SWOMM » urban mobility

Private money for public transport services in Shenzhen: New Deal in infrastructure finance in China?

RaffaeleV — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:58:33 +0000

The city of Shenzhen, one month before the beginning of the XXVI Universiade Games, took advantage of this event to expand its urban underground with 16 kilometres and 10 stations more. Shenzhen followed the examples of what done by Beijing for the Olympic Summer Games in 2008 and by Shanghai for the 2010 EXPO. However, in implementing such a project, the city followed an approach which is rather new for the country.

After having substantially neglected urban mobility issues for a long time when urban sprawl extended, a massive construction of new light railway and underground systems happened in more than 30 Chinese cities, with a growth of 50 percent in the number of subway carriages in China in the last year. In almost all the cases, the works are financed by government subsidies. Fares are generally cheap (starting from 2 yuan, corresponding to 0,31 dollars) and the services are clean and efficient. Nevertheless, from the economic point of view, none of the Chinese metro networks is profitable, highlighting losses of several millions of yuan.

Shezhen is experimenting a new way: the new Metro line 4 (costed some 6 billion yuan) is the first Chinese rail route fully funded by a private company, Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, under the build-operate-transfer model. MTR tries to reply what it did in 1975 in Hong Kong, by proposing a financial model that blends railway operation with property development.

The rail operator is understood to be in talks with the authorities for the right to develop its 30-hectare depot at the Longhua station. According to MTR documents, 8 ha of the depot are reserved for property development: property prices in Longhua would have the potential to rise 60-70 percent in the next 5 years, to 40 thousands yuan per sqm, owing to the area’s improved accessibility. Moreover, the MTR will collect lease and advertising income from the 100 shops and 900 advertising boxes at the 15 stations on the route.

MTR has been granted a 30-year franchise for Line 4. This line, occupies the network’s most central location and provides interchanges for all lines and it will also link up with the future high-speed railway to Guangzhou and Hong Kong’s East Rail at Futian.

In any case, “government subsidies are expected to remain a major mode of financing public transport services on the mainland, but if the rail-plus-property model proves to be sustainable, the government will consider adopting it for other rail projects,” said one rail expert.

Next years to come will show whether this model may offer a more market-oriented alternative to general government subsidies and public investments in the building of new urban metro lines, creating opportunities for private investors to join this business and a more profitable future for the community.

Related articles

hk-operator-putting-metro-profit-track (gochina.scmp.com)
On the right track (economist.com)

European towns to go on foot

EleonoraC — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:27:10 +0000

Many European cities are creating car-unfriendly environments, for instance by increasing the costs for driving. Another way to tilt the drivers towards more environmental-friendly transport means is that of hampering them to park. In fact, while there is always room for new shopping malls and apartment buildings in cities like Vienna, Barcelona and London, the number of parking spaces are being restricted, and the on-street parking is vanishing.

In the last few years, even former car capitals like Munich have evolved into “walkers’ paradises”. Pedestrians and trams are given priority treatment in Zurich: red lights have been added in close proximity on roads into town, and pedestrian underpasses have been removed. Operators in the city’s ever expanding tram system can turn traffic lights in their favor as they approach, forcing cars to halt.

Europe’s cities generally have stronger incentives to act: public transportation is better in Europe than in the United States, and gas often costs more, over 8 dollars a gallon. What’s more, the need for a cut in the emissions from transport is being seriously taken into consideration.

However, it is not easy to get people out of their cars. While the first step is that of providing efficient public transport, the strategy, which is proving to pay off, is that of making harder and more costly to park.

Related articles

Across Europe, Irking Drivers Is Urban Policy (empressoftheglobaluniverse.wordpress.com)

A move back to cycling (and other alternatives) in cities (surfabike.wordpress.com)

Reclaiming Our Cities: Just Say No To Cars (underpaidgenius.com)

Europe Stifles Drivers in Favor of Mass Transit and Walking – NYTimes.com (mbcalyn.wordpress.com)

The 21st century “green evolution” of London red bus

FedericoM — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:49:46 +0000

Few places in the world may be immediately identified just by the presence of one means of transport as London does with its red double-decker buses, symbolizing the city in any picture or media’s image.

London Municipality – Major Boris Johnson and the transport commissioner Peter Handy – unveiled the project of renewing the “Routemaster” in order to meet the 21st century environmental challenges. Transports by now account for 20% of the overall London CO2 emissions and 5% of all transport emissions created by buses will be cut down through the new hybrid model of the “double-decker bus”.

The new “Routemaster”- co-designed by the Wright Group and Thomas Heatherwick – is powered by the latest technology in hybrid-diesel motors: they can capture the energy released while braking and store it in battery packs for a boost produced by its electric motors. Tests revealed hybrid red double-deckers have a 40% better fuel efficiency compared with the traditional diesel ones and a 15% when compared with other hybrid-diesel powered buses. Moreover, compared with diesel buses, hybrid models are expected to produce a 40% NOx emissions and a 33% reduction in PM10 levels. Hybrid models also provide for a 3 decibel reduction in perceived noise levels, therefore being at the same time more fuel efficient, cleaner and quieter.

Trials have been held since 2008 to test hybrid buses’ performances, and 300 new “Routemaster 2.0” are expected to join the fleet by 2011. All new buses in service after 2012 in London – the Olympic year – will be hybrid. The city wants to reduce its CO2 emission levels by 20% in 2020 and by 60% in 2050, and an entire fleet of hybrid buses is said it could cut 200.000 tons of carbon each year.

Red buses will continue to be the most famous public transport in the world and an iconic symbol of London, even in the 21st century. By innovating in the path of tradition London buses’ legacy may also change worldwide the social perception of “green” public transport. Starting from the red small scale model souvenir of a double-decker bus which every tourist brings home after a trip to London: it could be soon shaped as an hybrid model.

Related articles

Smartplanet.com

Transport for London
inhabitat

guardian.co.uk

nexus 404.com

techradar.com

Electric fuelled cars: towards a quantum leap?

LucaC — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:56:08 +0000

Few months ago – on the eve of the 2009 Frankfurt motor show – The Economist dedicated a detailed article to the electrification of motoring, where technical options and details are presented both for carmakers and batteries’ producers. Of the three most common interpretations of newer electric vehicles ( 1-design small vehicles for city use, 2-add a petrol-driven generator known as a “range extender”, 3-keep the car all-battery, introducing a network of battery-exchange stations), the 3rd one is more likely to start a revolution in the car market. Mountain areas might be interested in further exploring options #1 and #3 for internal mobility purposes, and maybe #2 for those residents who have longer daily routes to drive on.

According to experts, the selling price of electric cars is going to fall as soon as they are concretely sold by car dealers. In addition a purely commercial incentive to electric cars is the separation of the ownership of the batteries: since they still are expensive, if they were provided separately from the car (and assimilated with running costs), the car’s price could fall dramatically.

The establishment of national networks of battery-exchange stations is a pre-requisite to extend the use of electric cars beyond the boundaries of a metropolitan area. In this line it is worth mentioning the initiative of Better Place, a California based company, which is ready to build networks of car-charging and battery-swapping stations that will use robots to exchange exhausted batteries for fully charged ones in seconds. Stations are planned in Israel, Denmark, Hawaii and Australia and a partnership with Renault-Nissan Alliance has already been started to assure that new electric vehicles from the French group use BP-compatible batteries.

Concerning the batteries, it is worth recalling the Nissan-Renault joint venture with French government agencies to develop, build and recycle batteries for electric cars, which involves the French Atomic Energy Commission and might be supported by the European Investment Bank. Renault expects batteries’ recycling and reuse in energy storage and backup power applications (traditionally, secondary markets for batteries after their useful life in vehicle applications).

Looking at what is happening downstairs is useful also for them who look at the mountains!

Other articles you might be interested in!

Viewing the Future from the Past: Battery-Electric Vehicles and Better Place
Better Place Unveils Electric-Car Software
Le auto ibride e la droga rumore
Project Better Place realizzerà le infrastrutture per le auto elettriche anche in Giappone
BP applauds Hawaii’s electric car legislation

Infomobility: which advantages for Alpine tourism?

AndreaB — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:35:55 +0000

How do tourists shift in the European Alps? Where do they come from and where do they go spending their leisure time? Knowledge on facts and datasets describing travellers’ behaviour is still scarce. However a strong political will exists to analyse this phenomenon and to establish a link between the Alpine transport system and the tourist supply. Under a technological point of view, specific facilities and software are needed to involve the numerous subjects participating in the Alpine tourist system. Infomobility is the word that technicians use to refer to the wide set of instruments aiming at improving local information services on traffic, public transport services, faster routes, etc. And which may serve also in the tourist sector.

In Italy an interesting case in the Alpine area is represented by the “Intelligence Control System” project, launched by Regione Piemonte in cooperation with scientific and technical partners. It aims at providing an all-inclusive service to travellers: for instance travellers’ vehicles are used to collect data which are processed in a later stage (e.g. traffic flow is calculated in relation with weather conditions). The resulting “Infomobility system” is easy to access for citizens, and should allow them to get useful information and plan their journeys in advance, limiting trip time, traffic congestion and noxious emissions. Some interesting projects already exist on that territory and were developed by skilled professionals.

Experts from all the Alpine countries are discussing on these topics in the frame of the Alpine Convention Working Group on Transport.

Some questions are still open, and might be asked to the conference’s participants: are European tourists ready to use public transport to visit mountain destinations? Are well built Infomobility systems likely to produce behavioural change in people using their own car to reach Alpine destinations? How much would an extensive use of ICT in the mobility sector cost to local governments? Do the expected advantages counterbalance the required public expenditure?

Other articles you might be interested in!

Infomobility @ Comune di Biella (Italy)

Radio Traffic: live maps from the Regione Piemonte web site

Infomobility @ the Italian Innovation Forum 2009

ICT could affect mobility in mountain regions

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:31:56 +0000

At SWOMM 2009, Mr. Riccardo Genova from the CIRT – Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca Trasporti is going to introduce the role of technology innovation for urban mobility, focussing in particular on low and zero emission vehicles in Local Public Transport (LPT).

In the future of Alpine tourism and more in general of mountain regions, private mobility is due to become increasingly limited. Public transport therefore will probably have a stronger role. We have asked dr. Genova if he believes that ICT will introduce profound changes as it has already occurred in other fields of application.

Dr. Genova replied: “The use of electric vehicles provides a number of specific advantages which make them particularly attractive for urban traffic and in valuable areas such as mountain areas: low emissions, silence, better efficiency in stop and go journeys. It appears as the most convincing answer to environmental issues.

It is in this direction that the project and industrial efforts have focused their attention to define new ways of using electric buses. This innovation can extend the range of their use and therefore reduce electric buses’ running costs. Among the most promising options available, the effectiveness of which are validated by the daily use by some brave transport companies, are the inductive fast recharge for electric buses, and the use of turbines for recharging batteries of hybrid buses on board .

Public transport can and must in this way play a critical role inducing citizens to an ever more frequent use of collective means of transport: the town of Wengen, in the Bernese Alps can be reached only with Wengenalpenbahn and mobility is only for pedestrians. Delivery services are guaranteed thanks to the use of small electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles, special plants, ICT systems supporting mobility: today there is plenty of technological solutions but also the needed financial tools. Many national and regional laws offer incentives for the purchase of public and private electric vehicles: less frequent have been until now interventions in the field of operative facilitations which are part of the leeway of local administrations whom have been recently increasingly interested in environmental issues”.

Could congestion be a good thing?

FrancescoG — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:21:00 +0000

During the SWOMM 2009 conference, mobility and urban planning will be addressed with the participation of experts of the field. Reflections coming from this NewZealand blog -Auckland Transport Blog – regarding the “positive” aspects of traffic congestion in rush hours may well be an interesting starting point for a discussion.

In fact, if on one hand traffic congestion increases air pollution, drivers mental stress and the duration of journeys, on the other hand it fosters for the same reasons the use of public transport on reserved lanes.

“ If we had a complete absence of congestion at all times it would surely be a sign of huge over-investment in the roading network (if it was even possible, remembering the effects of induced demand)… Slower traffic encourages alternatives means of transport that are often more sustainable, it encourages shorter trips and thereby encourages higher development densities and more mixed-use development. ….In the end, I think it’s stupid, and probably even counter-productive, to attempt to eliminate congestion. Instead, perhaps it’s more prudent to plan for an optimum level of congestion – keeping in mind other environmental, economic and social goals.”

This is surely an original point of view. However the question is still valid: is it useful to plan mobility in a certain area aiming at eradicating completely traffic congestions or do we need to plan instead also the optimal level of traffic congestion?