Research challenges in modelling urban road pricing: An overview

This article introduces the contributions of this special issue on modelling of urban road pricing and its implementation. The issue focuses on the design of urban road pricing schemes, and their spatial and temporal impacts, using quantitative transport (and land use) models. The policy implications of road pricing, including welfare and equity aspects, are studied for Paris, Brussels and Oslo using state of the art planning models. The issue is completed with a study of public acceptability and the upcoming road-pricing trial in Stockholm, and a review paper on the history of thought and future prospects of road pricing.     

Path dependence in urban transport: An institutional analysis of urban passenger transport in Melbourne,Australia, 1956–2006

In order to deepen understanding of path dependence in urban transport, this article presents a case study of urban passenger transport institutions in Melbourne, Australia over 50 years. The institutional capacity of the roads and public transport sectors are explored separately and the trends are then compared and contrasted. The main components of the analysis are: structural changes to the organisations, participation on planning committees, access to financial resources, accountability frameworks, membership of forums and relationships with other actors. The conclusion is that, whilst the historical picture is complex, the trend is a strengthening of road planning institutions, and weakening public transport planning. This situation appears to be out of alignment with current needs.     

Examining the spatial–temporal dynamics of bus passenger travel behaviour using smart card data and the flow-comap

Over the past two decades, smart card data have received increasing interest from transport researchers as a new source of data for travel behaviour investigation. Collected by smart card systems, smart card data surpass traditional travel survey data in providing more comprehensive spatial–temporal information about urban public transport-based (UPT) trips. However, the utility of smart card data has arguably yet to be exploited fully in terms of extracting and exploring the spatial–temporal dynamics of UPT passenger travel behaviour. To advance previous work in this area, this paper demonstrates a multi-step methodology in order to render more insightful spatial–temporal patterns of UPT passenger travel behaviour. Drawing on the Brisbane, Australia, bus network as the case study, a smart card dataset was first processed in combination with General Transit Specification Feed (GTFS) data to reconstruct travel trajectories of bus passengers at bus stop level of spatial granularity. By applying geographical information system-based (GIS) techniques, this dataset was used to create flow-comaps to visualise the aggregate flow patterns at a network level. The flow-comaps uncovered the major pathways of bus passengers and its variations over a one-day period. The differences within the flow-comaps were also quantified to produce weighted flow-comaps that highlighted the major temporal changes of passenger flow patterns along a number of stop-to-stop linkages of the bus network. The proposed methodology visually unveiled the spatial–temporal travel behaviour dynamics of UPT passengers and, in doing so, showed the potential to contribute to a new evidence base with the capacity to inform local public transport policy.     

Using PAR to frame sustainable transport and social justice on policy agendas. A pilot experience in two contrasting Chilean cities

If sustainable transport is defined by emissions and energy, urban passenger transport in Chile could be considered “sustainable”, with two-thirds of trips made by walking, cycling or public transit. Recent studies, however, reveal that gender and equity issues are highly problematic, pointing to tensions between environmental and social sustainability.Given these tensions, a university-community collaboration, the Laboratory for Social Change, developed a pilot methodology to define and evaluate Transport Justice. We sought a relatively simple instrument, a Transport Justice report (Balance de Transporte Justo, BTJ) that could combine experiential and academic knowledge and thereby influence policy and decision-making more effectively.We used a participatory action research (PAR) approach to bring together community leaders and university researchers, and consider experiential and research data, through this “transport justice” lens. To start, we introduced the idea of “transport justice” with researchers in different disciplines and citizen organizations involved in relatively specific battles: fighting a highway, for better cycling facilities, or for reduced road speeds, for example.We focused on established issues, such as universal access, walkability, cycle-inclusion, but added children's freedom and autonomy, the wise city (older adults, heritage, identity), care and land use, and transport impacts on ecological services. Building on this collaboration, we also applied a transport justice survey in two contrasting Chilean cities, Santiago and Temuco.Our analysis reveals that, despite a planning system that favours high-income households whose members rely mainly on cars, the majority of pedestrians, cyclists, public transit and even car users would prefer a redistribution of road space and investment in favour of active transport. During the next phase of research (2020–2021), we will test how well these results are taken up by citizen organizations, politicians and senior government staff from all parties. This will allow us to evaluate its effectiveness as a policy and power distributing instrument.     

Towards inclusive transport landscapes: Re-visualising a Bicycle Sharing Scheme in Santiago Metropolitan Region

Bicycle Sharing Schemes (BSS) are re-emerging as promising components of urban mobility solutions worldwide. However, the lack of consistent collaboration strategies between different actors and institutions, which have been tested in a wide range of cities and contexts regarding their design, tender, operation and expansion, raises significant social and governance implications. Urban transport features as a melting pot for diverse policy objectives, ranging from business model innovation, public tendering, and accessibility increase to the equity and social justice agenda.By employing a Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) framework and by introducing alluvial diagrams and circular dendrograms to BSS planning through a mixed-methods approach, this article illustrates an innovative tool in managing BSS in the context of the Global South. The strength of such diagrams has been underestimated to date since they can be particularly useful for public and private urban transport planners and policy-makers. Visualising user flows in such a manner, particularly in near-live time, may offer valuable insight on the operational challenges of BSS. Findings of the cross-sectional survey in Santiago de Chile confirm that maintenance is significant for user satisfaction levels. Furthermore, decisions regarding BSS expansion and modification could be based on such analysis and diagrams due to the precise identification of both the busiest and those under-represented BSS stations based on revealed preferences.     

Air transport policy and its impacts on passenger traffic and tourist flows

This paper attempts to derive policy indices to quantify the restrictiveness of the aviation regimes in the Asia-Pacific region, and use the indices to establish the relationship between people movement and liberalisation in policy. Australia and Singapore have the most liberalised environment in this region. Evidence has been found that passenger traffic between city-pairs has been hampered by the restrictive air transport policies. Restrictions on the air transport sector also have a substantial negative impact on bilateral tourist flows. Further liberalisation in this sector could help build up a stronger tourism industry.     

Profiling tourists' use of public transport through smart travel card data

Data collected through smart travel cards in public transport networks have become a valuable source of information for transport geography studies. During the last two decades, a growing body of literature has used this sort of data source to study the behaviour of public transport users in cities and regions around the world. However, its use has been scarce in contexts where public transport demand is highly influenced by the activities of the tourist sector. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether these data can be leveraged to optimize the supply of public transport. In this article, data drawn from the Camp de Tarragona automated fare collection system extracted during 2018 are used to study tourists' use of public transport in Costa Daurada (Catalonia, Spain). This is a popular coastal destination with a high concentration of visitors during the summer period. The analysis focuses on the use of the T-10, a multipersonal transport fare with no time limitations on its use which makes it appealing for tourists. Model-based clustering has been applied to identify different clusters of passengers according to their activity and spatial profiles. Differences between profiles are significant and, as a result, this study allowed the validation of a method that could be replicated in other contexts, as it provides highly useful information for public transport policy and mobility management.     

综合客运交通枢纽分类分级研究

在分析现有研究的基础上,结合城市交通特性和综合客运交通枢纽发展方向,对综合客运交通枢纽定义、分类、分级和规模等问题进行探讨。梳理目前枢纽建设所面临的问题,结合未来城市建设重点以及城市部分功能的调整情况,理清枢纽建设与上述问题之间的内在联系,探讨枢纽的功能定位、分类、分级等问题,为今后综合客运交通枢纽规划建设提供技术支撑,实现不同区域综合客运交通枢纽的差别化布局和规划,促进综合客运交通枢纽系统、区域交通一体化以及社会经济的全面发展。     

Accessibility modelling: predicting the impact of planned transport infrastructure on accessibility patterns in Edinburgh,UK

The achievement of good spatial accessibility and equity in the distribution of urban services is one of the supreme goals for urban planners. With Scottish Government backing, the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has started to construct a tram network to cater for the future needs of Scotland’s capital city by providing an integrated transport solution using trams and buses. Spatial Network Analysis of Public Transport Accessibility (SNAPTA) which is a GIS-based accessibility model has been developed to measure the accessibility by public transport to different urban services and activities. The model responds to several limitations in other existing accessibility models in planning practice. It offers an alternative and practical tool to help planners and decision makers in examining the strengths and weaknesses of land use – transport integration. SNAPTA has been applied to a pilot study in Edinburgh city to identify the contribution of the infrastructure improvements of the tram system and Edinburgh South Suburban Railway (ESSR) to improved accessibility by public transport to six types of activity opportunities. This paper outlines the concept and methodology of the SNAPTA model, and presents the findings related to this pilot study with a focus on changes in potential accessibility to jobs between four different public transport network scenarios. The accessibility values so obtained help to identify the gaps in the coverage of the public transport network and the efficiency in the spatial distribution of urban services and activities. The findings focus on whether the planned transport infrastructures for Edinburgh will lead to better accessibility and reduced inequity (in terms of accessibility) across the city.     

基于空间成本分配的北京城市轨道交通票价方案选择评价

成本的空间分配是公共交通公平的重要内容,受不同票价方案影响。为了比较不同票价方案下的空间成本分配差异,运用可达性方法,采用北京地铁及其计程票制数据在城市轨道交通站点间票价的基础上计算区域站均票价,分析不同票价方案下北京区县空间成本分布格局差异,给出区县票价方案择优结果,并对2014年北京城市轨道交通票价听证会选择的票价方案进行评价。结果显示,北京各区县并不适合一种票价方案,各区域有最佳的票价方案选择,选择一种票价方案会导致区域间不公平,为城市轨道交通票价调整政策提供一定的参考。     

基于EEMD-BP方法的城市轨道交通进站客流短期预测

城市轨道交通站点客流量是评价其服务水平和实现城市轨道交通资源有效配置的基础数据和依据。针对城市轨道交通站点进站客流量序列波动复杂的问题,构建基于EEMD-BP方法的城市轨道交通进站客流短期预测模型,通过对城市轨道交通站点的日间分时进站客流序列进行模态分解,并对分解的分量进行筛选和识别,探究进站客流的日间波动影响因素,实现对短期客流的合理预测。以广州珠江新城站短期客流预测为例,验证该组合模型在提高客流预测方面具有有效性,为城市轨道交通线网规划和运营管理提供客流预测依据。     

Spatial-interaction network analysis of built environmental influence on daily public transport demand

Many studies have evaluated the influence of the built environment on public transport. Some studies assign subjective weights to environmental factors, which could oversimplify spatial heterogeneity and overlook the temporal dimension. On the other hand, the spatial-interaction network of public transport system is seldom considered. In this paper, we propose an improved framework to explore how individual factors unevenly affect public transport demand over space and time using a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model. The proposed framework extends the local built environmental factors by including two network factors extracted from the spatial-interaction network of the public transport system. We conduct a case study in Beijing, China using 686 traffic analysis zones (TAZs). The actual usage of public transport, namely the public transport index (PTI), is estimated by passenger flow divided by the total amount of human flow in a given TAZ. The daily patterns of the spatial heterogeneity in some selected places in the study area is identified and analyzed. It is also found that the estimated coefficient of the variables of the spatial-interaction network is significantly larger than other static environmental factors, indicating that spatial-interaction network can more effectively reflect spatiotemporal heterogeneity in public transport demand. This study provides a better decision-making support for more accurately identifying which factors are most worthy of development, and when and where they can be implemented to improve public transit services.     

Cities and flows: re-asserting a relationship as fundamental as it is delicate

This paper emphasizes the relationship between cities and (transport) flows and critically explores the question of how this relationship has changed over time. It ties in with the legacy of Brian Hoyle’s work on port cities and discusses the general mechanisms and trajectories of urban development in the context of transport networks, particularly the tension between the concentration and dispersal of flows and their impact on places. Thus, the relationship between places and flows is considered both fundamental and delicate: that is, it is not only immanent to both, it also causes tensions and conflict. This is discussed in more detail in relation to two distinct cases: ports and airports. In response to related conflicts, the integration of flows in urban areas is pursued as a policy and planning strategy. However, the cases reveal that integration is difficult to achieve, due to complex systems’ dynamics and the individual logic of each sector, where integration is often accompanied by disintegration. Some light is also shed on a constructivist view of the subject matter. Finally, some ramifications for research and planning practices will be presented.     

Placing the public in integrated transport planning

The paper argues the need for a more nuanced debate over the place of public involvement in transport planning in Britain, in the context of the current democratic turn in governance. The recent policy shift towards integrated transport has been accompanied by significant institutional changes, which have created a new framework for transport planning, with important implications for public involvement. Yet many issues underlying the new participative approach to transport planning have yet to be resolved. In this paper, the wider socio-political context for increasing inclusivity in planning processes is discussed, followed by a brief analysis of the condition of public involvement in transport planning in Britain. A conceptual framework then draws together the issues to be considered when planning programmes for public involvement in transport planning.     

How large is the gap between present and efficient transport prices in Europe?

In this paper, we analyse the gap between present transport prices and efficient transport prices. Efficient transport prices are those prices that maximise economic welfare, including external costs (congestion, air pollution, accidents). The methodology is applied to six urban and interregional case studies using one common optimal pricing model. The case studies cover passenger as well as freight transport and cover all modes. We find that prices need to be raised most for peak urban passenger car transport and to a lesser extent for interregional road transport. Optimal pricing results for public transport are more mixed. We show that current external costs on congested roads are a bad guide for optimal taxes and tolls: the optimal toll that takes into account the reaction of demand is often less than one third of the present marginal external cost.     

Institutional integration for sustainable transportation policy in Canada

In recent years, many Canadian urban areas have witnessed a rapid population and economic growth thereby putting sustainable transport and urban form at the forefront of planning initiatives. As a result, the development of strategic transport plans and long-range visioning exercises has become a priority for most cities. Still, proper appraisals of these plans along with funding and implementation have lagged behind. Reasons for this lag can be attributed to the lack of constructive interactions between actors in the decision-making process and of common grounds for policy evaluation. This paper proposes to assess the extent of institutional integration in the appraisal, funding, and implementation of transport policy. For this purpose, a survey was conducted with planners and policy-makers pertaining to the three levels of government (municipal, provincial, federal) in Canada. The survey discussed the existing process for funding and evaluation of transport policy and its associated pitfalls as well as the desired state of policy appraisal. Results show low institutional integration among the three levels of government and weakened regional visions within most urban areas in spite of an increased sensitization of decision-makers and the public regarding the importance of achieving society's goals of sustainability and equity.     

Fair accessibility – Operationalizing the distributional effects of policy interventions

A fair distribution of public transport benefits is a commonly stated goal of agencies and operators of public transport. However, it is less complicated and costly to provide accessibility in some parts of cities and their surroundings than in other parts. Densely populated areas, and areas situated closer to the city center therefore often have higher public transport accessibility than remote or sparsely populated areas. Neglecting these realities results with an unrealistic assessment of equity in service provision and hampers their consideration when setting policy goals. In this study, we propose a framework for investigating equity in the distribution of accessibility, where the suggested goal is to provide residents with equal accessibility for equally dense and central areas. For the Stockholm County, we show that accessibility may seem to be distributed horizontally inequitable and vertically regressive. However, once controlling for how dense and close to the city center residents live, while still being horizontally inequitable the distribution of accessibility in Stockholm County is found progressive, i.e., benefiting those with lower incomes. We demonstrate the proposed method for the case of skip-stop train operations and find that it shifts our constructed accessibility measure toward a more horizontally inequitable and vertically progressive state. We conclude that our proposed method can be a potent way for public transport agencies to measure and concretize equity goals and evaluate policy changes.     

The formulation and evaluation of transport route planning alternatives: a spatial decision support system for the Via Baltica project,Poland

Transport planning plays an undeniably key role in the economic growth of any region. However, when done heedlessly this planning can be detrimental to the biophysical and social environment of the region. In transport route planning generally one or a few alternative routes are proposed, usually representing the interest of the proponent. If required, an environmental impact assessment is carried out on these alternatives. Although, EIA and SEA are meant to be effective in taking informed decisions about the proposed route, these alternatives – the heart of impact assessment – are themselves devised in a subjective and non-spatial manner.Such an approach may easily overlook routes, which could otherwise have been more suitable. A planning system that directly takes into account environmental and socio-economic considerations in selecting alternative routes facilitates sustainable development. This paper presents a holistic and coherent spatial multi-criteria network analysis method for the generation of optimal routing alternatives under different policy visions, in a network of existing roads.The presented methodology was case-tested for the highly contested 340 km portion of the Via Baltica corridor in Poland, a part of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) program. The methodology shows its ability to serve as a versatile effect-based decision support system for transport route planning at a strategically higher level of planning, particularly for (geographically) large-scale investment schemes.     

Improving Bus Service Levels and social equity through bus frequency modelling

Bus lines play an essential role in providing urban public transport service. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics determine the specific transport service needs of districts that, in most cases, are not served by the existing bus routes. Small changes in the frequency of a bus route can have a direct effect on the territorial distribution of a city's public transport service. Adjusting the frequencies of a bus fleet can help planners improve the service level and adapt the fleet's spatial distribution. A bus frequency optimization methodology is proposed to improve harmonization between service level and social equity in public transport. The method relies on a simple spreadsheet that integrates geographic data about bus routes and socioeconomic information about city districts. Simulation and optimization procedures are coordinated to appropriately adjust the routes to the geographic space. The proposed method is tested in a real case study that demonstrates its usefulness in analysing the service level and equity of a transport system and improving a city's public transport planning.