Categoría: News & Events

Opinion Pieces: Is there a simplified generic payment formula for bus contracts?

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
April 2010
 
The ongoing commitment to contracting the delivery of bus services through competitive tendering or negotiated performance-based contracts has been accompanied by as many contract payments schemes as there are contracts. With the accumulation of experiences throughout the world, are we in a position to identify a few key features of the diverse suite of payment formulae to establish a simplified and generic payment formula that can capture the great majority of ‘desirable’ characteristics from a social and a commercial perspective?
 
Talking with many operators and some regulators throughout Australia, there is support for a simplified payment formula; however what this might be is the big question, and the big challenge. What all agree with is the desire to reduce the number of variations that are inextricably tied in with voluminous documents penned by lawyers on what the deal is and is not. The administration and transactions costs are unnecessarily high for all parties. One operator has said to me that an average cost per kilometre is all we need, that sensibly allows for differences across operators that are either not under the control of the operator (e.g., traffic congestion), as well as local environmental restrictions.
 
Candidate options can be classified as: (i) A pure cost-based model associated with cost per kilometre and no incentives, (ii) A hybrid model based on patronage allocation and residual cost per kilometre without incentives, (iii) a pure cost-based model with incentives, and (iv) a hybrid model with incentives.
 
A pure cost-based model associated with cost per kilometre is typically a conversion of a total cost, and is determined by operating conditions and efficiency of scheduling. It is often calculated as a function of some key cost sources – operating conditions such as average peak speed, spread of service hours over each weekday and weekend, and vehicle utilisation*, dead running time, fleet financing (although this should be of relevance only under economic deregulation since the contract under competitive regulation should have agreed terms of depreciation, risk and economic life of assets), and scheduling efficiency issues such as layovers between trips, which are often influenced by the degree of union influence in scheduling, but it is likely to affect vehicle scheduling as well.
 
Patronage and service kilometre incentive payments also exist in a growing number of contracts, and are based on a range of approaches. In simple terms, the patronage incentive payment should be linked to growth in patronage above an agreed benchmark; and service kilometres must be related to some gain in patronage otherwise it is an inefficient cost driver.
 
One very appealing proposition is as follows:
 
1. The Authority would define the budget for the services, set minimum standards and a growth target. The minimum standards would be based on passengers per kilometre. Bidders or negotiators would have data on the current services and patronage. If it is a negotiated context then the incumbent is the same as the negotiating operator; if it is a competitive bid then that is not the case).
 
2. The offers would be in the form of required compensation per passenger. This amount would be indexed for both monetary changes (standard indices) and operating speed (based on average timetabled speed), spread of service hours and bus utilisation, given that these latter three context-specific influences not under the control of the operator are key drivers of the differences in gross cost per service kilometre.
 
I welcome suggestions from operators and regulators who must be asking similar questions, and hopefully have some clues as to what the answer(s) might be.
 
Food for thought
 
 
* Similar to the cost allocation formula used to use for costing contracts in Britain before competitive tendering, which allocated costs according to three variables – bus km, bus hours and peak vehicle requirement.
 
 
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Buses take off, but not everybody is on board

Source: The Wall Street Journal
 
One of the hottest trends in urban mass transit is—the bus.
 
Not your old-fashioned bus lines. Cities all over the world are switching to bus rapid transit, or BRT, a modern transit system that combines the flexibility of buses with the speed, comfort and reliability of rail.
 
With BRT, buses run frequently in exclusive lanes, offering local and express services. Small, technologically advanced stations take the place of the traditional bare-bones bus stop: Vending machines sell fares, slightly elevated platforms make boarding easier, and monitors wired into a Global Positioning System network tell waiting commuters exactly when the next bus will arrive.
 
Sixteen systems were completed world-wide last year, and 49 more are under construction. Cities in the U.S. and Australia have built BRT systems, but so far there is generally less demand in developed countries. Rather, the trend is most popular in the developing world—especially Asia and Latin America.
 
«BRT will be an important option for transit systems in the future, especially in cities where transit demand is high and budgets are tight,» says Walter Hook, executive director of the New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
 
The city considered to have the most successful, and first, BRT system is Curitiba, Brazil, with 2.26 million passengers a day and 45 miles of lanes. From three bus corridors in the late 1970s, the system has grown to six, all added in combination with zoning and land-use policies that promoted industrial and residential development.
 
In the U.S., adoption of BRT has been slow, in part because cars are so prevalent, and because commuters who use public transit have shown a preference for rail. But difficulties in funding new rail projects may make BRT more attractive in the future.
 
«There will be less dollars available from the federal government for rail, so we’ll see an increase in BRT,» says Dennis Hinebaugh, director of the National BRT Institute at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida, in Tampa. «You can build up to 10 BRT lines for the cost of one light-rail line.»
 
To date, five U.S. cities use BRT for parts of their public-transit systems. Los Angeles has a BRT system that comprises about 14 miles; Cleveland, seven miles; and Eugene, Ore., four miles. Eight to 10 other systems are under consideration, including routes in San Francisco and Chicago, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
 
But BRT critics say that just because the systems are successful in Latin America and Asia doesn’t mean they’re the best option in the U.S.
 
«Rail has a proven record of being able to take people out of their cars; buses don’t,» says Anthony Perl, professor and director of urban studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
 
Still, Mr. Perl says BRT could make sense in North America if it were implemented by converting lanes in existing roads to dedicated bus lanes. «I’m for taking road space and using it more efficiently, but not building roads,» he says. «If we talk about building, I think you might as well build rail.»
 
 
 
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Pune BRT: Recreating a vision

Source: ITDP
 
Pune, cultural capital of Maharashtra, has begun to develop a new, robust public transport system in the form of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The Pune metropolitan region is comprised of two municipal corporations—Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad—with a population of over five million. The twin cities face a daunting challenge: how to preserve sustainable and equitable mobility when hundreds of new cars and motorcycles are being registered in the city daily. According to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Environment Status Report 2009–2010, the city now has 473 private vehicles for every 1000 people, but only one bus for every 6,250 people!
 
Citizens and the administrations of the two municipal corporations have voiced concerns over the future mobility needs of the region and BRT systems are increasingly being recognized as a key solution. It is also essential to ensure safety for pedestrians and to provide dedicated lanes for cyclists, who compete for road space with a rapidly growing number of motor vehicles.
 
ITDP is advising and assisting the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in BRT planning and design. ITDP is also working with the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML), the municipal public transport agency, on the planning and structuring of public transport operations with an emphasis on BRT.
 
PCMC’s four BRT corridors, funded in part by the central government’s Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, measure a total of 50 km and will be built with median stations and high quality pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. Nearly 500 new buses with unique specifications are being procured for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
 
Today, PMPML has a fleet of 1,200 buses on a 1,900 km network, that carries over one million trips per day. The regular buses are subject to traffic delays, leading to irregular and infrequent schedules. There is a unique opportunity to restructure PMPML’s 331 existing bus routes to increase service frequencies on the busiest corridors while making the route network more legible for new customers.
 
 
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In Washington, exploring a sales tax for BRT funding

Source: The City Fix
 
Photo: C-Tran
 
The board of directors of C-Tran, the transit agency that serves Clark County in Vancouver, Wash., voted to add a ballot measure for a 0.1 percent sales tax increase to fund the proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) project, the Oregon Live reports. The ballot measure will be up for voting either in the upcoming August or November 2012 elections. However, it’s not clear who in Clark County will be able to vote on the measure.
 
“The three Vancouver city councilors on the board, however, blocked language that would require the vote include all voters in the C-Tran district, under threat of a block veto,” the article explains. “That leaves open the possibility that the agency could form a smaller subdistrict to vote on the measure and within which the tax would be collected.”
 
But Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt suggests pausing on the subdistrict idea until the district voters decide on core bus funding in the November vote. “We’ll have a better idea then of what kind of support we’re going to have in our community for public transit,” Leavitt said.
 
C-Tran’s BRT Project is still in its early planning and development stages. The project, known as “the Fourth Plain BRT,” is mainly an effort to improve economic development opportunities along the proposed corridor and connections to and from neighborhoods and job centers. The project is less about traffic congestion and more about addressing slow bus speeds, poorly managed passenger vehicle access, inadequate bike and pedestrian facilities, and economic revitalization, according to the project’s website.
 
The BRT proposal comes at a time when the C-Tran district projects a 30 percent to 40 percent population and employment increase in the corridor by 2030, which would also cause an increase in traffic in the next 20 years. Accordingly, the project forecasts an increase in transit ridership and transit run times, which ultimately would degrade transit performance and schedule.
 
Based on the projected statistics and the unique needs of Clark County, the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC) completed a two-year Clark County High Capacity Transit (HCT) System Study and recommended the BRT as a preferred solution to serve the transit needs of the county and connect its residents to nearby Portland, Oregon. The BRT was concluded as the best solution based on cost effectiveness, ridership and potential environmental impacts, the project’s website explains.
 
In an effort to further investigate the feasibility of the BRT, C-Tran hired Parsons Brinckerhoff, an international infrastructure development and operations firm, in a $1.5 million project to study and advise on alternatives leading up to the funding vote, Oregon Live reports.
 
“[Parsons Brinckerhoff] will meet with community groups to determine what a bus rapid transit line and the stations along it might look like,” the article says. “It will also study alternatives, including changes to existing bus service. The firm will also examine the potential environmental impacts of the project to ensure it meets federal and state regulations.”
 
Chuck Green, C-Tran’s BRT project manager, explains that the firm’s study could provide information on how to make traditional bus service more efficient, which would be worth the cost even if C-Tran chooses not to pursue the BRT.
 
The early estimates expect the BRT project to cost $2.1 million, of which 80 percent will be paid by a Federal Transit Administration grant. C-Tran will be responsible for the remainder of the cost.
 
 
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MyCiTi buses start rolling in Cape Town

Source: ITDP
 
The second week of May, Cape Town unveiled the first phase of the MyCiTi bus service, between Table View and the Civic Centre, on its Integrated Rapid Transit System. The new service is already transforming the way residents view buses. The bus is a salve to many who previously dealt with a complicated network of taxis, buses and rail. One passenger, whose commute was reduced to only 30 minutes, commented, “I used to sit in traffic for two hours…I’m falling in love with the bus already”.
 
City officials have also praised the system, saying that it will improve the city’s transport system and lessen traffic congestion. However, ANC Mayoral Candidate Tony Ehrenreich, would like to see more priority given to extending the service to the city’s poor, who travel from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain (the largest townships outside of Cape Town) on over-crowded trains and buses.
 

The launch follows lengthy negotiations with the local taxi operators, a similar situation that Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya experienced. A contract was finally signed on Sunday May 8, less than a day before the My CiTi launch. ITDP has played a critical role in the business and financial planning for the system.
 
 
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Bus Rapid Transit: State-of-the-art in performance and benefits

 
BRT short course at ITLS – University of Sydney
Date: Wednesday 29 June 2011 8.45am-12pm
Cost: Free (limited places)
 
 
BRT is delivering high quality public transport efficiently in cities around the world. How can Sydney benefit from this innovative form of public transport?
 
ITLS Visiting Professor John Nelson will present a half-day short course highlighting recent developments in BRT including state-of-the-art in performance and benefits.
 
Professor David Hensher will introduce the short course by showcasing our ALC-BRT Centre of Excellence development, of which ITLS is a partner.
 
 
Download full program here.
 
 
 
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Smartmatic signs deal for Bus Rapid Transit in Cartagena, Colombia worth US$370 million

Source: Green Technology World
 

Cartagena, the most important touristic and cultural district of Colombia, selected joint-venture partners Smartmatic and Dataprom, for the task of implementing and operating an automated fare collection and fleet management system for the new Integrated Mass Transportation System, targeted for a service life span of the next 18 years.
 
The financial, technology and management services which Smartmatic will supply to the transit authority Transcaribe will cover the city of Cartagena and surrounding municipalities. It will comprise a number of advanced systems, including a fare collection system based on the latest and most secure smart card payment technologies, a real-time fleet management and control system for public transportation buses, a passenger information system, and fare card vending machines, with access locations spread throughout the territory for the convenience of passengers. The system is expected to be operational in 2012.
 
«We are overly pleased at having been selected by the Colombian authorities to bring our contributions and expertise to their transportation system. It is Smartmatic’s commitment to keep working to help create the future smart cities, and also to create a better and farther-reaching quality of life,» stated Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic’s CEO.
 
According to Transcaribe, the adjudication was a result of a cmpetitive offer, after a highly demanding public bidding process. The winning consortium, led by Smartmatic, submitted the proposal with the best price and most sustainable solution, designed and adapted to the specific challenges presented by Cartagena, and thus received the highest score out of five bidders. The proposed price will translate into savings of more than US$30 million, which can be destined to health and other social investments, among other specific benefits.
 
Dataprom, a Brazilian company specializing in advanced transportation systems, has an impressive track record in transit systems in Brazil, including the world-renown implementation done in the city of Curitiba, which has become an international reference when it comes to modern, smart, and sustainable public transportation systems. Further, Smartmatic, a supplier of cutting-edge technological solutions, has ample experience in the development and implementation of high-volume transactional platforms and in the deployment of mission-critical projects having a significant social value for citizens. This partnership heralds a successful project, and a first-class automated transport system.
 
Cartagena is a relevant economic centre in the Caribbean, the most important touristic destination and cultural district of Colombia, as well as the country’s fifth largest city. The port, fortresses and monuments of the Colonial City have been declared by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. With the new BRT, both residents and visitors will benefit from an automation solution toward modern, efficient and safe public transportation.
 
About Smartmatic
 
Smartmatic is a multinational company that designs and deploys technological solutions aimed at helping governments fulfill, in the most efficient way, their commitments with their citizens. It is one of the largest cutting-edge technology suppliers, with a wide and proven experience in the United States, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Smartmatic’s competitive advantage lies in its cutting-edge technology and its experience in three key areas: Elections, Identity Management and Smart Cities (Public Transportation, Citizen Security, and Census).
 
About Dataprom
 
Dataprom Computer Equipment and Industrial Services is a company with 22 years of experience in the development and design of intelligent technology solutions, associated with the quality of life of citizens. Dataprom uses the latest technology in all production processes and operations, complying with its values and mission towards developing innovative products that meet the needs of its customers.
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: The most powerful instrument for decision making – people’s opinions

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
March 2010
 
For some time I have felt a need in Australia to have a regular survey of the opinions of residents of Australia in regards to transport. We have ongoing surveys of consumer sentiment (e.g., the Westpac survey), but no record of how society views developments or the lack thereof in the provision of transport infrastructure and services. ITLS decided to do something about this and in 2009 we developed a methodology, joined in partnership with Interfleet Technology and launched the quarterly survey on March 23rd. In time we can build an informative and influential profile of opinions every 3 months from a sample of residents throughout the country on transport matters that they have views on.
 
Transport Opinion Survey interviews are conducted by Taverner Research by telephone using trained interviewers. Telephone numbers and the household response are selected at random. The quarterly survey is based on 1,000 adults aged 18 years and over, across Australia. This survey was conducted over 13-28 February 2010. The data reflect Australia’s population distribution.
 
What did we find in the first quarter 2010?

• Over half of Australians (58%) say the highest priority issue for transport in Australia is public transport improvements, more than twice as many as road improvements (23%).
• Less than one in five Australians (19%) think transport in their local area has improved in the last year, with NSW residents the least positive.
• Only one in five Australians (20%) think transport in their local area will be better in one year’s time, with about half thinking it will be the same as now. Victorian residents are most confident transport in their local area will be better in one year’s time.
• A quarter of Australians (25%) think transport in Australia will be better in one year’s time than now, while slightly more (27%) think it will be worse. NSW residents are the least confident of any state, while South Australian residents are clearly the most confident about transport improving.
• Australians are more confident that transport in Australia will be better in 5 years than in 1 year, with almost half (46%) thinking transport in Australia will be better in 5 years. NSW residents are the least confident of any state.
• 53% of Australians think their state government is most responsible for transport with West Australian residents most likely to nominate their state government as responsible (60%), and South Australian residents least likely (43%). 27% of Australians nominate both the state and Australian federal governments and only 14% nominate the Australian federal government.
• 44% of Australians think the private sector should be more involved in the provision of public transport, while 29% think the private sector should be involved less. NSW residents were noticeably more positive than Victorian residents on private sector involvement in public transport.

 
Since the readers are public transport people you will be interested in the following graph.
 
What do you think is the highest priority issue for transport in Australia now?
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Food for thought
 
 
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Development-Oriented transit: Minimizing taxpayer investments, maximizing community value

Source: The City Fix by Mark Huppert
 
There is a lot of talk throughout the United States about transit-oriented development (TOD). The term describes the planning of private development around station areas for new transit system investments, a process that often involves some form of public-private partnership to achieve the goal of adding density of housing, jobs and services around station nodes. In some U.S. cities, TOD is fraught with complications due to the often conflicting goals of the transit agency, the local governing jurisdictions and private developers. For example, the Seattle transit agency Sound Transit is investing $16 billion in capital costs for a second phase of regional rail investments, but the level of density achieved in station areas is often lower than the market potential due to concerns of neighbors and lack of vision and leadership to fully address long-term regional growth trends and needs.
 

The Sound Transit LINK Light Rail at Othello Station in Seattle. Photo by Seattle Transit Blog.
 
The strategic error of conventional TOD is that the business model often completely neglects the importance of creating a built-in, long-term customer base for the taxpayers’ massive capital investment. Instead, project sponsors often cave to the pressure of a small minority of vocal individuals, rather than looking out for the good of the transit ballot community and the economy at large. The result of this surprisingly short-term focus for such massive, long-term public investments is an unrecoverable, lost economic opportunity. Communities spending billions of dollars in new rail investments are left with few ways to finance the non-transit infrastructure required to make the necessary new density at transit nodes livable.
 
Without enough customers, new measures will often fail, or perhaps even worse, the costs to taxpayers of the approved transit investments will skyrocket over time.
 
PUTTING DEVELOPMENT FIRST
 
In Hong Kong, where station-area planning has dominated the development landscape for more than three decades, the region’s public agencies and developers face the opposite of the lost opportunity problem. Driven by a much different land ownership scheme, where government owns nearly all land and sells development rights to private companies on a land-lease basis, the dominant concept is not transit-oriented development but development-oriented transit.
 
There is a lot of discussion about the development around rail stations in Hong Kong, as sky-high towers above dense retail podiums are springing up atop rail stations throughout the city. The intensity of use achieved through the development-oriented financing scheme appears to be the ultimate manifestation of good planning practices, but the outcome of these developments are seeing mixed reviews. The partnership typically works like this:

• Mass Transit Rail (MTR) Corporation, a privatized company since 2000, buys the land from the government via a bifurcated long-term lease consisting of an up-front capitalized lease payment and an ongoing percentage of revenue lease payment.
• MTR develops a rail station.
• MTR builds private commercial and residential towers above the station.

The towers above the rail stations house high-end shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, housing and more. Profit from these private developments offsets the capital cost of the station development. Therefore, the only expense left for the stations is the cost of day-to-day operations. It’s a financially sustainable transit option—practically unimaginable in North America. The relatively small ongoing costs, paired with the increase in rail customers served by the new stations, results in surprisingly cheap fares for rail users. The low cost to users is an added bonus to riders and a key to the system’s success.
 
URBAN “CATHEDRALS”
 
The primary measures of project success used by the transit agency and local government are the amount of agency revenues, in both the short and long run, that are received from the overall development activity (transit infrastructure + private development) and the number of system customers that can be accommodated in the new station area with supporting housing, jobs and services. The end result in the urbanized areas of Hong Kong is often huge, multi-story station podiums filled with retail and services, coupled with large towers of residential and commercial uses.
 
Architect Eugene H.K. Leung, who researched the podium developments as a graduate student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, calls the station nodes “the new cathedrals of the city” because they become centers around which development occurs and communities congregate. As the importance of these developments in the city’s urban fabric continues to grow, the controversy around them is magnified. These monolithic structures are extremely productive financially for the transit agency, the local government and the developers. However, more often than not, these mega-projects fail to meet the needs and goals of individuals who interface with the project at the pedestrian level.
 
According to Dr. Sujata Govada, a leader in Hong Kong’s urban design community, the block-style mega-developments — particularly those that swallow up existing portions of granular street grid — have been a major cause of the Hong Kong population’s awakening interest in planning and urban design. Activists in this realm range from academics like Leung, to industry professionals, to neighborhood concern groups. While that’s not unusual for U.S. cities, where public comment processes are often fundamental to land use (and “NIMBY-ism” is often a stubborn roadblock to innovative development and land use), it’s something of a breakthrough for Hong Kong, where opposition to development has historically been seen as opposition to progress and economic growth.
 
Stakeholders from various backgrounds are working to answer one fundamental question: how might two seemingly irreconcilable approaches to the same basic problem be resolved?
 
 
Photo: Union Square at Hong Kong MTR Kowloon Station, by jimbowen0306.
 
CUSTOMER-CENTRIC
 
The remedy might be as simple as re-framing the goals for these types of developments. In his master’s thesis, “Transportation Hub as the New Urban Center,” Leung proposes just such a solution. He suggests adding another metric to the conventional, financial success criteria of the development-oriented transit project: permeability of the public pedestrian zones at the station podium. Rather than having the podium act as a fortress against the surrounding neighborhood, as is the case at many of Hong Kong’s most urban stations, Mr. Leung’s solution creates a net to draw in people from the community surrounding the project.
 
Whatever the dominant framework for planning development around transit—whether it is the U.S. model or the model prevalent in Hong Kong—this emphasis on the internal and external customers of a development allows success to be realized by the greatest number of project stakeholders. A permeable design fortifies the fabric of the neighborhood as a whole, which fulfills an important function of TOD. Meanwhile, the economic opportunity to minimize the taxpayers’ share of the transit investment is still fully realized through maximizing the value of land development rights sold or leased to private parties within station areas. The ultimate outcome of this customer-centric approach to station area planning should be lasting sustainability for TOD investment financially, as well as socially.
 
 
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The 20 best and worst cities in the US for public transit

With gas prices rising and family budgets strained, more commuters are looking for efficient ways to get to work without a car. But are America’s transit networks up to the task? To find out, the Brookings Institution analyzed 100 metro areas in the U.S. to see which cities are getting it right and which aren’t.
 
Source: TIME
 
With gas prices rising and jobs still scarce, more commuters are looking for efficient ways to get to work without a car. But are America’s transit systems up to the task? To find out, the Brookings Institution looked at U.S. public transportation systems in the nation’s 100 largest metro areas and analyzed which cities were best at getting their residents to their workplaces in a timely and cost-effective manner. By researching coverage, service frequency and percent of total employed residents who can use public transportation, the report aimed to rank cities based on the most convenient overall commute. Take a look at the 20 cities with the best and worst job access via city transit systems — the number one metro area might surprise you.
 
 
Best Cities:

 
 
Worst Cities:

 
 
See the full Brookings report.
 
 
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Urban transport: A little less conversation, a little more action

Professor David Hensher, Director of ITLS, discusses transport priorities for New South Wales* (NSW) over breakfast in Sydney with 150 people – 16 May 2011
 
Source: ITLS News & Events
 
Over 150 people attended the Powered by Research Breakfast hosted by The University of Sydney Business School and held at Cockle Bay Wharf. For the recently elected NSW government, urban transport remains a priority challenge. At the breakfast forum ITLS Director, Professor David Hensher, presented his research on whether an increase in funding for public transport is the best way to see a significant improvement to traffic congestion. Professor Hensher noted that over 80% of trips in Sydney are currently made in motor vehicles and questioned whether significant modal changes will be made achieved unless the government addresses pricing the use of cars to reflect the cost they’re imposing through congestion. Professor Hensher emphasised the need for a commitment to networks and systems, the state of public transport, funding sources, special funding instruments, and the User Pays system.
 
Professor Hensher’s address was followed by a lively panel discussion with Paul Forward, Principal of Evans and Peck (former CEO of the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority), and Andrew West, Senior Journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald. The panel was chaired by Helen Dalley, best known as the presenter of Sunday, the Today Show and A Current Affair on the Nine network, and now the host of Sky News Sunday Business.
 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Download full video of event.
 
Download Professor Hensher’s presentation.
 
 
* New South Wales (abbreviated as NSW), is Australia’s most populous state, and is located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland, east of South Australia, west of Jervis Bay Territory and encompasses the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. Source: Wikipedia.
 
 
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Transit ridership up due to rising gas prices

Source: AltTransport by Joseph Cutrufo
 
It was only a matter of time: Transit agencies are reporting increased ridership in USA due to higher gas prices.
 
With the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded now at $3.98, motorists across the nation are switching to public transportation. We saw it in 2008, when the national average reached $4, and we’re seeing it all over again.
 
According to the American Public Transportation Association, $4 per gallon is the tipping point where people begin to drive less and use transit more – a lot more. If gas prices stay this high, we can expect an additional 670 billion transit trips made this year nationwide.
 
In Boston, transit ridership is up 5 percent overall, with 7 percent increases on rapid transit lines. Highway and airline traffic are also up, but this is mostly attributed to the recovering economy.
 
The Gold Line, a light rail line that connects Pasadena, CA to Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles, saw a 10 percent increase in ridership in March 2011 over March of 2010. Transit officials expect even higher ridership as the area’s 12 percent unemployment rate goes down and people head back to work.
 
It’s not just in big cities with subways and light rail where travel behavior is changing. In Wichita, KS, ridership is up 5 percent despite a recent $.25 fare increase. Wichita Transit expects even more new riders when the average gas price hits $4 a gallon there.
 
Ridership is up 4.7 percent in Wilkes-Barre, PA in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter of 2010. The Luzerne County Transit Authority secured a flat $2.56 per gallon price on diesel that will last through June, and they’re replacing older buses with diesel-electric hybrids in 2012.
 
In McAllen, TX, it’s not just gas prices but also flashy new lime green buses and cheap fares that transit officials are giving credit for increased ridership in 2011.
 
With all this increased ridership nationwide, let’s hope a transit-friendly transportation bill passes. It’s probably not a good idea to slash funding for public transportation when we have so little control over the cost of the alternative.
 
 
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Can the clean development mechanism bring Bogota's 'surface subway' to your city?

Source: E&E Publishing by Nathanial Gronewold
 
BOGOTA, Colombia — A 10-year public transit project here has fast become a model for developing cities the world over. But could it next be the model for a major expansion in international carbon offsetting efforts?
 
Fully operational from 2001, the TransMilenio service is famous as an ideal bus rapid transit system, an innovation that by some estimates is roughly 1,000 times cheaper than building a subway. The model is now being copied elsewhere in Latin America, Africa, Asia and even the United States.
 
Less well-known, TransMilenio was the first public transportation project in the world to win U.N.-approved greenhouse gas emissions offset credits. Developed in tandem with the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the methodology for counting the climate change-combating benefits of mass transit was designed with TransMilenio in mind. It is now being adopted by other municipalities eager to trade reduced carbon dioxide emissions for CDM cash.
 
Alone just a few years ago, TransMilenio is now one of six registered CDM transportation projects, with 36 more in the works. Advocates are hoping that hundreds more will follow, eager as they are to spread the benefits of carbon reductions, cleaner air and smoother commuting in rapidly expanding developing-world cities while simultaneously reducing the dominance of China, India and Brazil in the CDM.
 
But some say that the slow growth of transportation projects in the CDM shows why one of the best options for diversifying the geographic spread of these international carbon offsetting projects may fail to live up to expectations.
 
Daunting paperwork needs to be simplified
 
While some see transportation becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of the CDM, others knowledgeable of Bogota’s experience doubt that such projects will ever expand in number beyond the handful that exist today. The complexity of counting the avoided CO2 from reduced car trips, policed rigidly by U.N. regulators eager to avoid fraud or scandals, is too great for many city governments to bother, they say.
 
«If you don’t simplify the process, you will have large projects come for it, but they will be a minority of projects,» said Jürg Grütter of Grütter Consulting.
 
Grütter’s firm helped Bogota with its CDM application and is busy with other projects around the world. It aided with the second successful transportation applicant to the CDM, a bus rapid transit system in Guangzhou, China, and has team members in India, Brazil and Vietnam.
 
But in an interview, Grütter complained that the hurdles such projects have to go through to win the CDM credits, known as Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), are so numerous that they will never proliferate at the rate that the most optimistic proponents would like.
 
Aside from the difficulties of proving that projects need the CER income to be viable, the costs and complications from counting and tracking the cuts in CO2 levels attained make it likely that most developers will choose to stay away from the CDM, he and his team believe. Counting emissions reductions from thousands of tailpipes, it turns out, isn’t nearly as straightforward as dealing with a single source.
 
«When the public sector is involved, they are very fearful of this type of contract,» Grütter said. «It’s much more difficult to define the product and define the quality and to define what you are in fact contracting.»
 
The operators of the Bogota system themselves, however, are more optimistic that CDM administrators and public transit advocates can find the right balance. The reason, they say, is that every time they host a foreign delegation on a tour of TransMilenio, they are asked in detail how they managed to secure CDM financing for the project.
 
«That is one of the top presentations that we have,» said Arturo Fernando Rojas Rojas, deputy general manager of TransMilenio, in an interview.
 
Designated bus lanes unsnarl traffic
 
With more than 50 miles of designated bus lanes separated from the normal traffic flow, TransMilenio is still the largest bus rapid transit, or BRT, system in the world, though it’s modeled after a much older one in Curitiba, Brazil.
 
The concept is often called «surface subway» by its proponents.
 
Using streets freed from passenger vehicles, pre-boarding fare payment systems and transfer stations, bus rapid transit operates very similarly to a rail system but is much less expensive, relying largely on existing infrastructure. Transportation experts say it costs roughly $1 billion to build a mile of below-ground subway track in the United States, whereas costs for bus rapid transit are put close to $1 million per mile.
 
Commuters say that within the past decade, TransMilenio has managed to tame Bogota’s famously snarled city traffic, especially the notorious congestion on Caracas Avenue. A trip that once took an hour and a half is now estimated to last only 45 minutes using the buses. Green «feeder buses» deliver passengers to the main stations, where they can board the articulated red buses on the physically separated lanes.
 
To date, Rojas estimates that TransMilenio has earned his public firm about $2.63 million selling CERs, all on a contract with the government of the Netherlands. The money is but a small fraction of the cost of operations, but TransMilenio officials insist that it is money badly needed to finance sustainability efforts and environmental monitoring of their system.
 
Andres Jara, who runs the Bogota office of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), said the system has completely transformed his hometown. TransMilenio is now undertaking phase three of its 30-year expansion plan, which the city hopes will eventually include more than 200 miles of designated bus lanes and will incorporate all of the dozens of remaining independent bus operators into one centralized system.
 
Copycats look for CDM money
 
«The situation right now in developing countries and developing cities is that we have a lack of resources,» Jara said. «So what we showed with TransMilenio and BRT systems is that you can develop a strong transportation system with high quality, high efficiency, at a fraction of the cost.»
 
That lesson hasn’t gone unnoticed. Jara estimates that he has traveled to more than 100 countries in the past four years educating city planners on the BRT model, including China, where he aided Guangzhou’s efforts. The idea has since spread to South Africa, India and Indonesia, and new growth is expected in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and possibly Tanzania.
 
Like Rojas at TransMilenio, Jara says that all transit planners he has met with expressed interest in tapping the CDM. He says it’s a wise move and he can see transportation CDM projects booming in popularity in the years to come.
 
«It’s not a lot, but it’s an additional income that is always helpful, useful, if you want to make more research on how you can improve the operation,» Jara said.
 
The CDM offices in Bonn, Germany, usually require project developers to show that their efforts couldn’t happen without the benefit of the carbon offset credit sales. But that hard requirement, termed «additionality,» has been watered down over the years as developers complain it is too rigid and has stymied the spread of CDM projects to smaller developing nations.
 
TransMilenio SA officials admit that they don’t need the CER cash to survive. But experts point out that public transportation projects are rarely profitable and almost always rely on significant outside financing for support, a strong argument in favor of CDM support. And much of the cash goes back into the emissions monitoring regime demanded by Bonn regulators.
 
«There are difficult aspects that we have to bear in mind, and the money helps us to be more sustainable,» Rojas said. «We can in fact work without this extra income. However, this income is very important for us.»
 
The other potential benefits for cities looking to follow Bogota’s example are numerous.
 
Cuts in traffic, pollution and crime
 
By taking cars and dirtier buses off the road, the city estimates, TransMilenio has prevented more than 2 million tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. The city smog has been reduced, and health officials expect there will be fewer asthma-linked deaths. Residents even report that safety and security have greatly improved — robberies in traffic jams or on the city’s minibuses were common occurrences, so the city combats this with cameras in buses and stations and police patrols.
 
If future growth plans are rolled out as scheduled, Bogota officials expect further reductions in traffic, air pollution and crime, even as the city’s population expands and cars get cheaper. By 2030, TransMilenio officials say, 100 percent of Bogota’s public transit network will be theirs, cutting the number of total buses from 16,000 on the streets today to just 12,000.
 
And though he enjoys the CDM income today, Rojas admits that he’s worried about what may happen should nations fail to reach agreement on a new international climate change treaty and extend the life of the carbon offsetting system. The credits should continue to come in for another 10 years, as the European Union will still trade in CERs up to 2020, but beyond that, Rojas said, he will either have to seek out deals in the voluntary carbon market or come up with an alternative solution.
 
With the December 2012 Kyoto Protocol deadline looming, carbon offsetters will face pressure to get CDM projects registered as soon as possible. But Grütter says the cost and hassle involved in getting all the paperwork sorted out ahead of time will keep developing world public transportation projects from ever becoming as big a part of the CDM as he and others would like.
 
«If transport is to really play a larger role, you have to simplify the whole procedure quite a lot,» he said. «Very large cities with very large projects, they might go for it. But when you have a huge amount of intermediate cities, between half a million to 1 million, in developing countries, the project itself currently will be too small to warrant all these transaction costs.»
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: Plans, plans and action! Or is it a promise?

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
February 2010
 
February 2010 has been a month of new plans to ‘sort out’ Sydney’s ailing transport system. First we had the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) Transport Blueprint with an almost total emphasis on public transport (some have said it should have been a transport and land use plan and not a public transport plan!). Then we had the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Transport Plan (previously announced as a Blueprint but downscaled). In many ways the SMH blueprint has outshone the government’s plan (the latter printing 50 shiny copies which is also available online here).
 
Now that the dust has settled, what might we observe about the two plans? First we have to recognize that much of what is offered will not even be started until well after the government’s current term in office. However this is not unusual since major infrastructure takes time to put in place. However, given that what we now have is at least the 5th plan with little action (in line with the plan) over the last 10 years, and that many of the proposed projects have been lightly appraised in respect of impact on key objectives, such as reducing congestion, improving accessibility and delivering value for money, it is not unreasonable to ask about the chances of specific projects ever happening?
 
The most dramatic feature of the government’s plan is the scrapping of the Metro and the almost total focus on central business district (CBD) centric transport investment. This may prove to be a mistake given that it was meant to go out West to Westmead and was more than a CBD metro, and most importantly was designed to create competition and to break the stranglehold on Cityrail and union power in the delivery of rail services which have been anything but efficient and effective. So this is a win for Cityrail, the union and wasteful spending. What we now have is a promise for line duplication to the west and the north.
 
The $50.2bn metropolitan transport plan pledges $6.7bn for a new train service to outer northwest Sydney (the Hills district), with work to commence in 2017. But while the blueprint promises «quadruplication» of the rail line between Chatswood and St Leonards on Sydney’s north shore, it makes no commitment to extra capacity on the harbour crossing. Two new rail tunnels will be needed under the harbour, at an estimated cost of $3-4bn. I commented in the Australian recently that «If a quadrupling of the line is needed because there’s evidence to suggest demand will require it and it will remove a bottleneck, there’s going to have to be recognition of getting across the Harbour Bridge.» and “likely public opposition to any proposal to add an extra deck to the bridge would leave the government with no option apart from tunnelling.” «What we’ve got here is very high-level commitments to projects that were once on the books and were taken off, but are now back on for political reasons.» A weakness of the transport blueprint was its assumption future rail users would want to take trips in and out of the city rather than making «circumferential» journeys. «Why are we quadrupling the line there in the first place?» A spokesman for NSW Transport Minister David Campbell said that an additional harbour crossing would be considered in the future.
 
When and if the north-west rail link is recommenced as a project, it would be appropriate to revisit the options that were considered almost eight years ago. These include bus rapid transit in tunnels along the lines of the Brisbane system (and yes it can deliver the same capacity as a tunnelled railway for considerably lower cost, making it look like, smell like and act line a rail system).
 
Most importantly however, the continued failure to look at more efficient and fairer charging schemes for car usage (apart from a flat $30 registration increase for most car classes), denies the system of an opportunity to raise sizeable sums of money to put back into the overall transport system so car users and public transport users (and the freight sector) can all benefit. It remains a puzzle as to what certain politicians believe that ‘roads should be free’. Clearly this is sending a message that people put little value on saving travel time!
 
 
Food for thought
 
 
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Raising revenues through bus advertisements

Source: The City Fix by Itir Sonuparlak.
 
Photo by Willamor Media
 
The Charlotte-Area Transit System (CATS) signed a five-year, $2.6 million contract with Titan, a transit advertising company, to allow advertisements on its fleet of buses and light rail. The agreement gives Titan the exclusive right to sell and manage advertising on the city’s public transit vehicles. The contract will allow exterior and interior advertising for buses and exterior advertising on the CATS light rail system. In return for the exclusive right to prime transit real estate, Titan guaranteed a $5 million profit to CATS in a span of five years.
 
CATS removed advertisements from its public transit vehicles in 2000 because the project was not cost-effective. CATS Marketing and Communication Manager Olaf Kinard believes the project will be more successful this time around because of the growth in Charlotte’s transit system. According to WSOC-TV, an ABC-affiliated television station in Charlotte, CATS’s fleet of buses grew from 120 to 330 since 2000. The LYNX Blue Line, the region’s first light rail service, is also a fairly new addition to the region’s public transit system, having started service in 2007. Overall, CATS provides transport to 25 million people annually with 70 bus and light rail routes.
 
This is an especially lucrative time for companies to advertise in Charlotte since the 2012 Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held in the city’s Time Warner Cable Arena on September 3, 2012.
 
Charlotte is not alone in offering transit real estate for advertisements. New York City makes subway cars, buses, stations, panels on entryways to stations, and even the backs of metro cards available for advertisements, exposing these messages to millions of people who ride public transit every day.
 
But what do these advertisements mean to commuters? Kinard explains that the profits from this service can help cover costs, which could avoid an increase in fares. “It helps us manage our costs, especially with rising fuel prices,” he said in the interview with WSOC-TV.
 
 
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EMBARQ India conducts training workshop on bus operations

Putting learning into practice to improve mass transit.
 
Source: EMBARQ
 
EMBARQ India, in association with the Institute of Urban Transport (IUT), conducted a three-day training workshop on bus operations for 27 officials from transport organizations and municipal corporations in 23 cities across India.
 
The workshop was based on materials contained in Bus Karo, a guidebook on bus planning and operations developed by EMBARQ India. The workshop covered topics including the role of buses in sustainable urban transport systems, planning for bus operations, including demand estimation and routing, methods of bus priority, technology and vehicles for bus operations, and financial analysis. The attendees also participated in field exercises in the city of Panjim, Goa.
 
In addition to three EMBARQ India staff – Madhav Pai, Amit Bhatt and Ashwin Prabhu – the workshop also saw presentations by Kishore Nathani from the Urban Mass Transit Company and Manjiri Akalkotkar of the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology University (CEPT).
 
As part of the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), the Government of India provided 61 Indian cities with funding to procure more than 15,000 new buses. As a consequence of this program, city and state road transport projects have been undergoing a process of fleet expansion and renewal. Many cities without urban bus systems are planning to launch services with these new buses. Given the general lack of technical capacity in transport planning at the city and municipal government level, training in bus operations for transport officials is essential for developing high quality bus-based public transport systems.
 
The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) recently launched a large national capacity-building initiative in the field of urban transport. The Institute of Urban Transport (IUT), an undertaking of MoUD, is the nodal agency for implementing this initiative. This workshop was the first in a series planned by IUT in the coming year. EMBARQ India was invited to serve as the faculty for this workshop.
 
Funding for the workshop was provided by the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP), in partnership with Global Environment Facility (GEF) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: Going Dutch – listen to the future

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
January 2010
 
There is a slow but growing realization that the future of public transport depends on the future of road pricing related to vehicle use, with a portion of revenue raised to be earmarked to public transport as a way of obtaining stakeholder buy in. The Dutch government is leading the way – it plans to scrap the road tax as well as the purchase tax on all new cars when the system is introduced in 2011. The Minister of Transport says this will provide a fairer system which taxes vehicle use, rather than ownership. Indeed, the minister says that more than half of Dutch road users will actually pay less under the road user charging scheme. According to calculations by motoring organizations, only motorists who drive more than 18,000kms a year are likely to be worse off under the new scheme. Currently in Sydney Private cars average 12,500km per annum, Household business cars average15,000kms per annum, and company cars average 22,000kms per annum.
 
A first implementation takes place in The Netherlands by 2011 for truck traffic and as of 2012 to 2016 for passenger cars. The motor vehicle tax (MRB) and the purchase tax (BPM) will be replaced by a system whereby the motorist pays depending on location, time and environmental aspects. The Automotive Telematics On-board unit Platform ATOP from NXP makes it possible to introduce pay-as-you-drive. It is safe, simple and very cost effective: it really is possible!
 
The Dutch government has determined that the costs of operating the national road user charge will not exceed five per cent of the proceeds. On November 16 last year the Dutch Cabinet agreed to the km charge for cars: 3 euro cents/km in 2012 increasing to 7 euro cents in 2017, equivalent of A$0.05/km in 2012 (or 50c/litre) or A$750 per annum (15,000km), compared to current registration fees (typically in Aust. around $300-$400). The 3 Euro Cents per km will increase to 6.75 Euro cents per km in 2018. The 3 euro cents is an average but varies by class of vehicle based on energy efficiency (A,B, C…). Hybrid vehicles will pay approximately 0.5-1 Euro cents per km. In 2012, however as part of a phase in program, the new charging regime will apply to only 20% of cars (selected via a lottery), with 100% covered by 2018. The charge will be a flat rate per km per class up to 2018; however from 2018 a peak rate will start, but only in Amsterdam, with a lower base (non-peak) rate when the peak rate is introduced. The entire scheme is designated as revenue neutral. It is claimed that 58% of people in entire country will be better off with significant reductions in congestion.
 
We look with great interest to the Netherlands. Will Australia like what it sees? It will certainly be much fairer than the very unfair (inequitable) system we have in place.
 
 
Food for thought
 
 
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T-MAPPER website launched

Online database tracks actions to mitigate transport emissions.
 
Source: EMBARQ
 
EMBARQ and its partners are pleased to announce the launch of a new report and website, Transport Measures And Policies to Promote Emission Reductions (T-MAPPER), that provides information and data on national policies that help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.
 
The transport sector currently accounts for a fifth of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and transport energy-related CO2 emissions are predicted to increase by 1.7 percent per year from 2004 to 2030. A large proportion of these emissions take place outside of Europe, and the largest growth is anticipated in developing countries.
 
The European Commission (EC) commissioned the T-MAPPER study to better understand and support the actions being taken outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) to mitigate transport emissions.
 
The project team was led by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), with support from the Istituto di Studi per l’Integrazione dei Sistemi (ISIS), the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia), the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) and EMBARQ.
 
According to the website, the project aims to:

• Provide a comprehensive understanding of policies being enacted outside the EEA to reduce the climate impact of the transport sector, some of which could be transferred to EEA countries, and;
• Provide information on possible mechanisms to support the reduction, or avoidance, of increases in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from transport (in other areas of the world).

 
To learn more, download the full report, two-page summaries for each of the 20 countries currently included in the database, or the data spreadsheets. EMBARQ contributed information about transport emissions reduction policies in the United States, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil.
 
Transport and climate experts are encouraged to submit information about policies that help cut transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by filling out this simple online form.
 
 
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Event wrap-up: "Best Practices in Integrated Transport Systems and BRT in Latin America"

Inaugural conference in Guayaquil, Ecuador draws more than 150 participants
 
Source: EMBARQ
 

More than 150 representatives from cities across South America, Europe and Asia participated in the inaugural conference of Best Practices in Integrated Transport Systems and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Latin America, also known as Congreso SIBRT, on April 25-27 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
 
The four-day conference was hosted by the Latin American Association for Integrated Transport Systems and Bus Rapid Transit (SIBRT) and co-organized by Metrovía Foundation and EMBARQ, with the support of the Municipality of Guayaquil.
 
Senior representatives from Latin America’s most influential transit agencies shared experiences and best practices of integrated transport and BRT systems.
 
«Congreso SIBRT emphasized the benefits of developing sustainable transport systems in Latin America cities», said Fernando Paez, president of SIBRT. «It provided a space for cities to exchange goals and solutions to improve quality of life».
 
Paez underscored the importance of the SIBRT association, which is a strateg partner of our CoE, and for which EMBARQ serves as Technical Secretariat, for exchanging experiences and lessons learned among transit authorities, suppliers, traders, academics and citizens.
 
«It was a great opportunity to bring together representatives from cities that are different in terms of population and available resources,» said Daniel Marx Couto of BHTrans from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. «It is important for each one to know about all the different transport projects and to deploy those that best fit their city’s reality. This, surely, will help improve mass transit in Latin America.»
 
General Secretary of SIBRT Marcos Isfer, who is also the president of URBS in Curitiba, Brazil, shared similar sentiments: «It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to share successful experiences in implementing such transit systems, showing the managers of public transportation agencies that this is the solution of sustainable transport.»
 
Dr. Carlos Dora from the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized the importance of data collection and benchmarking. «If this group of representatives from public transport agencies makes assessments about improvements in quality of life and public health, before and after the implementation of these transport systems, they can change the perceptions of public policies in this sector,» he said.
 
Luis Gutierrez, EMBARQ’s Latin America Strategic Director and member of our CoE, stressed the relationship between transport and health: «The lecture by Dr. Carlos Dora prompted many comments and people showed interest in developing metrics for the impact of transportation projects on three dimensions of health: air pollution, accidents and lack of physical activity.»
 
Several members of our CoE assisted and made presentations during the event. Juan Carlos Muñoz presented the ALC-BRT Centre of Excellence and its members, describing also its vision, goals, objectives and the work we are doing and plan to do in the short and long term.
 
Dario Hidalgo described the Status of the BRT Industry, which is part of the CoE ALC-BRT Observatory. He summarizes it as follows: «We advanced a survey of BRT around the world that shows an impressive growth of this type of applications, specially on the last decade. The influence of the Latin American systems has worldwide impacts. BRT has proven to be low cost, rapid to implement, and with high performance and significant positive impacts. BRT is now present or is an aspiration of most cities. Despite the evident success, several systems in the developing world suffer problems resulting from poor planning, implementation and operation, due to financial, institutional and regulatory constraints. In particular, high occupancy levels, resulting from the need to cover capital and operational costs out of the user fare, is hampering the attractiveness and medium term sustainability of the bus systems.»
 
Toni Lindau made a presentation at the event on Mobility for Big Events: FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he described the challenges imposed to the city by these and other mega events occurring from 2011 to 2016 and the hundreds of km of BRS (Bus Rapid Services) and BRT systems that are under planning/implementation stages (for more information, read this interview to Toni).
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: Beyond the words – action is now increasingly more visible

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
December 2009
 
2009 was a watershed year with more State governments finally showing an increasing positive active commitment to public transport, as well as earlier initiatives starting to deliver tangible patronage growth outcomes. Whether we agree with the specific infrastructure and service propositions or not, there is now very tangible evidence that investment in improved public transport has begun. In Sydney we see planning well advanced on rail projects (e.g. The Metro in the CBD and out to Westmead, the South- West Rail link), and the roll out of 300 additional buses. In Victoria we see the high frequency Smartbus Route network grow to 198 kms.
 
The Bus Association of Victoria suggests that the success of bus patronage growth is attributable to frequency, span of hours, better network planning, and geographical coverage. We would not argue with this, but would also add capacity. We might also remind governments of all persuasions that within the limits of likely funding on public transport, achieving these four objectives will requires some careful thought on how much of the financial pie is available to serving the entire metropolitan network. We are seeing a risk associated with a focus on a few corridor specific projects that will leave little for the rest of the system.
 
The author, with Professor Corinne Mulley of ITLS-Sydney, and a PhD student at the University of Newcastle (UK) recently evaluated the impact of a high quality bus service known as Superoute (having some similarities to the SmartBus Routes in Melbourne), which can be delivered with relatively low amounts of financial investment. The ‘Superoute’ brand was designed and introduced to offer passengers high quality services across a number of the major corridors on local services within Tyne and Wear, to encourage greater use of public transport. Buses operating on a ‘Superoute’ offer higher frequencies than other routes, bus priority measures where appropriate to secure better punctuality, a high standard of shelters and information at stops, and modern vehicles including easy access for wheel chairs and prams. A total of 40 ‘Superoutes’ are operating across Tyne and Wear following their launch in 2002. Patronage on the ‘Superoutes’ is on an upward trajectory since the introduction of quality improvements, whilst the rest of the network continued to decline. On average there has been a 30 percent growth in patronage over each two year period.
 
These examples highlight the need for greater partnership between government and operator, as well as a rethink about how restrictive existing contracts are in encouraging any initiatives such as the one above. In particular we would suggest that there are greater opportunities for Local Government to engage much more with bus operators (beyond current activity which mainly relates to the provisions of roadside furniture such as bus shelters) in sharing financial inputs where State Governments are not involved, since relatively small investments in quality partnerships like the Superoute initiative in the UK (which was not funded by Central Government) can deliver strong transport benefits while taking pressure off of the road budget.
 
 
Food for thought
 
 
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Planning for the future of Indian cities

 
EMBARQ experts highlight importance of sustainable transport.
 
Source: EMBARQ
 
Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) and EMBARQ organized a half-day workshop on March 25 highlighting the importance of sustainable transport in Indian cities.
 
The workshop involved more than 50 senior goverment officials and delegates from the state of Chhattisgarh.
 
Dario Hidalgo presented on «Urban Transport: Problems and Perspectives» to share principles of sustainable transport from around the world. EMBARQ India’s Senior Transport Specialist Amit Bhatt gave a presentation exploring the possibility of extending a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the new city of Naya Raipur.
 
Naya Raipur, a greenfield city, is being planned as the new administrative capital of Chhattisgarh. Naya Raipur is planning a BRT system that would improve mobility for people living in the new developments of Naya Raipur, as well as the current capital city of Raipur.
 
EMBARQ is assisting NRDA in planning and designing the new city. Further meetings are planned with the Raipur Municipal Corportation and Raipur Development Authority.
 
Other workshop participants included:

• Mr. Rajesh Munat, Minister for Urban Development, Housing & Environment, Government of Chhattisgarh
• Mr. P. Joy Oommen, Chief Secretary, Government of Chhattisgarh
• Smt. Kiranmai Nayak, Mayor of Raipur
• Mr. Anil Baijal, former Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Goverment of Indi

 
The following it the presentation by Dario Hidalgo:
 

 
 
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OUT NOW: Updated and improved "Modelling Transport" 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons

 
«…a book which should be on the shelf of every theoretical modeller and practitioner…» (Euro Jnl of Transport and Infrastructure Research, Vol.2, No.2, 2002)
 
Authors: Juan de Dios Ortúzar, Luis G. Willumsen
 
Already the market leader in the field, Modelling Transport has become still more indispensible following a thorough and detailed update. Enhancements include two entirely new chapters on modelling for private sector projects and on activity–based modelling; a new section on dynamic assignment and micro–simulation; and sizeable updates to sections on disaggregate modelling and stated preference design and analysis. It also tackles topical issues such as valuation of externalities and the role of GPS in travel time surveys.
 
Providing unrivalled depth and breadth of coverage, each topic is approached as a modelling exercise with discussion of the roles of theory, data, model specification, estimation, validation and application. The authors present the state of the art and its practical application in a pedagogic manner, easily understandable to both students and practitioners.
 

• Follows on from the highly successful third edition universally acknowledged as the leading text on transport modelling techniques and applications.
• Includes two new chapters on modelling for private sector projects and activity based modeling, and numerous updates to existing chapters.
• Incorporates treatment of recent issues and concerns like risk analysis and the dynamic interaction between land use and transport.
• Provides comprehensive and rigorous information and guidance, enabling readers to make practical use of every available technique.
• Relates the topics to new external factors and technologies such as global warming, valuation of externalities and global positioning systems (GPS).

 
For more details, you can find the book on Amazon.
 
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: Towards a higher level of trust between operators and the regulator

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
November 2009
 
 
Legally binding Commercial Arms-Length Contracts will work better if there is greater trust in the partnership between operator and regulator
 
The 11th International Conference on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (Thredbo 11) was held in Delft, The Netherlands in late September (2009). A number of bus operators, consultants and regulators from Australia attended (including all the Executive Directors of the Bus and Coach Associations in New South Wales [NSW], Queensland and Victoria and the President of BIC). Over 4 days we discussed and debated developments in reform agendas throughout the world as well as updating experience with contract systems already in place. A number of very useful experiences and recommendations were tabled. Some of the most pertinent ideas and actions around the world that should be shared with Australia are summarized below. As NSW in particular begins its next round of contract negotiations in the next 12 months, it is timely to reflect on what we have learnt.
 
In terms of the experiences with the NSW contracts, research undertaken by the author has identified a very low degree of contract clarity in respect of ‘incentives to improve performance and grow patronage’, ‘contract renewal procedures’, and ‘ad hoc claims’. There was however a high level of contract clarity on ‘maintenance of accreditation currency’, ‘obligations regarding bus maintenance with the contract’, ‘agreements and obligations in respect of rights of operators in adjacent locations in joint service provision (integrated networks)’, and ‘payment procedures’. We also investigated how successful the bus operation has been under the contract in addressing (or resolving) issues that have arisen during this first contract period. We found that the most successful issues that have been resolved through communication are ‘contract renewal procedures’, ‘maintenance of accreditation currency’, ‘contract end procedures’, and ‘adherence to contract matrix’. The issues where success has been perceived as quite ineffective have been ‘depot upgrades and expansion’, ‘change events’, and ‘incentives to improve performance and grow patronage’. This evidence should be taken into account in the next round of negotiations. Overlaying all this evidence was a finding that where operators reported a higher level of trust between themselves and the regulator, there was greater communication and quicker resolution of issues, saving money and time.
 
Looking to other countries we find that:

1. Building and using Trust is not a vacuous construct but one with pre-conditions: Stakeholder Competence, Confidence, Consistency, Commitment, Common core objectives (The 5 C’s), Contract Clarity (before signing the contract), and Clarity of obligations once the contract is signed.

2. Evidence suggests that the greatest challenge in terms of ambiguity after a contract is signed is on the demand side with Service planning, Network design, and Marketing.

3. There is growing support for Gross Cost Contracts (GCC) which include strong and effective incentives and profit and loss sharing, mindful of budget constraints of Treasury. An example in Holland is Gross cost plus BIG incentives, with bonuses based on Satisfaction of passenger, Satisfaction of authority (with operator), and Growth in patronage. There is a shared benefit (25%) of extra passenger revenue, and a maximum bonus of 1 million Euros p.a. (approx 4-5% of turnover). There is also a recognition of a sensible budget constraint (crucial issue often neglected – which helps Treasury).

4. In Holland however, there is a strong interest in revenue-based contracts with budget subsidy incentives, although it is too early to decide their effectiveness.

5. Net cost contracts have come under criticism in Europe. The problem for the authority is managing evidence on revenue, and operators not reinvesting super profits back. As well, operators often have little or no risk over fares, network and actual potential market.

6. Up-skilling of all stakeholders but especially regulator/PT authority is crucial in building trust.
 
Finally a crucial challenge that regulators should recognise and advise on is ‘how much of patronage growth can be attributed to the specific contract design, and how much is due to other factors?’
 
 
Food for thought
 
 
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New videos of our projects!

We uploaded some new videos of our current projects to our YouTube Channel. We hope you enjoy them!
 
These are the topics:
 
Development of a Framework to Measure and Model the Performance of BRT Systems ITLS
David A. Hensher
Corinne Mulley
John Stanley
Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies – The University of Sydney
 
Implementing BRT: Controversies, Alliances and Emergent Actors pt1
Implementing BRT: Controversies, Alliances and Emergent Actors pt2
Claudia Gutierrez (PUC)
Manuel Tironi (PUC)
Onésimo Flores (MIT)
Chrispher Zegras (MIT)
 
Assessment of Needs in Training and Educational Gaps
Rosário Macário
José Viegas
Instituto Superior Técnico – Universidade Técnica de Lisboa
 
Exploring the Complexity of Policy Design
Rosário Macário
José Viegas
Instituto Superior Técnico – Universidade Técnica de Lisboa
 
 
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New video: Guangzhou’s Bus Rapid Transit system

Source: The City Fix and Streetfilms.
 

 
 
Streetfilms, in collaboration with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), recently released a video highlighting Guangzhou, China’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Guangzhou’s BRT system won the 2011 Sustainable Transport Award for making great strides in increasing mobility, reducing greenhouse emissions and air pollution, and improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
 
The 23-kilometer (14.3-mile) corridor is the first BRT in China that integrates bicycles in its design. According to Karl Fjellstrom, vice-director at ITDP, there are 5,000 bikes and 5,500 parking docks included in the BRT.
 
“What the Guangzhou BRT has done is to raise the bar,” Fjellstrom says. “So this is more than three times bigger than any other BRT system in Asia, 800,000 passengers a day and 27,000 passengers per hour carried in a single direction.”
 
The most significant improvement in the views of the citizens has been the decrease in travel time. Distances that once took 40 minutes to an hour have now been reduced to 10-20 minutes thanks to the multi-modal integrated BRT.
 
You can learn more about Guangzhou’s BRT by visiting their website.
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: Talking about road pricing

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
October 2009
 
The Bureaucrats are at Least Talking about Road Pricing, but can Federal Talk translate to State action UNLESS there is a sting in tail?
 
It is very pleasing to see the Head of Treasury in Canberra promoting road pricing reform as a headline in his tax reform agenda. Ken Henry said that “There would be few areas in economics [road pricing reform] where such a clear and rational set of policy directions have so consistently lagged in practice.”
 
It is well known that, most of the time, cars impose minimal costs on other road users. However, in major cities we experience significant congestion during extended peaks, seven days a week, when each vehicle imposes costs on other drivers and does not contribute to the cost of so doing. This results in a… “predictable ‘tragedy of the commons’ estimated to waste around $9 billion a year in avoidable congestion costs, increasing to around $20 billion by 2020. Such costs will only increase with faster population and economic growth.”
 
Ken Henry makes an admirable stance “In the face of these [congestion] costs, why have we stuck to the traditional ‘fuel tax and rego’ model for roads, when sensible pricing seems to offer such large benefits? The Federal government likes its fuel tax, and the State govt likes its vehicle registration charges.
 
While it is pleasing to see a senior Bureaucrat talking about Road Pricing, one wonders how Federal Talk is likely to translate into State action UNLESS there is a sting in the tail? The concern that needs addressing is that a congestion charge is very likely to be collected by State governments and not Canberra, and so one wonders what incentives have to be put in place for any suggestions from Canberra to be actually taken seriously by the States.
 
The Premier of NSW Nathan Rees (Front page Sydney Morning Herald Sat 1 Nov 2008) soon after his appointment said: “…there should be a public debate about whether or not congestion charging should be introduced for the CBD” AND”.. he wants cashless tolls on all of Sydney’s major roads so motorists pay varying fees at different times of the day – an effective congestion tax to cut peak-hour traffic.” This is encouraging. However we have a climate where the NSW government has announced its intention to remove the toll from a major tollroad next February. Hence one wonders about the preparedness to consider much more sensible efficient and fair pricing regimes. It is apparent that at least one State government believes that roads should be ‘free’, and that they are hence committed to paying with time and frustration, rather than with money. Feel free to oppose it, but do not complain about the traffic. Opposing efficient pricing means you are choosing to endure continual congestion problems.
 
Food for thought
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: The new era of zero emissions is in sight – good news for public transport? Maybe

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
September 2009
 
There is a growing swell of opinion that the energy sources that has the current highest probability of replacing fossil-fuels is electricity via ‘replacement advanced battery technology’. For those in the know, there is a lot happening in the development of vehicles driven on battery-power accompanied by a network of battery replacement stations (much like petrol stations).
 
It was announced on October 23, 2008 that Australia will become the third country in the world to have an electric car network (up by 2011) in a bid to run the country’s 15 million cars on batteries powered by green energy. The international company Better Place (head office Canada) has teamed up with AGL Energy and Macquarie Capital Group to set up a network of «charging spots» and «battery exchange stations» to power electric vehicles in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The electric car networks, as they are called, allow zero emission vehicles to run on clean energy grids in order to reduce the dependence on oil. As we all know, but often fail to remember, there may be a shortage of oil but there is no shortage of energy.
 
Denmark and Israel have already begun to lead the way on this initiative by moving to establish the world’s first electric car networks. Under the plan, charging spots, to top up batteries, are being located in places where cars park, such as home garages, shopping centres and office carparks. The charging spots, which would look like parking meters, provide cables to connect batteries to a green energy grid. AGL Energy provides the power from renewable sources including hydro and wind. On the urban fringe and on freeways, «battery switching stations» would exist for trips longer than 161 kilometres. A driver would enter a switching station (much like they do toady with filling up the fuel tank at a petrol station), and replace the car’s battery before continuing on their journey.
 
Most notably, the advanced battery technology which looks very much like a flat disc will be slid into the undercarriage of a car and as a new battery is able to deliver power for up to 160 kilometres, which is plenty spacing between existing petrol stations which will become battery switching stations. As one approaches the battery switching station, one enters a facility that in a maximum of 40 seconds (once one is out of the queue), the flat battery is attached to the ground unit, slid out and a new battery placed in the undercarriage and away you go (after paying naturally! using electronic equipment much like an ETAG for a toll road). Battery technology at present has a maximum of 160 kms before recharge (or switching), and this deteriorates over time. After a number of recharges the batteries being switched in the long distance interurban context loose power and can be relocated to other switching stations in metropolitan areas where the kilometres between switching and hence recharge are less. There will come a point in time after a number of recharges where the battery will no longer be of use (much like batteries in mobile phones).
 
It has been estimated that the operating costs of these vehicles will be as low as 3c/km, in comparison to 12c/km for petrol-powered vehicles. With less moving parts the maintenance costs will also be lower. We are told that such vehicle swill cost around $20,000 to purchase. This all sounds too good to be true! But it is happening and Canberra has started the process.
 
Although the focus is on cars initially, the evidence, if realised, will send a message about the carbon footprint of cars and (which should almost disappear – even allowing for the sourcing of battery technology and its power), and provide encouragement for the entire bus industry to move this way where it will be much easier to implement the battery switching network.
 
There must be a downside surely? Well if we fail to rethink the whole charging regime for car use, we will end up with much greater car use and hence traffic congestion in the big cities. In the rural and regional areas the lower cost of fuel and vehicle prices should mean that some who are disadvantaged but can drive will be better placed to buy a car. Hence it the cities this may signal greater urgency in introducing variable user charging where you pay per kilometer, so that we can properly reflect the cost of lost time, something I have explained in detail in previous opinion pieces. The bus industry can both benefit through lower operating and maintenance costs but also worry about the possible increase in costs due to traffic congestion and the move away from buses in favour of low cost energy-efficient zero carbon footprint cars.
 
Food for thought
 
 
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Buenos Aires Bus Rapid Transit line takes shape

Source: ITDP
Photo: Lope de Vega Station
 
Buenos Aires residents are counting down the days until the first Bus Rapid Transit line in Buenos Aires, indeed in all of Argentina, opens for business. ITDP has provided technical assistance to the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and served as the leader of a team of experts.
 
The first line was originally slated to open in 2010 but the system planners wanted to construct additional infrastructure to prevent flooding in case of major storms. The system now appears to be on schedule for May 2011. Stations and dedicated running ways are rising along the 12 km corridor, that will connect opposite ends of the city, linking two major train stations and two subway lines.
 
The fully accessible, 21 station system is expected to cut travel time by 40%, providing a faster, smoother and more comfortable ride for the anticipated 100,000 daily users.
 
As opening day for Line One draws closer, ITDP continues to work as part of a group, which includes LOGIT, GSD+ and IRV and is financed by the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), on data collection and planning for lines two and three.
 
Learn more about Metrobus in Buenos Aires.
 
 
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Bogotá's rise and fall

Can Enrique Peñalosa restore a tarnished municipal model?
 
Source: The Economist
 
The bright-red articulated buses of Bogotá’s TransMilenio, with their dedicated lanes and station-style stops, were once the symbol of a city that had been transformed from chaos and corruption in the 1980s into a model of enlightened management admired and imitated across Latin America. Today the chaos and corruption seem to be back. The TransMilenio buses are horribly overcrowded even at off-peak times, attracting muggers and pickpockets. Though murder rates continue to slide, only 20% of those asked in a poll in September said they felt safe in their city and 27% said they had been victims of crime in the previous year. Road-building at more than 200 separate points across the city of 7.4m people is choking traffic. Things will get worse in May when work starts on Carrera Septima, one of the main arteries.
 
Bogotanos blame this backward slide on their mayor, Samuel Moreno, a populist from the left-wing Democratic Pole party. In a poll last month by Gallup, 85% of respondents disapproved of his administration. Contractors claim that the mayor and his brother, a senator who resigned this month from the Democratic Pole, have demanded kickbacks for public works. “Lies, lies, lies,” says the mayor. The government’s independent inspector-general has begun an investigation all the same. The inspector has already forced the sacking of the city’s comptroller, Miguel Angel Moralesrussi, and banned him from public office for 20 years.
 
Whatever the outcome of the inquiries, the city is due to elect a new mayor in October. The candidate comfortably leading the Gallup poll is Enrique Peñalosa (with 39%). As mayor from 1998 to 2001, he did much to change the face of Bogotá. As well as TransMilenio, he built more than 200km of cycle paths, a network of public libraries and got private schools to run new public schools in the poorer south of the city.
 
But Mr Peñalosa, who was once talked of as a future president of Colombia, is better at urban management than at politics. Mr Moreno beat him easily in 2007 by promising to start building a metro—a pledge which he has yet to keep. Mr Peñalosa, ever the technocrat, pointed out in vain that TransMilenio offered much better value for money.
 
Can he win this time? His political alliances are wide but potentially contradictory. He is standing for the Green Party, co-led by another former mayor, Antanas Mockus. But Mr Peñalosa also enjoys the backing of Álvaro Uribe, Colombia’s conservative president between 2002 and 2010. Mr Mockus unsuccessfully ran for president last year against Juan Manuel Santos, the man whom Mr Uribe eventually backed as his successor. Mr Uribe is anathema to many of the Green Party’s leftish rank and file. Several prominent members have defected; others have tweeted their disgust. Many in the U Party of Mr Uribe and Mr Santos are not happy either, arguing that they should field their own candidate.
 
Mr Peñalosa doubtless hopes that the voters will be less sectarian than the activists, and that above all they want their city to be run well. But he is taking no chances. “Having several metro lines would be extraordinary,” he said recently. Extraordinarily expensive, he might add.
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: I tolled you so!

Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns.
 
August 2009
 
Have you ever stopped to think about how much people spend each year on tolls, compared with petrol, in using their cars in cities where there is an extensive and growing tolled road network? Let’s look at Sydney (see the Figure below).
 
It is generally assumed that the average kilometres that a car is driven per annum (privately and company registered vehicles) is 15,000 kms. Given the current average retail price of unleaded petrol of around $1.25 (accounting for premium unleaded in the mix), and an average fuel efficiency of say 9 litres per 100kms, then the average fuel bill per annum is $1,687. Depending on where one lives in Sydney, as well as where one visits (including the work location), tolls paid per annum can be as high as $4,400 per annum for someone living in the Hills district, working in the CBD and using the M2/Lane Cove Tunnel/Harbour Bridge each day of the week for 45 weeks per annum. If you choose to avoid Lane Cove Tunnel, the annual toll impost is $3,100 per annum. Tolls in Sydney for those regularly using tollroads from the Hills district put the price of fuel in perspective!
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Figure: The network of Sydney’s Toll roads
Note: Metroad is the non-tolled metropolitan freeway network
Source: NRMA
 

 
 
Of course, not everyone uses toll roads, and indeed the 38 kilometres of tollroads do not cover all trip contexts. Indeed 18 percent of all residents in Sydney regularly use tollroads, and from the Hills District we are talking about over 80,000 trips each way per day where tolls are paid, the equivalent of approximately $125m per annum. This is equivalent to approximately $3,300 per car per annum.
 
The fact that tollroads are getting expensive for many trip situations around the Sydney metropolitan area, should raise questions about how long people will be willing to pay increasingly high tolls? The answer must lie in part with the travel time savings offered and the service levels of alternative modes of transport. It is interesting to note that 9 of the top 10 roads with the slowest speeds in Sydney in the peak periods are toll roads (the worst road in Sydney being a free road – Victoria Road). With buses benefitting by a dedicated lane on a number of the tollroads, and which are often seen speeding past the crawling car traffic, the elements of a clear message that bus services can do a better job than the car is starting to emerge. What also is emerging, however, is the apparent patience of many commuters who would still sit in their air conditioned/heated car, especially in the cooler months, without coughing commuters on buses and trains, and having to stand for quite a high percentage of the journey. Clearly we are prepared to pay
a lot for getting a seat, which is guaranteed with car use but not for bus and train (and appears to be getting worse for train in particular).
 
Food for thought
 
 
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