Introduction. Subject of the Thesis

Transcription

1 Introduction Subject of the Thesis Public Transit in Cities and Metropolises During all era of history, towns and cities have been closely connected to transit. While the first towns owe their existence to their position at transit routes, the development of the present cities and metropolises was only possible by the invention of new transit modes. However, with the increase of traffic on the basis of functional land use separation and the almost unlimited accessibility with the invention of private motorcarsm, the cities have been confronted with the problems of transit. Consequently, it was particularly in larger cities and metropolises that public transit was seen as a contribution to a better quality of life. Dependent on political interest and financial scope, the cities either built metro routes or run bus networks, which use the city s street network. Tramways, the typical city transit mode of the industrialisation era, were ousted in most cities in order to give way to private car use. Despite of the continuous extension of street infrastructure, the transit situation aggravated more and more. Unfortunately, many public transport systems came up against limiting factors as well. Only a few metropolises have dense metro networks that opened up large parts of the city. The conventional buses participated in the daily traffic congestion. LRT and BRT - New Systems Developed from Old Roots After decades of metro euphoria, the cities are facing decreasing public budgets and rapid changes in development, like population explosions in developing countries or dwindling population in some European city areas. This development requires attractive but cheaper transit modes that can be realised for the short term. Searching for solutions to improve the situation of public transit, the North American and European view was directed towards the remaining tramway networks. Most of them experienced a metamorphosis from an ugly duckling to a swan. 1 Modernised, they offered attractive services on dense networks, largely using routes independent from other transit modes. In some cities, they attract a very high number of passengers and caused a reduction of private car use. Regarding the typical occurence of tramway, the range of European tramway cities that have no metro network as their main form of transit is (without towns and cities of the former East) between 100,000 inhabitants (Ulm, Germany and Bern, Switzerland) and about one million (Köln, Germany). Modern tramways obviously have been seen as ideal means of transport for the large amount of medium sized cities all over Europe. Moreover tramways or better LRT are a high-quality and economical completion of the often wide-meshed metro networks in metropolises. What have been the differences between the old tramways and the modern LRT systems? Similar to the adaptation of the streets to car use, the transit infrastructure was adapted to the needs of public transport in times of dense traffic. Rail cars and buses have to stop at their stops and stations and not at traffic lights or in traffic congestion. Consequently, modern systems run on separated routes and have priority at crossroads. For economical reasons, a rail-based transit system is not able to cover each corner of a city. Successful operation therefore needs good links to additional bus lines but also to private cars used as feeders. Within the wide-spread definition of LRT, following the definition of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) 2, this thesis is limited on the most popular types of LRT that are presently realised. Many projects of the second half of the 20 th century were aimed to bridge the gap 1 VUCHIC, Vucan, R. in UITP (ed. 1998), p. 4 2 A rail-borne form of transportation which can be developed in stages from modern tramway to a rapid transit system operating its own right-of-way, underground, at ground level or elevated. Each stage of development can be the final stage, but it should also permit development to the next higher stage. (ECMT (1994), p. 15)

2 between metros and classical tramways by the building of pre- or semi-metro systems. This was often close to transit policies that gave priorities to private cars in the case of a fight for street space. Since the 1980s, many networks were as well part of general transit plannings but were seen as an instrument to relieve congestion in the city centres. Therefore modern tramways are completely running at ground level, but separated routes and priority at crossroads ensure a high extent of reliability. These networks are in particular typical for the city areas of France. Furthermore this study analyses Tram Train networks following the Karlsruhe model. Although the latter ones are not LRT systems in the tradition of tramways but rather have their roots in suburban railway lines, this thesis deals with them for several reasons. - They form one of the main ideas of the European renaissance of tramways - The European land use development does not stop at city boundaries but requires regional solutions - In contrast to the heavy rail extensions into city centres (e.g. RER in Paris or the German S-Bahn), the Karlsruhe model has its roots in tramways and the appearance of the systems is oriented towards tramway characteristics (tramway routes in the city centres, tramway-like car). Only a few TramTrain networks (excluding the common case of an integration of former railway lines in LRT networks) are already running but a large number of plannings shows, that this conception has a future. Although many cit ies of South America have exceeded the population of European cities, only some of the huge metropolises implemented rail-guided transit like metro systems. In the other cities, public transit often was called Guerra del centavo, the war for the cent. Private bus owners drove their vehicles without any coordination of lines and fares. This situation and the heavy growth of these cities demanded for new attractive transit systems that can be realised in very short terms. In 1974, the first kilometres of separate bus routes were opened in Curitiba, Brazil. Similar to European LRT projects, the implementation of the new transit system was connected to the general land use development and a restructuring process of the central districts. 3 The most important feature of the South American BRT is that classical articulated or bi-articulated diesel buses lines on separated busways. In Quito, Ecuador the system called El Tróle uses trolley buses. The first busways were built to support bus lines in parts. In 1985 Campinas, Brazil opened the first BRT network that runs a trunk and feeder system, which was the model for the popular networks of Quito or Bogotá. 4 In addition to the idea of providing separate routes for buses, BRT is characterised by the transfer of additional measures like access facilities and information that are typical for metro systems to bus operation. With that, the South American systems impressively show the possibilities of bus transit that is intensively supported by the politics. Edwin MIRANDA lists the following aspects that suggest the implementation of BRT to realise highquality transit : - high journey speeds because of separated busways and priority systems at crossroads - easy access at special platforms and fare collection at the bus stop area to reduce stays at bus stops - intelligent transportation systems that support the operation - low costs for the construction of the infrastructure ($ 1 to 10 million per km) - short realisation times (approx. 18 months) - high capacities of more than 20,000 passengers per hour and direction 5 3 MIRANDA, Edwin (2005), data provided in the manuscript of the South American part of this joint thesis 4 ibid 5 ibid

3 International Approach to LRT and BRT The presented aspects show that in the American context, BRT provides many advantages. Studies of American transit prove that BRT should be preferred in many cases of implementing high-quality public transit. In the meantime, LRT systems in North America show deficits and failure of implementing LRT. 6 Consequently, BRT will achieve higher benefits with lower costs, so everything speaks well for BRT. However is this judgement also valid for Europe? In their study Future of Urban Transport Carmen HASS- KLAU and Graham CRAMPTON analysed 24 LRT systems worldwide and drew up a ranking of all networks. 7 The first places of the successful LRT networks are all taken by West European city areas. The best systems outside Europe are Calgary, Canada and Portland, USA that have a good place in the Middle Rank. Most North American LRT systems and the similar LRT development of Great Britain are down at the end of the list. 8 Apparently, there are some differences between the efficiency of LRT systems in the continental parts of Europe and other countries. LRT seams to be a suitable and demanded transit mode in West European countries. Will BRT be able to fulfil the needs of the passengers and the city as well? BRT A System of Second Quality in Europe? Although some British, French and Dutch cities opened BRT lines, the large majority of new highquality systems in Europe are LRT systems. However, although the West European countries are regarded as wealthy nations, the authorities are confronted with budget shortages, and expenses for public transit are a matter of public discussion. Thus BRT would be a serious alternative also for European cities. But although the modern bus systems of South America require lower investment costs, most European system decisions are in favour of LRT. A typical argument of LRT supporters is that a bus system has not the capacity of a LRT system. On the other hand, some BRT systems like Transmilenio in Bogotá are able to move more passengers than tramway lines. Tramways are often seen as more ecological than buses but modern buses can be more economical in energy consumption than their precursors or run with less polluting fuels such as natural gas or some vegetable oils. Regarding the successful development in South America but also the interest for BRT in other parts of the world, modern bus systems are going to have a splendid future. However, in Europe a long list of LRT projects shows that the renaissance of tramways is not at the end. Are the reasons for LRT that numerous or is it merely the ignorance about the modern BRT systems that influence the decisions in new transit systems? South American BRT and Low Cost also in European Cities? What are the functions of BRT? The most successful examples of heavy BRT can be found in huge metropolises like Bogotá, Colombia (approx. 7 million inh.) and Quito, Ecuador (approx. 2 million inh.) In the comparison, features of LRT and BRT will be compared in typical European city areas. Will BRT be an alternative for LRT in European patterns or is it more a substitute for an expensive metro system of huge metropolises? Can the South American model of BRT be transferred to Europe? Regarding the tramway networks in France, modern LRT is more than a transit mode, it is an integrated part of the social and architectural face of the city. Would this also be possible with some kind of BRT? The most important feature of South American BRT is the creation of separated routes for strong trunk routes. This is comparable to the standards of new LRT lines where trunk routes on rails have separated routes. But South American cities are not European cities. Which would be the differences between South American BRT and an adaptation for European areas. Is this adaptation able to fulfill the political demands that suggested to implement LRT in Europe? 6 MIRANDA, Edwin (2005), data provided in the manuscript of the South American part of this joint thesis 7 HASS-KLAU, Carmen, CRAMPTON, Graham (2002), p. 1 8 ibid, p. 31

4 Objectives Comparing LRT and BRT is comparing apples with pears. Both systems have different areas of appliance and therefore their own special features that were developed for these areas. In spite of increasing globalisation, there often is a separation between the research, for example in Europe, and on the American continents. Sometimes transit modes and their effects are judged and generalised without regarding the special conditions in cities of other continents. In some cases, this even led to the failure of a transit project. In Europe, many people believe that it is a ridiculous idea to build large busways but most of them (the author included) do not know the special situation of South American cities with their strong population increases. On the other hand, the author discerns a large interest of scientists to promote BRT worldwide as the universal transit mode. Within this joint thesis, the systems will be studied by two persons that grew up in different cultural, political and urban conditions. Obviously, continental Europe seems to be unique regarding transit behaviours and the preferation of rail-guided transit. Therefore, the joint thesis studies the European situation from two different views. The European view, presented by the author of this publication, emphasises on the relations between cityscapes and transit. The development of tramways for the most part is connected to a careful modernisation of the cities. In this context, the author points out that in Europe tramways and LRT are not different transit modes. Grandfather s tramway is history in almost all cities. The present tramway systems represent modern and effective rail-guided transit, although there are some classical sections in mixed traffic. In a first step, the objective is to analyse the development of European city areas and the role of transit within this development. Starting with the observation that LRT systems are very successful under the European conditions, the case studies then analyse the special conditions for two examples. The first one, Strasbourg, France, stands for the renaissance of tramways in the French city areas, densely built -up areas of up to 500,000 inhabitants. The study examines the background and the efforts for the implementation of the new local LRT network that is known for its high design qualitiy standards and additional measures of restraining private car use in the city centre. The second example, Heilbronn, Germany, represents a typical small European city with a good 100,000 inhabitants in a polycentric area of small towns and villages. The study investigates the characteristics of a regional TramTrain LRT system following the Karlsruhe model. In particular the latter example is very interesting regarding the fact that, in the international context, LRT systems that run on former railway tracks are often less successful. Analysing the data from the case studies, the further objective is to present the conditions for public transit and the ability of both transit modes to fulfill these demands. Is BRT, as it is implemented in South America just as suitable to serve European cities? Which political demands possibly require an adaptation of the basic principles of BRT? Is an European type of high-quality bus transit also a lowcost transport mode or are the costs close to that ones of modern tramways? For the conclusion of the thesis, the author wants to derive typical European areas of application for both modes. However, this final description can just be regarded as information and not as recommendation because of the many aspects that influcence the efficiency of a transit system.

5 Methods BACKGROUND PART A Public Transit in European City Areas As an introduction to the subject of the thesis, the first chapters present the basic aspects of European cityscapes and their transit modes. Chapter One describes the development of the present European city emphasising the relations between city and transit development. Typical transport modes in cities and their environments are listed in Chapter Two. After this general presentation of public transit in Europe, the focus will now be on the systems LRT and BRT. Starting with a short description of the development of tramways in the second half of the 20 th century, Chapter Three lists recent openings and plannings to demonstrate the extent of the Renaissance of Trams in Europe. Furthermore, this chapter presents basic features of the different LRT types and current problems such as political opposition and financial shortage. Chapter Four describes the development of BRT systems in Europe. Transit magazines and information from the internet are the data basis for this general overview of LRT and BRT systems. ANALYSIS PART B Case Studies LRT These chapters study the reasons for the widespread LRT development. After a short introduction into the aspects that influence the implementation of new transit systems (Chapter Five), the following chapters study the LRT networks of Strasbourg, France and Heilbronn, Germany, which represent two different types of new LRT systems in Europe. The chapters present data collected by the analysis of information received from staff of transit authorities and transport companies but also from the literature and the internet. Chapters six and seven therefore present a portrait of the basic conditions for Public Transit in these cities and the characteristics of transit systems that fit successfully in these conditions. DISCUSSION PART C Comparison and Conclusion In this part the author transfers the characteristics of the South American BRT systems to the European urban background. A detailed discussion presents the ability of both transit modes to the political demands of the areas. In a second step, the comparison reflects on the structural feasibility of BRT in European cityscapes. Comparative calculations show cost differences of BRT and LRT, considering the urban conditions of the case studies. The success of LRT in many different European city areas suggest to study the possibilities of European bus transit close to the features of tramway networks an action that also is the basis for the realisation of recent BRT projects in Europe. 9 In the conclusion, the author lists a short summary of the conditions and demands that influence the implementation of public transit systems. Chapter Twelve, furthermore, lists some advantages of LRT and BRT in the European context. Finally, the conclusion presents an overview of suitable application of LRT systems in Europe and a reflection on possible application of BRT in Europe. 9 information about European high quality bus projects, provided at the 2 nd Internationale Wuppertaler Verkehrstage conference, September 21 st and 22 nd 2005