Citizens’ Accessibility with Sustainable
Transport Modes as basis when Defining
the Right Mix of Measures
– the Accessibility Index
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Hanna Wennberg, Trivector Traffic AB, Sweden
Erika Knobblock, City of Malmö, Sweden
DEVELOPING AN ACCESSIBILITY INDEX

Overarching goal of the mobility policy in the City of Malmö:
Walking, cycling and public transport
are the first hand choices for transport.

Objectives:
 Develop a normative accessibility index based on relevant measurements
 Use maps to illustrate sustainable accessibility based on a number of
criteria for sustainable transport modes
 Assess the impact of measures undertaken
2
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Accessibility with sustainable transport modes (relative to car) is
crucial for more sustainable transport systems
 There are several ways to measure accessibility, but no accepted
method to sum up different measurements
ACCESSIBILITY – A DEFINITION
The ease of access or how
easily people can reach desired
activities:

Macro-level – geographical
accessibility and land-use patterns

Meso-level – availability and quality of
transport modes

Micro-level – occurrence of various
environmental barriers (poor standard)
Individual accessibility
– accessibility of individuals
Robustness
or groups – sustainable,
reliable, safe, meet various
needs etc.
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Place-specific accessibility
Freedom of
of areas
choice – be
– accessibility
able to choose between
several modes with good
accessibility
3
MEASURING ACCESSIBILITY

Travel time
 Distance
 Density
 Relative attractiveness,
e.g. travel time ratio
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Selected accessibility measurements
are based on previous research, e.g.
the EU project ISEMOA
(www.isemoa.eu) and “Enkla
tillgänglighetsmått” (funded by
Swedish Transport Administration).
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Access to activities
you rarely do or to
activities more "on
the road"
Access to leisure/
recreation, work,
friends, grocery
store, care centre.
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Children's
accessibility is the
most important!
Haugen K (2011) The Advantage of ‘Near’: Which Accessibilities Matter to Whom? EJTIR 11(4):368-388.
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Calculation principle
• 226 areas in Malmö collect
scores based on eight criteria
for accessibility with sustainable
transport modes
• The accessibility index is the
mean value for the eight criteria
Score
5
Level of accessibility
Good accessibility
4
3
Average accessibility – ”acceptable level”
2
0
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1
Poor accessibility
6
8 CRITERIA
1. Travel time by walking to 10 destinations
2
2. Travel time by cycling to 10 destinations
1
6
3. Travel time ratio bicycle/car to 10 destinations
1
4. Travel time ratio PT/car to 3 destinations (city centre, nearest
shopping mall, nearest major node in public transport)
2
5. Distance to nearest bus stop (with good headway)
1
6. Distance to nearest major node in public transport
3
7. Distance to nearest carpool
1
8. Range of travel opportunities, i.e. access to several
sustainable modes with good accessibility (freedom of choice)
1
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6
7
1. Nearest child care
3
2. Nearest school
3
3. Nearest care centre
2
4. Nearest grocery store
2
5. Nearest park/recreational area
2
6. Nearest public facility for sports/exercise
1
7. Nearest play ground (only theme level)
1
8. City centre
3
9. Nearest community centre
3
10. Nearest shopping mall
2
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10 DESTINATIONS
8
Share of citizens in Malmö living in
areas with different accessibility levels:
59 %
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of the citizens in Malmö have at
least an acceptable accessibility
with sustainable modes.
9
Distance (m)
Travel time (min)
Score
- 250 m
- 3,75 min
5
250-499 m
3,75 - 7,5 min
4
500-999 m
7,5 - 15 min
3
1000-1499 m
15 - 22,5 min
2
1500-1999 m
22,5 - 30 min
1
2000 - m
30 - min
0
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1. Travel time by walking to 10
destinations
10
Distance (m)
Travel time (min)
Score
- 1 km
- 3,75 min
5
1-2 km
3,75 - 7,5 min
4
2-4 km
7,5 - 15 min
3
4-6 km
15 - 22,5 min
2
6-9 km
22,5 - 33,75 min
1
9 - km
33,75 - min
0
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2. Travel time by cycling to 10
destinations
11
Travel time ratio (bicycle/car)
Score
-1
5
1 (more than 1) - 1,25
4
1,25 - 1,5
3
1,5 - 1,75
2
1,75 – 2
1
2-
0
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3. Travel time ratio bicycle/car to
10 destinations
12
5. Distance to nearest bus stop
(with good headway)
Distance (m)
Score
-199 m
5
200 - 299 m
4
300 - 399 m
3
400 - 499 m
2
500 - 599 m
1
600- m
0
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Only bus stops with at least:
• 30 minutes headway on weekdays
at 06-00, Saturdays at 07-00 and
Sundays at 07-22 AND
• 10 minutes headway on weekdays
at 06-09 and 15-18
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8. Range of travel opportunities,
i.e. access to several sustainable
modes with good accessibility
(freedom of choice)

1: Travel time by walking to 10 destinations

2: Travel time by cycling to 10 destinations

6: Distance to nearest bus stop

7: Distance to nearest major node in PT
Criteria
Score
Mean score  4,5 AND no score < 3
5
Mean score  3,5 AND no score < 3
4
Mean score  3 AND no score < 3
3
Mean score  2
2
Mean score  1
1
Mean score < 1
0
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Aggregate of four criteria:
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HOW THE CITY OF MALMÖ USES THE INDEX




Status reports
Compare different investment options
Compare accessibility between areas and
for population groups
Evaluate effectiveness of various measures
Monitor progress over time
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
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RIGHT MIX OF MEASURES
LOW
HIGH
POOR
Physical +
communicative
measures
Physical measures
GOOD
Communicative
measures
Maintain…
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Accessibility with
sustainable modes
Use of sustainable modes
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Scores for the 10 destinations (1. travel time by walking to 10 destinations, 5-7.
distances to nearest bus stop, nearest major node in PT, and carpool):
Nearest child care
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Share of children (0-6)
17
Hanna Wennberg, Trivector Traffic
hanna.wennberg@trivector.se
+46 10 456 56 08
Erika Knobblock, City of Malmö
© Trivector
erika.knobblock@malmo.se
+46 72 181 27 68