Travel plans for new developments: a global review

A travel plan is a mechanism for delivering a package of transport measures at a site to manage car use and encourage the use of more sustainable forms of transport. In recent years, travel plans have been required for new infill and greenfield developments through the land-use planning and approvals process, predominantly in the United Kingdom, the United States, continental Europe and Australia. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a global review of travel plans for new developments. The results show that while travel plans for new developments share a common set of elements with those for pre-existing sites, differences within each element are notable, particularly in the types of travel plan measures adopted, processes for managing the travel plan, and approaches to monitoring and review. Results of previous evaluations have varied considerably, although most have reported a reduction in car driver trips of 10–20 percentage points. Despite this, most evaluations lack rigour, with a paucity of robust evidence. Key success factors identified by the literature, such as the provision of an explicit policy supporting the role of travel plans, should be embedded within the travel planning process where possible to ensure best outcomes for new developments.     

Incorporating uncertainty into short-term travel time predictions

To improve the quality of travel time information provided to motorists, there is a need to move away from point forecasts of travel time. Specifically, techniques are needed which predict the range of travel times which motorists may experience. This paper focuses on travel time prediction on motorways and evaluates three models for predicting the travel time range in real time as well as up to 1 h ahead. The first model, termed lane by lane tracing, relies on speed data from each lane to replicate the trajectories of relatively slow and relatively fast vehicles on the basis of speed differences across the lanes. The second model is based on the relationship between mean travel time (estimated using a neural network model) and driver-to-driver travel time variability. The results provide insight into the relative merits of the proposed techniques and confirm that they provide a basis for reliable travel time range prediction in the short-term prediction context (up to 1 h ahead).     

A Review of Pseudo Panel Data Approach in Estimating Short-run and Long-run Public Transport Demand Elasticities

Abstract

The distinctions between short-run and long-run public transport demand elasticities have been highlighted in the literature, but the identification of long-run travel demand has been constrained by existing research methodology and the unavailability of longitudinal travel survey data. The pseudo panel data approach using repeated cross-sectional data has been suggested as an alternative to conducting a longitudinal travel demand analysis when genuine panel data are not available. This paper comprehensively reviews the background and the current practices of pseudo panel data research, and introduces the challenges in applied research that need further investigation, particularly for public transport. A case study using the Sydney Household Travel Survey data is presented to demonstrate pseudo panel data construction and to identify the short-run and long-run public transport demand elasticities using a pseudo panel data approach. The research findings suggest that the public transport demand elasticity of price in Sydney is ?0.22 in the short run and ?0.29 in the long run.     

Flexible substitution patterns in models of mode and time of day choice: new evidence from the UK and the Netherlands

Modelling the temporal response of travellers to transport policy interventions has rapidly emerged as a major issue in many practical transport planning studies and is recognised to hold particular challenges. The importance of congestion and its variation over the day, together with the emergence of time-dependent road user charging as a policy tool, emphasise the need to understand whether and how travellers will change the timing of their journeys. For practical planning studies, analysts face a major issue of relating temporal changes to other behavioural changes that are likely to result from policy or exogenous changes. In particular, the relative sensitivity of time and mode switching has been difficult to resolve. This paper describes a study undertaken to determine the relative sensitivity of mode and time of day choice to changes in travel times and costs and to investigate whether evidence exists of varying magnitudes of unobservable influences in time of day switching. The study draws on data from three related stated preference studies undertaken over the past decade in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and uses error components logit models to investigate the patterns of substitution between mode and time of day alternatives. It is concluded that the magnitude of unobserved influences on time switching depends significantly on the magnitudes of the time switches considered. With time periods of the magnitude generally represented in practical modelling, i.e. peak periods of 2–3 hours, time switching is generally more sensitive in these data than mode switching. However, the context of the modelling and the extent to which relevant variables can be measured will strongly influence these results.     

City delineation in European applications of LUTI models: review and tests

This paper stresses the lack of attention paid to the geographical definitions of cities in LUTI models as one key detrimental aspect to transferring and generalising LUTI results. First, the argumentation develops from a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed publications about LUTI applications in European cities. We show that most authors do not assess findings against potential geographical biases. Second, theoretical simulations are conducted with UrbanSim applied to a synthetic urban area. By varying the geographical limits of the system and population endowments, our simulations confirm that the absence of control on city delineation weakens the results. Finally, the paper suggests methodological guidelines to improve the comparability of LUTI applications and push forward their theoretical agenda.     

Changes in private car ownership associated with car sharing: gauging differences by residential location and car share typology

Transportation - While a large body of literature shows that car share encourages low car ownership, the evidence is rather limited in the context of different types of car share (fleet-based...     

Ports and shipping in Mozambique: current concerns and policy options

This paper explores the current state of ports and shipping in Mozambique, and reviews it in the context of a past history of civil war followed by radical macro-economic adjustment, and more recent concerns and debates around the deregulation and privatization of the transport industry. More specifically, it addresses the key issue of the relationship between shipping and both broader and local economic development, taking account of the needs of major industry and the need to sustain local livelihoods. It reveals that the situation in Mozambique is a product of both local and global pressures, moulded by economic and political forces. It further indicates that, while there are now positive opportunities for coastal shipping, the capacity for developing inland shipping appears to be very limited. Future growth consequently depends on local participation, training and skills development and the broader social, economic, and transport infrastructure.     

E-bikes and urban transportation: emerging issues and unresolved questions

A range of factors, including improvements in battery and motor technology coupled with innovative industrial design, are contributing to the emergence of electric bicycles (E-bikes) with greater range and enhanced performance. This paper examines this emerging vehicle type within the context of sustainable transport. Mobility, safety and environmental impacts are considered. While governments could employ a range of policy instruments to respond to the opportunities and threats presented by these vehicles, the primary focus internationally is on vehicle standards. A review of regulations in different countries highlights little consistency in the parameters used to regulate E-bikes. Unresolved issues are identified to guide future research on this vehicle type.     

Inclusionary housing in the California coastal zone

Abstract

This article evaluates the performance of the California Coastal Commission's inclusionary housing program by examining: (1) the scope of the housing regulations, (2) initial permit decisions on residential projects, (3) the disposition of these permits overtime, and (4) the composition of completed projects and a best‐case projection of possible project completions. Using a case study of Southern California, factors affecting program success are discussed, including the effects of the various regulations, the availability of project subsidies, local government permit policies, and housing market fluctuations. The authors conclude that such state regulatory programs cannot be expected to succeed in urbanized coastal areas without incentives for developers and augmented state agency authority, superseding local land use controls.