The main institutions traditionally involved in the planning of public transport services are the operator's planning department and the local authority, both as a political body and through its administrative functions. Two main approaches have evolved to give a voice to (potential) users: First, a case-by-case strategy of consultation with user organisations or individuals which may be formal or informal in character and can also combine several elements. Second, the establishment of permanent institutions with the explicit or implicit task to represent customers. The presentation is based on material collected mainly at national level, but comparisons with the situation in other European countries (e.g. Rail Passengers Council in the UK, project-based consultation in France, public consultation of timetables in Switzerland) will be made. Information obtained includes: extensive desk research on participative procedures; their application in transport planning expert interviews with stakeholders from both sides; and a survey of passenger advisory boards of which approx. 100 exist in Germany either within the operator's organisation or as open consultative institutions. One passenger advisory board is presented as an example for best practice. An in-depth review of the planning process for the reorganisation of the bus and tram network in Berlin during 2004 is presented. In addition to the usual consultation with stakeholder groups, the operator also sought views on several planning issues directly from the public for the first time. These data will allow a comparative assessment of the two strategies and outline their strengths and weaknesses. The direct influence of a particular vote on the final result is often hard to define, but a series of criteria for good practice in user involvement can be identified and will be used to suggest suitable areas for the implementation of the various approaches. For the covering abstract please see ITRD E135207.
Samenvatting