Congestion charging: selling the concept

The surge in urban traffic worldwide is leading to increasing problems of congestion and environmental degradation. Congestion charging is coming to be seen as one of the more effective policy options—particularly since the introduction of the central London scheme in 2003—but it remains highly controversial. This paper describes the issues of public and political acceptance and the economic arguments for congestion pricing. It also looks at the issues that need to be addressed by authorities contemplating the introduction of a charge, including use of revenue, accuracy and reliability of the monitoring technology, availability of alternatives to cars, promotion, and the importance of positive political will and leadership

Congestion charging: selling the concept

The surge in urban traffic worldwide is leading to increasing problems of congestion and environmental degradation. Congestion charging is coming to be seen as one of the more effective policy options—particularly since the introduction of the central London scheme in 2003—but it remains highly controversial. This paper describes the issues of public and political acceptance and the economic arguments for congestion pricing. It also looks at the issues that need to be addressed by authorities contemplating the introduction of a charge, including use of revenue, accuracy and reliability of the monitoring technology, availability of alternatives to cars, promotion, and the importance of positive political will and leadership

Limiting car use through controls on private parking providers: a study of worldwide policy options

Controlling parking provision has long been recognised as one of the most effective mechanisms for reducing car use. But in many countries, local transport authorities have only been able to influence the price and availability of parking spaces under their direct influence, while a significant proportion of parking spaces owned by other agencies (e.g. 50% of off-street spaces in the UK) have remained uncontrolled. The aim of this paper is to review the problem and the range of policy instruments currently utilised throughout the world where private parking spaces are controlled by Local Government to examine how the use of such policy options might be utilised more extensively and effectively. To achieve this the paper draws on a number of vignettes based on an extensive review of the literature and structured interviews with key stakeholders responsible for implementing the policy instruments discussed. It concludes by suggesting that while the control of public parking spaces by pricing and regulatory means is now widespread there still remains scope for reducing traffic movements by ‘encouraging’ private providers to reduce their parking provision

Expert perspectives on the past, present and future of travel plans in the UK

From a public policy perspective, travel plans are attractive to regional and local government since they are relatively cheap and quick to introduce and are normally politically acceptable. Meanwhile from a company perspective there are usually circumstances where an issue such as: access, a shortage of parking, a lack of space or finance, issues with neighbouring organisations, a need for planning permission or to enhance the organisation’s image – means there are potentially significant benefits from adopting a travel plan. In the absence of such motivations the majority of organisations have simply not participated in helping to solve something that is not legally or institutionally ‘their problem’. As such, a number of studies (see Rye, 2002; Bradshaw, 1997; Coleman, 2000) have stated that less than ten percent of large private businesses (of over 100 employees) have adopted travel plans while small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have taken even less of an interest. This lack of engagement can be attributed to a number of reasons. In particular, Rye (2002) identifies key barriers to wider travel plan implementation, namely: • Companies’ self interest and internal organisational barriers; • Lack of regulatory requirements for travel plans; • Personal taxation and commuting issues; • The poor quality of alternatives (particularly public transport); • Lack of examples due to novelty of the concept. In addition, while the UK Government has formally recognised the travel plan since its inclusion in the 1998 White Paper A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone (DETR, 1998), and has provided a whole series of support measures, these have tended to have been rather small scale, incremental and randomly applied. Travel plan policy meanwhile has largely been reactive and somewhat lacking in an overall strategic direction. Despite these barriers, travel plans are still in evidence and in fact are increasingly making an impression on the formulation of transport policy and practice and travel behaviour. The purpose of this Report is to ‘take stock’ in terms of what has occurred in terms of Travel Plans, to assess the current situation with respect to Travel Plans and then to predict how travel plan policy will develop in the future

Travel plans: a way forward?

The travel plan can be defined as a long-term management strategy for an organisation and its various sites or business park; the plan seeks to deliver transport objectives through positive action and is articulated by a document that is regularly reviewed. Importantly, unlike more 'traditional' measures, they can be effective at reducing car use while being politically acceptable and relatively cheap and quick to introduce. Given that politicians and their officials have often seen transport problems as being extremely difficult to solve, it is therefore strange that they have seemingly ignored the apparent significant potential of the travel plan. Interviews were undertaken with ten travel plan experts in the UK, the aim being to ascertain their views on the current state of play with respect to travel plans and their predictions for the future. From these a series of recommendations is presented as to how travel plan policy may be conducted in the future

Implementation of a workplace parking levy: lessons from the UK

The UK government has made its funding contribution towards major local transport investment conditional on introducing some form of complementary innovative Transport Demand Management measures such as road user charging (RUC). It is intended that this will help constrain traffic and generate local funding contributions towards schemes. Nottingham a major UK City has consequently chosen to implement a workplace parking levy (WPL). This paper presents a case study of the project, outlining its development and explaining the public consultation process used and its findings. It presents a summary of the perceptions of the WPL scheme from the consultations undertaken. From this lessons can be learned which will aid other Cities contemplating such schemes. The findings reveal that a communication strategy is vital, that WPL is not perceived as the most equitable of systems by many stakeholders but can be considered as an easy and quick policy to implement where the transport funding needs outweigh the negative aspects. WPL could perhaps be considered as a precursor to full RUC as the costs and technological barriers to RUC are reduced. It is also shown that promoters need to produce complementary strategies in order to assist implementation of WPL at an early stage in scheme development. This includes measures for assistance with employer travel planning and parking restraint. Promoters must have a clear strategy as to where the funding created by WPL will be hypothecated and what the benefits will be both to WPL payers and the general population as a whole

Levying charges on private parking : lessons from existing practice

Managing parking is a well established mechanism for controlling car use. But in many countries, a significant proportion of parking space is owned or leased by the private sector and so is beyond the direct control of the local transport authority. One solution currently being considered in the UK, is the idea of imposing a levy on businesses for utilising private parking spaces. However, while the legislation enabling local authorities to introduce such a charge was passed in 2000, only one local authority (Nottingham) retains an interest in the measure and it is still uncertain as to whether it will eventually be implemented. This paper briefly reviews the private parking problem and the range of policy instruments currently utilised throughout the world where private parking spaces are controlled by Local Authorities. It then draws on a number of vignettes where private parking levies have been introduced elsewhere in the world examining how the use of such policy options might be utilised more extensively and effectively. Finally the paper offers lessons that can be of use when seeking to implement a private parking levy scheme

Comparison of noise impacts from urban transport

When new transport schemes are considered, a key issue is the potential impact of noise. The reaction of people to noise however is both personal and subjective. Whereas all types of new urban transport scheme have noise evaluations, little work has been undertaken to date to compare the noise generated by the different modes of transport namely, a tram, car, bus and guided bus. The lack of such evaluations has implications for scheme perception when new modes are introduced, and such comparisons frequently form part of the public debate when systems are proposed. This paper outlines the assessment of noise and its measurement, reviews the limited published comparisons between modes and presents the results of an extensive series of noise measurements of in-service trams, buses and cars, (taken mainly within the Greater Nottingham area). The measurements have been made across a range of similar operational circumstances to allow comparison between the relative noise of particular modes. The paper concludes that from measurement across operational circumstances there should be little perceived difference in noise from buses and trams, but that proportionately cars can generate significant emissions

Mainstreaming travel plans in the UK : policy proposals for Government. Research Report to the Department for Transport and the National Business Travel Network, 22nd October 2008

The seminal publication in terms of current UK Transport Policy was the 1998 White Paper ‘A New deal for transport: Better for Everyone’ (DoE, 1998). This stated that there was now a consensus for a radical change in transport policy with recognition of the need to improve public transport and reduce the dependency on the private car. It confirmed the UK Government’s commitment to tackling the problem of congestion and pollution. As such, the main aim of the White Paper was ‘to increase personal choice by improving the alternatives and secure mobility that is sustainable in the long term’. The White Paper also sought to enhance local transport planning by creating a partnership between local councils, businesses, operators and users. The Government, via the Department for Transport, is consequently keen to promote initiatives that seek to reduce congestion, improve the local environment and encourage healthier and safer lifestyles. ‘Smarter Choices’ is currently an approach being used in order to influence individuals’ travel behaviour towards the use of more sustainable options such as encouraging workplace, school and individualised travel planning. Smarter Choices seeks to improve public transport and marketing services, for example travel awareness campaigns, setting up websites for car share schemes, supporting car clubs and encouraging teleworking. Two high profile reports have recently been published in the UK with an impact on Transport Policy, namely the Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change (HM Treasury, 2006) and the Eddington Transport Study (Eddington, 2006). The Stern Review argues that in terms of climate change ‘strong and early action far outweighs the economic costs of not acting’. Failure to act in terms of climate change is estimated to be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP per annum. The Review argues that climate change can be tackled in a way that ‘does not cap the aspirations for growth … Emissions can be cut through increased energy efficiency’. Policy options include: ‘action to remove barriers to energy efficiency, and to inform, educate and persuade individuals about what they can do to respond to climate change’. Clearly there is a role here for travel plans. The Eddington Transport Study (December 2006) views key economic challenges facing the UK transport system as capacity and performance, with congested and growing urban areas impeding growth and impacting on productivity. To address this challenge, the Eddington Study – as a guide to transport strategy priorities – states that the UK Government should focus on improving the performance of existing transport networks. In responding to these documents, the UK Government published Towards a Sustainable Transport System in October 2007 (DfT, 2007) which considered the two reports and incorporated the main features of both directly into Government policy, setting out an initial position for the government in relation to those reports One potential tool that has emerged in the UK over a similar period to address the issues raised in the policy arena has been the travel plan, which UK Government guidance (EEBPP, 2001) defines as being: ‘a general term for a package of measures tailored to meet the needs of individual sites and aimed at promoting greener, cleaner travel choices and reducing reliance on the car. It involves the development of a set of mechanisms, initiatives and targets that together can enable an organisation to reduce the impact of travel and transport on the environment, whilst also bringing a number of other benefits to the organisation as an employer and to staff.’ The idea behind travel plans, which have their origins in the US, was as a relatively quick and easy response to the fuel crises during the 1970s. Travel plans were fairly slow to translate to a European setting, arriving in first in the Netherlands in the early 1990s and then in the UK in the mid 1990s. As of 2008, a number of travel plans are now in place across the European Union, from Ireland to Austria – Travel Plans are not yet widely known about in Eastern Europe and from Sweden to Malta. The relative merits of travel plans to Governments and local authorities are that they are reasonably quick to introduce, relatively cheap and, most importantly, are usually politically acceptable. This is in marked contrast to most other transport improvement schemes which often require high levels of investment over a long period of time and can carry a high political risk – especially in the short term as conditions frequently deteriorate while improvements are being carried out. Moreover, travel plans can be effective at peak times and in peak locations and can be used to address a wide variety of public policy goals including reducing congestion, energy use, air quality and noise impacts, and improving accessibility, equity, health and the economy. Crucially however, travel plans are dependent on the willingness of other organisations (i.e. traffic generators such as employers, retail parks, schools and hospitals) to get involved in helping to address something that is normally outside their operational remit. This potentially is a major barrier. At the site level studies have shown that UK travel plans combining both incentives to using alternatives to the car, together with disincentives to drive, can achieve a 15-30 per cent reduction in drive alone commuting (DTLR, 2001). For instance, Rye (2002) estimates that travel plans have removed just over 150,000 car trips per day from British roads each working day, or 1.14 billion km per year, i.e. around three quarters of one per cent of the total vehicle km travelled to work by car overall. The purpose of this report therefore, is to build upon the findings from a literature review (see Enoch and Zhang, 2008) and a series of in-depth interviews conducted with ten Travel Plan experts by the authors (Enoch and Ison, 2008)to propose a series of policy actions as to how Government, local authorities, businesses, organisations and the travel plan industry might improve the situation

An expert perspective on the future of travel plans: lessons from the UK

The travel plan can be defined as being “a long-term management strategy for an organisation and its various sites or business park that seeks to deliver transport objectives through positive action and is articulated by a document that is regularly reviewed”. Importantly, unlike more ‘traditional’ measures they can be effective at reducing car use while being politically acceptable and relatively cheap and quick to introduce. Given that transport problems are often seen as being extremely difficult to solve by politicians and their officials, it is therefore strange that they have seemingly ignored the apparent significant potential of the travel plan. This paper reports the interview findings from ten travel plan experts in the UK who were asked for their views on the state of play of travel plans in the UK currently and their predictions for the future. From these a series of recommendations are presented as to how travel plan policy may be conducted in the future