Topic 6 Urban

Transportation

A.
B.
C.
D.

Transportation and Urban

Form
Urban Land Use and
Transportation
Urban Mobility
Urban Transport Problems

Shruthi Thakkar

1. Urban Movements

Land use

Specific movements are linked to specific urban

activities and their land use.
Involves the generation and attraction of an
explicit array of movements.
Factors:

Recurrence, income, urban form, spatial

accumulation, level of development and technology.

Urban movements

Obligatory: linked to scheduled activities (such as

home-to-work movements)
Voluntary: free to decide of their scheduling (such
as leisure).

Main Purposes of Urban Trips

3%
20%

15%

49%

5%
3%
5%

Work
Shopping
School
Business (Work)
Business (Personnal)
Home
Other

Typical Urban Day Trips by

Modes, Origins and Destinations
Shopping mall

2:30 AM
Return

8:30 PM
Drive alone

7:00 AM
Garbage
pickup

10:45 PM
Return

1:30 AM
Delivery

7:00 PM
Drive alone

Restaurant
5:30 PM
Drive alone

Home

Passengers
Freight

10:30 PM
Delivery

1:30 PM
Walk

Work
8:00 AM
Carpool

School
(drop off child)

12:30 PM
Walk

8:15 AM
Drive alone

10:05 AM
Parcel
Pickup

10:00 AM
Parcel
Drop off

Urban Transit

Context

Dominantly an urban transportation mode.

The great majority of transit trips are taking place in large cities.
Conditions fundamental to the efficiency of transit systems:

Shared public service:

High density and high mobility demands over short distances.

Benefits from economies of agglomeration related to high
densities.
Economies of scale related to high mobility demands.

Transit systems

Many types of services established to answer mobility needs.

Variety of transit systems around the world.

Private Vehicle and Public

Transport Market Share,
1990/91 American Cities
European Cities

100.0%

Private Vehicle Market Share

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%

Asian Cities

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%
0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

Public Transport Market Share

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Urban Transit

Metro system

Bus system

Heavy rail system, often underground in central areas, with fixed

routes, services and stations.
Uniform frequency of services (peak hours increase).
Fares are commonly access driven and constant.
Scheduled fixed routes and stops serviced by motorized multiple
passengers vehicles (45 - 80 passengers).
Services are often synchronized with other heavy systems (feeders).
Express services (notably during peak hours).

Transit rail system

Fixed rail (tram rail system and commuter rail system)

Frequency of services strongly linked with peak hours.
Traffic tends to be imbalanced.
Separate fares and proportional to distance or service zones.

Largest Subway Systems in the

World by Annual Ridership and
Metropolitan Population, 2000
Subway Ridership (billions)
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

Sao Paulo
London
Hong Kong
Osaka

Population
Ridership

Paris
New York City
Seoul
Mexico City
Tokyo
Moscow
0

10

15

20

25

30

Metropolitan Population (millions)

2. Urban Transit

Shuttle system

Privately (dominantly) owned using small buses or vans.

Routes and frequencies tend to be fixed (can be adapted).
Service numerous specific functions:

Expanding mobility along a corridor during peak hour.

Linking a specific activity center (shopping mall, university
campus, industrial zone, hotel, etc.).
Servicing the elderly or people with disabilities.

Paratransit system

Flexible and privately owned demand-response system:

Minibuses, vans or shared taxis.

Commonly servicing peripheral and low density zones.

Door-to-door service, less loading and unloading time, less stops

and more maneuverability in traffic.

2. Urban Transit

Taxi system

Privately owned cars or small vans offering an on-call,

individual demand-response system.
Fares:

Commonly a function of a metered distance/time.

Can be negotiated.
When competition is not permitted, fares are set up by
regulations.

No fixed routes:

Servicing an area where a taxi company has the right

(permit) to pickup customers.
Rights are issued by a municipality.
Several companies may be allowed to compete on the
same territory.

Components of an Urban
Transit System
X

X
X

X
X

X
X

X
X

Metro station

Transit rail station

Bus stop
X

Transfer

Express stop

Shuttle stop

Paratransit Taxi service

boundary

D Urban Transport Problems

1.

Geographical Challenges Facing Urban

Transportation
2. Automobile Dependency
3. Congestion

1. Geographical Challenges
Facing Urban Transportation

Context

Most important transport problems often related to

urban areas.
Urban productivity:

Growing complexity of cities:

Dependent on the efficiency of its transport system.

Move labor, consumers and freight between several
origins and destinations.
Accompanied by a wide array of urban transportation
problems.

Some problems are ancient like congestion (Rome).

Others are new like environmental impacts:

Notably CO2 emissions linked with the diffusion of the

internal combustion engine.

1. Geographical Challenges
Facing Urban Transportation
Traffic

congestion and parking difficulties.

Public transport crowding and off-peak
inadequacy.
Difficulties for pedestrians.
Environmental impacts and energy
consumption.
Accidents and safety.
Land consumption.
Freight distribution.

2. Automobile Dependency

Causes

Advantages of automobile use:

Factors of growth:

Performance, comfort, status, speed, and convenience.

Illustrate why car ownership continues to grow worldwide.
Sustained economic growth (increase in revenue and quality of
life).
Complex individual urban movement patterns.
Peripheral urban growth.

Factors of dependency

Underpricing and consumer choices:

Most road infrastructures are subsidized (considered a public

service).
Drivers do not bear the full cost of car usage.
Car ownership is a symbol of status
Single home ownership.

2. Automobile Dependency

Planning and investment practices:

Aims

towards improving road and parking

facilities in an ongoing attempt to avoid
congestion.
Transportation alternatives tend to be
disregarded.
In many cases, zoning regulations impose
minimum standards of road and parking
services and de facto impose a regulated car
dependency.

3. Congestion

Congestion

Occurs when transport demand exceeds

transport supply in a specific section of the
transport system.
Each vehicle impairs the mobility of others.
Types:
Recurring congestion (specific times of the day
and on specific segments of the transport
system).
Random events (accidents and weather
conditions).

Recurring Congestion
10
9
8
7

Traffic
Congestion
Capacity

6
5

3
2
1
0
-1

Unused Capacity

-2

-3

3
2

-4
-5

-6

-7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

The Vicious Circle of

Congestion
Congestion
The number of
movements
increases

The average
length of
movements
increases

Public pressures
to increase
capacity

New
capacity
Urban sprawl is
favored

Movements are
more easy

3. Congestion

Ramp metering

Traffic signal synchronization

Making sure that vehicles involved in accidents or mechanical

failures are removed as quickly as possible from the road.

HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes

Tuning the traffic signals to the time and direction of traffic flows.

Incident management

Controlling access to a congested highway by letting

automobiles in one at a time instead of in groups.

Vehicles with 2 or more passengers (buses, vans, carpool, etc.)

have exclusive access to a less congested lane.

Public transit

Offering alternatives to driving.