Final Report March 2000

In addition to over 300,000 people directly employed by transit, tens of thousands of others are dependent on transit for their livelihood in the United States. These include engineering and construction workers planning and building transit facilities, transit consultants, manufacturers of transit vehicles, equipment and parts, retail employees serving transit passengers, and employees in all sectors of the U.S. economy indirectly supporting transit activities. It is estimated that 2,400 direct and 5,800 total jobs are created by each $100 million transit capital investment. Operating expenditures of $100 million would generate 3,100 direct and 7,300 total jobs.

Investment in transit is estimated to improve worker output by about $520 billion over the next 10 years, assuming an investment of $100 billion. The better facilities and services provided by the investment result in more efficient movement of people and goods, which saves time, reduces costs and increases productivity.

Motorists will not readily switch to public transport unless it is significantly better and more reliable. The main aim of the revitalization of public transport system is to increase personal choice by improving the alternatives and by securing the mobility that is sustainable in the long term. Better public transport will encourage more people to use it. People say that they want more choices on whether to use their cars and more reliable journeys, that they want a better public transport system and one that doesn't let them down, and that they want better protection for the environment and they want less pollution because they are worrying about their health.

 Better facilities at stations and other places for interchange;

 Better connections and co-ordination between services;

 Wider availability and provision of information on time tables, route planning and fares;

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  Supplying a comprehensive public transport information system, available over the telephone, internet, etc.
  

The integrated transport systems can already be seen in Europe; for example:

In the Netherlands, 'strippenkaart' tickets allow passengers to make a fixed number of journeys in different Dutch cities using any type of public transport.

 Interconnecting services

In Hanover and Stuttgart, evening passengers can ask their tram driver to radio ahead for a taxi to meet them at their destination stop. The cost is included in the tram fare as a flat-rate add-on.

 Passenger information

Since May 1992, passengers in the Netherlands have been able to ring a single national telephone number for full door-to-door timetable, fares and other information.

 Interchange facilities

Vandal-proof lockers for cycle storage are provided at stations in the Netherlands.

Local buses in Basel and Tubingen carry bikes on special racks or platforms.
One of the best examples in Britain of a successful area ticket scheme is to provide unlimited pre-paid travel within specified zones on bus, rail, underground and Docklands Light Railway services throughout London. London Transport estimates that introducing the Travelcard has increased bus passenger miles by one fifth, with the increase of underground usage by one third.
Many of journeys include an interchange, from a relatively straightforward change of buses at a bus stop to major rail stations and airports where several ways of travelling come together. Quick and easy interchange is essential for public transport to compete with the convenience of car use, which is why local authorities' local transport plans should consider interchange facilities. For more convenient transfer between public transport systems, the following various schemes are required: 
 reliable/punctual and frequent services to produce minimal waiting times;

 short walking distances and clear directional signs;

 better directional signs between, for example, bus stops and between rail and bus stations;

 staff availability;

 well maintained infrastructure;

 good personal security;

 better protection from the weather;

 instantly readable and relevant information on routes and frequencies;

 secured parking for bikes at bus shelters.
Local authorities are expected to identify the improvements that need to be made. Funding will be available through local transport plans for improving interchanges - especially to help disabled people and for pedestrian and cycle access.
Designing for better interchange can yield significant benefits and represents good value for money. For example, many cities have re-organized their street bus stops and now have groups of stops served by interconnecting services. Small-scale improvements can make a real difference, but are often overlooked. Further research should be done in order to update guidance on interchange, identifying best practice and good design. The guidance should cover the needs of disabled people. It should look at the shops and cafes, well-maintained toilets and baby-changing facilities, and attractive architectural design and public art can add to quality of interchanges and make them safer and more inviting places.
Pedestrian access to rail and bus stations especially in developing countries is often poorly designed and hazardous. Significant measures also need to be taken to improve provision for cyclists. This is relatively limited even at the larger rail stations and where storage facilities are provided, security is often poor, deterring cyclists from using trains and rail passengers from cycling to the station.
Rail operators should provide the followings, as far as they are reasonably practicable:
 general customer information on cycle facilities;

 improved access for cyclists to stations;

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  sufficient, adequate and convenient cycle parking at stations - under surveillance and well- signed;
  

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  on-board storage of bicycles which is sufficient, safe and secured, and does not unduly inconvenience other users;
  

Summary of Competitive Tendering Results

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  to build a framework which retains competition in the market but provides for intervention where there is evidence that this is needed in the public interest. The ability of competition authorities to deal with anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant position will be substantially improved. Where operators deliver efficient services in the public interest they and their employees can expect to share in the rewards of their success;
  
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  to make increasing use of economic instruments such as pricing and taxation to send clear signals about the wider social and environmental impacts of travel decisions;
  

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  to improve the planning framework in a way which recognizes the interactions between transport modes, land use and economic development, and provides for a more stable, integrated and strategic background within which transport operators and others may make investment decisions.
  

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  Parking control of on-street parking to prevent vehicles obstructing traffic and pedestrians;
  
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  New types of equipment for controlling on-street parking; electronic meters, pay and display machines operated by magnetic cards, and voucher systems;
  
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  Parking enforcement by local authorities, penalties used to fund enforcement, scope for more authorities to take up new powers;
  
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  Parking control, on- and off-street, as a component of plans to reduce the amount of travel in and to congested town centers;
  
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  Parking restraint strategies that include packages of measures to improve access to town centers by public transport and deter through-traffic and a levy on parking at the workplace
  

Employees driving to work and enjoying free parking at the workplace account for a significant proportion of peak-hour congestion. Researches have shown that controlling the price and availability of parking is capable of reducing traffic in congested areas. Local authorities determine the price and availability of public parking, but they have little control over existing parking spaces at private business premises. They can use their development control powers to limit the amount of parking spaces associated with new development. New measures are needed to tackle excessive workplace parking provision at existing developments so that local authorities can develop comprehensive parking management policies that support their transport and development plans.