Shifting from car to active transport: A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions

IntroductionA promising way to stimulate physical activity is to promote the choice for active modes of transport (walking and cycling). Over the past years, several interventions and policies have been implemented to stimulate this mode shift. However, information concerning the effectiveness of these interventions and policies is still limited. The aim of the present study was to systematically review the effectiveness of interventions designed to stimulate a shift from car use to cycling or walking and to obtain insight into the intervention tools that have been used to promote and/or implement these interventions.MethodsFive databases were searched and articles published in English, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish were included. Only studies that focussed on a mode shift from car use towards active transport in a general adult population, which were published in peer reviewed journals and which investigated effectiveness were included. Intervention tools used were categorized by using the model of Hoogerwerf & Herweijer, as either legal, economic (subsidy, reward system, penalty), communicative (written materials, behavioural tools) and physical tools (providing bicycles, providing better bicycle facilities at work, adjustment of the environment).ResultsNineteen studies met our inclusion criteria. Studies included described work-place-based interventions, architectural and urbanistic adjustments, population-wide interventions, and bicycle-renting systems. Nearly all studies (except three) showed positive effects concerning a mode shift. Most of the included studies used more than one intervention tool and the tools used differed between types of interventions. However, information about the statistical significance of these results was often lacking and the study methodologies used were not of high quality.ConclusionNearly all studies showed results in a positive direction. However, the quality of the included studies was mostly low and intervention characteristics were poorly described.     

Re-cycling a city – Examining the growth of cycling in Dublin

In the past few decades much research has been conducted on the increasing numbers of commuters taking up cycling to work. This modal shift has been encouraged by pro-cycling policies to increase the attractiveness of cycling and the construction of new cycling infrastructure. In Dublin, several policies have been applied such as a bike rental scheme, bicycle-purchasing schemes, reducing speed limits and the construction of segregated cycle lanes to promote cycling. This paper seeks to examine what, if any, impact these policies have had on cycling rates in Dublin. This paper compares census data from 2006 and 2011 to determine how cycling rates have changed and if the demographics of cyclists have changed in the city. The results presented in the paper show that cycling rates have increased in Dublin and that a greater percentage of females, those in higher age and socio-economic groups are cycling to work on a regular basis. The analysis presented in this paper identifies groups of individuals that have recently shifted to cycling to work, by identifying who these people are, policymakers can tailor strategies to target these groups to encourage others in these groups to take up cycling.     

Urban transportation in Chinese cities: An efficiency assessment

We use 2008 data for 34 Chinese cities to compare urban transportation systems. The results show stronger eastern and central cities focusing more on high capacity and less on sustainable modes of transportation, while western cities do the opposite. Chinese cities with more sustainable transportation are also more likely to have lower gross domestic product per capita, be smaller, are less urbanized and have higher bus usage. This model needs to change to align with China’s new policy priorities.     

Continuous approximation for skip-stop operation in rail transit

Operating speed of a transit corridor is a key characteristic and has many consequences on its performance. It is generally accepted that an increased operating speed for a given fleet leads to reduced operating costs (per kilometer), travel and waiting times (three changes that can be computed precisely), an improved comfort and level of service, which can attract new passengers who are diverted from automobile (items harder to estimate precisely). That is why several operation schemes which aim to increase the operating speed are studied in the literature, such as deadheading, express services, and stop skipping.A novel category of solutions to this problem for one-way single-track rail transit is to perform accelerated transit operations with fixed stopping schedules. The concept is quite simple: as the time required for stopping at each station is an important part of travel time, reducing it would be a great achievement. Particular operations that take advantage of this idea already exist. This paper focuses on one of them: the skip-stop operation for rail transit lines using a single one-way track. It consists in defining three types of stations: AB stations where all the trains stop, and A and B stations where only half of the trains stop (stations type A and B are allocated interchangeably). This mode of operation is already described in the literature (Vuchic, 1973, Vuchic, 1976, Vuchic, 2005) and has been successfully implemented in the Metro system of Santiago, Chile.This work tackles the problem with a continuous approximation approach. The problem is described with a set of geographically dependent continuous parameters like the density of stations for a given line. Cost functions are built for a traditional (all-stop) operation and for skip-stop operation as described above. A simple example is presented to support this discussion. Finally, a discussion about the type of scenarios in which skip-stop operations are more beneficial is presented.     

FLIRT--创新的区间运输轻型快速动车组

为适应区间铁路客运的需要,瑞士Stadler铁路成套设备公司开发了创新的轻型快速区间运输动车组FLIRT(Flinker Leichter Innovativer Regional Triebzug).该动车组以用于贯穿瑞士南北铁路连接线的瑞士中部州府而闻名.该城市必须重新评价其近郊铁路客运的设计,寻求远期的解决办法.就今天公交运输的财政形势来说,必须寻求一种费用最佳的解决办法.为此放弃了广泛新建铁路基础设施的办法,而主要是充分利用现有基础设施.对此决定将FLIRT动车组用于客、货运繁忙的南北铁路连接线.文章介绍该城市铁路动车组的设计.     

城市轨道交通最新技术及评定

文章对城市轨道交通系统进行分类、并对其最新发展和商业化运营趋势及其所用的安全评定方法进行了论述.     

国际货运代理业应当尽快实施收益管理

收益管理作为一项先进的管理技术,在国际货运代理业尚未得到充分应用。现以国际货运代理业中最重要的业务之一——国际集装箱运输代理业务为例,探讨国际货运代理业可否实行收益管理,并从可行性、必要性和紧迫性等三个方面,进行较为详细的分析和论述,得出国际货运代理业开展收益管理不仅是可行的,而且是十分必要的,同时也是急待实施的结论,从而为国际货运代理业实施收益管理提供理论支持。     

海上巡逻救助飞机若干问题探讨

根据海上巡逻搜救任务对巡逻救助飞机在安全系数、操作性能、搜救能力、适应程度等方面的要求,论证了采用专业飞机执行海上巡逻救助任务的必要性;通过巡逻搜救飞机和船舶在应急反应时间、搜寻范围、救助能力以及成本费用对比,提出了巡逻搜救飞机的适用条件和船机配合执行任务的模式;通过对巡逻搜救飞机和机场自建-自用、建设-托管、租赁-使用三种模式的优缺点和费用的分析,提出了巡逻搜救飞机的机场建设的管理模式。     

试论城乡道路客运一体化改革

论述了城乡道路客运一体化改革的意义和改革的基本模式及内涵,提出了改革的对策及措施。     

冲击压实工艺在客运专线施工中的应用

文章以新建的武汉-广州铁路客运专线施工工程为例,对冲击压实工艺试验的检测结果进行分析,介绍了冲击压实作用机理及施工工艺,同时针对不同的冲击压实的适用范围提出了建议。