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.     

Thinking regional and acting local: Assessing the joint influence of local and regional accessibility on commute mode in Montreal,Canada

Accessibility indicators, measuring the ease of reaching destinations via a specific mode of transport, are increasingly used in planning and research as they support integrated land use and transport planning. Research has shown that increased local accessibility (walkability for example) is associated with an increase in walking mode share, whereas increase in public transport accessibility is associated with a greater use of public transport. Yet, while public transport agencies are promoting the combination of active and public transport options to address one's diverse mobility needs, local and regional accessibility are rarely addressed together in research or practice. This research aims to determine the joint influence of local and regional accessibility on the transport mode used for work trips in the Montreal metropolitan region, while controlling for socio-demographic characteristics. Data come from the 2013 Origin-Destination survey 2016 Canadian census, 2017 public transport data DMTI Enhanced points of interests. A multinomial logistic model is used to understand how local and regional accessibility are associated with walking, cycling or taking public transport to work across individuals. The results demonstrate that increases in both local and regional accessibility are associated with a higher probability of using sustainable modes. The predicted probabilities suggest that local accessibility is more closely associated with a decrease in car use. This study sheds light on the interaction between local and regional land use and transport systems and is of relevance to planners and policymakers wishing to develop neighborhoods that support the use of sustainable modes.     

Integrated transport planning in the UK: From concept to reality

This paper explores the need for new planning authority practices and structures that can accommodate new policy demands, synergies and approaches to urban management in the UK. Initially it considers recent UK government ideas on the integration of transport and land use planning, exploring how the concept has been located carefully in relation to both established and emerging debates about, for example, sustainability, mobility and structures of governance. The paper then moves on to consider the relationship between these concepts in EU transport discourse taking an example from Sweden of what an integrated urban transport policy might look like on the ground. The final section develops a model of integration and applies this analytic construct to assess integration practices and outcomes of urban mobility management at the local authority level in England. The research uncovers implementation failures including duplication of procedures, failures in communication and the lack of clear and resourced responsibilities.     

Policy integration: What will it take to achieve more sustainable transport solutions in cities?

There has been a rhetorical shift in paradigm from predict and provide for road transport to one which addresses sustainable mobilities. This paper explores the organizational and institutional issues of policy integration and the implementation mechanisms which could bring about a sustainable transport system predicated on the reduction of CO₂ emissions and non-renewable resource use and which produces more socially equitable outcomes. The paper first outlines the English policy context in terms of responsibilities, powers and resources available to local transport planners, and identifies the tools of government that can be more efficiently applied to effect a more sustainable transport system which specifically reduces CO₂ emissions. A snapshot of transport decision-making in five local transport authorities in England is presented, using a case study methodology, which explores the joint working practices of practitioners in five public policy sectors that influence accessibility patterns. The case study highlights the norms and values of the local public administrators who affect local transport mobility and how they in turn are hindered both by the rigidity of central government direction and an insufficiency of implementation tools.     

The governance of transport and climate change

Climate change is one of the key global policy issues of our time. Transport is the sector from which it has been hardest to cut emissions and, to make substantial progress in the future, action will be required at all levels of government from international to local. The governance of transport within this already challenging arena is further complicated by the existence of different structures for the management of transport modes and variations in formal governance structures across countries and regions.This paper examines the prospect for deep cuts in CO₂ emissions from transport through an examination of the key policy levers for change and considering the governance issues that surround them. The focus of the paper is the United Kingdom, and in particular England and Scotland. The UK is the first country to have a legally binding internal obligation to meet carbon dioxide reduction targets and this has prompted significant activity in both governance institutions and delivery. The research uses a multi-level governance framework to understand the policy environment in England and Scotland, capturing both the range of spatial actors and the influence of sectoral actors in what is a complex polity.It is concluded that the policy approach currently appears constrained by a desire to divide accountability by formal institutional structures, thus failing to tackle the dispersed nature of travel and the national and international nature of businesses. There is currently a lack of clarity about the tiering of responsibilities between spatial levels and there is therefore a comparative lack of commitment to the potential for demand management and travel reduction strategies to contribute to carbon reduction. Carbon reduction policies are also influenced by strong industry lobbies whose goals may not be fully aligned with carbon reduction strategies. The profusion of actors engaged in climate change policy seems to dilute rather than promote effective policy making.     

Informal,essential and embedded: Transport strategies in remote Sarawak

Transport is a main concern for people living in rural and remote communities around the world, where the absence of affordable and reliable transport often prevents access to education, health services and employment opportunities. In Sarawak, a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo, many rural villages experience acute transport poverty. For their basic transport needs, people here rely on informal transport systems based on local social and cultural networks, which provide essential mobility.We apply Polanyi's concept of social embeddedness to explore mobility in this region, people's efforts to develop regional models of entrepreneurship but also the relative marginalisation of remote communities in terms of development and infrastructure provision and the resulting friction between local people, the companies involved in regional resource extraction activities and local government. Based on data collected between 2015 and 2017, we frame informal transport in this region as a form of Indigenous entrepreneurship that can help local communities achieve wider social and economic inclusion. Our research points to a more social type of entrepreneurship and economic practice, in which social relationships and community responsibilities play an important role. Our qualitative approach, including ethnographic methods such as semi-structured interviews and participant observation, underpins the groundedness of our data in the every-day experiences of the people who took part in the research.     

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.     

Land use and public transport integration in small cities and towns: Assessment methodology and application

It is widely accepted that land use and public transport planning should be harmonised in order to provide a viable alternative to car transport. Following the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) concept, many studies and plans aim to concentrate urban development in areas accessible by high-quality public transport. Encouraged by studies asserting the positive relation between urban density and public transport use, scholars and practitioners focused their attention on tools and strategies that increase urban density, thereby overlooking geographical contexts where these strategies cannot be applied. TOD might however be also a valuable strategy in low-density contexts, like lower density parts of metropolitan areas, or suburban areas and small towns. It seems therefore relevant and interesting to develop a methodology to explore the value of TOD strategies in such contexts. Our paper fills this analytical and application gap and proposes to extend the conceptualization and implementation of land use and public transport integration to areas where low-density urban development has already occurred (e.g., low-density suburbs, or areas where the protection of natural and cultural heritage precedes urban development). In such cases, where is not possible to increase urban density around transport nodes, the quality of the transport network plays a decisive role.The approach builds on the Node-Place Model by including evaluations of the quality of feeder networks. We applied the methodology to a case study in the Campania Region in southern Italy, indicating a possible way to evaluate land use and public transport integration while considering, at the same time, the quality of transport as network.The application of the methodology allowed to highlight imbalances between accessibility – by main and feeder transport – and land use intensity, and to sketch urban development strategies and priorities of intervention on the transport network.     

Do institutional structures matter? A comparative analysis of urban carbon management policies in the UK and Germany

The paper addresses the important question of how institutional structures matter to the delivery of climate change policy for urban transport. It examines the strategic goals, policy tools in operation and initial progress towards carbon emission reduction in seven cities across the UK and Germany where different institutional structures exist. The UK has the presence of a strong national carbon target and strong hierarchical national–local government relationships whilst Germany has a more integrated system of local transport provision in a context where local and regional government is stronger. Our findings show that the carbon agenda has made very little difference to what is happening on the ground in the cities. Across all sites, progress is being made but largely through technological improvements which are being almost completely offset by population growth. Even in the more integrated city environments there has not be an additional stimulus to manage the demand for travel.Contrary to previous research therefore, we cannot conclude that institutional structures are paramount in delivering effective carbon reduction policies. The institutional structures in the UK and in Germany are not perfectly aligned to carbon management but, given the cross policy impacts of most transport interventions, this is perhaps inevitable. We can clearly conclude however that “better” structures are not sufficient to achieve the implementation of more effective carbon policies. Whilst institutional structures must matter, it is the broader governance environment and the resources and politics involved in transport policy that currently seem to dominate the importance of the carbon agenda and implementation paths that emerge.     

Informality and accessibility to jobs by public transit: Evidence from the São Paulo Metropolitan Region

Access to opportunities through public transport can have different impacts on individual's life especially in developing countries where opportunities are limited, job informality rates are high, and socioeconomic characteristics gaps are big. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between job informality and accessibility to employment by public transport in São Paulo Metropolitan Region (SPMR), Brazil. To do so, we calculate a cumulative-opportunity measure of accessibility to jobs for 633 areas within the SPMR. We use a multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression model to estimate the effect of job accessibility on the likelihood of being informally employed, controlling for individual and other area characteristics. To account for informal sector heterogeneity, two regression models are generated: one for the workers earning below minimum wage and one for the workers earning above minimum wage. The results show that accessibility to jobs is unevenly distributed across the region, largely concentrated in the core of the region, and especially in the high-income areas. The regression results show that for workers earning less than the minimum wage, a higher level of accessibility to jobs by public transport is associated with a lower likelihood of being a worker in the informal job sector. For informal workers earning more than the minimum wage, car ownership seem to be more relevant than transit accessibility in determining the likelihood of being part of the informal job sector. In light of these findings, increasing accessibility by public transport through either expanding transit services to areas with high informality rates to have a better access to formal jobs or supporting the decentralization of formal jobs may be a way to achieve reductions in informality rates, especially among those earning less than the minimum wage.     

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.     

Theorising informality and social embeddedness for the study of informal transport. Lessons from the marshrutka mobility phenomenon

This paper builds upon recent post-structuralist writings on informal economic practices, using most importantly a Polanyian institutionalist framework, to discuss formal/informal and market/non-market practices in the transport sector. The article proposes a critical reading of the literary canon of informal transport, which largely assumes a naturalness and omnipresence of markets. We illustrate how reductionist definitions of informal transport marginalise analytically important empirical detail, and furthermore, lead to misleading theoretical conclusions. In contrast, we analytically de-couple informality and markets, showing that formal and informal economic practices can be embedded in diverse social-cultural institutions. Such a theoretical framework allows for consistent evaluation and empirical examination of transport options, as substantiated by evidence from the marshrutka mobility phenomenon in Bishkek and Tbilisi. We observe marketisation, dis- or re-embedding, formalisation and informalisation as dynamic, inter-dependent and conflictual processes. On these grounds, the article argues for a critical re-appraisal of other forms of informal transport, old and emerging, both in the Global South and the Global North.     

Assessing the experience of mandated collaborative inter-jurisdictional transport planning in the United States

This paper explores collaborative transport planning among governmental authorities where jurisdictions overlap and the lines of authority are ambiguous or unclear–an increasingly common situation in this era of waning trade and travel restrictions. We do this by examining the experience of mandated collaborative transportation planning among state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in the USA following a significant change to national surface transportation policy in the early 1990s. To understand how state transport planning and plans changed following the inter-jurisdictional collaboration mandated by passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), we examine recent statewide transport planning in 14 of the largest US states and conducted interviews with 66 state and regional planners. We find that, despite the myriad topics that state DOTs tried to include within their comprehensive statewide plans, these plans have had, at best, a limited influence on metropolitan transport planning and activities. Despite this, we find that the mandated collaborative planning did help to increase inter-agency coordination on issues (1) where network or environmental externalities transcend regional boundaries, (2) that require the political clout of a higher-level governmental authority to enforce locally unpopular decisions, or (3) that take advantage of institutional economies of scale.     

Effects of non-aeronautical activities at airports on the public transport access system: A case study of Zurich Airport

Many planning authorities and airports study measures to increase public transport use for airport ground access and egress. At the same time, an increase in real estate development at and around airports is occurring, both due to airports seeking new revenue possibilities and other developers attempting to profit from high value locations. This paper considers non-aeronautical activities at large airports, largely commercial centres and transit hubs, as land uses that have the potential to improve the situation for operating public transport services. In order to assess potential benefits and disadvantages, four research questions are considered: (1) Can the additional travel volume reach levels at which it has a significant impact? (2) To what extent do non-aeronautical activities influence the public transport access system? (3) Is the resulting demand distribution better or worse regarding peaking behaviour? (4) Is there a potential for the resulting overall demand to bring about capacity shortages?A case study is conducted at the airport of Zurich, Switzerland, which finds that non-aeronautical activities in the direct airport vicinity have led to a situation where the operation of public transport services is much more viable due to overall higher passenger numbers and a more even distribution throughout the day. It is concluded that locating non-aeronautical activities at airports can, in addition to providing commercial benefits to developers, lead to a situation where improved public transport services become feasible.     

Governance options for a regional wireless public safety and transportation network

This paper examines several organizational governance options for CapWIN, an in-vehicle multi-jurisdictional communications and information system to be used by law enforcement, transportation, and public safety fleets in the Washington DC national capital region. The paper identifies and describes various organizational governance options for CapWIN, along with their institutional, constitutional, organizational, and financial characteristics and dynamics. An overview examination of various governance options is presented, including models and examples from across the country. From among these options, two structures are suggested as the most promising governance candidates. The research findings focus on the highest-potential candidate, the Interstate Compact Agreement and Organization.     

Local Government Tourism Planning and Policy-making in New South Wales: Institutional Development and Historical Legacies

Local government has an important role in tourism planning and development but has been criticised for not being more proactive. Impediments to local government involvement in tourism planning and policy-making include lack of community interest; lack of resources; lack of appropriate research and information; lack of commitment to implementation; lack of co-ordination and communication; and lack of technical expertise. This paper argues that these impediments can be more accurately viewed as consequences of deeply embedded values, beliefs, ideas and perceptions about local government roles and responsibilities. The paper reviews the historical development of local government in New South Wales, Australia, with respect to tourism, and discusses the influence of institutional history on how tourism is dealt with in that state.     

Understanding the value and vulnerability of informal infrastructures: Footpaths in Quito

Walking remains the primary means of travel in informal settlements of the Global South because of the limited ability of municipal governments to provide formal transport infrastructure. To cope, residents create footpaths through a bottom-up approach. Using a case study of informal settlements in Quito, this paper offers the first study of the process through which people settled in these spaces shape footpaths as informal walking infrastructures to enable everyday mobility. The paper draws on data collected over an eighteen-month period from archives, field notes from participatory observations, records of in-depth interviews, and interviews “on the go” with pedestrians to show how this infrastructure enables informal settlements' residents to access everyday destinations in shorter times, less expensively, and (often) more safely than alternatives. We show how these informal infrastructures build on centuries old practices of collective footpath building that form an essential part of local culture, and how urban processes and infrastructural development in the core city shape the production, transformation and disappearance of footpaths in informal settlements. Significantly, these findings contribute to a fuller understanding of the value and vulnerability of informal infrastructures that can inform wider studies of walking and informal infrastructure. The paper concludes by identifying the challenges and opportunities to promote informal infrastructures as a mainstream element of mobility in the city and support a more sustainable path to urban development.     

Political issues in inland waterways port development: prospects for regionalization

In the vast scientific literature on maritime transport, one theme appears neglected: the juridico-political framework in port development. We first examine how the jurisdictional control influences the allocation of resources and financial responsibilities. Second, we carefully evaluate conventional theoretical explanations of the process of port development as it generates important consequences on port policy formulation. We suggest that the concept of the port transition needs to be positioned within a new paradigm of the regional economy. Third, by focusing on three case studies namely France, China and Canada, we provide an understanding of institutional structure and how they reflect tendencies in port development. We then investigate regional flows, particularly the role of offshore, inshore and coastal traffic. Fourth, we present policy options for regionalization of ports. Fifth, we explore the regional elements of the port transition and provide an appreciation of the new role of the State in port development policies. The paper concludes on the adoption of new paradigm in port development strategies.     

An evaluation of the transport to employment (T2E) scheme in Highland Scotland using social return on investment (SROI)

This paper presents findings from an evaluation of transport to employment (T2E) in rural Highland Scotland. T2E is a centrally co-ordinated shared transport service which provides access to workplace, training and childcare where no alternative transport is available. The paper assesses the social as well as economic impacts on the local community through social return on investment (SROI) analysis. Measurable social benefits were found to outweigh the investment by 3:1 suggesting the concept to be a viable solution in a climate where public transport options are limited and typically restricted by low density and dispersed populations and challenging conditions for delivery.     

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.