The expansion of urban areas in developing countries presents many transport challenges. Many cities are rapidly expanding into the surrounding countryside and the new developments create additional traffic demand, which adds to the congestion on road networks. In developing countries, city dwellers have aspirations to acquire and use cars but the local government's objective is often to provide a good public transport system. Consequently, public transport is seen as the preferred sustainable transport mode for accommodating the increased travel demand through the provision of new public transport infrastructure or the enhancement of existing systems. However, there are a number of alternative systems available, each with their own characteristics. The challenge for public transport providers is to identify the systems that best suits their local requirements. This note presents the findings of a study in Cali, Colombia, where alternative public transport systems were evaluated within an evaluation framework. The framework was developed in consultation with the key stakeholders in the City including the Central Government, the Municipal Authority, and Metro Cali (the local transit authority). The evaluation framework assessed the merits of alternative public transport systems such as light rail, modern tram and articulated bus systems. An existing EMME2 multi-modal transport model was used to evaluate the benefits of the alternative systems. In addition as part of the study, stated preference tests were conducted to enhance the mode choice mechanism in EMME2 models so that the light rail, modern tram, articulated bus systems and private car users could be evaluated in a consistent way. For each public transport system option, key indicators such as accessibility, integration, economy, safety and environment were considered. The main findings of the study was that articulated buses performed better in terms of reliability, operation and maintenance whilst fixed infrastructure systems such as light rail or modern tram offered greater benefits in terms of coverage and accessibility, integration and safety. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135448.
Samenvatting