Urban Transport Problems

Author: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue

1. Challenges Facing Urban Transportation

Cities are locations having a high level of accumulation and concentration of economic activities and are complex spatial structures that are supported by transport systems. The larger the city, the greater its complexity and the potential for disruptions, particularly when this complexity is not effectively managed. The most important transport problems are often related to urban areas and take place when transport systems, for a variety of reasons, cannot satisfy the numerous requirements of urban mobility. Urban productivity is highly dependent on the efficiency of its transport system to move labor, consumers and freight between multiple origins and destinations. Additionally, important transport terminals such as ports, airports, and railyards are located within urban areas, contributing to a specific array of problems. Some problems are ancient, like congestion (which plagued cities such as Rome), while others are new like urban freight distribution or environmental impacts. Among the most notable urban transport problems are:

Traffic congestion and parking difficulties. Congestion is one of the most prevalent transport problems in large urban agglomerations, usually above a threshold of about 1 million inhabitants. It is particularly linked with motorization and the diffusion of the automobile, which has increased the demand for transport infrastructures. However, the supply of infrastructures has often not been able to keep up with the growth of mobility. Since vehicles spend the majority of the time parked, motorization has expanded the demand for parking space, which has created space consumption problems particularly in central areas; the spatial imprint of parked vehicles is significant. Congestion and parking are also interrelated since looking for a parking space (called "cruising") creates additional delays and impairs local circulation. In central areas of large cities cruising may account for more than 10% of the local circulation as drivers can spend 20 minutes looking for a parking spot. This practice is often judged more economically effective than using a paying off-street parking facility as the time spent looking for a free (or low cost) parking space as compensated by the monetary savings. Also, many delivery vehicles will simply double-park at the closest possible spot to unload their cargo.
Longer commuting. On par with congestion people are spending an increasing amount of time commuting between their residence and workplace. An important factor behind this trend is related to residential affordability as housing located further away from central areas (where most of the employment remains) is more affordable. Therefore, commuters are trading time for housing affordability. However, long commuting is linked with several social problems, such as isolation, as well as poorer health (obesity).
Public transport inadequacy. Many public transit systems, or parts of them, are either over or under used. During peak hours, crowdedness creates discomfort for users as the system copes with a temporary surge in demand. Low ridership makes many services financially unsustainable, particularly in suburban areas. In spite of significant subsidies and cross-financing (e.g. tolls) almost every public transit systems cannot generate sufficient income to cover its operating and capital costs. While in the past deficits were deemed acceptable because of the essential service public transit was providing for urban mobility, its financial burden is increasingly controversial.
Difficulties for non-motorized transport. These difficulties are either the outcome of intense traffic, where the mobility of pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles is impaired, but also because of a blatant lack of consideration for pedestrians and bicycles in the physical design of infrastructures and facilities.
Loss of public space. The majority of roads are publicly owned and free of access. Increased traffic has adverse impacts on public activities which once crowded the streets such as markets, agoras, parades and processions, games, and community interactions. These have gradually disappeared to be replaced by automobiles. In many cases, these activities have shifted to shopping malls while in other cases, they have been abandoned altogether. Traffic flows influence the life and interactions of residents and their usage of street space. More traffic impedes social interactions and street activities. People tend to walk and cycle less when traffic is high.
Environmental impacts and energy consumption. Pollution, including noise, generated by circulation has become a serious impediment to the quality of life and even the health of urban populations. Further, energy consumption by urban transportation has dramatically increased and so the dependency on petroleum. Yet, peak oil considerations are increasingly linked with peak mobility expectations where high energy prices incite a shift towards more efficient and sustainable forms of urban transportation, namely public transit.
Accidents and safety. Growing traffic in urban areas is linked with a growing number of accidents and fatalities, especially in developing countries. Accidents account for a significant share of recurring delays. As traffic increases, people feel less safe to use the streets.
Land consumption. The territorial imprint of transportation is significant, particularly for the automobile. Between 30 and 60% of a metropolitan area may be devoted to transportation, an outcome of the over-reliance on some forms of urban transportation. Yet, this land consumption also underlines the strategic importance of transportation in the economic and social welfare of cities.
Freight distribution. Globalization and the materialization of the economy have resulted in growing quantities of freight moving within cities. As freight traffic commonly shares infrastructures with the circulation of passengers, the mobility of freight in urban areas has become increasingly problematic. City logistics strategies can be established to mitigate the variety of challenges faced by urban freight distribution.

Many dimensions to the urban transport challenge are linked with the dominance of the automobile.

2. Automobile Dependency

Automobile use is obviously related to a variety of advantages such as on demand mobility, comfort, status, speed, and convenience. These advantages jointly illustrate why automobile ownership continues to grow worldwide, especially in urban areas. When given the choice and the opportunity, most individuals will prefer using an automobile. Several factors influence the growth of the total vehicle fleet, such as sustained economic growth (increase in income and quality of life), complex individual urban movement patterns (many households have more than one automobile), more leisure time and suburbanization. Therefore, rising automobile mobility can be perceived as a positive consequence of economic development. The acute growth in the total number of vehicles also gives rise to congestion at peak traffic hours on major thoroughfares, in business districts and often throughout the metropolitan area.

Cities are important generators and attractors of movements, which have created a set of geographical paradoxes that are self-reinforcing. For instance, specialization leads to additional transport demands while agglomeration leads to congestion. Over time, a state of automobile dependency has emerged which results in a diminution in the role of other modes, thereby limiting still further alternatives to urban mobility. In addition to the factors contributing to the growth of driving, two major factors contributing to automobile dependency are:

Underpricing and consumer choices. Most road infrastructures are subsidized as they are considered a public service. Consequently, drivers do not bear the full cost of automobile use. Like the "Tragedy of the Commons", when a resource is free of access (road), it tends to be overused and abused (congestion). This is also reflected in consumer choice, where automobile ownership is a symbol of status, freedom and prestige, especially in developing countries. Single home ownership also reinforces automobile dependency.
Planning and investment practices. Planning and the ensuing allocation of public funds aim towards improving road and parking facilities in an ongoing attempt to avoid congestion. Other transportation alternatives tend to be disregarded. In many cases, zoning regulations impose minimum standards of road and parking services and de facto impose a regulated automobile dependency.

There are several levels of automobile dependency, ranging from low to acute, with their corresponding land use patterns and alternatives to mobility. Among the most relevant indicators of automobile dependency are the level of vehicle ownership, per capita motor vehicle mileage and the proportion of total commuting trips made using an automobile. A situation of high automobile dependency is reached when more than three quarters of commuting trips are done using the automobile. For the United States, this proportion has remained around 88% over the recent decades. Automobile dependency is also served by a cultural and commercial system promoting the automobile as a symbol of status and personal freedom, namely through intense advertising and enticements to purchase new automobiles. Not surprisingly, many developing countries perceive motorization as a condition for development. Even if the term automobile dependency is often negatively perceived and favored by market distortions such as the provision of roads, its outcome reflects the choice of individuals who see the automobile more as an advantage then an inconvenience.

The second half of the 20th century saw the adaptation of many cities in North America and Europe to automobile circulation. Motorized transportation was seen as a powerful symbol of modernity and development. Highways were constructed, streets were enlarged, and parking lots were set often disrupting the existing urban fabric with the creation of motorized cities. However, from the 1980s, motorization started to be seen more negatively and several cities implemented policies to limit automobile circulation, at least in specific areas, by a set of strategies including:

Dissuasion. Although automobile circulation is permitted, it is impeded by regulations and physical planning. For instance, parking space can be severely limited and speed bumps placed to force speed reduction.
Prohibition of downtown circulation. During most of the day the downtown area is closed to automobile circulation but deliveries are permitted during the night. Such strategies are often undertaken to protect the character and the physical infrastructures of an historical city. They do however, like most policies, have unintended consequences. If mobility is restrained in certain locations or during certain time periods, people will simply go elsewhere (longer movements) or defer their mobility for another time (more movements).
Tolls. Imposing tolls for parking and entry (congestion pricing) to some parts of the city has been a strategy being considered seriously in many area as it confers the potential advantage of congestion mitigation and revenue generation. Most evidence underlines however that drivers are willing to bear additional toll costs for the convenience of using a car, especially for commuting since it is linked with their main source of income.

Tentative solutions have been put forth such as transport planning measures (synchronized traffic lights, regulated parking), limited vehicle traffic in selected areas, the promotion of bicycle paths and public transit. In Mexico City, vehicle use is prohibited according to license plate numbers and the date (even-uneven). Affluent families have solved this issue by purchasing a second vehicle, thus worsening the existing situation. Singapore is the only country in the world which has successfully controlled the amount and growth rate of its vehicle fleet by imposing a heavy tax burden and purchasing permits on automobile owners. Such a command-based approach is unlikely to be possible in other contexts.

There is a growing body of evidence underlining that a peak level of car mobility is unfolding, at least in developed countries. Higher energy prices, congestion and the general aging of the population are all countervailing forces to car dependency. For instance, since 2006 the amount of vehicle-miles traveled in the United States has peaked, a process associated with higher energy prices and a strong recession. There are many alternatives to automobile dependency such as intermodality (combining the advantages of individual and collective transport), carpooling (strengthened by policy and regulation by the US government) or non-motorized transportation (walking and cycling). These alternatives can only be partially implemented as the automobile remains on the short and medium terms the prime choice for providing urban mobility.

3. Congestion

Congestion occurs when transport demand exceeds transport supply at a specific point in time and in a specific section of the transport system. Under such circumstances, each vehicle impairs the mobility of others.

Congestion can be perceived as an unavoidable consequence of the usage of scarce transport resources, particularly if they are not priced. The last decades have seen the extension of roads in rural but particularly in urban areas, most of them free of access. Those infrastructures were designed for speed and high capacity, but the growth of urban circulation occurred at a rate higher than often expected. Investments came from diverse levels of government with a view to provide accessibility to cities and regions. There were strong incentives for the expansion of road transportation by providing high levels of transport supply. This has created a vicious circle of congestion which supports the construction of additional road capacity and automobile dependency. Urban congestion mainly concerns two domains of circulation, often sharing the same infrastructures:

Passengers. In many regions of the world incomes have significantly increased to the point that one automobile per household or more is common. Access to an automobile conveys flexibility in terms of the choice of origin, destination and travel time. The automobile is favored at the expense of other modes for most trips, including commuting. For instance, automobiles account for the bulk of commuting trips in the United States.
Freight. Several industries have shifted their transport needs to trucking, thereby increasing the usage of road infrastructure. Since cities are the main destinations for freight flows (either for consumption or for transfer to other locations) trucking adds to further congestion in urban areas. The "last mile" problem remains particularly prevalent for freight distribution in urban areas. Congestion is commonly linked with a drop in the frequency of deliveries tying additional capacity to insure a similar level of service.

It is important to underline that congestion in urban areas is dominantly caused by commuting patterns and little by truck movements. On average, infrastructure provision was not able to keep up with the growth in the number of vehicles, even more with the total number of vehicles-km. During infrastructure improvement and construction, capacity impairment (fewer available lanes, closed sections, etc.) favors congestion. Important travel delays occur when the capacity limit is reached or exceeded, which is the case of almost all metropolitan areas. In the largest cities such as London, road traffic is actually slower than it was 100 years ago. Marginal delays are thus increasing and driving speed becomes problematic as the level of population density increases. Once a population threshold of about 1 million is reached, cities start to experience recurring congestion problems. This observation must be nuanced by numerous factors related to the urban setting, modal preferences and the quality of existing urban transport infrastructures. Still, large cities have become congested most of the day, and congestion is getting more acute. Another important consideration concerns parking, which consumes large amounts of space and provides limited economic benefit. In automobile dependent cities, this can be very constraining as each economic activity has to provide an amount of parking space proportional to their level of activity. Parking has become a land use that greatly inflates the demand for urban land.

Urban mobility also reveals congestion patterns. Daily trips can be either “mandatory” (workplace-home) or “voluntary” (shopping, leisure, visits). The former is often performed within fixed schedules while the latter complies with variable and discretionary schedules. Correspondingly, congestion comes in two major forms:

Recurrent congestion. The consequence of factors that cause regular demand surges on the transportation system, such as commuting, shopping or weekend trips. However, even recurrent congestion can have unforeseen impacts in terms of its duration and severity. Mandatory trips are mainly responsible for the peaks in circulation flows, implying that about half the congestion in urban areas is recurring at specific times of the day and on specific segments of the transport system.
Non-recurrent congestion. The other half of congestion is caused by random events such as accidents and unusual weather conditions (rain, snowstorms, etc.), which are unexpected and unplanned. Non-recurrent congestion is linked to the presence and effectiveness of incident response strategies. As far as accidents are concerned, their randomness is influenced by the level of traffic as the higher the traffic on specific road segments the higher the probability of accidents.

Behavioral and response time effects are also important as in a system running close to capacity, simply breaking suddenly may trigger what can be known as a backward traveling wave. It implies that as vehicles are forced to stop, the bottleneck moves up the location it initially took place at, often leaving drivers puzzled about its cause. The spatial convergence of traffic causes a surcharge on transport infrastructures up to the point where congestion can lead to the total immobilization of traffic. Not only does the massive use of the automobile have an impact on traffic circulation and congestion, but it also leads to the decline in public transit efficiency when both are sharing the same roads.

4. Mitigating Congestion

In some areas, the automobile is the only mode for which infrastructures are provided. This implies less capacity for using alternative modes such transit, walking and cycling. At some levels of density, no public infrastructure investment can be justified in terms of economic returns. Longer commuting trips in terms of average travel time, the result of fragmented land uses and congestion levels are a significant trend. Convergence of traffic at major highways that serve vast low density areas with high levels of automobile ownership and low levels of automobile occupancy. The result is energy (fuel) wasted during congestion (additional time) and supplementary commuting distances. In automobile dependent cities, a few measures can help alleviate congestion to some extent:

Ramp metering. Controlling the access to a congested highway by letting automobiles in one at a time instead of in groups. The outcome is a lower disruption on highway traffic flows.
Traffic signal synchronization. Tuning the traffic signals to the time and direction of traffic flows. This is particularly effective if the signals can be adjusted on an hourly basis to reflect changes in commuting patterns.
Incident management. Making sure that vehicles involved in accidents or mechanical failures are removed as quickly as possible from the road. Since accident on average account between 20 and 30% of all the causes of congestion, this strategy is particularly important.
Carpooling. Concerns two issues. The first and most common is an individual providing ridership to people (often co-workers) having a similar origin, destination and commuting time. Two or more vehicle trips can thus be combined into one. The second involves a pool of vehicles (mostly cars, but also bicycles) that can be leased for short durations when mobility is required. Adequate measures must be taken so that supply and demand are effectively matched.
HOV lanes. High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes insure that vehicles with 2 or more passengers (buses, vans, carpool, etc.) have exclusive access to a less congested lane, particularly during peak hours.
Congestion pricing. A variety of measures aimed at imposing charges on specific segments or regions of the transport system, mainly as a toll. The charges can also change during the day to reflect congestion levels so that drivers are incited to consider other time periods or other modes.
Parking management. Removing parking or free parking spaces can be an effective dissuasion tool since it reduces cruising and enables those willing to pay to access an area (e.g. for a short shopping stop).
Public transit. Offering alternatives to driving that can significantly improve efficiency, notably if it circulates on its own infrastructure (subway, light rail, buses on reserved lanes, etc.) and is well integrated within a city's development plans. However, public transit has its own set of issues (see next section).
Non-motorized transportation. Since the great majority of urban trips are over short distances, non-motorized modes, particularly walking and cycling, have an important roll to play in supporting urban mobility. The provision of adequate infrastructure, such as sidewalks, is often a low priority as non-motorized transportation is often perceived as not modern in spite of the important role it needs to assume in urban areas.

All these measures only partially address the issue of congestion, as they alleviate, but do not solve the problem. Fundamentally, congestion remains a failure at reconciling mobility demands and acute supply constraints.

5. The Urban Transit Challenge

As cities continue to become more dispersed, the cost of building and operating public transportation systems increases. For instance, as of 2012 only about 184 urban agglomerations have a subway system, the great majority of them being in developed countries. Furthermore, dispersed residential patterns characteristic of automobile dependent cities makes public transportation systems less convenient to support urban mobility. In many cities additional investments in public transit did not result in significant additional ridership. Unplanned and uncoordinated land development has led to rapid expansion of the urban periphery. Residents, by selecting housing in outlying areas, restrict their potential access to public transportation. Over-investment (when investments do not appear to imply significant benefits) and under-investment (when there is a substantial unmet demand) in public transit are both complex challenges.

Urban transit is often perceived as the most efficient transportation mode for urban areas, notably large cities. However, surveys reveal a stagnation of public transit systems, especially in North America. The economic relevance of public transit is being questioned. Most urban transit developments had little, if any impacts to alleviate congestion in spite of mounting costs and heavy subsidies. This paradox is partially explained by the spatial structure of contemporary cities which are oriented along servicing the needs of the individual, not necessarily the needs of the collectivity. Thus, the automobile remains the preferred mode of urban transportation. In addition, public transit is publicly owned, implying that it is a politically motivated service that provides limited economic returns. Even in transit-oriented cities such as in Europe, transit systems depend massively on government subsidies. Little or no competition is permitted as wages and fares are regulated, undermining any price adjustments to changes in ridership. Thus, public transit often serves the purpose of a social function (“public service”) as it provides accessibility and social equity, but with limited relationships with economic activities. Among the most difficult challenges facing urban transit are:

Decentralization. Public transit systems are not designed to service low density and scattered urban areas that are increasingly dominating the landscape. The greater the decentralization of urban activities, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to serve urban areas with public transit. Additionally, decentralization promotes long distance trips on transit systems causing higher operating costs and revenue issues for flat fare transit systems.
Fixity. The infrastructures of several public transit systems, notably rail and subway systems are fixed, while cities are dynamical entities, even if the pace of change can take decades. This implies that travel patterns tend to change and that a transit system built for servicing a specific pattern may eventually face "spatial obsolescence".
Connectivity. Public transit systems are often independent from other modes and terminals. It is consequently difficult to transfer passengers from one system to the other. This leads to a paradox between the preference of riders to have direct connections and the need to provide a cost efficient service network that involves transfers.
Competition. In view of cheap and ubiquitous road transport systems, public transit faced strong competition and loss ridership in relative terms and in some cases in absolute terms. The higher the level of automobile dependency, the more inappropriate the public transit level of service. The public service being offered is simply outpaced by the convenience of the automobile. However, changes in energy prices are likely to impose a new equilibrium in this relationship.
Financing and fare structures. Most public transit systems have abandoned a distance-based fare structure to a simpler flat fare system. This had the unintended consequence of discouraging short trips for which most transit systems are well suited for, and encouraging longer trips that tend to be more costly per user than the fares they generate. Information systems offer the possibility for transit systems to move back to a more equitable distance based fare structure.
Legacy costs. Most public transit systems employ unionized labor that have consistently used strikes (or the threat of a strike) and the acute disruptions they create as leverage to negotiate favorable contracts, including health and retirement benefits. Since public transit is subsidized these costs were not well reflected in the fare systems. In many transit systems, additional subsidies went into compensation or to cover past debt, and not necessarily into performance improvements or additional infrastructure. As most governments are facing stringent budgetary constraints because of unsustainable social welfare commitments, public transit agencies are being forced to reassess their budgets through an unpopular mix of higher fares, deferred maintenance and the breaking of labor contracts. The era of public transit as a welfare agency providing compensation and benefits well above the qualifications and the productivity of its labor may be drawing to an end.

There are indications that public transit is reassessing its role in societies with high levels of automobile dependency. The rise in petroleum prices since 2006 has increased the cost of vehicle ownership and operation. A younger generation is perceiving the automobile as a less attractive proposition than the prior generation and is more willing to use public transit and live in higher density areas. Electronic fare systems are also making the utilization of public transit more convenient. A recent trend concerns the usage of incentives, such as point systems (e.g. air miles with purchase of a monthly pass) to further promote the use of public transit and to influence consumer behavior.