During 1992 Travers Morgan were commissioned to undertake a review of transport on behalf of the Municipality of Budapest and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The 2 million population city possesses an extensive public transport system consisting of three underground railways and a tram, trolleybus and diesel bus network. Car ownership has risen rapidly since 1988 with a consequent drop in public transport usage and a worsening environment. The ability of the Municipality to maintain its subsidies to public transport and to fund the construction of ever more highways is constrained by the general low level of economic activity. The principal study objective was therefore to assess the options for investment in the short to medium term. The paper outlines the way in which 63 projects were evaluated against four broad policy strategies of: (1) maximum investment in both public and private transport; (2) a bias to private transport; (3) a bias to public transport; and (4) an option aimed at an equitable allocation of the limited funds between public and private transport users. (A)
Abstract