices, particularly in getting to and
from work. Such measures are believed to have a considerable effect
on easing peak period traffic congestion.
The white paper also stresses the need for integrated and sustainable
transport. It addresses the UK’s obligations following the 1997
Kyoto Climate Change Conference and emphasizes a range of transport
measures as part of a balanced approach to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and road congestion.
Local authorities are to set an example in developing five-year Local
Transport Plans with strategies for local transport solutions. They
cover all forms of transport with the goal to improve local air quality
and achieve traffic reduction. They will be non-statutory at first,
but will be made statutory in the long term.
Nottingham County became the first UK county to launch a comprehensive
commuter plan in 1996 when its council targeted a 30 percent reduction
in the number of employees driving to its headquarters over a three-year
period (the office employs 2300). The site, about 3 km (2 miles) from
the city center, is well served by public transport and is positioned
in the center of a good quality cycle network in the vicinity of a
major residential development where many of its employees live. Prior
to the commuter plan, the mode choice for the journey to work was:
- Drive alone: 60 percent
- Public transport: 14 percent
- Car share 14 percent
- Walk: 6 percent
- Cycle: 4 percent
- Rail: 1 percent.
Two years after implementation, the county’s innovative commuter
plan, STEPS (Sensible Travel Equals Perfect Sense), has proven to
be very successful, although not completely on target. So far, a mode
change of 17 percent has been achieved:
- 8 percent switched to car sharing with colleagues
- 3 percent switched to cycling
- 2 percent switched to walking
- 1 percent switched to rail
- 4 percent switched to other public transport
modes.
This success is attributed to STEPS having the essential elements
of a successful plan, namely:
- A dedicated staff member to monitor the
plan
- Significant support from senior management
- Provision of an emergency travel home facility
for car sharing partners
- Sustained marketing of the plan
- Dynamic monitoring of the plan’s effectiveness.
Welsh Focus on Public Transport
The recently released Welsh Transport Policy Statement, Transporting
Wales into the Future, is closely in line with the British government’s
white paper, identifying solutions for traffic management in rural
areas. The paper focuses on less conventional public transport solutions,
such as community minibuses, dial-a-ride services, post buses*, scheduled
or shared taxi services and community car pooling. In addition, community
councils are given a strong role in improving local accessibility.
They will conduct surveys to establish community transport needs,
provide support for community minibuses, contract with local taxi
operators to provide transport for the most needy members of the community,
organize car sharing schemes, and provide information on local transport
services.
Car Sharing in Europe
Definition: Individuals use a car that is owned collectively
or by a rental firm. First developed in the 1950s, the concept
of car sharing did not become profitable until during the 1980s. Trips
with Car Sharing Organization (CSO)-cars fit into the spectrum between
taxi cabs (short and one-way trips) and rental cars (long-distance
or longer duration uses). CSO cars are well suited for trips lasting
less than 24 hours (the time span a rental car is based on) and offer
the advantage of 24 hour booking availability, as well as decentralized
pick-up and drop-off points.
CSOs have spread throughout central European cities recently, offering
their members access to cars upon telephone booking and charging them
on a time-and kilometer-basis. There are several hundred CSOs registered
with the European Car Sharing Organization (ECS), based in Bremen,
Germany. Already, 500 communities in Germany operate such schemes.
Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands also initiated car sharing
schemes. (See also “Car Sharing is Growing Quickly in Switzerland”
by Tad Widby and discussion below.) In 1996, CSOs in German-speaking
countries had 20,000 members and almost 1,300 cars in use.
Bremen, a city of 500,000 in northern Germany, is at the forefront
of car-free initiatives. A community car-sharing scheme known as Stadtauto
(city car) operates with roughly 1000 members and 50 cars. Reservations
are made through a 24-hour booking service operated by a local taxi
firm. More than 70 percent of the bookings are made on the day the
vehicle is needed, and about 25 percent are made less than one hour
in advance. The Stadtauto car is collected from reserved parking spaces
located throughout the city. Users are billed monthly, based on a
fixed rate plus a kilometer and time fee. Fuel, parking, insurance
and maintenance costs are met by the CSO. Promoters claim every Stadtauto
replaces five private cars. A comparison of the cost of car ownership
versus being a member of Stadtauto is provided in Table 1.
A Study of CSOs. As pointed out in the in-depth Austrian
study, Car Sharing Organizations – The Size of the Market
Segment and Revealed Change in Mobility Behavior, individuals
driving low annual mileage can reduce their fixed costs substantially
by sharing cars with other users. CSO members have a high educational
background—45 percent of members in Austria have university
degrees—and tend to be at the beginning of their careers. The
main reason why people join a CSO is cost, with the distance to the
closest CSO-car stand being another important factor. Beyond these
factors, their motivations for joining are:
- They have a car available at good value
for money.
- The car will be used less due to cost transparency
(environmental conservation).
- The effort to care and maintain the car
is omitted.
- The cars are relatively newer ones and therefore
less polluting.
- They are contributing to traffic mitigation.
- Fewer cars have to be produced.
The study also determined the break-even point for CSO membership
at three different reference levels, defined in car-kilometers per
year. For the usual CSO membership, which includes mid-sized European
cars and full comprehensive insurance, the break-even point is roughly
18,000 kilometers per year. With an average insurance and an average
car age, however, the break-even point is reached at 15,000 kilometers.
Results of a questionnaire survey of 350 households performed in Graz,
Austria’s second largest city, showed that 7 in 10 households
would be at a financial advantage when joining a CSO, if one considers
annual mileage only.
Table 1: Monthly cost of Car Ownership versus Car Sharing
in Bremen. (Calculations are based on the use of an Opel Astra,
in German Marks)
 |
CSOs Elsewhere in Europe. Steps are being taken in
the UK to initiate car-sharing schemes. The city of Edinburgh has
selected Budget Car and Van Rental recently as the operator of its
proposed City Car Club. Up to 50 vehicles will be available by the
end of the first year of the three-year contract. Users will pay an
annual fee to join the scheme, the operator will be responsible for
all costs, and the council will develop and market the initiative
and provide on-street parking space for the club vehicles. It is expected
that the scheme will be successful due to Edinburgh’s high-density,
inner city concentration of housing.
Switzerland has car-sharing schemes in over 130 communities. Mobility,
the main CSO, has launched a reservation service over the Internet
recently. In Austria, twelve communities feature the service, there
are also five in the Netherlands and one in Sweden. Membership is
growing rapidly. Outside Europe, there are CSOs operating in Portland,
Oregon; Montreal, Quebec City, and Singapore. Occasional drivers perceive
it as an effective way of accessing a decently priced car.
HOV Lanes
Definition:
High occupancy vehicle lanes, to be used by cars with two or more
passengers. The U.S. with its high auto ownership rates and a
strong car dependency, was the pioneer in experimenting with HOV lanes.
Europeans cite the high costs of building and enforcing HOV lanes
among the reasons for their reluctance to build them; nevertheless,
there is some HOV activity underway.
In the UK, Leeds boasts the first HOV lane on an urban route in Europe.
It was launched in April 1998. Leeds’ goal is to reduce traffic
on the busy route from the western outskirts into the city center
by allowing only cars with 2+ occupants to use the lane. Compliance
and changes in traffic flow and air quality will be monitored as part
of the government’s evaluation of HOV lanes for their effectiveness
on reducing the number of cars on the roads and potential as a local
traffic management measure elsewhere.
Wales also proposes HOV lanes to complement car-sharing policies in
its integrated transport statement that was published recently alongside
the government’s White Paper on Integrated Transport. The idea
is to encourage companies to produce Green Transport Plans mobilizing
their employees to use car-sharing schemes.
Deconstruction
Is Being Looked At
The International Union of Public Transport claims that there is some
evidence that “deconstruction” of infrastructure reduces
congestion effectively. The rationale is that over-dimensioned roads
in parts of the system attract additional traffic which, when poured
into the “normally” dimensioned infrastructure of the
remaining system, creates congestion. Reducing the capacity of the
road network at the appropriate points can, paradoxically, relieve
congestion effectively. There also is evidence that considerable investment
in public transport right of way (tram or bus) can be combined effectively
with “deconstruction” of road facilities.
Conclusion
There is a range of congestion management techniques available to
combat traffic growth and urban congestion. While schemes to shift
people from their cars to alternative modes make a lot of sense, it
is important to acknowledge that most people do not want to give up
on a car. Therefore, car-sharing schemes have a lot of potential in
Europe, given the low cost for the user and the positive environmental
benefits.
All measures discussed in this article show evidence of being successful
methods of congestion and travel demand management, but we will need
larger scale applications throughout European metropolitan areas to
determine their exact impact on congestion.
|
|
| * Post buses are minibuses owned and operated by the Post Office.
They are also used to provide for public transport between main towns
and rural areas when mail deliveries are being made, obviating the
need to maintain other forms of public transport in rural areas. Passenger
fees are the same as for regular, urban bus service. |
|
