1、Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009THE URBAN MOBILITY SYSTEM AND ITS PUBLIC TRANSPORT LAYERAS CORE ELEMENTS OFCOMPETITIVE,SUSTAINABLE AND PLEASANT CITIESJos ViegasProfessor at IST,Lisboaviegastis.pt Presentation at the EMTA CouncilBrussels,Oct.1st 20091Jos Viegas Presentati
2、on to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009Objectives of this Paper Two key objectives:to highlight the role of the Urban Mobility System in general,and of Public Transport in particular,for the competitiveness,quality of life and sustainability of European large cities,and for their evolution in a pat
3、h of significant reduction of GHG emissions;to present in a structured way some of the conditions necessary for that role to be played with high levels of efficiency and political accountability2Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF TRANSPORT3Jos Viega
4、s Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Economic Benefits of TransportThe general picture(I)Appraisal of specific projects mostly done through Cost-benefit Analysis(CBA)Application virtually impossible in a“All-or-nothing”version Increasingly compulsory application in large public pr
5、ojects Some recognised weaknesses(no regard for distribution,asymmetry or strategic impacts,forced monetisation)Frequently complemented by Multi-criteria Analysis(MCA)Most frequent benefits of Public Transport projects In CBA:Time savings and productivity gains;environmental relief;release of public
6、 space from cars to other uses In MCA:Social Inclusion,amenity of urban space,safety,public health Option Value often ignored4Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Economic Benefits of TransportThe general picture(II)Wider Benefits of Transport projects:gains in productivi
7、ty also deriving from“density of interaction”,leading to innovation,specialization and trade under increased competitive pressure Higher efficiency from better fit between job requirements and workers skills Urban Competitiveness Outcome of urban competitiveness has two closely linked dimensions:the
8、 development of business productivity,and the development of human capital Employment density is a strong factor for higher productivity Combining population size,employment density and short commuting times is only possible with good public transport5Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels
9、,Oct 1st 2009The Economic Benefits of Transport Ex-Post Evaluation and lessons from that exercise Significant errors both in demand forecasting and in construction cost estimation in transport-related public works projects Two major recommendations emerge:adoption of a benchmarking or“reference clas
10、s”approach,developed to compensate the cognitive bias in human forecast institutional reforms that favour transparency of procedures,and independent peer review of results Appraisal exercises have the major benefit of screening the bad projects,leaving a relatively small pool of good projects in the
11、 short list,open for political choice after discussion with stakeholders Strong emphasis on transparency and accountability,not only on maximum efficiency6Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Economic Benefits of Transport Public Transport in a period of Economic Crisis U
12、rban Public Transport provides value to society and to the economy in multiple ways providing mobility to those who have lost their jobs and or seen their revenues severely reduced,and can no longer afford the costs of their own mobility by private car as a quick job activator,both for the maintenan
13、ce or upgrade of infrastructure and for more intensive operation.In both cases,the density of employment is high,across a rather large spectrum of professional skills,and the positive effects can be felt quite quickly7Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Economic Benefits
14、 of TransportThe Challenge of Climate ChangeThe level of reduction of GHG to reach the targets set by the EU and by several national Governments cannot be reached by technological progress on vehicles and fuels,unless we accept significant reductions of GDP levels The alternative is to adopt new mob
15、ility patterns so that we can get higher productivity of mobility(more Euros per pax.km or per ton.km)and/or lower emissions per unit of mobility higher use of rail as well as of road modes with higher load factorsThe new choices must be presented as a“double second-best”,for the citizen and for soc
16、iety,requiring market segmentation,for better fit between requirement and service significant quality boost on the traditional PT services through systematic deployment of consumer-oriented IT based services innovative services,possibly with intermediate modes,filling the size gap between private ca
17、rs(or taxis)and standard buses8Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Economic Benefits of TransportSynthesis What is at stake is not the value of a good urban mobility system(UMS),or of its public transport component,but rather a small set of other(related)questions The Co
18、nfiguration Question:What changes would be desirable to the UMS to improve the overall quality of life,competitiveness,social cohesion and sustainability of the city?The Financing Question:What is the most fair and efficient way to split the costs of the UMS and its Public Transport component across
19、 the various segments of society,and particularly what fraction should be supported by public funds?The Institutional Question:What is the institutional design that seems to be most effective to provide good answers to the two previous questions?9Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct
20、1st 2009EXTRACTING THE FULL VALUE FROM THE URBAN MOBILITY SYSTEM10Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Configuration Question(I)Transport Plans and Emerging ChangesAnswering the configuration question is the typical mission of“Transport Plans”(under this or similar names)
21、,which have been produced for most midsize and large cities for at least some 40 years Unfortunately,the production of these Plans(and the subsequent deployment on the real world)is still suffering from low levels of innovation in what concerns Public TransportIn urban mobility two directions of cha
22、nge are most visible:an increasing proportion of trips is of a voluntary nature(i.e.,not work or school related),with a growing dispersion of origins and destinations an increasing proportion of people is having different mobility requirements across the days of the week,as they engage in voluntary
23、activities on a non daily basis11Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Configuration Question(II)Responses to Emerging ChangesTo address these challenges,two major responses are needed:Public Transport tariffs(transport titles)should easily accommodate the notion of Modal
24、Alternation;New types of services should be allowed for introduction in the market,exploring the possibilities of market segmentation,making strong use of ICT oriented towards the clientAdaptation to the evolving mobility requirements of society can only be produced by less regulated environments,an
25、d it should be possible to have configurations for the Public Transport subset of the UMS in which one part is very stable and defined from the top(i.e.the Authority)and another part is generated at the bottom(transport operators and other service providers)12Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-
26、Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Configuration Question(III)Strategic Guidance,Goals,IndicatorsDynamic adaptability of the configuration without strategic guidance is a dangerous practice.And for a strategic guidance to emerge,clarity of purpose is essential The policy process has to start with a clear defi
27、nition of the Strategic(Quality)Goals for the UMS,preferably adopting a relatively small set of KPIs(Key Performance Indicators)and their target values at the future reference date Equity concerns across geographical space and across modes Sustainability concerns addressing not only direct environme
28、ntal impacts but also land use patterns For the main components of the“Transport Plan”identify their contribution to each of the strategic quality goals,through their marginal contribution for improvement of the relevant KPIs.In parallel,evolution towards a regulatory framework that stimulates modal
29、 alternation and innovation in public transport services Monitoring and publication of its results,for discussion with stakeholders and readjustment of plans13Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Financing Question(I)Prices and SubsidiesDouble role of prices(tariffs)must
30、be clear:they pay for the mobilization of resources,allowing the replenishment of the supply side;they are a potent driver of consumers choices,allowing the managers of the UMS to influence the level of demand across the various components of the system.There are price thresholds above which some pe
31、rsons will not be able to access those servicesIn general,there is no need to subsidize many of the clients of Public Transport,although it is essential that no one is deprived of mobility because of inability to pay.Apply principles of vertical equity(subsidize those who need it)instead of adopting
32、 a general tariff subsidy through the operators.That general subsidy is not only unfair(loading the taxpayer without a real need for that on the part of many of the beneficiaries),it also promotes inefficiency of the operators.14Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Financ
33、ing Question(II)Direct subsidies and Concessionary Fares To ensure greater fairness and efficiency(and also fiscal responsibility),it is important that the subsidy to those in need is supported by the budgets of the various existing social protection agencies and becomes part of their support of dig
34、nified living conditions of their beneficiaries This will of course require a revision of the budgets and funding bases of those social protection agencies Great differences in targets of concessionary fares across EMTA an apparent result of ad-hoc procedures occasionally repeated in each city Also
35、no clear principles about compensation of these discounts There would be great value from a concerted reflection of the EMTA members,leading to propositions to their political leaders with at least some form of commonality of principles15Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009T
36、he Financing Question(III)Cost Coverage of UMS The Urban Mobility System should be able to move towards full coverage of its operational costs,plus those associated with its external impacts Growing competition for public funds from other sectors with less ability to provide a similar level of cost
37、coverage,namely pensions and health care in an ageing society,plus education of increasing sophistication levels in a knowledge society Multiple steps needed to get there Higher efficiency of operators,by changing subsidy process and by promoting segmentation In many cities,higher ticket prices Cont
38、ributions from indirect beneficiaries(businesses,land owners/tenants,car drivers)16Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Financing Question(IV)Indirect Beneficiaries/InvestmentsBetter charge businesses according to their floor space than to the number of employeesCharges o
39、n private cars serve a double purpose:provide a layer of funding to the UMS in general(alongside the contributions from other indirect beneficiaries and from the travellers in public transport)influence travellers choices,as they reflect value for drivers who accept to payCharges on access by privat
40、e car to different urban areas should be different according to the quality of service provided by public transport to those areasCharging land owners/tenants should be done over time and not only on transactionContribution of national(regional)budgets for investment possibly needed but only on cond
41、ition of demonstration of financially balanced operations17Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Institutional Question(I)Quality Target LevelsIf the UMS has an important role to play in the Quality of Urban Life and in the Competitiveness of the city,then the UMS itself m
42、ust be of good quality the quality objective must be present throughout the system,although inevitably the level of quality will not be the same across space and modes in a given conurbation Market shares are not the key performance indicators,but just intermediate indicators,as the goals(and so the
43、 targets)must be related to quality of life,economic efficiency,sustainability,and social inclusionWhat level of quality is targeted and what level of speed in the transition are aimed at will depend on the level of ambition for this sector and on the resources that can be made available for that18J
44、os Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009The Institutional Question(II)Strategic Command,Tactical Consistency A strong and wise Strategic Command of this system is required,so that the adaptations are well incorporated into a baseline trajectory towards the established quality tar
45、gets provided by a political organ,singular or collective depending on the prevailing local and regional power solutions in each country,preferably representing the whole mobility conurbation At the Tactical(or planning)level,a single agency must be in charge of all transport modes in the mobility c
46、onurbation carrying out planning and oversight with technical competence and firmness in action while ensuring transparency and fairness in treating the legitimate interests of multiple public agencies and private parties The size and complexity of the system will certainly imply some fragmentation
47、of responsibilities closer to the operational level19Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009Conclusions(I)The Urban Mobility System is a critical contributor to quality of life and competitiveness of European cities,and must offer high levels of quality in all its modes;Effecti
48、ve mobilization of the energy and skills of all members of society requires that good mobility solutions are available to all population segments and urban areas As daily mobility requisites vary,so should it be easy to vary the solutions adopted:Modal Alternation is a powerful concept but its appli
49、cation still faces many barriers20Jos Viegas Presentation to EMTA Council-Brussels,Oct 1st 2009Conclusions(II)The complexity of these systems and the permanent evolution of lifestyles can only be adequately addressed under a governance framework which provides Clarity of Purpose and Strategic Guidan
50、ce A single agency should be in charge of the tactical(planning)decision level for all issues in the mobility conurbation,with strong links to land use decisions Innovation in mobility services is very important for better adaptation to evolving requisites,and is preferably brought up by private com
