Urban Transportation
Norman W. Garrick
Lecture 3
CE 2710
Basics of Urban Transportation
A. Transportation in the urban environment is complex and
diverse, not only in terms of the modes of transportation that
are used, but also in terms of the varied operations of these
modes and the complex interaction between the various
modes and the other aspects of the city.
B. Transportation in the urban context works best when the
various modes are linked together as a seamless whole that
give people convenient choices for meeting various needs.
A. A transportation system that is most effective should be fully
integrated into the life of the city and should not disrupt the
other important activities that are necessary for the
functioning of a city.
Travel Budget
Some transportation historians have put forward the concept of
the 30 minute time budget that most people are willing to allot
for commuting to work in each direction.
They claim that this time budget has remained constant over
time (at least one researcher in Austria developed a model
human energy expenditure which he purports to be the basis for
this invariant time budget over the centuries).
The practical consequence of this constant time budget is that
cities have expanded in size as technology has evolved to allow
people to commute further in 30 minutes.
Transportation and the Evolution
of Urban Form
Until the mid to late 1880s almost all people commuted by
walking, the result was that all cities were very compact and
designed for walking.
The coming of the electric rail in various forms changed the
shape and the size of cities. American cities like Philadelphia,
Boston, Chicago, and even Los Angeles, are examples of cities
that were shaped by rail.
New cities like Phoenix and Atlanta are much different in form
since they were largely shaped by automobile travel, which
allowed a much sparser pattern of development.
Modes of Urban Travel
Non-motorized Travel
II. Motorized Roadway Modes
III.Fixed Guideway Modes
IV. Other
I.
Non-motorized Travel
1.
2.
3.
Walk
Bike
Others
Motorized Roadway Modes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Private auto (individual and shared ownership)
Vanpools
On-demand services (para-transit)
Taxis
Jitney
Bus (Mini-bus, Articulated Bus, Bus Rapid Transit)
Fixed Guideway Modes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fixed Guideway Buses (Bus Rapid Transit)
Light Rail (Streetcars, Trams, Cable Cars)
Rail Rapid Transits (subway, elevated rail)
Commuter Rail
Curitiba, Brazil
Norman W. Garrick
Curitiba, Brazil
Norman W. Garrick
Los Angeles
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
This is Wikipedia’s very good definition of Bus Rapid Transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of
different transportation systems that, through infrastructural and
scheduling improvements, attempt to use buses to provide a service
that is a higher quality than an ordinary bus line.
Each BRT system utilizes different improvements, although many
improvements are shared by many BRT systems.
The goal of such systems is to at least approach the service quality
of rail transit while still enjoying the cost savings of bus
Berlin, Germany
Portland, OR
Norman W. Garrick
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Other Modes
1.
2.
Water
Aerial Trams
Portland, OR
A (Very) Rough Guide to Urban Rail Services
(ref: The Transit Metropolis by Robert Cervero)
Streetcars
Trams
Rail Rapid
Transit
(Subways etc)
Commuter
Rail
Right of Way
On-street,
mixed traffic
Exclusive ROW
Exclusive ROW
Station Spacing
(in City Center)
Less than ¼
mile
½ Mile
NA
Cars/train
1-4
Up to 8
Up to 12
Capacity
125-500
800-1600
1000-2000
Average Speed
12-25 mph
20-25 mph
30-90 mph
The Importance of Walking
Walking is the most important mode of transportation in a city.
Buses and rail cannot provide optimum benefit in a city which
does not have a good walking environment.
A good working environment refers not just to the provision of
side walks, but also relates to land use issues (are there activities
within convenient walking distance?) and the overall urban fabric
(is it attractive? Does it feel safe?).
Advantages of a Multimodal
Transportation System
Although walking is most important to the functioning of a
city. Only the very smallest cities can get by with just
walking.
Balanced multimodal transportation is extremely important
to the well being and sustainability of most cities.
For example, a city with a multimodal system will require
much less space devoted to parking.
As we have discussed, a multimodal system is likely to be
much more robust overall.
Essential Characteristics of a
Good Transportation System
The characteristics that you should look for in judging a
transportation system include the following:









Support all societal goals (economic, quality of life)
Reliable
Cost efficient
Provide choices
Is redundant
Serve a diverse population (young, old, impaired)
Safe (low fatality)
Seamless
Environmental stewardship
Planning for a Multimodal System
In the urban environment, where space is a premium,
developing a multimodal transportation system requires an
emphasis on good planning and creative engineering
solutions
The results of different choices are often not fully realized
for many years, so a long term perspective is required
Planning and design is made more complicated because
each decision must take into account not just the
transportation system, but also how that system supports
and interacts with all activities in the city - but especially
the land use activities