BACKGROUND TO NETMOBIL

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1 A project supported by DG RESEARCH of the European Commission Summer Project Conclusions and recommendations New Transport System Concepts for Enhanced and Sustainable Personal Urban Mobility BACKGROUND TO NETMOBIL BACKGROUND TO NETMOBIL NETMOBIL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS PROJECT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS NETMOBIL is an EU, DG Research, sponsored cluster project supporting R&D and demonstration in innovative personal urban transportation systems. It began in The objectives are contained within the mission statement: CONTACT DETAILS To explore and promote the potential of developments in automatic vehicle technologies for future sustainable personal urban transportation systems, and provide advice and guidance on the options for decision makers. FURTHER INFORMATION Four research projects make up the NETMOBIL cluster. They are: STARDUST CyberMove The findings of these individual cluster projects were presented in the Spring 2005 newsletter. This brochure has been prepared as a guide for cities that seek sustainable personal urban mobility solutions. It summarises the work and results of the project as presented at the NETMOBIL Final Conference and Workshop held in Rotterdam, June 23-24th 2005 New Transit in Towns. It includes key case studies and presents results, conclusions and recommendations for policy guidance that have been developed within NETMOBIL based upon the collective findings for all the cluster projects. EDICT Cybercars THE NETMOBIL SOLUTIONS (1) Advanced driver (2) Advanced bus assistance systems run systems (ADAS) automatically provide cleaner, on guideways safer and more and can dock efficient precisely, but operation of need a driver vehicles, but on city streets. ultimate control remains with a driver. (3) Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a system of fully automatic, clean, driverless vehicles that run on guideways to segregate them from other traffic and pedestrians. (4) Cybernetic Transport Systems (CTS) are fully automatic, clean, driverless vehicles that can run on guideways, and also on streets mixed with pedestrians and possibly other traffic at low speed. The issue for NETMOBIL is to show how the different approaches can be exploited to best effect by communities seeking sustainable transport solutions for the future.

2 POLICY AND APPLICATION AREAS Within NETMOBIL, three main policy drivers have been identified for the implementation of ADAS, PRT and CTS systems. They often exist in combination and are: The transport problem case, where there are identified existing problems of increasing traffic congestion, pollution, lack of flexibility, integration and accessibility in the transport network; The sustainable city case, where the project is driven by environmental and lifestyle goals and local development plans which derive from the vision of a sustainable City of Tomorrow ; Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) and Cybernetic Transport Systems (CTS) systems can be used to provide short flexible links between major services. They are preferred to solve a particular public transport problem e.g. to extend services from an existing train or metro station to serve a new business park or regeneration area. These systems also complement innovation processes. PRT is able to link large out-of-town retail centres and provide links to key services where other modes cannot. The innovation policy case, where the project is driven by the goal of creating new opportunities through launching an innovation process. The systems have been shown to offer the potential for cost effective and sustainable solutions to particular problems, whilst at the same time demonstrating innovation policy. For instance: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) include ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), Lane Keeping Assist, ISA (Intelligent Speed Adaptation) and Stop&Go. By themselves they provide opportunities for improved efficiency and safety of operations of vehicles, including buses, in urban areas. They can be exploited, for example, in an Advanced Car Share application that will discourage private car ownership and use in cities, and promote shared use of cleaner, safer vehicles. ADAS controls driver speed and headways for safer driving, reducing the risk of human error.

3 The NETMOBIL solutions can meet the requirements of a number of types of application areas as summarised below. P r o b l e m / driver T r a n s p o r t problem Sustainable city Application type NETMOBIL Solution PRT CTS ADAS/ Car Sharing Interconnect modal interchanges Feeder to retail/business/leisure developments Flexible links between major services (e.g. hospitals, universities) and transport system Connect car parks with transport system Short distance, on-demand, door-to-door travel which the existing transport network cannot meet Clean, safe road vehicles Clean, safe vehicles on segregated guideway Innovation policy Using cars in a better, more efficient way Short links to develop the city s or a regeneration area s image as a leading city of technology and innovation Innovative way of introducing new mobility management The NETMOBIL solutions can also meet the requirements of a wide range of different network configurations:

4 CASE STUDY PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT The ULTra application in Cardiff Location: New regeneration development area on former dockland adjacent to city centre. Objective: To provide sustainable, flexible access to the regeneration site from the city centre. System tested: Phased implementation of an ULTra network. The EDICT project assessed the Stage 1 network of 7.7kms of guideway and 12 stations. Key findings: The ULTra system in Cardiff would easily cover its operating costs and most of its capital costs. Including social costs and benefits, the system would provide a highly positive rate of return from the investment. Feasibility studies carried out in the EDICT project have shown the profitability from a social viewpoint of PRT systems. Subsidy is, however, likely to be needed, at least to cover capital costs, notwithstanding the higher willingness to pay shown by the users compared with bus. The safety case is accepted by the HMRI, the body responsible for PRT systems safety in the UK. 3.0 ULTra is regarded by disabled and older people as more accessible 2.5 and convenient than other forms of public transport. 2.0 There are substantial savings in emissions and energy use, 1.5 equivalent to 2.5million litres of petrol per year. 1.0 Many potential technical risks are minimised by the ULTra design. 0.5 There are legal risks because as yet, there are neither European 0.0 regulations nor a regulatory body for such an innovative transport system. MJoule per Passenger km ULTra Train MU Urban bus Motorcycle Electric car Urban Auto LRT Expected Implementation: Plans for Phase 0 in 2005 have been delayed due to temporary withdrawal of national funding in Political support continues, but the timescale is uncertain. EDICT

5 CASE STUDY CYBERNETIC CARS CYBERNETIC CARS in Antibes Location: to connect a Park & Ride site on the harbour with the city centre. Objective: to cater for a huge number of summer visitors (1m visit the Picasso Museum alone each year) and reduce the number of cars trying to enter and park in the city. System tested: a 1km long approx. bi-directional guideway along the harbour front, shared with cyclists and pedestrians. Key findings: A trial was conducted using 2 Cybercars for 10 days. In this time the system was tried by 3000 visitors including 4 parties of school children, and was judged to be a popular success. A full implementation would operate 24 by 7 and offer 4 mins waiting time. It is estimated that 23% of car drivers would use the system generating ticket sales of 320,000 tickets and bringing in perhaps 320,000 of revenue per year. At the same time environmental, energy and safety benefits would also be obtained worth 50,000, 7,800 and 30,000 per year respectively. Cost benefit estimates for Antibes, like most other sites investigated in the CyberMove project, show neutral or slightly positive socio-economic net present values (NPVs). This proves that CTS can be socio-economically viable and that the community would benefit from their installation. The quantification of the benefits however is strongly influenced by how much the community values environmental and safety effects of mobility. Using average European rates and adopting ad-hoc accompanying policies, the socio-economic NPV in ten years can have a magnitude of ten times the initial investment needed to start up the system.

6 CASE STUDY CYBERNETIC TRANSPORT SYSTEMS The ParkShuttle at Rivium Location: Rivium Business Park, Capelle aan den IJssel, Rotterdam. Objective: To provide a PT link between a metro station and a local business park. System tested: ParkShuttle is an automated system of driverless electric buses connecting the Kralingse Zoom metro station and Rivium business park. The new system replaces an earlier version with improved vehicles, more stops on an extended network, and with improved control and safety features. Three buses in the new system were made available for a pre-launch demonstration at the NETMOBIL Final Conference and Workshop, June The system is expected to be fully operational in the Autumn of Each bus has seats for 12 and capacity (including standing passengers) for 20. Key findings: The buses run segregated from pedestrians and other traffic on a 2-lane (1-lane each way) dedicated guideway about 2km in length with 5 stops (ie a round trip journey is 4km with 10 stops). The system operates rather like a horizontal lift: users call a bus by pressing the button at a stop, and press another on the bus to indicate which stop they wish to travel to. The bus will automatically take the most direct route, which means it can turn round at an intermediate point on the route to change direction unless another call is received that will prevent it. Passengers use regular public transport tickets, including chip cards, transfers and season tickets. Buses travel at up to 25km per hour, and are equipped with obstacle detectors to stop automatically in case pedestrians or other obstructions are found on the track. The system operation is managed from a control centre. The full system will have 6 buses available at peak times, 3 at non-peak when the others will be recharged. The system will not run during the night. The capacity is 480 passengers/hour in the peak and a total of 2200/day. The average waiting time will be 1.5 minutes at peak times, and 3 minutes off-peak. The travel time will be 5-7 minutes. The system includes dynamic passenger information in the form of waiting times and is monitored for security using CCTV cameras in the vehicles and along the guideway. Vehicle storage and recharging is organised to take place automatically in a garage overnight. The guideway crosses roads at level crossings at two points. On the approach to these, the ParkShuttle buses activate lights and barriers to stop crossing traffic, and have priority. The system costs of 2.1M (excluding the civils infrastructure) are reckoned to be up to half that for an equivalent cable car or monorail system, while providing 2 or 3 times the frequency of service and corresponding increased capacity. The civils infrastructure required is quite simple, and it is believed that there is capacity to achieve a modal share of 25% at reasonable cost.

7 CASE STUDY ADVANCED BUS SYSTEMS PHILEAS Location: between Eindhoven Central Station and Eindhoven Airport via the Meerhoven residential area. Objective: to provide a quick, high-frequency and comfortable urban public transport system for a medium sized city, and attract more passengers away from cars. System tested: Phileas uses semi-automatic buses that combine the advantages of tram and metro systems with the flexibility and low operational costs of a bus system. The buses can run automatically on dedicated bus lanes (guideways) or be manually driven on city streets. They have an electronic lane keeping and precision docking system with all-wheel steering. They provide level floor access eg for wheel and push-chairs. In automatic mode, they need only narrow lanes (6.4 m for two-way operation at 70 kph). Key findings: Twelve Phileas vehicles are based in Eindhoven. Most are 18 meters long and can transport 120 passengers. The vehicles drive on a fifteen minutes schedule from Monday till Friday, and thirty minutes at weekends. Phileas officially started in October A ride between Eindhoven Central Station and Eindhoven Airport takes 25 minutes. The buses use electric-hybrid driveline and have a lower energy consumption than a conventional vehicle with the same capacity and equipment (30% less than a traditional LPG bus). It is expected that the number of public transport users attracted by these buses will grow so that the degree of cost recovery will increase from the current figure of less than 30% to nearer 50%. The vehicles are more expensive, but the higher depreciation costs will be largely compensated for by the lower fuel costs.

8 CASE STUDY ADVANCED CAR SHARING PRAXITÈLE Location: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, a suburb of Paris. Objective: to test an idea for the ideal transport concept identified by a discussion meeting held by CGFTE and its passengers, and based on self service rental cars fitted with clean engines. System tested: The trial started in 1997 using Renault Clios fitted with electric motors and having a range of 70 kms. Vehicles are located strategically within the urban area, at railway and bus stations, shopping and business centres. A car can be taken at any time from any of the stations, used freely as if it were a private car, and then returned to any of the stations. The vehicle batteries are automatically recharged at the stations using non-contact inductive charging technology. Users get access to a vehicle by means of a smart card, and are billed at the end of each month for the time they have used the service. Each vehicle in the fleet is equipped with GPS and communicates with, and is controlled from a management centre which keeps information about the location and condition (e.g. state-of-charge) of every vehicle, monitors parking space availability, and handles customers accounts, reservations and the redistribution of empty vehicles among the parking areas. Key findings: The scheme aims essentially to combine the freedom and independence provided by cars with the efficiency and environmental sustainability of public transport. In such a scheme the same car can be used by several drivers during a single day. This means that vehicles are used more efficiently than private cars as the same service (kilometres travelled) is provided with less resource: less vehicles are needed and, consequently, less parking space is required in the city centre. Evaluation showed the average use was about one-anda-half trips per car per day. The experiment started in October members had registered by May 1998, and 800 members by May In the one-and-a-half years since the start of the experiment 25,000 trips had been made. The average trip distance was 8km and average trip duration 15 minutes. The service was used mainly by local residents, and in connection with public buses and trains. The most frequent users were non-car owners, though a substantial proportion (44 percent) did own a car and 29 percent had access to family cars. For both groups the self-service cars formed a convenient addition to the spectrum of existing modes of transport. Users indicated they were very satisfied with the service. They particularly appreciated the freedom, the ease of use of the self-service system, and the availability of cars without worries about maintenance. Societal benefits are obtained as long as the system is used by travellers who would have otherwise used their own car. It is likely that in the current set-up the system would not be economically feasible. The costs of electric vehicles are currently too high so that an economic break-even point cannot be expected with a scheme with less than a few hundred vehicles. Nevertheless, the Praxitèle experiment has proven there is a substantial demand for such a service. In the future a scheme could be enhanced with ADAS systems to use not only clean engine technologies but also assisted driving capabilities such as ISA that will reduce accidents. Advanced car sharing refers to schemes that include such enhancements. In the AMICA system proposed in CyberMove for example, vehicles would be equipped with fully automatic driving capability so that they could automatically link up in a platoon and be redistributed across parking areas.

9 NETMOBIL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1 The feasibility studies and trials undertaken in the NETMOBIL cluster projects demonstrate that PRT and CTS: can provide significant benefits and meet a wide range of needs and policy objectives within different urban environments; can be cheaper to build and operate than conventional forms of guided public transport; provide a level of service which is superior to that available from conventional public transport, because there is very little waiting time, travel is essentially private and is non-stop direct from origin station to destination; integrate well with other forms of public transport, bicycle and walking (combined mobility, intermodality, multimodal traffic behaviour); are well received by the public - end users perceive advantages in view of enhanced traffic safety, personal security and environmental benefits. There are issues of concern relating to technical reliability and legal aspects which can be proved by a real demonstration; are likely to receive mixed responses from stakeholders with some resistance because technology is new and untried. Main issues of concern relate to visual intrusion and technical reliability; promote the social inclusion of certain groups especially disabled and elderly persons, by increasing their access to cities and key services, retail, recreation, hospitals etc. Stations and vehicles are also proved more accessible than conventional modes; are regarded as a quiet, safe, convenient and efficient means of public transport with potential to replace car trips; can enhance the image of cities, attract inward investment, and increase the economic value of land and premises. Simulation studies and trials of advanced car sharing systems have found: Significant reductions in traffic-related pollutant emissions can be achieved within a city (as found in the AMICA study). The Praxitéle example proved the technical feasibility of the scheme. There is a high user acceptance of advanced car sharing. The number of users doubled from 400 to 800 in 12 months in the Praxitèle experiment. The use of public transport is also found to increase with car sharing usage.

10 NETMOBIL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 2 There are certain vehicle design features to consider in meeting user needs for short trips within cities. For example, making the system easy and convenient to use through ticketing access, route guidance and reservation systems. Car sharing has a great effect on Land-use. While enhancing user s mobility, less parking is needed. A Car Sharing scheme results in societal benefits providing it achieves a modal shift and replaces existing private car journeys. Car sharing supports the paradigm shift towards integrated mobility services of individual and collective traffic modes. As realised in the Praxitéle example it is unlikely that, in the present stage of development, an advanced car sharing scheme would be economically feasible. The current cost of producing electric vehicles is too high for a scheme with less than a few hundred vehicles to recover its costs. Potential for integrated transport PRT and CTS can provide flexible links to public transport interchanges and Park & Ride facilities. They work best when integrated with the existing transport network, thus improving overall network efficiency and journey quality and reducing the need for car journeys. Research also suggests that people use public transport more frequently with PRT and CTS systems, as the overall public transport network is improved. Car sharing is designed to complement public transport. User trials indicate that users are likely to use public transport more frequently as a result of car sharing. Integrated ticketing can encourage multi-modal journeys by public transport and make car sharing attractive. Season tickets for public transport may include special discounts on car sharing. Example schemes in Zurich, Bremen, Aachen, Hanover and other cities show that integrated ticketing of public transport and car sharing options greatly encourage use and frequency of use, during peak and off peak periods. Other services could also be included to improve mobility within cities e.g. taxis, collective taxis, car hire and ride-share.

11 EUROPEAN POTENTIAL In summary, the NETMOBIL solutions are demand responsive. The small automatic personal vehicles running on rubber tyres and in high frequency services offer increased privacy, flexibility, and capacity compared with conventional alternatives. They save time because waiting times are generally small or zero and because vehicles on segregated guideways are faster than on congested roads, also because the stations are off-line so vehicles can go direct from origin to destination and do not need to stop at intermediate points on the way. The ride is smoother and quieter with electric vehicles. There is level boarding and room for a family or colleagues with shopping or luggage. The vehicles use clean engine technologies. They are light weight, low noise, and produce virtually zero pollution locally. Running on guideways and/or fitted with ADAS equipment, they lead to reduced road accidents. In socio-economic terms, energy use is low as are running costs because automatic vehicles do not need a driver. The vehicles themselves are expensive but costs should fall with demand and mass production. Willingness to pay is greater than for a collective transport services, and there are benefits from increased accessibility of automatic vehicles by those who cannot drive including disabled and elderly users. Personal security and vandalism are seen as potential problems and need to be addressed with suitable security systems. Severance is a potential problem with guideways but can be alleviated by elevating them. Visual intrusion is then a concern, but can be mitigated and even used with positive effect to enhance a cityscape through careful design. Overall, the NETMOBIL solutions expect to be able to help: Shift demand from private to public transport and combine collective with individual traffic modes Free space for other uses and make more efficient use of road space dedicated to vehicles Make pricing and restraint policies more acceptable Broaden the range of citizens for which public transport is easily accessible Improve liveability of urban environments Improve environmental quality Reduce intimidation by cars Support other policies such as pedestrianisation of city centres and the requalification of public spaces Encourage public transport-oriented developments (combined mobility, integrated mobility services) Increase land use values (more efficient use of road space, less parking) Increase area competitiveness

12 THE FUTURE Increasing vehicle automation can be used to provide sustainable personal urban transportation systems for the future. These may be grouped as: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) provide cleaner, safer and more efficient operation of vehicles (cars, buses and freight vehicles), but ultimate control remains with a driver for the foreseeable future; Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) comprises fully automatic clean, driverless vehicles that run exclusively on guideways to segregate them from other traffic and pedestrians; Cybernetic Transport Systems (CTS) are fully automatic, clean, driverless vehicles that can run on guideways, and on streets mixed with pedestrians and possibly other traffic at low speed. Innovative Service Opportunities Service space Door to door Door to door Stop to Stop Stop to Stop Service time On demand On On demand Scheduled demand Service vehicle use Party Party Shared or party Shared Vehicle drive Driver, ADAS Automated Automated Driver, ADAS Right of way Mixed Mixed Exclusive Exclusive Vehicle size Small Small Small (platooning) Big Conventional CTS PRT Conventional individual private collective public

13 On the one hand, environmental concerns and the growing requirement to balance modal split tend to support Public Transport solutions of the type provided by PRT and CTS. On the other hand, the rapid growth in new vehicles/technologies and in ubiquitous and position related information systems and services, coupled with market forces, tend to favour ADAS. In the medium term the individual solutions need further promotion to expose their potential to a greater audience. In the longer term, the solutions are likely to evolve to come together. In the short term, action is needed to exploit the potential. Key to this is providing support for Champion cities who are willing to balance the risks involved with implementing new technologies and implementing demonstrations against the potential for long term sustainability. In turn, this will require: Dissemination to increase awareness of the opportunities and potential these systems provide and to clarify the innovative concepts and solutions; Evidence based development of persuasive transport and business cases to support implementation and continuing operations; Development of necessary EC and national facilitating regulations and standards; Clarification of barriers and particularly of legal and institutional issues and how to overcome them; Conduct of complementary research needed to support technology development and user acceptance.

14 NETMOBIL CONTACT DETAILS Project Co-ordinator: Project Officer: Professor Mike McDonald, Transportation Research Group, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. Dr. Eric Ponthieu, European Commission, DG Research, Unit 1.5, EESD Programme, 46, Rue du Luxembourg, Office 2/51, 1040 Brussels, Belgium. Project Consortium: Project Partners: TRG (UK), INRIA (F), TTR (UK), CIRT (I), IABG (D), TNO (NL), Supporting Partners: NETMOBIL FURTHER INFORMATION BISHOP AUSTRANS (AU), CERTU (F), ERTICO (B), GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY (AU), ITS UK (UK) Further Information on NETMOBIL including the proceedings of the conference and workshop can be obtained from the NETMOBIL project website: The website displays the most recent developments in the project, case study information, and offers a resource of documents, images and website links related to the project.