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- Report n°6: Urban Public Transport
Report n°6: Urban Public Transport
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Table of contents
- Measuring exclusive right-of-way efficacy
- The influence or ERW in the use of public transport
- Measuring exclusive right-of-way efficacy
The influence of ERW in the use of public transport
Nowhere in France, and not for a long time, have such clear results appeared. UPT/ERWs, and more particularly one single highly structuring line, lead to increases in all the indicators, including when increased service is taken into account. In Nantes, when the first tram line was put into service, the number of journeys per inhabitant increased by over 33%, but the journeys/km travelled followed the same trend. In the other towns, the progression in the number of journeys was also higher than the progression of kilometres travelled. If this data is compared to the average recorded by towns of comparable size which have not invested in tram-based UPT/ERW, the results are spectacular. The ratio of journeys to inhabitant has dropped elsewhere by 9% in the 1984-1989 time interval, when Nantes and Grenoble were inaugurating their tram lines. The ratio regressed by 1% between 1993-2002 (inauguration in Strasbourg and Rouen) and it increased by under 4% between 1999-2002, when Montpellier and Orleans were putting their tram lines into service. Results are identical if journeys are referred to kilometres travelled: while Rouen and Strasbourg, for example, were registering progressions of 12.5% and 15%, the average for towns without UPT/ERW was -25%.
Figure 2 : evolution of the journeys/km travelled ratio in the tram-based UPT/ERW networks
The above figure shows the evolution in indices of the journeys/kilometres travelled ratio for vehicles, beginning 5 years before entry into service of the tram-based UPT/ERW and ending 5 years after its entry into service. On the graph, the year of entry into service is the 6th year for all networks. The first tram lines in Nantes and Grenoble were put into service in 1985 and 1987 respectively; in Strasbourg and Rouen, they were inaugurated in 1994; in Montpellier and Orléans, this was in 2000. In all cases and at whatever time, the tram-based UPT/ERW has revitalised the use of public transport or stopped its decline. Two years before entry into service, the indices for the six networks stood at a figure between 84 and 115. Two years later, the figures are 111 to 127.
The impact on staff efficiency, measured simply by the number of kilometres travelled by agents, and more specifically vehicle crews, is also significant. In Nantes, the first tram line has a service speed of 22 km/h, to be compared with 15 km/h for the network as a whole. By reorganising the lines, the number of kilometres per agent per year which was 13,500 in 1985 was raised to 14,500 in 1987. This sharp hike in one single year compensates for six to seven years of slow decay.
To these internal effects, directly connected to the public transport sector and affecting both users and operators, can be added effects which can be viewed as external, some of them with a loose connection to mobility and others with no direct connection. There are four main types of impact: on the market share of private cars, on housing, on the city centre activity, commercial activities particularly, and finally an effect which is less frequently quoted but is absolutely essential to a sustainable development policy, assisting "territorial integration" for the social groups composing the urban population.
This subject will introduce the chapter on the recognition of external effects of UPT/ERW.
