Transit Cooperative Research Program
Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration
Research Results Digest
October 1997—Number 22
Subject Areas: IA Planning and Administration, Responsible Senior Program Officer:
Christopher W. Jenks
VI Public Transit, VII Rail
International Transit Studies Program
Report on 1996 Missions, Part 1
CONTENTS
International Transit Studies Program, 1
About the Program, 1
About the Report, 3
Urban and Regional Bus Operations in Smaller
European Cities: Mission 4, May 9–26, 1996, 3
Introduction, 3
Switzerland, 4
Unique Transit Features, 4
Zurich, 4
Schaffhausen, 5
Frauenfeld, 5
Austria, 6
Dornbirn, 6
Germany, 7
Unique Transit Features, 7
Lindau, 7
Radolfzell, 8
Ravensburg, 8
Detmold, 9
Lemgo, 10
Bad Salzuflen, 10
Muenster, 10
Belgium, 11
Liege, 11
Brugge, 12
Netherlands, 13
Unique Transit Features, 13
Breda, 13
Dordrecht, 14
Maastricht, 14
Lessons Learned, 15
Automobile Restriction, 15
Integrated Pricing, 15
Marketing and Customer Information, 15
Planning, 15
Route Design and Operations, 20
Technology, 20
Canadian Urban and Regional Transit Innovations:
Mission 5, October 14–27, 1996, 20
Introduction, 20
Quebec, 20
Montreal, 21
Ottawa, 22
Toronto, 24
Calgary, 24
Vancouver, 25
Victoria, 27
Lessons Learned, 27
APPENDIX A: Mission Participants and Their Titles and Affiliations at the Time of the
Mission, 33
APPENDIX B: European Hosts Perspective of "What They Do Best," 35
Transit Cooperative Research Program
Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration
Research Results Digest
October 1997—Number 22
Subject Areas: IA Planning and Administration, Responsible Senior Program Officer:
Christopher W. Jenks
VI Public Transit, VII Rail
International Transit Studies Program
Report on 1996 Missions
This TCRP digest summarizes the fourth and fifth missions performed
under TCRP Project J-3, "International
Transit Studies Program." The digest includes information on the
cities visited, lessons learned, and discussions of policies and practices that could be
used in the United States. This digest was prepared by
Tracy E. Dunleavy, Eno Transportation Foundation, Inc., the
administrator of
the project, on the basis of reports filed by the mission participants.
INTERNATIONAL TRANSIT STUDIES PROGRAM
About the Program
The International Transit Studies Program (ITSP) is part of the Transit
Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). The ITSP is managed by the Eno Transportation
Foundation under contract to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The TCRP was
authorized by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. In May 1992, a
memorandum of agreement outlining TCRP operations was signed by the NAS, acting through
its Transportation Research Board (TRB); the Transit Development Corporation, which is the
education and research arm of the American Public Transit Association (APTA); and the
Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The TCRP is funded annually by a grant from the FTA.
The ITSP is designed to assist in the professional development of
transit managers, public officials, planners, and others charged with public
transportation responsibilities in the United States. The program accomplishes this
objective by providing opportunities for participants to learn from foreign experience
while expanding their network of domestic and international contacts for addressing public
transportation problems and issues.
The program arranges study missions where teams of public
transportation profes-sionals visit transit operations in other countries. Each study
mission has a central theme that encompasses issues of concern in public transportation.
Cites and transit systems to be visited are selected on the basis of their ability to
demonstrate new ideas or unique approaches to handling public transportation challenges
reflected in the study mission's theme. Each study team begins with a briefing before
departing on an intensive, 2-week mission. After this stimulating professional
interaction, study team members return home with ideas for possible application in their
own communities. Team members are encouraged to share their international experience and
findings with peers in the public transportation community throughout the United States.
Study mission experience also helps team members evaluate current and proposed transit
improvements and identify potential public transportation research topics.
Study missions normally are conducted in the
spring and fall of each year. Study teams consist of up to 15 individuals, including a
senior official designated as the group's spokesperson.
Transit properties are contacted directly and requested to nominate
candidates for participation. Nominees are screened by a committee of transit officials,
and the TCRP Project J-3 Oversight Panel approves the selection. Study mission
participants are up-and-coming transit management personnel with substantial, sustained
knowledge and experience in transit activities. Participants must demon-strate potential
for advancement to higher levels of public transportation responsibilities. Other
selection criteria include current responsibilities, career objectives, and the probable
profes-sional development value of the mission for the participant and sponsoring
employer. Travel expenses for partici-pants are paid through TCRP Project J-3 funding.
In addition to conducting study missions, the ITSP administers an
individual travel assistance program, which provides financial assistance to enable
individuals engaged in U.S. public transportation management, operations, planning, and
research to participate in international conferences and meetings held outside North
America. Applicants must plan to participate in the event as a presenter, discussion
leader, panelist, or moderator.
Additional information about the study missions or individual travel
awards may be obtained by contacting the TCRP at 202/334-2886 or the Eno Transportation
Foundation at 703/729-7212.
About the Report
The following report is an overview of the fourth and fifth study
missions, conducted during the spring and fall of 1997, respectively. This report reflects
the views of the contributing participants, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy
of the data presented. The report does not necessarily reflect the views of the TCRP, TRB,
NAS, APTA, FTA, or the Eno Transportation Foundation.
Appendix A lists the names of study mission participants and their
titles and affiliations at the time of their respective missions.
Urban And Regional Bus Operations In Smaller European Cities: Mission 4,
MAY 9–26, 1996
INTRODUCTION
Like their American counterparts, transit planners in small western
European communities face a number of issues in designing and managing transit service to
meet both market and social policy objectives.
To learn about the latest advances in small city transportation, a
delegation of U.S. transit officials visited several European countries from May 9 through
May 26, 1996. The study team visited the following cities: Zurich, Schaffhausen, and
Frauenfeld, Switzerland; Dornbirn, Austria; Lindau, Radolfzell, Ravensburg, Detmold,
Lemgo, Bad Salzuflen, and Muenster, Germany; Liege and Brugge, Belgium; and Breda,
Dordrecht, and Maastricht, Netherlands.
A key purpose of the mission was to demonstrate the dramatic successes
obtained by smaller communities in altering modal split by introducing or enhancing public
transit. The mission looked at the policy, funding, accessibility, and passenger
information aspects of several city bus systems, along with their traffic management and
retail trade impacts.
In the late 1980s, Europeans were faced with the decision to create
more roads or reduce automobile traffic. They chose to fund and expand public
transportation with substantial public investment. This has resulted in dramatic shifts in
travel modes in favor of public transit.
The success of transit systems during the past 5 years appears to be
the result of a fundamental shift in viewsC from the views of transit systems and
government officials to the views quickly adopted by the general public. Because of
changes in European transportation in the late 1980s, officials and the general public
started to view public transit as a convenience for everyone, not just a necessity for
those without automobiles.
In general, European cities, both large and small, are very densely
populated in compact areas with his-toric (and thereby a downsized) urban infrastructure.
As automobile traffic increased, outpacing roadway and parking capacity, the result was
tremendous congestion. Many cities visited by the study team employed integrated policies
and practices to mitigate the increasing congestion. Key policy objectives were to reduce
private automobile traffic, without adversely affecting urban mobility, and to improve the
quality of urban life and cities' economic vitality. This report describes how various
European cities have used specific tools and practices, including the following, to
implement their transportation and quality-of-life goals:
- Signal preemption and intersection priority
- Dedicated preferential lanes for buses, bicycles, and pedestrians
- Other traffic treatments and strategies
- Automobile-free or restricted zones for transit and pedestrians
- Parking supply and pricing
- Special "central city" or central business district (CBD) strategies
- Passenger information systems
- Aggressive image campaigns.
The Stadtbus or "City Bus" model systems in Germany,
Switzerland, and Austria, with some variations in Holland and Belgium, that the study team
visited were developed to achieve many objectives, including managing traffic and
relieving congestion (see Figure 1). The study team identified a common theme among the
Stadtbus cities, where increasing automobile congestion was choking the central cities
with gridlock. This gridlock was threatening the quality of life and many historical urban
environments. The City Bus systems, such as those in Detmold and Bad Salzuflen (Germany),
Dornbirn (Austria), Dordrecht (Netherlands), and Brugge (Belgium), were key elements of an
overall city transportation plan, with compre-hensive strategies for managing traffic
congestion, enhancing urban livability, and stimulating economic vitality.
Although some European systems have developed imaginative service
planning and operating practices that warrant emulation in the United States, the study
team recognized the distinct cultural, institutional, and historical differences between
the European countries visited and the United States.
This study mission was the first to concentrate on urban and regional
bus service. Earlier missions (1994 to 1995) highlighted commuter rail and high-tech
systems, intelligent transportation systems, policy, marketing, and traffic management
innovations.
At each site visited, the study team asked city and transit
professionals what three things they did best or what three things primarily contributed
to their success. Even though the study team came back with strong impressions in areas of
technology and public policy, most systems prided themselves on their passenger
amen-ities, customer information, and frequency of service. Appendix B lists what city and
transit professionals consider to be the most successful aspects of their systems.
SWITZERLAND
Unique Transit Features
Switzerland established a national policy that limits the use of cars
by restricting traffic patterns in the CBDs of its cities. In addition, and perhaps
equally as important, Switzerland imposes a gas tax, which contributes to the high cost of
fueling a private car. The gas tax is used as a financial base to support the cost of
operating transit in each of the cities and cantons (cantons are comparable to U.S.
counties or regional areas). The people in major cities such as Zurich, with its
well-integrated intermodal system, believe that decreased congestion, reduced noise
levels, and improved air quality are valid reasons for such national policies.
Increasing costs and attempts to place a cap on funds allocated to
transit from tax revenues have led to the privatization of services in many European
cities. The privatization model is credited to Frauenfeld, Switzerland, where the current
Stadtbus has been provided by a private contractor since its inception in 1984. The
private contractor provides the buses, drivers, and maintenance. The city manages fare
policy and provides street amenities, marketing, and service planning.
Zurich
Transit Profile
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland, with a population of 341,000
(1991 estimate). The city’s fast-growing suburbs have brought the population of the
metropolitan area to nearly 1 million.
The canton of Zurich has been served by the Zurcher Verkehrsverbund
(Zurich Transport Association or ZVV) since 1990. This system is made up of more than 40
public and private transit providers, operating a total of 262 commuter rail, light rail,
bus and trolley bus, mountain rail, and cable car lines and paddle-wheel lake steamers.
Since a popular referendum in 1988 authorized an integrated rail
network, daily public transit passenger totals have increased by more than one-third in
Zurich and by about 14 percent in the ZVV region to just under 1 million. The modal split
among daily commuters to Zurich has increased from 50 percent to 59 percent public
transit. Farebox receipts, which covering 56 percent of the system's current annual
operating costs, amount to SFr 800 million ($715 million); the shortfall is covered
equally by the canton and its 171 communities. Calculation of the local contributions
involves a complicated 80/20 formula that takes into account the number of daily
departures from station stops in each community and the community's tax base.
The network contains a total of 2,700 route km. The regional rail (S
Bahn) serves as the main distributor, with 27 station stops inside the city limits.
Neighborhood feeder buses and vans bring passengers to the main stop.
Transit operators in Zurich are very conscious of air and water quality
and noise control. The system consists mostly of electrified trams and trolley buses, but
much of the bus fleet is diesel. A recent proposal called for the electrification of all
bus lines, removing diesels from the system. Given the very high front-end fixed cost of
the overhead power grid and the conversion or replacement of buses, the proposal was
determined to be too expensive.
A system objective is to have a bus stop within 300 m of each doorstep.
Throughout the region, there are more than 1,400 bus stops, served by more than 600 buses
and trolley buses operat-ed by 28 companies that together oper-ate more than 30 million km
a year.
Another objective of the Zurich S Bahn light rail system is to provide
a seat for every passenger. Standing is considered an exception to be tolerated only for
brief periods. This require-ment reflects the desire for comfortable travel and an
amenable, egalitarian transit environment for all passengers.
There is full-fare integration throughout the region, which is divided
into 45 tariff zones. Zurich uses the honor system; tickets are purchased off the vehicle,
and fare inspectors randomly check tickets. About 35 million single, multiple, monthly,
and annual tickets are sold each year. According to a study conducted by an independent
research institute, this works out to 560 public transit trips per inhabitant per year, a
level far above that registered by other metro-politan regions in western Europe.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
In Zurich, the same organization is in charge of transit and land use
planning. Coordination of these two functions is considered a high priority. Officials are
working to increase densities at commuter rail stations. In the long term, they see the
need to get people closer to transit services, to increase ridership, and to affect the
economy in a positive manner.
In the canton of Zurich, the cities, the canton, and the federal
government make up the difference between fare revenues and costs. Fares are fully
integrated. Regional and local bus operators and the federally operated rail systems use
the same prepaid fare within the canton. All revenues collected in Zurich are retained by
the ZVV, which reimburses transport companies for their costs.
Zurich is a pioneer in prioritizing intersection signals. The
country’s computer system sets traffic signals at intersections throughout Zurich to
optimize transit, automobile, and bicycle flow. The system has special transit signals,
giving light rail vehicles (trams) and buses special priority.
An innovative program in many of the cities studied is a car-sharing
arrangement, organized as a member-ship cooperative, which facilitates short-term car
rental. The program in Zurich appears to be the most mature. A small fleet of microcars is
based at a rail station. By using an interactive voice-response telephone system, a
customer can make a reservation for a car at a certain date and time.
To encourage consumer input, Zurich surveys passengers, nonusers, and
businesses for their opinions regarding routes, headways, and suggestions for
improvements.
Schaffhausen
Transit Profile
Schaffhausen, the capital of the canton of the same name, has a
population of 34,000.
The nine-line Schaffhausen urban public transit network (VBSH) carries
12 million passengers annually with its fleet of 30 buses and 13 trolley buses,
which typically run at 10-min headways. Passenger totals and farebox
receipts have risen consistently, even after fares were raised by 10 percent in 1994.
Between 1984 and 1994, annual passenger totals increased from about 9 million to 12
million, and during the past 5 years, annual farebox receipts rose from about 6 million to
9 million Swiss francs, the latter of which is equivalent to $7.6 million. Operating
revenues, including parking and advertising fees, cover about 60 percent of operating
costs.
More than one-third (12,700) of Schaffhausen's residents purchase a
monthly or annual pass for the regional transit system, which gives them full access to
local and intercity bus, trolley, and commuter rail services. Tickets or passes are sold
in all post offices and at the railway station. Annual pass holders increased more than 10
percent (to 5,540) last year. The VBSH is very active in the areas of passenger
information and public relations, distributing pocket guides and schedules to all
households, training drivers in customer relations, issuing name tags to all drivers, and
instituting electronic bus stop announcements in the vehicles. The system operates with a
total of 131 employees of all categories.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
A very sophisticated signal priority system and on-board (bus) computer
system has improved on-time performance significantly and produced considerable cost
savings through reduced delay. On-board computers provide a comparison between scheduled
and actual times at control points and control traffic signals with bus preemption at most
intersections. The computer gives buses priority over automobiles if two or more buses are
waiting at opposite legs of the intersection. The computer assigns a higher priority to a
bus that is behind schedule or that is carrying a higher passenger load.
In European cities that use off-board fare collection, it is difficult
to obtain a reliable count of customers at the route or stop level. Some systems are
experimenting with passenger counters. Schaffhausen uses an optical beam above each of the
doors on 5 of its 43 buses. This system determines the number of passenger boardings by
stop.
Regional and local bus systems sell their own tickets. However, within
the city, users can ride the regional or city bus with either ticket. The boundaries of
the city system coincide with the zonal boundaries of the regional system.
Like many cities visited, Schaffhausen is already built out. Most of
the city's development is infill, where a high level of transit service already exists.
The presence of and access to public transportation have become important criteria for
residents in choosing where to live.
The cost of delivering new schedules annually to homes in Schaffhausen
is covered by a local department store's ad, which appears on the schedule (the bus
company also makes some money from the ad). The city also produces a semiannual newsletter
that is delivered to all homes in the area.
Frauenfeld
Transit Profile
Frauenfeld, a town of 20,000 in habitants, is one of the smallest
communities in the study.
The nine-bus system operated for Frauenfeld by a private local firm is
overseen by a city employee. Ridership grew from 470,000 passengers in 1982, when the City
Bus system was launched, to more than 1.4 million last year. Intersection priority, some
separate bus lanes, and other design changes keep buses moving quickly; three wide entry
doors and the honor fare system cut dwell time. The clearly marked hub-and-spoke route
system with color coding for each line and bus
stop make the system easy to use and understand.
Advertisers have paid entirely for the comfortable, covered bus stops
with clear and complete schedules and amenities such as seats, public telephones, mail
boxes, and some bike storage stalls. More than 90 percent of the population is served by
the six bus lines, which leave the main station together at 15-min intervals and return to
the station terminal about 15 min later. Transferring between lines and to other transit
modes, such as trains and regional lines, takes place at the terminal. Children up to the
age of 6, blind individuals with their guide dogs, people in wheelchairs, and on-duty
military personnel ride free.
Farebox receipts cover about 60 percent of operating costs; the balance
is subsidized by the town and canton, currently at a cost of about 4 percent of local tax
revenues. Frauenfeld promotes the use of annual passes by deducting monthly charges
automatically from patrons' bank accounts.
The buses are supplemented by the regional PubliCar on-demand service.
These vans offer a reduced fare to Frauenfeld subscribers. The service operates a nightly
service every hour from 7:00 to 11:00, leaving the station and bringing passengers to
their homes.
The town of Frauenfeld, like Schaffhausen and practically all Swiss
cities, is tied into the larger regional network of multimodal public and private transit
providers offering full-fare integration.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
The city has contracted transit operations to private companies. The
private company actually purchases buses for the city and provides bus operators and
maintenance. Passenger revenue becomes property of the city when collected by the private
company. The city then reimburses the company for certain expenses. In the event the city
chooses a different company for transit operations, the new company would purchase the
shares of the other company, including the rolling stock. City officials believe that
operating a new and expanded service by a private company is more efficient than using
public employees. They also believe that the motivation to receive additional contracts
will provide a good incentive for the contractor to keep costs down and provide quality
service.
One feature of the Frauenfeld system that is applicable to the U.S.
transit industry is its approach to bus stop shelters. A third of all bus stops in the
city have shelters. All stops will be equipped with shelters in the near future.
Although many of the shelters are owned by the city, some are owned by
private businesses. Under this cooperative agreement, the initial investment comes from
the private sector, which retains ownership and accepts responsibility for maintaining the
shelter in exchange for the right to advertise on it. The shelter contains all the
traditional amenities including a telephone, seating, and bicycle racks. The transit
system places route maps and schedule information in the shelter.
AUSTRIA
Dornbirn
Transit Profile
Dornbirn, with a population of 42,000, was the only city in Austria
visited. The Dornbirn city bus system, which started in 1991, has been phenomenally
successful. The seven-line system, which operates only 13 buses, grew from 437,000 riders
in 1991 to more than 3 million riders in 1995. The system operates with a timed-transfer
pulse system.
In timed-transfer systems in most cities, all routes are comparable in
length and are assigned a single vehicle. In Dornbirn, however, one of the routes operates
at 15-min headways all day, and the other six routes operate at half-hour intervals.
A relatively low-tech, low-cost strategy is used in Dornbirn to reduce
bus emissions. Bus engines are shut down during pulse layovers (of approximately 3 to 5
min) at the central transfer hub. This action lowers noise and minimizes unnecessary
diesel fumes and emissions in a concentrated area.
Part of the city’s fleet of 13 buses is owned and maintained by
the postal system. The city funds bus maintenance and operation out of its general budget.
A private contractor is responsible for supervising bus operators, ensuring that schedules
are maintained.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
Dornbirn has an aggressive advertising philosophy: "Get into the
newspaper every week." The transit system uses newspapers to thank customers, bus
operators, the police, and the postal service. The system’s budget, including cost
per capita, is published in the newspapers.
The transit system reports that 60 percent of its passengers use the
annual pass, which costs less than $90. Children under 6 travel free on most of the
system.
City officials believe that a private contractor arrangement is the
best way to manage its new and expanded transit system. The private transit manager has a
contract that is subject to renewal every year, which the city believes provides a strong
incentive for the manager to provide good, strong direction and management.
A customer service center is located in a major regional shopping area
near the main transfer point of the bus lines. The train station is located 2 min on foot
from the transfer and customer center areas. Although regional service coordination has
not occurred, regional fare integration has been successful. The customer service center
in Dornbirn and those throughout the entire region effectively communicate service and
fare information to riders.
GERMANY
Unique Transit Features
The German Stadtwerke (muni-cipal public utility) is a unique
method of operating and funding city services. The Stadtwerke is a publicly held
corporation, with 100 percent of the shares held by the city, region, or both. A
Stadtwerke is allowed to generate profits from their operations, which may be used to fund
transit and other public services.
In many of the German cities the team visited, the cities are
responsible for supplying all utilities including natural gas, electricity, and water and
sewer. These services are profitable, as they are in the United States. Municipal
administration of public transit is frequently located within the Stadtwerke. Despite the
fact that the provision of utility services in Germany is clearly a municipal public
enterprise, because it is profitable, the German government taxes the profits of the
Stadtwerke. Municipal authorities have funded transit deficits from the profits of the
municipal utilities to reduce their federal taxes.
The cross subsidies received as a result of activities of the municipal
public utilities provide a sustained source of local funding to operate the city transit
system, or as it is frequently referred to, Stadtbus (City Bus). Although, as indicated
previously, there are many practical reasons for administering the transit system as an
enterprise of the utility system, the Stadtwerke model says a lot to citizens about the
role and importance of public transportation in community life. Public utilities, by
definition, are essential to the well-being of the community. By including transit
serv-ice within the Stadtwerke, transit is defined as an essential utility service. If
applied in the United States, this model could do much to elevate the public’s
perception of transit as a utility-like essential service.
In a number of German communities, some evening service is
provided through a Nachtbus (night bus) system. A single bus is
assigned to cover two or three routes at diminished frequency. This is similar to the
"owl" service operated in some larger U.S. cities at very late hours.
A more innovative way of providing night service in many communities is
through a taxi service that operates solely between bus stops. Customers call the transit
system dispatcher, who contacts a taxi service dispatcher. Customers are given a
confirmation time and are required to get into the taxi at a bus stop. An approaching taxi
may contain other customers when the customer is picked up. The fare for this service is
usually twice the regular route fare, paid to the taxi driver. The taxi contractor is paid
the difference between the contract price negotiated with the transit operator and the
fare paid by the customer. This system has the beneficial effect of preserving
exclusive-ride taxis as a private (unsubsidized) product, while providing some level of
mobility during low demand times. Further, the transit operator does not subsidize
exclusive-ride taxi customers through this system. This service is called Sammel-taxi
(scheduled taxi) in Muenster and Bad Salzuflen.
Lindau
Transit Profile
Lindau is a tourism and con-vention center on the northwest shore of
Lake Constance, in the German state of Bavaria. Lindau has a population of 28,000 and is a
rail hub on the international trunk lines connecting Germany, Switzerland, and France.
Community leaders decided to dramatically increase local public
transportation to reduce automobile traffic and promote a more pedestrian environment in
Lindau. In exchange for the 80 percent capital funding received from Bavaria, Lindau
guaranteed that its contribution toward providing funding for operation would remain at
the start-up level.
The four-line city bus system was inaugurated with a major citywide
festival in October 1994, replacing an earlier limited service. Passenger totals have
increased since then by 500 percent to about 6,000 per day.
The system consists of 10 low-floor midibuses custom built by Neoplan
(see Figure 2). Operated by a private contractor (RBA Augsburg), the bus network features
a high-class corporate image reflected in coor-dinated interior and exterior designs,
colors, logo, tickets, and ticket-vending machines. Instead of commercial advertising, the
distinctive color-coded buses, with a separate color for each line, carry a stylized city
emblem and have helped foster community spirit.
The network comprises about 20 mi and covers an estimated 90 percent of
all residential districts, with bus stops within 200 m of the town's public offices,
schools, retailers, shopping centers, sport complexes, retirement homes, churches, and
industrial facilities. All 110 bus stops are served on the hour and half hour from 5:30
a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The maximum point-to-point transit time in the hub-and-spoke system is
27 min. All lines connect with a central bay in the CBD, departing every 3 min and
allowing "painless" transfer between the four lines. Short dwell times and high
speed are ensured by wide doors, signal priority, and bus stop bays retrofitted along the
routes.
During the first full year of operations, approximately 900,000 route
km were operated and more than 2,000 annual passes were sold to residents. Farebox
receipts cover about two-thirds of the operating cost. The current DM 3.6 million ($2.5
million) deficit for the operation is covered with DM 2.2 million ($1.5 million) from
parking revenue, DM 1 million ($0.7 million) from the municipal utility, and DM 0.4
million ($0.3 million) from the national government for passengers with disabilities.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
Although many U.S. transit systems contract for operations, it is
unusual for these privatized systems to contract for management of the customer service
center. Lindau is probably the exception in the European community as well. The
city’s transit system has a staffed customer service/information center adjacent to
the central transfer facility. One reason for this decision is that the dispatch center
and customer service center are one and the same. Activities at this multipurpose center
include radio communications, vehicle dispatching, dispersing of smart cards and other
fare media, and providing printed schedule information. The facility serves as a
"transit store," selling monthly and annual transit passes and other items such
as tee-shirts.
As in Dornbirn, Lindau shuts down bus engines during pulse layovers at
the central transfer hub. This reduces noise and minimizes unnecessary diesel fumes and
emissions in a concentrated area.
The transit system provides on-board information by displaying
"next-stop" information by means of an electronic, rotating straight-line
drawing that details many stops along the route and highlights the next stop (see Figure
3).
In terms of printed information, the system not only delivers schedules
to homes, but also to visitor centers and hiking and backpacking clubs.
Radolfzell
Transit Profile
A regional center of 30,000 with a light industry-based economy,
Radolfzell contains many health spas and is a railway and lake shipping hub.
The Radolfzell transit system is operated for the city by the South
Baden Regional Bus Company (SBG), which directs a fleet of 50 buses and leases 75 (see
Figure 4). The total fleet of 125 vehicles provides services in a two-county region.
The weekday passenger total for the entire fleet is approximately
15,000, which works out annually to more than 5.5 million passengers. The system
encompasses 6 million km and has revenues of DM 20 million ($14 million). The urban
service consists of six bus lines running with a 15-min headway during peak periods and at
30-min intervals the rest of the day. All lines leave from and return to the railway
station. Magnetic-strip farecards are available in addition to onboard, single-journey
tickets.
The SBG operates a "disco bus" to get weekend night owls home
safely as well as a transborder EuroRegion bus to link the German border region with
Mulhouse and Colmar in France and Basel in Switzerland.
The SBG regional maintenance depot is a state-of-the-art facility that
uses recycled rainwater to wash the vehicles.
Fare integration with the cooperation of all public and private transit
providers in the county of Konstanz is now under way. This integration will include urban,
regional, intercity, and commuter rail systems. Single-day tickets and discounted weekly,
monthly, and annual passes recently become available.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
A key element of the bus system in Radolfzell is the integration of
transit service with the public and private parking system. The city increased parking
fees to encourage greater transit use and inhibit automobile travel in the central city.
This successful strategy generated additional revenue and saved the cost of providing
additional parking facilities. The increased parking revenues and city general funds are
used to cover the city bus subsidy.
The central rendezvous transfer center for the city bus is at the
central rail station, affording close coor-dination between the city bus, regional bus,
and commuter railway lines.
Many of the systems studied provide transit and other useful
information in their next-stop programs. Radolfzell, for example, displays electronic
next-stop infor-mation and announces the information by means of recordings. In terms of
printed information, Radolfzell pro-duces a quarterly newsletter, which it gives only on
request.
The system prides itself on its good image and logo; passengers think
in terms of the system as "our bus."
Ravensburg
Transit Profile
A large county seat and regional shopping center serving an
agricultural region, Ravensburg has a population of 45,000.
To restore the old city to pedestrian use, through traffic was banned
in 1986 and an underground garage for 400 cars was excavated under the traffic-restrained
main square in 1989. By 1990, the entire old town was designated as a traffic-restrained
zone, paved with cobblestones for pedestrians and concrete blocks to channel residual
traffic flow. At the same time, major renovation projects backed by community groups
restored the facades and connected groups of 15th-century houses to create a city museum
documenting life in Ravensburg over the centuries.
To retain its position as a regional shopping center while reducing the
number of cars in the city, Ravensburg added private train service to connect its nine
local bus lines with other cities in the region.
The bus system, operated by the city's public utility department, has
33 relatively new buses (average age is 3 years). In 1995, the fleet carried a total of
4.2 million passengers. Farebox coverage of operating costs currently stands at 77
percent, and the DM 2.2 million ($1.6 million) annual shortfall is covered by internal
cross subsidies from profitable gas, water, heating, and parking operations.
The bus system prides itself on lean management; clean, comfortable
equipment; and a uniform color scheme.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
The transit systems studied are going to great lengths to encourage
pass use. Single-ride tickets have a premium charge, especially if purchased on the bus.
Some cities are experimenting with "chip cards." Ravensburg is exploring a chip
card for a range of municipal services, including downtown garage parking and use of the
swimming pool.
Because of the linear nature of the city and region and its location,
Ravensburg has no central hub for all modes. However, users can take the light rail system
from Ravensburg to the next regional city, where they can link with the Lake Constance
ferry to Switzerland. There also are 20 bus connections daily in each direction linking
Ravensburg with the German National Railway.
Traffic has been banned from the old city center, making the area a
vital transit- and pedestrian-only place. The zone is effective, but there are concerns
about traffic conflicts between buses and pedestrians.
Ravensburg's newsletter is delivered to households and is available on
the trains.
Detmold
Transit Profile
Detmold, a city of 70,000, is the administrative center for the state
of North Rhine Westphalia.
Since the fall of 1994, a fleet of 18 midsize Neoplan buses has been
providing a four-line city bus service with a 15-min headway during peak periods and
30-min intervals the rest of the day. The city operates the bus lines, but fleet
maintenance has been contracted to a regional operator. Since the start of the system,
monthly passenger totals have trebled to 180,000.
The city's traffic plan aims at substantially reducing private car use
during the next 10 years by promoting an attractive, comfortable, speedy, and economical
city bus service. Monthly fare cards are available for as little as DM 25 ($17), and a
chip card electronic purse is being phased in for both public transit and parking fee
uses.
The Detmold City Bus network and the two other city bus systems are
linked with the regional Verkehrsgemeinschaft Lippe, which includes 12 independent service
providers. The public and private members of this transit association cumulatively control
and operate a fleet of several hundred buses. Full-fare integration is practiced in the
region, with many ticket and pass options. One of the most interesting is a monthly
"job ticket" bought by companies for their employees as a fringe benefit. For
close-by areas, it costs about $16; the price goes up the longer the commute.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
Each of Detmold's Neoplan buses is equipped with electronic route maps.
These visible, colorful displays, located toward the front of the bus (on the side behind
the driver), depict route information for riders. The display shows the progression of
stops, with the upcoming one appearing in a different color than the rest. The display
changes automatically once the bus departs each stop.
Even though other European systems also display route information on
board, this technology offers the distinct advantage of providing riders with continuous
route information. Detmold's technology might be explored by U.S. transit systems,
particularly systems with longer route lengths and many stops. Transfer points could also
be depicted on the electronic map.
Special accommodations have been made at bus stops for visually
impaired riders, such as special curb cuts and textured brick on sidewalks. An audible
signal at the intersection tells the visually impaired individuals when it is safe to
cross the street.
Many European systems use sign posts instead of traditional bus stop
signs to communicate information. These systems take great care in determining both the
location and design of the sign posts. The signs are always color-coded (see Figure 5),
and in most communities, with the exception of express services, posts are located 200 to
300 ft apart. The design often includes a route map and schedule (headways) information.
In Detmold, the sign posts depict both route and schedule information.
All four routes are color coded. The post is color coordinated with the buses and
timetables. In addition, the routes and schedules are shown in a multiple-fold,
easy-to-read flyer. Although sign posts cost a little more than traditional signs, they
are aesthetically pleasing to smaller communities. More infor-mation can be made available
to the rider on sign posts, which makes them a good investment for some smaller U.S.
transit systems.
Managing parking supply and pricing is used by some of the cities
visited to reduce automobile traffic and congestion and to make public transit use an even
more attractive alternative. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Detmold experienced very
serious automobile congestion. During that period, bus service was poor, and parking was
free. The city's primary objective in initiating a new expanded city bus system was to
mitigate growing levels of automobile traffic and resulting peak-period gridlock. The city
integrated the new bus system with a parking management policy that included increasing
parking fees to help fund the transit subsidy (to cover costs that exceed fare revenues).
Detmold is experimenting with chip cards that also will be used for parking meters.
The system's marketing philo-sophy is that it must do something to get
people to ride the bus. The system increased the frequency of buses and introduced a
reduced fare; it allowed two adults and three children to ride on weekends with a monthly
pass. When the transit system started, it organized a marketing campaign and offered a
watch with the system's logo as the first monthly pass (which was good for the first 2
months). It also used historic Detmold money as a monthly pass.
Previous schedules were very complicated, large, and cumbersome. A
separate card has been printed for one route, and the operator plans to do this for all
the routes. There is a plan for a guaranteed ride home, a subsidized taxi ride, for all
passengers.
A passenger survey conducted in Detmold found that passengers wanted
the same upgrades often requested from passengers in the United States: more frequent
service, affordable fares, fast and comfortable buses, easily under-stood schedules, and
reliable and friendly service.
Lemgo
Transit Profile
In Lemgo, which has a population of 42,000, bus ridership soared from
40,000 to more than 1.4 million in 1 year after the City Bus was introduced in the fall of
1994. The three Lemgo lines, each between 5 and 6 mi in length, are operated by a private
service provider under contract to the city. The lines depart from a central transfer
point in the innercity every half hour until 7:00 p.m. Afterward, a collective taxi
service transports passengers, at discounted fares, until after midnight.
The Lemgo transit system is owned by the city and cross-subsidized with
city revenue from other utilities, including electricity, gas, and water services.
In a recent user survey conducted by an independent agency,
approx-imately 40 percent of City Bus passengers said that they formerly used heir private
cars to make shopping trips in the city.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
The transit system in Lemgo set up large-lettered, easy-to-read signs
at bus stops. The signs include the name of the bus stop and when the bus leaves.
In most of the countries visited, the bus route name and number are
electronically displayed on the front of buses and the bus route number is displayed on
the rear. In Lemgo, the route number is also displayed on the side of the bus. The system
currently operates above its peak-period capacity during most months.
Bad Salzuflen
Transit Profile
Bad Salzuflen has a population of 56,000. The four-line Bad Salzuflen
City Bus system, introduced in September 1994, almost tripled its ridership to nearly 1
million during its first year of operation. A quarter of the new passengers formerly used
their own cars for trips to and within the city.
Described as a "quantum leap" over the previous public
transit situation, the City Bus system operates with comfortable, lightweight, and
energy-efficient midsize "metroliners," a carbon-fiber vehicle developed by
Neoplan (see Figure 6).
Buses traverse the pedestrianized CBD until 7:00 p.m.; collective taxis
are used until midnight.
A local private service provider operates the system under the
supervision of the city's public works department. The system, which is based on the
Dornbirn (Austria) model, is characterized by a central transfer bay in the heart of the
shopping district, where all interline transfers take place. About 70 percent of the
city's residents live within 300 m of one of the new bus stops.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
Like many transit systems visited, the Bad Salzuflen system takes great
pride in offering convenient customer service centers with useful, service-related
information. The system offers a model customer service center in a regional shopping
area, with a central transfer point one block from the center. The center provides
customers with seating and other amenities. Trained staff sell passes and tickets,
disseminate schedules, and handle passenger inquiries and complaints. Regional information
is also provided.
The shelters, buses, customer service center, printed passenger
information, and signage are all color coordinated, highly visible, and attractive.
Schedules and route information are tastefully depicted on buses, shelters, and customer
service centers.
Trip cards illustrate schedule and detailed route information. A route
map listing all bus stops and the number of the line (i.e., route number) appears on one
side of the card; a timetable appears on the other side.
The Bad Salzuflen system has achieved regional service coordination and
fare integration and has reduced the number of cars in the city center by one-half by
imposing a limited auto zone.
Muenster
Transit Profile
Located in the center of the Muenster region, this city of 280,000 is
one of Germany's most livable and environment-conscious communities. The university and
its students are a prominent factor in the city, and bicycle traffic constitutes about
one-third of all vehicle trips.
Two remarkable statistics put into perspective the role of the Muenster
transit fleet:
- In 1995, the 20-line system with its 113 buses, 51 of which are articulated, carried
more than 30 million riders over its route length of 334 km (207 mi), almost double the 17
million carried in 1989.
- The modal split shows that 56 percent of Muenster residents walk (24 percent) or bike
(32 percent) to work or school. Eleven percent take public transit.
Students who use the system's unique "semester pass" account
for 16 percent (4.6 million) of the Muenster transit system’s bus ridership. Use of
the system by local residents has increased steadily in the 1990s. From 1994 to 1995,
passenger numbers rose from 28.8 to 30.2 million or about 150 rides per resident per year.
This increase is due in large part to successful public relations and market segmentation.
Various kinds of flash passes for employees, students, seniors, and family groups are
actively marketed.
Farebox coverage of operating costs reached 64 percent in 1994, the
last year for which an annual report is available. The shortfall was covered by
cross-subsidies from the municipal utility, a widely used German model.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
In Muenster, a relatively large city, several routes converge along
certain corridors. Great care is exercised in scheduling these routes so that buses do not
bunch either inbound or outbound. This increases the frequency on the segments of the
street network served by more than one route.
Muenster has express and limited stop operations. This is important
because local transit travel speeds are typically lower than in the United States.
(Despite longer interstop distances, off-board fare collection, and decreased traffic
congestion, routes are often on narrow streets and the high level of customer boardings
tend to reduce travel speeds.) In Muenster, a few routes operate city-express service in
which every other bus with short-headway (10-min) routes skips a number of stops. These
supplemental buses do not operate during the summer.
The study team viewed examples of preferential treatment for
nonautomobile transportation modes, including dedicated lanes for buses, bicycles, and
pedestrians. Muenster contains a very extensive system of preferential transportation
treatments. Muenster’s bicycle mode share is 32 percentC much
higher than in other German cities. Its major system of bus lanes (which allow taxis),
bike paths, and pedestrian trails is integrated with a very sophisticated traffic signal
system, including priority left traffic lanes for buses. This signal system optimizes the
continuity of bus lanes by allowing "protected" right turns by buses leaving a
bus lane across adjacent mixed-flow traffic lanes. Traffic is stopped and the buses have
the ability to move to the far right lane to board and alight passengers.
An issue Muenster is dealing with is the peaceful coexistence between
buses and bicycles, avoiding traffic conflicts where bicycles use bus lanes, and, in one
case seen by the study team, where buses use a wide bicycle lane.
New concepts are emerging in new suburban developments such as bus-only
streets, which separate bus and automobile traffic to increase transit operating speeds.
Scheduled taxi routes operate during the day in low-density areas at
the end of three of the routes. These operate hourly and pulse at the outer terminal of
the routes they serve. The bus operator may call a taxi on behalf of customers so that
they can complete their journey.
Muenster prints schedules that include information for city and
regional buses as well as railroads and airlines.
In the "old town" center, parking fees have increased and
major improvements in transit service have taken place. A concept under consideration is
to close the central area completely to private automobiles.
In larger cities such as Muenster, the significant increase in transit
service was largely driven by strict federal laws governing air quality and noise as well
as traffic and congestion mitigation.
The transit system planned and developed a number of park-and-ride
locations on the outskirts of the city. The areas were designed with a number of passenger
amenities including bus shelters. What is particularly appealing about these shelters is
the voluminous information pertaining not just to the transit system and its routes, but
also to the city, events, restaurants, and taxi services. The shelter walls depict an
array of information for the transit rider, which makes transit even more convenient and
appealing.
BELGIUM
Liege
Transit Profile
Situated on the Meuse River near the rich coal fields of the Meuse
Valley, the city of Liege is one of the chief manufacturing centers in Belgium.
A total of 16 transit providers form a public-private association,
known as the TEC Group, which serves the city and surrounding region of 84 communities.
Transit systems include fixed-route urban and intercity services, school buses, and
paratransit for individuals with disabilities. The TEC Group operates 187 bus lines in the
region, using a total of 705 buses, 54 of which are articulated.
Passenger totals amount to more than 80 million annually, operating
costs are approximately $128 million, and farebox and other receipts total about $58
million. This leaves about $70 million in subsidies from the local, provincial, and
national governments.
The TEC Group is very active in marketing and promotion and offers free
rides during the "car-free Sunday" campaign. Graffiti and vandalism are sizable
problems that are being tackled by a variety of initiatives.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
Transit officials in Liege believe that there is not enough
coordination between planning and transit service design and delivery. The officials
believe that the central city is losing jobs and that markets and housing are spreading
into the outskirts, which are difficult to get to by bus. They note that more
commuter-focused transit service is needed, with more bus lanes and park-and-ride
facilities, all fully integrated into the planning of new residential and commercial
developments.
Liege officials are frustrated that the street network in new
residential areas are labyrinths, very difficult to serve with transit, but where people
want to live.
A massive project is in progress in the city's Central Plaza area, in
which a new center to link CBD modes of transport at the Central Plaza will be
established. The project, known as Place St. Lambert, is designed to (1) replace a
motorway project; (2) elevate the bus transfer center to street level and move car traffic
below grade; (3) add a 2,000-space underground parking garage; and (4) construct buildings
over the adjacent railway station so that homes, shops, and offices return to the area to
bring back to the CBD everything that makes a city come alive.
The facility is designed to be people-friendly and to protect the
heritage and history of the site, which dates back to Roman occupation. The city believes
that public transit, which will link pedestrian travel to automobile parking and tie bus
routes to rail lines, can be a catalyst for economic development around the central city
transit center.
Some observers are concerned that the project does not fully support
public transportation policy objectives. Specifically, they are concerned that (1)
splitting up bus transfer locations within the plaza will be less convenient to transit
users; (2) the intermodal connection between buses and trains will not be convenient
enough; and (3) expanding parking capacity in the CBD will increase congestion. The
project is a result of negotiation and political compromise, and it is hoped that it will
enhance the quality of life in and economic vitality of Liege.
This industrial city is dealing with much pollution. The transit system
operates a large diesel bus fleet with three experimental compressed natural gas (CNG)
buses. CNG buses are much more expensive than diesel buses (five CNG buses cost the same
as seven or eight diesel buses). Transit officials are seeking to measure the overall
environmental benefit of operating more diesel buses, which have the potential to
eliminate more cars, against operating fewer, cleaner-burning CNG buses, which will result
in fewer bus service hours because of the buses’ high cost.
The maintenance facility is open to the public on Sundays for tours.
Transit officials believe this allows the public to better understand transit and raises
the community's awareness of the system.
Brugge
Transit Profile
A city of 118,000, Brugge is located on the low coastal plain 55 mi
northwest of Brussels and 8 mi from the North Sea.
De Lijn, a single regional system that serves the entire province,
including Brugge as its center, is characterized by total fare integration among its urban
and interurban bus and rail systems. Ridership has increased substantially since 1990 when
the independent private transit providers serving the region merged to form a single
transit association.
New services include dial-a-ride in the countryside and high-speed
express buses for commuters to Brugge and other cities in the province. De Lijn, which has
successively built a series of fringe lots on the outskirts of Brugge, has been actively
promoting the park-and-ride concept since 1991. This initiative reportedly has resulted in
a 40 percent increase in transit use by commuters, with resulting benefits for the fragile
urban environment. The national government has contracted with De Lijn for pilot projects
to deal with traffic congestion in CBDs through the use of intelligent transportation
system (ITS) tech-nologies, including improved commu-nication, intersection priority, and
real-time passenger information systems.
What Could Be Applicable to the United States?
A 1,600-space park-and-ride garage was constructed outside the central
core area next to the train/bus station (a 20-min walk or a 5-min bus ride to the core).
For $3 a day, users can park their cars, and all occupants of a vehicle (up to 5) can ride
free to and from the core area.
This facility, coupled with 2-min headway transit service to and from
the core area, has made a major dent in relieving serious automobile congestion in the
delicate medieval city center and commercial district. This strategy was complemented with
other transit service improvements (10-min head-ways on main roads and 20-min headways in
the outskirts) and very limited automobile access to the core area, including no
automobile traffic allowed in the core itself. This dramatically reduced automobile
traffic and parking in the CBD, leaving Brugge a vital, attractive, and livable urban
center.
Headquartered in Brugge, De Lijn, one of three regional transit
companies, is known for its innovative marketing strategies and customer information
systems. One strategy that proved successful for this operation was the "Info
Bus." Info Buses are located in many places downtown and are staffed with a driver
and customer service representative.
The bus offers customized trip information. The concept was devel-oped
by an in-house cross-functional employee team and promoted by mass mailings to individual
households in the service area. Some of the information available on the Info Bus include
a map of the regional transit network, a leaflet with bus stop and personalized trip
information for districts, and regional transfer information.
Ten thousand people visited the Info Buses. Although success is not
measured in terms of new ridership, the regional operator believes that a certain
percentage of significant growth in ridership can be attributed to Info Buses. The transit
company plans to extend this marketing strategy to other areas within the region.
The Info Bus concept might be beneficial to U.S. systems that are
restructuring their service, expanding service, and/or undertaking target marketing
campaigns to increase ridership and revenue.
The transit system's marketing campaign has featured free rides on a
"shopping bus" on weekends in December and allowing senior citizens to ride free
for 1 month on Wednesdays and Sundays. The officials' philosophy is to offer special
promotions every year to keep ridership growing and make the town center more livable.
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