Congestion relief impacts of public transport systems

Objectives

  • To develop a new approach for measuring congestion relief impacts of public transport
  • To explore the congestion relief impacts of public transport in world cities
  • To examine the relationship between public transport congestion relief and various urban and transport characteristics of cities.

Method

  • Use of existing dataset covering 60 world cities to estimate key travel characteristics with and without public transport
  • Regression analysis of elements of urban and transport characteristics that influence public transport congestion relief.

Key results

Hong Kong, Moscow and Cracow have the highest levels of public transport congestion relief.
Table 1 Ranking of cities in terms of congestion relief impacts of public transport
1. Hong Kong
2. Moscow
3. Cracow
4. Tokyo
5. Osaka
6. Prague
7. Budapest
8. Singapore
9. Barcelona
10. Rome
11. Berlin
12. London
13. Munich
14. Vienna
15. Sapporo
16. Berne
17. Milan
18. Helsinki
19. Paris
20. Zurich
21. Brussels
22. Graz
23. Stockholm
24. Madrid
25. Athens
26. Hamburg
27. Amsterdam
28. Newcastle
29. Frankfurt
30. Stuttgart
31. Copenhagen
32. Dusseldorf
33. Marseille
34. Oslo
35. Sydney
36. Nantes
37. Manchester
38. Ruhr
39. Geneva
40. Bologna
41. Montreal
42. Glasgow
43. New York
44. Lyon
45. Toronto
46. Ottawa
47. Melbourne
48. Vancouver
49. Calgary
50. Brisbane
51. Perth
52. Washington
53. Chicago
54. San Francisco
55. Los Angeles
56. Denver
57. Atlanta
58. San Diego
59. Phoenix
60. Houston
  • Hong Kong, Moscow and Cracow have the highest levels of public transport congestion relief, while San Diego, Phoenix and Houston have the lowest levels of congestion relief
  • Three key dimensions were found to positively influence public transport congestion relief: (1) transit-orientation factors, (2) car-deterrence factors, and (3) urban form factors
  • The new approach provides insight to the congestion relief impacts of public transport systems without the need for comprehensive modelling.

Research Papers

Aftabuzzaman, M., Currie, G. & Sarvi, M. (2010) Exploring the underlying dimensions of elements affecting traffic congestion relief impact of transit. Cities, Vol. 28, pp. 36-44.

Aftabuzzaman, M., Currie, G. & Sarvi, M. (2010) Evaluating the congestion relief impacts of public transport in monetary terms, Europe and the US. Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 1-24.

Nguyen-Phuoc, D.Q., Currie, G. & Young, W. (2015) Public Transport Congestion Relief Measurement – A New Framework and Its Impacts. Presented at the 37th Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), Sydney, Australia.