Urban Transport Problems: The Challenges

Urban Transport Problems
The Challenges…
1
(Geographical Challenges)
Cities are locations having a high

level of accumulation &
concentration
of economic activities &
are complex spatial structures that
are supported by transport systems.
2
The most important transport

problems are often related to
urban
areas, when transport systems, for
a
variety of reasons, cannot satisfy
the
numerous requirements of urban 3
Urban productivity is highly

dependent on the efficiency of its
transport system to move labour,
consumers & freight between
multiple origins & destinations.
4
Among the most notable

urban transport problems?
5
Traffic congestion & parking

difficulties.
Congestion is one of the most

prevalent transport problems in
city urbans.
6
It is particularly linked with the

diffusion of the automobile, which
increases the demand for
transport
infrastructure, that has often not
been able to keep up with the
growth of mobility.
7
Public transport inadequacy
Many public transport systems, or

parts of them, are either over or
under used.
8
During peak hours, crowdedness

creates discomfort for users, while
low ridership makes many
services
financially unsustainable,
particularly in suburban areas.
9
Difficulties for pedestrians,

bicycles
& motorcycles:
i) Outcome of intense traffic, where
their mobility is impaired.
ii) Lack of consideration for these
users in the design of facilities.
10
Loss of public space

The majority of roads are publicly
owned & free of access.
Traffic flows influence the life &
interactions of residents & their
usage of street space.
11
More traffic impedes social

interactions & street activities.
People tend to walk & cycle less

when traffic is high.
12
Environmental Impacts &

Energy
Consumption.
Pollution, including noise, generated
by circulation has become a serious
impediment to the quality of life &
even the health of urban
13
Further, energy consumption by

urban transportation has
dramatically
increased & so does the
dependency
on petroleum.
14
Accidents and safety.

Growing traffic in urban areas is
linked with a growing number of
accidents & fatalities, especially in
developing countries. As traffic
increases, people feel less safe to
use
15
Land consumption.
Between 30 and 60% of a

metropolitan
area may be devoted to
transportation.
An outcome of the over-reliance on
some forms of urban transportation.
16
Freight distribution
The materialisation of the economy

has produced growing quantities of
freight moving within metropolitan
areas.
17
As freight traffic commonly shares

infrastructures with passengers
circulation, the mobility of freight in
urban areas has become
increasingly
problematic.
18
(Automobile Dependency)
There are several dimensions to the

urban transport problems.
Most of them linked with the

dominance of the automobile.
19
Automobile use obviously produces

a
variety of advantages such as
performance, comfort, status,
speed,
& convenience. These advantages
jointly illustrate why automobile
ownership continues to grow 20
Several factors influence the growth

of the total vehicle fleet, such as:
Sustained economic growth

(increase in income & quality of
life).
21
Complex individual urban

movement
patterns (many households have
more than one automobile).
More leisure time &

suburbanisation.
22
Over time, a state of automobile

dependency has emerged.
Resulting to the diminution in the
role of other modes, thereby
limiting
still further alternatives to urban
mobility.
23
(Congestion)
Congestion occurs when transport

demand exceeds transport
supply in
a specific section of the transport
system.
Under such circumstances, each
vehicle impairs the mobility of others.
24
(Congestion)
The last decades have seen the

extension of roads in rural but
particularly in urban areas. Those
infrastructures were designed for
speed & high capacity, but the
growth
of urban circulation occurred at a
rate 25
(Congestion)
Investments came from diverse

levels
of government with a view to
provide
accessibility to cities and regions.
There were strong incentives for the
expansion of road transportation by
providing high levels of transport 26
(Congestion)
This has created a vicious circle of

congestion which supports the
construction of additional road
capacity & automobile
dependency.
27
(Congestion)
Urban congestion mainly concerns

two domains of circulation, often
sharing the same infrastructures:
28
(Congestion)
Passengers
Access to an automobile conveys
flexibility in terms of the choice of
origin, destination & travel time.
The automobile is favoured at the
expense of other modes for most
trips, including commuting.
29
(Congestion)
Freight
Since cities are the main
destinations
for freight flows (either for
consumption or for transfer to other
locations), trucking adds to further
congestion in urban areas.
30
(Parking)
Parking consumes large amounts of

space. In automobile dependent
cities,
this can be very constraining as each
economic activity has to provide an
amount of parking space proportional
to their level of activity.
31
(Parking)
Parking has become a land use that

greatly inflates the demand for
urban
land.
32
(Accidents)
Daily trips can be either :
“mandatory” (workplace-home), or
“voluntary” (shopping, leisure,
visits).
33
(Accidents)
“Mandatory” is often performed

within fixed schedules.
“Voluntary” comply with variable

schedules.
34
(Accidents)
Mandatory trips-mainly responsible

for peaks in circulation flows.
~ about half the congestion in
urban
areas is recurring at specific times
of the day & on specific segments
of the transport system.
35
(Accidents)
The other half is caused by random

events such as accidents &
unusual
weather conditions (rain, storms,
etc)
As far as accidents are concerned,
their randomness is influenced by
the level of traffic. Higher traffic 
36
(Public Transport)
As cities continue to become

more
dispersed, the cost of building &
operating public transportation
systems increases.
37
(Public Transport)
In many cities additional

investments
in public transport did not result in
significant additional ridership.
Unplanned & uncoordinated land
development has led to rapid
expansion of the urban periphery.38
(Public Transport
Challenges)
Decentralization
Public transit systems are not
designed to service low density &
scattered urban areas that are
increasingly dominating the
landscape.
39
(Public Transport
Challenges)
The greater the decentralization of

urban activities, the more difficult
& expensive it becomes to serve
urban areas with public transport.
40
(Public Transport
Challenges)
Fixity
The infrastructures of several public
transport systems, notably rail &
metro systems are fixed, while cities
are dynamical entities.
41
(Public Transport
Challenges)
This implies that travel patterns

tend to change and that a
transport
system built for servicing a specific
pattern may eventually face
"spatial
obsolescence".
42
(Public Transport
Challenges)
Connectivity
Public transport systems are often
independent from other modes &
terminals. It is consequently difficult
to transfer passengers from one
system to the other.
43
(Public Transport
Challenges)
Competition
In view of cheap road transport
systems, public transport faces
strong competition.
The higher the level of automobile
dependency, the more
inappropriate
44
(Public Transport
Challenges)
The public service being offered is

simply outpaced by the
convenience
of the automobile.
45

Urban Transport Problems: The Challenges

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Urban Transport Problems: The Challenges

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Urban Transport Problems: The Challenges

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Urban Transport Problems

Cities are locations having a high

The most important transport

Urban productivity is highly

Among the most notable

Traffic congestion & parking

Congestion is one of the most

It is particularly linked with the

Public transport inadequacy

Many public transport systems, or

During peak hours, crowdedness

Difficulties for pedestrians,

Loss of public space

More traffic impedes social

People tend to walk & cycle less

Environmental Impacts &

Further, energy consumption by

Accidents and safety.

Between 30 and 60% of a

The materialisation of the economy

As freight traffic commonly shares

There are several dimensions to the

Most of them linked with the

Automobile use obviously produces

Several factors influence the growth

Sustained economic growth

Complex individual urban

More leisure time &

Over time, a state of automobile

Congestion occurs when transport

The last decades have seen the

Investments came from diverse

This has created a vicious circle of

Urban congestion mainly concerns

Parking consumes large amounts of

Parking has become a land use that

Daily trips can be either :

“Mandatory” is often performed

“Voluntary” comply with variable

Mandatory trips-mainly responsible

The other half is caused by random

As cities continue to become

In many cities additional

The greater the decentralization of

This implies that travel patterns

The public service being offered is

You might also like