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- Report n°6: Urban Public Transport
Report n°6: Urban Public Transport
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Table of contents
- Overview of external effects of UPT/ERW systems
- What role for the UPT/ERW in the changes occurring on urban space?
- Overview of external effects of UPT/ERW systems
What role for the UPT/ERW in the changes occurring on urban space?
In both Rouen and Strasbourg, the evolution of journeys accomplished by city dwellers going to the city centre, by public transport in general and by tram in particular, was recorded. In Strasbourg, the situation was different because of severe restrictions governing access to the city centre by private car. Shopkeepers were afraid that difficulty accessing the centre would give an advantage to supermarkets on the outskirts. In fact, this was not the case at all: three years after entry into service of the first tramline, journeys to the city centre have progressed significantly. Between the two surveys in 1988 and 1997, the tram having entered into service in 1994, journeys to the city centre for shopping increased by 20%.
In Rouen, the stop giving direct access to the shopping centre was only opened for users some two years after the tram began to run, so that its effect on the inhabitants could be measured, although there is no way of knowing in what proportion it contributed to increasing trips to the city centre or as an alternative to private cars for accessing that city centre.
Numbers of people entering the two tram stations on the line going to the shopping centre produced the following breakdown: before opening the station closest to the pedestrian area, there were some 7,000 entries per weekday in that station. When the new station was opened, about 900 people transferred from the old stop to the new one and traffic increased by over 3,300 passengers, i.e. a 48% rise. On Saturdays, when people shop and stroll around at leisure, but when non commercial activities are at a standstill, those stations register 7,800 entries instead of 5,300, i.e. a 46% rise.
Table 4. Entries in stations serving the Rouen shopping centre on weekdays
Stations serving the downtown shopping centre |
January 1997 Weekday |
January 1998 Weekday |
January 2002 Weekday |
| Théâtre des Arts | 6,99 | 6,11 | 6,42 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palais de Justice | Not in service | 4,21 | 4,37 |
| total | 6,99 | 10,32 | 10,79 |
Table 5. Entries in stations serving the Rouen shopping centre on Saturdays
Stations serving the downtown shopping centre |
January 1997 Saturday |
January 1998 Saturday |
January 2002 Saturday |
| Théâtre des Arts | 5,34 | 4,17 | 4,25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palais de Justice | Not in service | 3,6 | 3,87 |
| total | 5,34 | 7,77 | 8,12 |
However the amount of turnover in shops contributed by customers who came by tram is unknown since no specific enquiry covered this subject. Furthermore, sales in shopping centres served by the tramline, be they in the city centre or on the outskirts, are driven by multiple causes, in particular the opening and closing of "leaders", i.e. the shops which attract custom for the rest of a shopping mall, or for other reasons related to the buying habits of households. When very well-known traders wish to open a shop in the city centre of a medium sized township, they will very obviously be served by the trams since they are bound to serve or approach the central shopping areas and such shops will not be starting up business anywhere else! In the circumstances, it is difficult to ascribe a decisive role to the tram in the midst of a intertwining skein of causes and interests in the coveted central areas.
As an illustration of the above, in Grenoble, the Grand Place shopping centre, opened in 1975 at Echirolles in the Ville Neuve, began to be served by trams in 1987. The station which accesses the shopping centre and its hypermarket sees about as many people as the busiest city centre station. Some 20% of the shopping centre's customers and visitors use the tram to get there. And yet, two large stores were shut down in 1990 and 1994. The shopping centre's turnover has its ups and downs but no stable growth.
It is also difficult to find any tramline impact on the sales registered in the shopping centre of the Place des Halles in Strasbourg which is within a few minutes' walk from a tram station. Turnover there displays irregular growth, and there is no clear connection to improved accessibility by public transport, particularly since the centre has a spacious car park with room for 2,600 cars.
As is becoming clear, the tangle of factors impinging on changed urban space and society makes it difficult to map the actual part played by UPT/ERW in such changes. And yet, in order to evaluate the economic, social and environmental worth of the a priori only effective alternative to exclusive use of the private car, it is hardly possible to be content with such an approximative level of insight, in particular as regards the modal shift and its final impact on motorcar traffic, the appreciation of real estate and its effects on social change and, finally, the representation of the city's territorial unity and its contribution to social cohesion.
There remains to be considered the potential effects of bus-based with exclusive right-of-way systems. In a geographic (sparse population) or financial (developing countries or period of low economic growth) context which is not conducive to metros or trams, the effectiveness of urban public transport can only be based on surface bus-based solutions, guided or otherwise, using completely exclusive rights-of-way. A few, non exhaustive, examples show some of the possibilities offered by bus-based MRT as regards attractiveness.