Urb Review GB1 10/07/03 11:42 Page 1 IIMMPPLLEEMMEENNTTIINNGG SSUUSSTTAAIINNAABBLLEE UURRBBAANN TTRRAAVVEELL EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT PPOOLLIICCIIEESS National Reviews I M P L IIMMPPLLEEMMEENNTTIINNGG E This report examines the experiences of eleven M E N SSUUSSTTAAIINNAABBLLEE European countries (including Russia) and the United T I N G States in designing and implementing sustainable S UURRBBAANN TTRRAAVVEELL U urban transport policies. S T A PPOOLLIICCIIEESS I N A A series of national reports are included with a B L E synthetic analysis that draws lessons on the design U R B of successful policies, appropriate institutional and A N financial frameworks and innovative partnerships for T R A effective consultation and committed implementation. V E L P O L I C I E S National Reviews N a tio n a l R e v ie w s CECEMMTT -:HSTCSC=VUXUZU: 21905033 (75 2003 08 1 P) ISBN 92-821-0305-6 2003 © OECD, 2003. © Software: 1987-1996, Acrobat is a trademark of ADOBE. All rights reserved. OECD grants you the right to use one copy of this Program for your personal use only. Unauthorised reproduction, lending, hiring, transmission or distribution of any data or software is prohibited. You must treat the Program and associated materials and any elements thereof like any other copyrighted material. All requests should be made to: Head of Publications Service, OECD Publications Service, 2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. p1urbGBrev 19/08/03 9:38 Page 1 IIMMPPLLEEMMEENNTTIINNGG SSUUSSTTAAIINNAABBLLEE UURRBBAANN TTRRAAVVEELL PPOOLLIICCIIEESS National Reviews EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT (ECMT) The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) is an inter-governmental organisation established by a Protocol signed in Brussels on 17 October 1953. It is a forum in which Ministers responsible for transport, and more specifically the inland transport sector, can co-operate on policy. Within this forum, Ministers can openly discuss current problems and agree upon joint approaches aimed at improving the utilisation and at ensuring the rational development of European transport systems of international importance. At present, the ECMT’s role primarily consists of: – helping to create an integrated transport system throughout the enlarged Europe that is economically and technically efficient, meets the highest possible safety and environmental standards and takes full account of the social dimension; – helping also to build a bridge between the European Union and the rest of the continent at a political level. The Council of the Conference comprises the Ministers of Transport of 43 full member countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. There are six Associate member countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States) and one Observer country (Morocco). A Committee of Deputies, composed of senior civil servants representing Ministers, prepares proposals for consideration by the Council of Ministers. The Committee is assisted by working groups, each of which has a specific mandate. The issues currently being studied – on which policy decisions by Ministers will be required – include the development and implementation of a pan-European transport policy; the integration of Central and Eastern European Countries into the European transport market; specific issues relating to transport by rail, road and waterway; combined transport; transport and the environment; sustainable urban level; the social costs of transport; trends in international transport and infrastructure needs; transport for people with mobility handicaps; road safety; traffic management; road traffic information and new communications technologies. Statistical analyses of trends in traffic and investment are published regularly by the ECMT and provide a clear indication of the situation, on a trimestrial or annual basis, in the transport sector in different European countries. As part of its research activities, the ECMT holds regular Symposia, Seminars and Round Tables on transport economics issues. Their conclusions serve as a basis for formulating proposals for policy decisions to be submitted to Ministers. The ECMT’s Documentation Service has extensive information available concerning the transport sector. This information is accessible on the ECMT Internet site. For administrative purposes the ECMT’s Secretariat is attached to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Publié en français sous le titre : Transports urbains durables : la mise en œuvre des politiques EXAMENS NATIONAUX Further information about the ECMT is available on Internet at the following address: www.oecd.org/cem © ECMT 2003 – ECMT Publications are distributed by: OECD Publications Service, 2, rue André Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France. Foreword Following publication of the joint ECMT and OECD report Urban Travel and Sustainable Development in1995, Ministers of Transport asked for a review of the implementation of urban transport policies in the light of the recommenda- tions made. This review was undertaken over the period1998-2001resulting in a summary report to Ministers that can be consulted on the web at www.oecd.org/ CEM/topics/council/cmpdf/2001/CM0113e.pdf and a series of published reports including a survey of urban travel trends and policy developments in cities across the ECMT and OECD regions, and in-depth reviews on implementing urban sustainable travel policies in the Netherlands and Hungary. The present report presents the results of eleven “self-reviews” by national governments on progress towards sustainable urban travel policies and opens with a synthesis of the experience reported in these countries. The synthesis report draws also on developments reported in the peer reviews and cities survey. 3 © ECMT 2003 Table of Contents Synthesis Report 1. Socio-economic, Institutional and Environmental Contexts.......................................... 7 1.1. Key trends as identified five years ago and today.................................................... 7 1.2. Political and economic frameworks.............................................................................. 13 Notes............................................................................................................................................ 14 2. National Experience in Policy Development............................................................................ 15 2.1. The Capacity of Local and Regional Governments to Make Policy and Invest in Transport Systems.................................................................................. 15 2.2. Integration of transport and other policies................................................................. 18 2.3. Public transport policy in urban regions..................................................................... 21 2.4. Car restraint policies...................................................................................................... 25 2.5. Non-motorised modes................................................................................................... 28 Notes............................................................................................................................................ 29 3. Lessons for Policy Implementation.................................................................................... 31 3.1. Decentralisation............................................................................................................. 31 3.2. The important role of Central Government................................................................ 31 3.3. Participation and new partnerships............................................................................. 33 Key to summary table below................................................................................................ 35 Notes............................................................................................................................................ 35 National Reviews by Country Czech Republic.................................................................................................................................... 41 Finland.................................................................................................................................................. 53 France................................................................................................................................................... 76 Germany............................................................................................................................................... 96 Italy........................................................................................................................................................ 117 Norway.................................................................................................................................................. 142 Poland................................................................................................................................................... 157 Portugal................................................................................................................................................. 173 Russia.................................................................................................................................................... 188 Switzerland........................................................................................................................................... 211 United States....................................................................................................................................... 257 5 © ECMT 2003 SYNTHESIS REPORT 1. Socio-economic, Institutional and Environmental Contexts 1.1. Key trends as identified five years ago and today The1995 joint ECMT/OECD report Urban Travel and Sustainable Development noted the following general trends: Key urban trends (cid:127) About three-quarters of the population of OECD/ECMT countries now live in urban areas. Settlement patterns are becoming more complex characterised by a continuous “suburbanisation” of the population and of jobs. (cid:127) Travel by car has increased in almost all countries and at a rate which, fifty years ago, would not have been thought possible. This has been due to long- term annual increases of 2to 3% in national wealth, a general lowering in the real costs of using a car and the emergence of more car dependent life-styles. (cid:127) Trip length both by car and public transport has increased as activities have become more dispersed. Suburb-to-suburb journeys have shown the fastest growth. At the same time there has been a shift from walking and cycling to motorised modes. (cid:127) Car ownership has conferred on a large and increasing public a freedom to travel anywhere at any time and enabled jobs, shops and services to relocate to peripheral areas. It has also allowed more people to enjoy living in more spacious surroundings. (cid:127) Industry has not been slow to take advantage of the freedom offered by road transport. The ease with which goods can be transported between almost any locations has allowed innovations such as “just-in-time” produc- tion and a reduction in warehousing facilities. Firms of all kinds have, at the same time, tended to move to edge-of-town sites to exploit the increased personal mobility of their car-owning customers and employees. 7 © ECMT 2003 Implementing Sustainable Urban Travel Policies: National Reviews (cid:127) Innovations in logistics, coupled with increases in the consumption of goods, have caused road freight traffic to grow at nearly 5% per annum over the last 20years, even faster than car traffic (3.3%per annum). Costs of key trends (cid:127) All these changes have been associated with economic growth, but they have not been without their costs: (cid:127) Almost all large towns and cities are congested in the central and inner areas for much of the day and along the main arteries at peak times. Many are becoming increasingly congested in the suburbs at certain times of the day. (cid:127) Fringe areas of cities are difficult and costly to serve by public transport. (cid:127) Those without access to a car are becoming increasingly isolated from jobs and services. (cid:127) Deaths and injuries on urban roads occur in unacceptable numbers, do untold damage to those who are bereaved or maimed and create an atmosphere of fear. (cid:127) Inner and many outer parts of cities are dominated by road traffic. Road noise affects to a serious extent almost half the urban residents in most countries. (cid:127) Air pollution is present in almost all parts of cities. Exhaust emissions, in addition to contributing to photochemical smog, are associated with a wide range of health problems. (cid:127) Not all the effects of traffic are local. Photochemical smog and acid rain are regularly exported from cities to their surroundings and even to adjacent countries and carbon dioxide is emitted whenever fossil fuels are burnt. Compared with the earlier period, the national governments reporting in2000/2001revealed some differences in developments over the last 5years, with some new patterns emerging. It was also possible to obtain much more infor- mation from countries in transition in the current review. The results reported are described in the following sections. 1.1.1. Did urban populations continue to grow? Did sprawl continue to expand with degradation of an inner ring of suburbs? In America the classic trend towards sprawl appears to continue. Despite the phenomenon being most marked on the American continent, sprawl has become a major feature of developments in eastern Europe in the last decade. In western Europe some reversal in the trend appears to be emerging with residents and to a 8 smaller extent employers being attracted back to city centres. © ECMT 2003 1. Socio-economic, Institutional and Environmental Contexts The USA reports widespread growth in urban populations and faster growth in consumption of land around urban areas, with a trend towards lower density resi- dential and business land use. In many of the older cities of the north-east and Midwest, city centre populations are stable or declining whilst the suburbs are growing. Finland reports continued growth in urban populations. Norway reports the classic pattern of business and residents moving out of city centres into the sub- urbs creating sprawl in the1970s and1980s but notesan emerging change of pref- erence for higher density housing closer to the city centres in the1990s. In Switzerland the share of total population in the largest urban regions has decreased slightly in recent years. There is some evidence, however, of the inner most city areas becoming more attractive, partly as a result of successful transport policies and resulting reductions in nuisance, with an influx of returning wealthy citizens. This new trend is also noted in France, where the population of Paris has been stable for over a decade, but at the same time the inner suburbs grow and the outer suburbs have grown dramatically. In most cities peripheral areas have shown the strongest growth in employment opportunities, but the Swiss cities have also maintained or even increased employment in the city centres. There are important differences in the development of degraded inner sub- urbs. Switzerland has avoided this effect successfully and, with Finland, reports that current development plans put a strong emphasis on providing attractive liv- ing spaces in the inner areas. Some cities that have suffered very widespread deg- radation, such as London, have made successful, if limited, inroads in reversing the trend. Both Finland and the USA report that sprawl is one of the main concerns of urban citizens, often viewed with more disquiet even than traditional urban fears such as crime. 1.1.2 Did car ownership and use continue to grow? Car ownership and use have almost universally continued to grow on a strongly increasing trend, with growth particularly in the suburban areas and in concentric movements between suburbs and between cities in heavily populated regions. Car ownership still tends to be lowest in city centres where public trans- port is available and parking space is at a premium; it is highest in suburban areas poorly served by public transport. The costs of car ownership have continued to decline relative to incomes in the countries surveyed. Though the costs of car use rose in some countries with increases in fuel taxation in the late1990s, the United Kingdom is the most striking example, costs in real terms are now universally below historic highs. In the USA costs have continued to fall from levels already well below Europe. At the same time the average quality of passenger cars has 9 © ECMT 2003 Implementing Sustainable Urban Travel Policies: National Reviews improved in terms of comfort, durability and accessories, creating additional value for buyers and attraction for use over public transport. 1.1.3. Did ridership on public transport continue to fall? Trends vary markedly. Some of the biggest cities show strong growth in rider- ship linked to the economic growth of the last 5years, London is especially strik- ing. In the second largest city in Europe, Paris, the trend is for stability. In Switzerland rail ridership has grown strongly with improved services but the pat- tern with local buses varies greatly between cities. In Finland the volume of passengers using public transport is stable although its share has declined slightly to around 20% of total passenger traffic. Norway saw a decline in ridership in its main cities in the first half of the1990s partly reversed in the second half in response to investment in public transport systems. Oslo accounted for much of the growth in ridership which reached 20% of total passen- ger traffic. In eastern Europe ridership levels have declined with increases in car owner- ship but are still on average far above western European levels. The Czech Republic reports an “enormous shift” from public transport to cars in the last decade, down from 75% of total urban passenger traffic (90% of peak traffic) at the beginning of the1990s to 60% at the end of the decade. The decline flattened out in the second half of the 90s with currently a “stagnation” in ridership. The Czech review expresses fears that there is little scope to attract passengers back to public trans- port either through price or improving the quality of service. In the USA mass transit accounts for only 4% of trips but ridership grew by 5% during the1990s. Buses, the most widespread system, saw ridership decline slightly whilst light rail/tram systems increased between15and 20%, rail rapid transit ridership increased by 10% and commuter rail ridership increased by 17%. 1.1.4. Trends in pedestrian and bicycle trips The share of pedestrians and bicycle trips varies very much among European cities, while it is extremely low in the USA (6.5% of local trips, 0.5% of p-km). The number of cycling journeys for distances up to 7km is highest in the Netherlands. Bicycle traffic increased slightly in the Netherlands to 25% of trips on a nation- wide scale or 7% of total p-km. Very high levels of walking and cycling are also reported in Hungary: walking in Budapest accounts for 25% of all trips undertaken. Most countries probably show a tendency for people to replace short dis- tance trips on foot or by bicycle with travel by car or on public transport trips for reasons of convenience. This trend of a reduction of the share of non-motorised 10 movements is reported in the reviews of Norway and Switzerland. © ECMT 2003