scholarly journals Urban Transport and Eco-Urbanism: A Global Comparative Study of Cities with a Special Focus on Five Larger Swedish Urban Regions

Urban Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Kenworthy

Urban transport is critical in shaping the form and function of cities, particularly the level of automobile dependence and sustainability. This paper presents a detailed study of the urban transport eco-urbanism characteristics of the Stockholm, Malmö, Göteborg, Linköping, and Helsingborg urban regions in southern Sweden. It compares these cities to those in the USA, Australia, Canada, and two large wealthy Asian cities (Singapore and Hong Kong). It finds that while density is critical in determining many features of eco-urbanism, especially mobility patterns and particularly how much public transport, walking, and cycling are used, Swedish cities maintain healthy levels of all these more sustainable modes and only moderate levels of car use, while having less than half the density of other European cities. Swedish settlement patterns and urban transport policies mean they also enjoy, globally, the lowest level of transport emissions and transport deaths per capita and similar levels of energy use in private passenger transport as other European cities, and a fraction of that used in lower density North American and Australian cities. Swedish urban public transport systems are generally well provided for and form an integral part of the way their cities function, considering their lower densities. Their use of walking and cycling is high, though not as high as in other European cities and together with public transport cater for nearly 50% of the total daily trip making, compared to auto-dependent regions with between about 75% and 85% car trips. The paper explores these and other patterns in some detail. It provides a clear depiction of the strengths and weaknesses of Swedish cities in urban transport, some key policy directions to improve them and posits possible explanations for some of the atypical patterns observed.

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 954
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Kenworthy ◽  
Helena Svensson

Transport energy conservation research in urban transport systems dates back principally to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) “Arab Oil Embargo” (1973–1974) and the Iranian revolution (1979), when global oil supplies became threatened and costs rose steeply. Two subsequent Gulf Wars (1991 and 2003) highlighted the dangerous geo-political dimensions of Middle-Eastern oil. In latter times, the urgency to reduce global CO2 output to avoid catastrophic climate change has achieved great prominence. How to reduce passenger transport energy use therefore remains an important goal, which this paper pursues in ten Swedish cities, based on five scenarios: (1) increasing the relatively low public transport (PT) seat occupancy in each Swedish city to average European levels (buses 35%, light rail 48%, metro 60% and suburban rail 35%); (2) doubling existing PT seat occupancy in each Swedish city; (3) increasing existing car occupancy in each Swedish city by 10%; (4) decreasing existing energy use per car vehicle kilometer by 15%; (5) increasing existing modal split for daily trips by non-motorized modes to 50% in each city. A sixth “best-case scenario” is also explored by simultaneously combining scenarios 2 to 5. The data used in the paper come from systematic empirical research on each of the ten Swedish cities. When applied individually, scenario 2 is the most successful for reducing passenger transport energy use, scenarios 1 and 4 are next in magnitude and produce approximately equal energy savings, followed by scenario 5, with scenario 3 being the least successful. The best-case, combined scenario could save 1183 million liters of gasoline equivalent in the ten cities, representing almost a 60% saving over their existing 2015 total private passenger transport energy use and equivalent to the combined 2015 total annual private transport energy use of Stockholm, Malmö and Jönköping. Such findings also have important positive implications for the de-carbonization of cities. The policy implications of these findings and the strategies for increasing public transport, walking and cycling, boosting car occupancy and decreasing vehicular fuel consumption in Swedish cities are discussed.


Author(s):  
Martin Lowson

An effective and sustainable transport system has been devised to meet public transport demand. Urban light transport (ULTra) is an innovative form of personal rapid transit. In contrast to other forms of public transport, there is no waiting, stopping, or transferring. In many situations, the new system can offer better transport than available by other means. ULTra has been designed to demanding sustainability requirements. Typically, ULTra reduces energy use and emissions by a factor of three compared with existing transport systems and also complements those systems. By providing a network link to major rail and bus stations, ULTra can make current transport services more attractive to passengers. The new system is also well suited for other major activity centers such as airports. In essence, ULTra replaces the old mass transit paradigm for transport with a new paradigm based on just-in-time transit. ULTra is now undergoing engineering development funded by the U.K. Department for Transport on a 1-km test track in Cardiff, Wales. The Cardiff County Council has received funding commitments by the National Assembly of Wales that could lead to system implementation by 2005. The system offers a new approach to public transport, with a real prospect of significant gains in effectiveness and sustainability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 80-91
Author(s):  
Sławomira Hajduk ◽  
Lienite Litavniece

Abstract The study aims to assess transport systems in terms of ISO 37120 indicators in selected European cities. Using the principal components analysis, the research identified significantly correlated variables associated with urban transport. Three principal components explained almost 87% of input data variability. The first principal component was mainly related to transportation fatalities, the second component — to the length of bicycle paths, and the third component — to the length of the network used by light passenger public transport. A strong correlation was found between the length of high capacity public transport and transportation fatalities. Furthermore, the analysis proved that the Aalter transport system was an outlier. The paper concludes by identifying several recommendations on the improvement of urban transport management and the development of low-carbon mobility systems.


Author(s):  
Sonnam Jo ◽  
Liang Gao ◽  
Feng Liu ◽  
Menghui Li ◽  
Zhesi Shen ◽  
...  

Robustness studies on integrated urban public transport networks have attracted growing attention in recent years due to the significant influence on the overall performance of urban transport system. In this paper, topological properties and robustness of a bus–subway coupled network in Beijing, composed of both bus and subway networks as well as their interactions, are analyzed. Three new models depicting cascading failure processes on the coupled network are proposed based on an existing binary influence modeling approach. Simulation results show that the proposed models are more accurate than the existing method in reflecting actual passenger flow redistribution in the cascading failure process. Moreover, the traffic load influence between nodes also plays a vital role in the robustness of the network. The proposed models and derived results can be utilized to improve the robustness of integrated urban public transport systems in traffic planning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Grzelec ◽  
Aleksander Jagiełło

In recent years fare-free public transport (FFPT) found itself at the centre of attention of various groups, such as economists, transport engineers and local authorities, as well as those responsible for the organisation of urban transport. The FFPT is hoped to be the answer to contemporary transport-related problems within cities, problems which largely result from insensible proportions between trips carried out via personal mode of transportation and those completed by the means of public transport. This article reviews the motives and effects connected with the introduction to date of fare-free transport zones across the globe. It also presents, using data obtained in market research, the actual impact of a selective extension of the entitlement to free fares on the demand for urban transport services. The effects observed in other urban transport systems were then compared against those observed in relation to one, examined system. Analyses of observed FFPT implementation effects were then used to establish good and bad practices in the introduction of FFPT. The article also contains forecasts on the effect of the extension of entitlement to free fares and an increase in the public transport offer may have on the volume of demand for such services. The analyses have shown that an increase in the public transport offer (understood as an increase in the volume of vehicle-kilometres) would increase the demand for urban transport services more than the selective implementation of FFPT (assuming that the costs incurred by the local authorities remain unchanged).


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystian Pietrzak ◽  
Oliwia Pietrzak

This article has taken up an issue concerning the influence of the implementation of electromobility assumptions on reduction of air pollution in cities in terms of sustainable urban transport systems. The essential nature of the subject is confirmed by the following figures: transport is responsible for almost 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe and is the main cause of air pollution in cities, almost 90% of city dwellers in the EU are exposed to levels of air pollutants deemed harmful by the WHO, and approximately 95% of vehicles on European roads still use fossil fuels. Therefore, the implemented transport policy, both in the international and domestic aspect of particular countries, is facing the need to significantly reduce the negative influence of transport on people and the environment. Electromobility has become one of the concepts that makes it possible to achieve this goal. Its main objective is to reduce emissions of harmful substances into the environment by deploying electric vehicles (EVs). Research conducted by the authors showed that public transport, apart from the obvious effect of decreased number of private vehicles and decreased congestion, can contribute to reduced air pollutant emissions and become a significant driver for the implementation of electromobility in cities. However, the achievement of this goal depends on taking appropriate actions not only in the transport branch but also in other sectors of economy. The following research methods were applied in the article: literature analysis, documentary method, case study, and mathematical methods. The research area was the city of Szczecin, Poland.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Eugenia Rivas ◽  
Tomás Serebrisky

Active transport modes play a key role in developing sustainable transport systems by making cities accessible, safe, inclusive, and green. In Latin America and the Caribbean, walking and cycling represent a large share of total trips, especially for low-income groups. But for them, the decision to travel by using active transport modes, especially walking, is not based on sustainability but affordability. Income disparities in the region are also reflected in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, with poor neighborhoods lacking infrastructure of sufficient quality or size. Despite some successful experiences in the region, there is a lack of integration between transport modes, particularly public transport and cycling, which is crucial for improving the accessibility of low-income people, who usually live in peripheral areas, face long commutes, and require connecting infrastructure and services. The region has the opportunity to improve low-income groups access to livelihood opportunities and key services by developing infrastructure supporting nonmotorized transport, increasing citizen participation in planning, improving planning and regulation, and integrating active transport modes in urban transport systems, especially public transport.


2018 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 04011
Author(s):  
Setiono ◽  
Budi Yulianto

The annual increasing use of motorized vehicles requires improvements in infrastructure to support the reliability of urban transport systems in Surakarta City. The Government of Surakarta City has attempted to improve the infrastructure of the Gilingan Viaduct by creating an underpass. The traffic performance of the model developed is analysed using Indonesian Capacity Manual 1997 (IHCM 1997). The result shows that the development of the Gilingan Underpass has a potential to improve the performance of Jenderal Ahmad Yani road and the performance of the Balapan and Cengklik Intersections. The change of public transport routes of goods (freight) and people to Jenderal Ahmad Yani road has an opportunity to reduce acute congestion at the Joglo Intersection and decrease the accident rate in Monginsidi road.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Štraub

Abstract A policy instrument promoting a free fare public transport policy (FFPT) has recently been put into practice in 66 municipalities across Poland. By contributing to the academic debate on the concept of FFPT (e.g. Kębłowski 2019), the main goal of this paper is to create a typology of the schemes where FFPT is in operation in Poland based on analyses of a geographical mapping of these projects. This study analyses how different municipalities are implementing the concept in order to define a typology of FFTP projects and to understand how the development landscape of the urban transport system is changing in the light of free fare transport policies, topics which are not fully covered in the academic literature. The findings confirm that there is a new dynamic in the development of urban transport systems and permit the identification of key characteristics of this trend. Besides the typology of implementation of FFPT, the study also presents an up-to-date inventory of FFPT projects with the key characteristic features of each system. Although the study does not provide specific recommendations regarding the introduction of a FFPT policy, it represents a good starting point for future and more detailed studies. Such studies are necessary in order to understand the role of FFPT not only in the context of the development of a given transport system, its impact on modal split, and travel behaviour, but also to uncover the different politics which lie behind them.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petro Horbachov ◽  
Vitalii Naumov ◽  
Oleksandr Kolii

Contemporary methods of spatial planning of urban transport systems provide for designers enough opportunities in selecting the placement of stopping points for public transport. However in every city there exist very intense sections of the road network with a small width of the roadway. In these sections there is no opportunity to allocate special lanes for public transport. If the stop pockets on such street exist, there appear traffic conflicts when buses depart from the stopping point. Authors propose theoretical model for estimation of the bus delay at the stopping point on the base of traffic parameters. Use of the proposed model allows reducing amount of field surveys while grounding the decisions about rational variant of allocation of the bus stopping points. The paper describes some experimental results obtained with the use of the proposed model while field surveys at the most loaded streets in the central part of Kharkiv (Ukraine).


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