Vienna's path to sustainable transport

Vienna, Austria reduced the car share of trips by a third between 1993 and 2014: from 40% to 27%. The key to Vienna's success has been a coordinated package of mutually reinforcing transport and land-use policies that have made car use slower, less convenient, and more costly, while improving conditions for walking, cycling, and public transport. During 32 in-person interviews in Vienna in May 2015, a wide range of politicians, transport planners, and academics almost unanimously identified the expansion of the U-Bahn (metro) and parking management as the most important policies accounting for the reduction in car mode share since 1993. Implementation of sustainable transport policies in Vienna has been a long-term, multi-staged process requiring compromises, political deals, and coalition-building among political parties and groups of stakeholders. This consensual approach to policy development has been time-consuming. Vienna has not been the first city to introduce any particular policy, but it has masterfully adopted successful policies from other cities. The continuity of social democratic governments in Vienna since 1945 has provided a crucial political basis for long-term implementation. The Greens have vigorously pushed for accelerating implementation of sustainable transport policies since becoming part of the ruling coalition government in 2010. The progressive political environment in Vienna has been essential to its increasingly sustainable transport system. Other major cities in Western Europe have also reduced the share of trips by car since 1990. Together with Vienna, they provide useful lessons for other cities throughout the world on how to reduce car dependence.     

Cycling down under: a comparative analysis of bicycling trends and policies in Sydney and Melbourne

The purpose of this paper is to document and explain differences in cycling between Australia’s two largest cities. Our comparative case study analysis is based on a wide range of statistical datasets, secondary reports, and interviews with a panel of 22 bicycling policy and planning experts. The main finding is that cycling levels in Melbourne are roughly twice as high as in Sydney and have been growing three times as fast in recent years. The difference is due to Melbourne’s more favorable topography, climate, and road network as well as more supportive public policies. In particular, Melbourne has more and better integrated cycling infrastructure as well as more extensive cycling programs, advocacy, and promotional events. Melbourne also benefits from safer cycling than Sydney, which suffers from a lack of traffic-protected cycling facilities and aggressive motorist behavior toward cyclists on the road. While cycling has been increasing in Australia, it remains at very low levels relative to northern Europe, where both land use and transport policies are far more supportive of bicycling while discouraging car use through numerous restrictions and financial disincentives.     

The evolutionary path of automobility in BRICS countries

Projections indicate that global transport may more than double by 2050. Future car stock and use are of paramount importance for drafting policy measures and for assessing emerging technology developments. This paper uses a unique forecasting approach combining quantitative data and qualitative expert judgements. Based on the historic development of vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) in four OECD countries, the approach assesses potential future development paths for BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and derives VKT saturation levels for these. For this purpose, we investigated eight factors with influence on car ownership and car use. A group of experts established factor values for the BRICS countries and compared these to the factor values in the OECD countries. Subsequently, we linked the factor values to levels of car use. Among the BRICS countries, we expect the lowest VKT saturation levels for India and China, mainly but not exclusively due to their spatial structures and transport policies. Spatial structures, socio-economic legacies and policies, among other factors, are leading to higher expected VKT saturation levels in Brazil, Russia and South Africa. Those countries also face challenges to establish alternatives to the private car.     

Car-sharing organizations: The size of the market segment and revealed change in mobility behavior

Car-sharing organizations (CSO) have recently spread throughout central European cities and currently have 20000 members. They lower individual fixed costs of car availability change the incentive structure of private vehicle use by transforming nearly all costs into variable costs. A survey of all current Austrian CSO members is used to identify the characteristics significant of members. A procedure is proposed to quantify urban local market segment potentials and is applied to two residential areas. The net impact of CSOs depends on how the new incentive structure changes mobility behavior. A controlled experiment of voluntary new members was carried out to compare pre-membership and membership trip structure and modal split. Results indicate a substantial reduction of aggregate private vehicle mileage. While the share of trips by car is constant, changes in trip length are observed, with there being different changes for households which previously owned a car and those which did not. Combining behavior impact with market segment size results in the quantification of emission reduction and car ownership reduction (land use demand) due to car-sharing, which is a decentralized demand-side transport policy.     

Impact of transport pricing on quality of life, acceptability, and intentions to reduce car use: An exploratory study in five European countries

This paper examines how a transport pricing policy aimed to reduce car use may affect individuals’ Quality of Life (QoL), to what extent this policy is acceptable to the public and if people intend to change car use when the policy is implemented. Also, comparisons were made amongst five countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden). An internet survey among 490 respondents showed that a stringent measure, i.e., doubling costs of car use, hardly affects people’s general QoL. Respondents are unsure whether they would accept the policy and whether they intend to change their car use if the policy is implemented. Respondents from The Netherlands and Sweden are more pessimistic about the QoL consequences of the policy, think the policy is less acceptable and are less inclined to reduce car use than respondents from the Czech Republic, Italy and, to a lesser degree, Austria. Implications and recommendations for developing, adjusting or supplementing QoL measurement instruments and policies are discussed to ensure effective and efficient policy making.     

Support for innovative on-street parking policies: empirical evidence from an urban neighborhood

Municipalities and planners often hesitate to implement restrictive parking policies because residents regularly oppose any changes to on-street parking space. Residential parking is one key factor of parking management because its location and availability influence a household's car ownership and use. Moreover, as more residents regularly use other means of transportation that need space and infrastructure in the urban realm, and as parking takes up a vast amount of land, municipalities are considering the reuse of on-street parking space for other purposes. As public acceptability is a precondition for the successful implementation of a proposed policy, our empirical analysis investigates to what extent residents support restrictive and demand-oriented on-street parking policies in the dense, highly urbanized neighborhood of Frankfurt-Bornheim, Germany (N = 1027). Surprisingly, despite some variations, the majority of the residents in our survey are in favor of the policy options suggested. Support for the demand-oriented policies (extension of bicycle infrastructure, improved sharing supply and mobility hubs, neighborhood garages, and improved public transit supply) is higher than the acceptance of the restrictive policies, and of policies that are a combination of restrictive and demand-oriented policies. However, surprisingly, a majority is still in favor of many of these (extension of parking fees and parking restrictions, and reuse of parking space for better livability). Furthermore, we classify residents who live in a household with private cars into the stage model of self-regulated behavior change to analyze their intention towards a reduction in private car use. Results from linear regression analyses indicate that residents who have intentions to change their behavior towards car use reduction assess the policy options more similarly to car-free households and regular bike users, and not like the other car-owning households. The findings suggest that while the residents support financial-related policies the least, they are more receptive towards parking policies than policy makers and planners assume if the reuse of parking lots creates space for other users or if it increases the quality of life, for instance, by adding bike lanes, wider sidewalks or greenery. Hence, a combination of restrictive and demand-oriented on-street parking policies results in high acceptance among residents, and the communication from municipalities regarding the implementation of the different policies needs to vary depending on the kind of household.     

An examination of the factors that impact upon multiple vehicle ownership: The case of Dublin, Ireland

This paper examines the characteristics of households with multiple car ownership in Dublin, Ireland. Data from the 2006 Census of Ireland are analysed to ascertain the characteristics of these households. The analysis of multiple car ownership presented herein examines individual specific, transport availability, and household characteristics to provide an indication of the individuals most likely to have access to more than one vehicle. Understanding the characteristics of households with more than one car is important for many reasons, such as how policies for emissions reductions or pricing regimes might affect households. Ireland, like many countries, has recently launched a number of electric vehicle and car sharing schemes. Traditionally these schemes have been aimed at reducing multiple car ownership, therefore it is important to develop an understanding of the households that would most likely give up an extra car and use a car sharing scheme or an electric vehicle. Also from a sustainability point of view, greater levels of car ownership can result in unsustainable transport patterns.This paper examines the Census data using a multinomial logit regression model to determine the relationships between multiple car ownership levels and several household characteristics. The findings of the paper demonstrate that occupation, public transport availability and residential density all have an impact upon the decision to own more than one vehicle.     

Constraints affecting mode choices by morning car commuters

In New Zealand as elsewhere, there is an increasing interest in alleviating congestion on the road transport network to improve economic productivity, reduce pollution, and to use the transport network more effectively. Governments enact various policies to encourage car drivers to change their behaviour, but often find that the full impact is not reached. We propose that car drivers have constraints influencing their mode choice for the morning peak period trip (e.g. needing to transport children, needing a car for work during the day). A stated preference experiment conducted in the three largest New Zealand urban areas not only quantifies the likely impact of a wide range of policy tools (both ‘sticks’ discouraging car use, and ‘carrots’ encouraging alternative modes) for each area, but also identifies many significant constraints.     

Exploring the effectiveness of bus rapid transit a prototype agent-based model of commuting behavior

The introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), typically involving the use of exclusive bus lanes and related bus priority measures, is increasingly advocated as a flexible and cost-effective way of improving the attractiveness of public transit in congested urban areas by reducing travel times and variability. These schemes typically involve the reallocation of road space for exclusive use by buses, presenting commuters with potentially competing incentives: buses on BRT routes can run faster and more efficiently than buses running in general traffic, potentially attracting commuters to public transit and reducing congestion through modal shift from cars. However, a secondary impact may also exist; remaining car users may be presented with less congested road space, improving their journey times and simultaneously acting as an incentive for some bus-users to revert to the car. To investigate the potential for these primary and secondary impacts, we develop a prototype agent-based model to investigate the nature of these interactions and how they play out into system-wide patterns of modal share and travel times. The model allows us to test the effects of multiple assumptions about the behaviors of individual agents as they respond to different incentives introduced by BRT policy changes, such as the implementation of exclusive bus lanes, increased bus frequency, pre-boarding ticket machines and express stops, separately and together. We find that, under our assumptions, these policies can result in significant improvements in terms of individual journey times, modal shift, and length of rush hour. We see that the addition of an exclusive bus lane results in significant improvements for both car users and bus riders. Informed with appropriate empirical data relating to the behavior of individual agents, the geography and the specific policy interventions, the model has the potential to aid policymakers in examining the effectiveness of different BRT schemes, applied to broader environments.     

Advance transit oriented development typology: case study in Brisbane,Australia

Internationally, transit oriented development (TOD) is characterised by moderate to high density development with diverse land use patterns and well connected street networks centred around high frequency transit stops (bus and rail). Although different TOD typologies have been developed in different contexts, they are based on subjective evaluation criteria derived from the context in which they are built and typically lack a validation measure. Arguably there exist sets of TOD characteristics that perform better in certain contexts, and being able to optimise TOD effectiveness would facilitate planning and supporting policy development. This research utilises data from census collection districts (CCDs) in Brisbane with different sets of TOD attributes measured across six objectively quantified built environmental indicators: net employment density, net residential density, land use diversity, intersection density, cul-de-sac density, and public transport accessibility. Using these measures, a Two Step Cluster Analysis was conducted to identify natural groupings of the CCDs with similar profiles, resulting in four unique TOD clusters: (a) residential TODs, (b) activity centre TODs, (c) potential TODs, and (d) TOD non-suitability. The typologies are validated by estimating a multinomial logistic regression model in order to understand the mode choice behaviour of 10,013 individuals living in these areas. Results indicate that in comparison to people living in areas classified as residential TODs, people who reside in non-TOD clusters were significantly less likely to use public transport (PT) (1.4 times), and active transport (4 times) compared to the car. People living in areas classified as potential TODs were 1.3 times less likely to use PT, and 2.5 times less likely to use active transport compared to using the car. Only a little difference in mode choice behaviour was evident between people living in areas classified as residential TODs and activity centre TODs. The results suggest that: (a) two types of TODs may be suitable for classification and effect mode choice in Brisbane; (b) TOD typology should be developed based on their TOD profile and performance matrices; (c) both bus stop and train station based TODs are suitable for development in Brisbane.     

Is there a good governance model for the delivery of contemporary transport policy and practice? An examination of Melbourne and Perth

Land use and transport integration (LUTI) is a contemporary planning policy and practice that supports sustainable transport. Attempts to implement LUTI have raised questions about the appropriate organisational structure and the role of governance to deliver this policy. This paper presents the discussions from two public fora held in 2008 in Melbourne and Perth, Australia. Their purpose was to examine the governance arrangements for land use and transport integration. It is concluded that integration of land use and transport agencies does not mean that land use transport integration will be achieved in practice. Rather than simple organisational re-structuring, a focus on networked governance, together with strong regulation, is conducive to inclusive policy development and the implementation of land use and transport integration policies.     

Modelling context-specific relationships between neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and private car use

Car use generates negative externalities, which are responsible for many health, environmental and economic problems. To tackle this issue, more work is needed to identify better the correlates of car use, especially at the contextual level. In this study, a mobility-focused questionnaire involving 1722 working French adults living in the Paris area (France) was used to explore gender-stratified relationships between residential socioeconomic deprivation and car use as the main transport mode against public transport, after controlling for potential confounders. While the vast majority of similar studies have assumed linear and global statistical relationships, the present work involved a random slope hierarchical generalised additive modelling framework, which revealed both non-linear and territorially-varying relationships. Among women, living in a more deprived neighbourhood was associated with an increase in the odds of reporting car use up to a certain threshold, after which the relationship plateaued, while among men, this relationship is linearly negative. In the most deprived department of the Paris region (Seine-Saint-Denis), living in a more deprived neighbourhood was associated with a lower odds of car use among men while a more complex nonlinear bell-shaped relationship was observed among women. The opposite was found in the wealthiest department (Yvelines), with a negative relationship among women and a U-shaped one among men. In Paris inner city, again a strong opposite trend was distinguished according to sex, with a negative relationship among women. These findings suggest that spatial contexts, characterised by complex interactions between socioeconomic factors, the built environment and the distance to Paris, play the role of moderators in the relationship between residential deprivation and car use. In conclusion, this study reinforces the idea that environment-transport relationships should be understood through local analyses (e.g. random slope multilevel or spatially-varying coefficients models) rather than global ones only, in order to guide specific public policies more effectively.     

The transformation of urban transport in the Czech Republic, 1988–1998

Similar to virtually all formerly socialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic has been experiencing a transport revolution since the shift from socialism to capitalism a decade ago. From 1988 to 1998, per-capita car ownership rose by 63% in the country as a whole, and by 93% in the capital city of Prague. Vehicle km of motor vehicle use have more than doubled. Conversely, public transport usage has fallen considerably, by 26% in the country as a whole, and by 19% in Prague. This modal shift from public transport to the private car has resulted from increased incomes, access to Western markets, declining real prices of cars and petrol, removal of restrictions on manufacturing and importing cars, and the car's attraction as a symbol of freedom, affluence, and status. The sharp reduction of subsidies for public transport has forced increases in fares and service cutbacks, which have also encouraged the shift toward the private car. Although the private car is very popular, the sudden surge in car ownership and use has caused significant social and environmental problems: roadway congestion, parking shortages, increased traffic accidents, air pollution, and noise. Given their severe financial limitations, Czech cities are struggling to preserve their public transport systems while accommodating the immensely popular private car.     

Religious culture and rural car ownership

Transportation policy generally restricts the predictors of car ownership to socio-economic variables without consideration of cultural factors. However, culture – the ideas, norms, and objects that a society shares – affects consumption decisions. Excluding this cultural context may limit consideration of potentially successful policy interventions. The research presented here statistically tests the impact of religious culture on rural car ownership in the United States by incorporating religious adherence rates into statistical models of countywide motorization rates. This research explores whether religious affiliation is a statistically significant predictor of car ownership and whether the addition of those religious variables results in a statistically significant improvement in model fit. The findings suggest that religious affiliation, expressed as countywide adherence rates, is a statistically significant predictor of car ownership and that its inclusion improves model fit; however, while statistically significant, that improvement in model fit is quite small. This research concludes that considering culture is a valuable direction for targeting car consumption policies aimed at curbing climate change. This research also demonstrates the need for additional exploration using disaggregated cultural data to better understand the import of this approach to policy development.     

Bussing between hegemonies: the dominant ‘frame’ in Oxford's transport policies

In 1972, a revolution in local transport policy in Oxford resulted in the dominant doctrine of the previous 30 years—providing for car use—being replaced by an alternative policy ‘frame’ focussed around the promotion of bus use. Although subsequently challenged in the 1970s and 1980s, the pro-bus policy community remained sufficiently strong to implement a further level of bus-oriented policy in the 1990s. Bus use in Oxford has returned to levels not observed since the 1960s, against a trend of decline nationally. The present paper examines how the policy problems came to be framed around the bus and how the frame evolved to accommodate changes in the funding and regulation of public transport. The extent to which the Oxford experience informs future policy-making towards demand management in urban areas is considered and the explanatory value of the concept of framing is revisited.     

Where to park? A behavioural comparison of bus Park and Ride and city centre car park usage in Bath,UK

Integrating car parking facilities with public transport in Park and Ride (P&R) facilities has the potential to shorten car trips, contributing to more sustainable mobility. There is an ongoing debate about the actual effects of P&R on the transport system at the subregional level. A key issue is the relative attractiveness of city centre car parks (CCCP), P&R and public transport. The paper presents the findings of a comparative empirical case-study based on a field survey of CCCP and P&R users conducted in the city of Bath, UK. Spatial and statistical analyses are applied. Radial distance to parking, availability of P&R sites in the direction of travel, gender, age, income and party-size are found to be important factors in a binary logistic regression model, explaining the revealed-preference of parking type. Stated analysis of foregone parking alternatives suggests more use of public transport and walking/cycling would likely occur without first-best parking alternatives. The policy implications and possible planning alternatives to P&R at the urban fringes for achieving greater sustainability goals are also discussed.     

Reducing the ecological footprint of urban cars

This study develops the policy-making capabilities of the Ecological Footprint. The new capabilities we introduce in our Ecological Footprint model allow us to clarify policy options in the face of the increasing management complexity due to a more interconnected and uncertain world. We investigate the effectiveness of three illustrative policy options for reducing the Ecological Footprint of urban car transport: (1) improvements in efficiency/technology, (2) substitution with alternate fuel mixes, and (3) the reduction in demand by altering urban form. We investigate the success of policy options for a subnational case study jurisdiction in Australia, but in the uncertain global context. We use a resilience framework that considers critical social, economic, and environmental variables, multiple scales, and multiple possible futures. We find that delaying policy options to mitigate CO₂ emissions from the transport sector will increase the risks borne by society as a result of future global uncertainty, the uncertain timing of globally coordinated action on climate change and the timing of peak oil. We also find that the success of local policy is affected by the global future which prevails. The use of the Ecological Footprint allows policy to be informed by the consequences of both CO₂ emissions and increasing demand for land. The study provides a decision-making framework that allows local decision makers to make robust policy despite global uncertainty. This framework has wider applicability to other nations and/or subnational jurisdictions worldwide.     

The influence of gender on daily car use and on willingness to reduce car use in Sweden

This paper tests the influence of gender on daily car use and on willingness to reduce car use. Car use is modeled in terms of practical factors combined with manifestations of the specific influence of gender. Willingness to reduce car use is modeled in terms of attitudinal factors using a theory of environmentalism. The results confirm the existence of a gender component. The concluding discussion suggests that more research is needed to further our theoretical understanding and methodological expertise regarding how gender can be modeled in travel research in order to attain current policy regarding a gender equal transportation system.     

Public transport values of time

This paper reports research on the valuations of public transport time relative to car travel time and on the valuations of the walk time, wait time and service headway associated with public transport use. The results are derived from a meta-analysis of a very large data set of British empirical evidence and are set against a review of previous research. A large number of methodological and policy relevant results emerge, some of which challenge established conventions, and the implications for value of time recommendations, policy and further research are spelt out.