SIEMENS

Do you know best practices for “sustainable transportation” that have worked out successfully and that can be applied in other regions/cities?

Dalkmann: When we are talking about sustainable mobility we have to observe the entire system. In regards to specific solutions, we have a lot of good examples around the world such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or car sharing. If we really want to make a change we have to look into cities and their vision. I like to mention two good examples for a holistic approach to sustainable urban planning. One is Copenhagen: in 1947 the city developed a vision on how they wanted to grow, according to a transit oriented development plan known as the “Finger Plan”, five “fingers” extending from the palm of a dense city-center for Copenhagen. Over the years inhabitants of Copenhagen have achieved and evolved their vision. They have rail lines and other efficient transport systems. Additionally, Copenhagen has set up the bike as a key transport mode and has invested in public transportation in an early stage. But most importantly, the land around the mass transport system is dense, mixed-use and highly accessible. Since the 1970´s Copenhagen has been recognized as a model city where public transport and land use fit “as a glove” - as highlighted by Robert Cervero in his landmark publication “The Transit Metropolis” (1998). Second, New York City started relatively late with change. In the 1960s and 1970s it was building highways and removing parks, and in the 1980s and 1990s it was seen as a congested and unsafe environment. A great push for recovery started in 2002. With PlaNYC 2030 the city has set up a holistic idea for sustainable urban development to transform NYC into a “greener and greater” city. It includes fourteen specific action points to improve and expand the transportation infrastructure, to reduce congestion, and to maintain and improve the physical condition of the transit system and roads. PlaNYC sets up measures such as making bicycling safer and convenient, or enhancing pedestrian access and safety, using pilot technology - like hybrid bus and taxi fleets - as well as pricing-based mechanisms like congestion charging.

Chase: Thinking about good examples for sustainable mobility, we have to think about transportation over the human lifecycle: we have different transportation needs depending on our age and each specific trip. If we think of the two extremes, Houston versus some very rural African village, they both use one mode only: in Houston everything is done by car and in an underserved small village in Africa the only choice is to walk. A diversity of options is actually the best solution: There are trips best done by walking, trips best suited for biking, for motorcycling, for small shared cars and for big shared cars, for Metro etc. - each one of those modes has a place based on one’s mobility needs. I walk, when it is less than 1 km, between 1 to 3 or 4 km I bike, more than 4 km I take the metro and more than 10 km I take the car. If I am travelling with a group of people, or with small children, my needs change and the transportation that best suits my needs, might also change.

Talking about sustainable transportation an option would be to reduce mobility needs in cities. How can we achieve this?

Chase: When cities grew bigger with industrialization, the places where we live were separated from the places where we work. This is the reason that we now have to travel long distances. Now we understand that the diversity of dense, close and mixed-use geographies is what serves us best. Take Paris, for example, where I have lived for the last two years. Here almost everything that I need can be found within two blocks!

Dalkmann:I agree, we need to think about solutions built around accessibility and proximity. What people want is to easily reach their destinations and not wasting time while travelling long distances. Now if we shift our look away from Paris, and observe emerging economies, we have a large share of favelas and slums. In Rio de Janeiro, there will be a re-design and improvement of these underserved areas for the Olympics. How will we develop these areas? If we provide public space, safe walking and biking environments, and access to public transport we will foster more sustainable mobility. If we stick to building roads, we will face increased motorcycle and car use and more externalities.

Additional to massive urban growth in most of the world the overall population will get older. For example in more developed regions UN figures predict that in 2050 more than 30 percent of the population will be over 60. Which transportation solutions could especially serve the elder generation?

Chase: A car-dependent geography means if you are less than 16 you are a prisoner and if you are older than 82 or whatever age you stop driving – you also become a prisoner at your home again. Especially when you are older, you should live in a dense, mixed-use environment, where you do not depend on a car anymore. A car-independent transportation is actually the best option: Solving it for older people is solving it for the whole society.

In Asia, cities are expanding faster than anywhere else. Where are city leaders finding sustainable mobility solutions while taking into account the environment and climate?

Dalkmann: In Ahmedabad, India, a city with a population of more than 5.5 million, commuting options were limited until recently. Commuters could either drive, take an auto rickshaw, or take the overcrowded and unreliable municipal bus. An affordable public transport network was required so people could reach their destinations in the shortest possible time, in the easiest possible manner. The Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transport System is that solution. It began operation in October 2009, and has grown 375 percent from a route of 12 kilometers to 45 kilometers and is still growing – plans call for an additional 110 kilometers in the next 5 years. Daily passenger ridership has also gone up, from 18,000 at the start to nearly 130,000 today. Better access to mass transit has allowed Ahmedabad to keep itself dense and compact.

Another good example is Seoul: the city developed a vision on green growth, reflected in the Cheonggyecheon downtown restoration project. In 2003, the Seoul metropolitan government initiated the removal of a highway built over a creek in the 1970s. With the restoration of the stream the historic legacy of the area was brought back and the Central business districts’ economy revitalized. Cheonggyecheon today is a public recreation space popular among city residents and tourists. Along with mass transit investment, the project has also helped improving mobility in the heart of Seoul. The municipal government reports important increased land prices, improved air quality and reduced heat island effect. More importantly, nine out of ten Seoul residents are satisfied or very satisfied with the project.

Analysts are predicting exponential growth in the car sharing market. Is this the future model of car ownership?

Chase: I hope! We need to convince city dwellers that the really cool, most convenient, and cost-effective way of using a car, is with a shared car. Car sharing has so many advantages: First, – I like to emphasize the idea of “collaborative consumption” that means with sharing you are making better use of resources. Cars are only used an average of 2 out of 24 hours and most of the trips have 3 empty seats available. So by sharing, we make much better use of these expensive and bulky assets. Second, you can choose the car that fits the needs of each specific trip, and just pay as you use. Third: you have access to a fleet of cars parked everywhere, and not just in front of your own house. Finally, maintenance is someone else’s problem. You don’t have to worry about it or do it yourself.

One step further is “peer-to peer” car sharing , an example of which is Buzzcar. We want to enable car owners to share their own cars, which are idle so much of the time, and which cost households about 15 percent of their household budgets. Peer-to-peer car sharing reduces the numbers of cars needed to satisfy a given population, dramatically reduces the numbers of parked cars that clog our city streets, the need for parking that makes our homes expensive, and the cost of owning or driving a car.

So, to sum it up, people who carshare are acting sustainably, have a higher quality driving experience, and are financially smart. Owning a car is old school - car sharing is part of the new easy urban lifestyle. And it should be marketed and pitched that way.

Who are the target groups for car sharing? Can you give us a profile of the typical car sharing customer?

Chase: Anyone who doesn’t need a car to get to work is ripe for car sharing. This target group covers all ages. Right now, we find car sharing more heavily used by those with a college education, although there isn’t any good reason why this is the case. And indeed, the younger generation is slightly more heavily represented among car share users than older people.

Urban congestion is becoming more critical in most of the world. Which policies are successful in order to make transportation in cities more sustainable?

Dalkmann:First, the cost of transport has an effect: higher fuel prices and taxes reduce the use of cars. So up to a certain level of increase in prices, the fiscal policy is one option. Fuel taxation in Europe, for instance, makes gasoline two to three times more expensive than in the US.

Second, the framework that enables cities to invest in the right sustainable solutions: for example India is likely to invest US$300 billion in urban infrastructure over the next 20 years. The idea is not just to provide the money but also to link the planning to concrete solutions by prioritizing investment in mass transit systems – Metros and BRTs, well integrated with land use. Similar national programs to support mass transit and sustainable urban development have been implemented in China, Brazil and Mexico, to name a few.

Third, we need to help cities to get their own funding, for example through congestion charges or city toll systems, and parking management. And with this money cities can improve public transport. The best examples are in Singapore, London and Sweden with congestion tolls and in San Francisco with on-line dynamically-priced parking.

The key is combined spatial planning and transport policies. Cities would simply reduce people’s need to travel. Policies can help to increase the use of public transport and reduce individual transport through speed lanes for buses, closed city-centers for cars, restricted use and purchase of cars, etc.

Chase:I am always wishing we would recognize (and reduce) the amount we subsidize driving, and parking, and reduce these subsidies. In most cities, it is very close to free to park, yet the true cost of real estate in dense congested areas is very high. We also could complement the efforts described by Holger by adding extra incentives, such as abolish parking fees for shared cars, offering dedicated or best parking spaces to shared vehicles, and/or reduce taxes for car owners who share their cars.

How can we make the use of public transport more attractive – besides a high density of the public transport network?

Dalkmann: Going from door-to-door is becoming increasingly challenging as cities expand and new communities crop up disconnected from cities and from vital infrastructure providing access to goods, services and jobs. The suite of “Last Mile” projects focus on how people make that final leg of their journey and connect to transportation hubs or stations. Our organisation, EMBARQ, works with communities to integrate modes of transportation in order to help people get door-to-door safely, affordably and sustainably, including: establishing and expanding bicycle usage through bike-sharing and bike lanes; creating pedestrian-only zones to eliminate the need for cars in congested service areas; and supporting innovative social entrepreneurs such as formalizing informal sectors like rickshaw services.

Chase: Many people look for car solutions to the last mile problem. But these are very expensive and extremely difficult to deliver logistically since most travel is in one direction following peak commutes. Building dense living areas near transit is important, providing safe and convenient walking and biking routes is also important. This is also the likely place for the autonomous vehicles that everyone talks about. I see them having a role as shared vehicles in last mile situations.

What potential do Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have to change the way we will use transportation services in the future?

Dalkmann:Technology has transformed behaviors in many ways and transport use is not an exception. People now have instant information on best routes and modes, congestion, availability of parking, their next bus, how to walk or bike around the city and many other sorts of information. Advanced fare collection systems using smart cards are not just for a single public transport service, but for a host of integrated services, parking and even retail. Modern smart card systems like the one in Hannover, Germany, offer complete mobility services, from local and regional public transport to carsharing and taxis.

In addition technology is helping better manage transport systems altogether: centralized control help traffic managers better respond to congestion – and provide precise information to users. Bus drivers and train operators are able to better comply with scheduled frequencies, and even vehicles connect to traffic lights to get priority – especially when running late.

These technological systems will continue evolving at a fast pace in the near future, making it much easier for people to make informed choices, avoid delay and integrate payment. The key, again, is holistic and integrated approaches. If every component of the transport system evolves its technology in isolation, there will be wasted opportunities for improved access.

Chase:It is thanks to ICT technology that we can do any sharing at all. It is easy to find, book, and pay for small bundles of services, and new rating systems and social networks help overcome trust issues. Technology – the Internet, wireless data transmission, and apps – are what makes it all possible: low cost and easy. Therefore – as car-sharing and bike-sharing heavily depend on technology for booking, paying, providing information to the user of pick-up and drop-off points etc. ICT is a critical component of public and shared transport modes..

How will the smart phone in your hand change the way people will consume mobility services?

Dalkmann:We do not have to wait for that, it is already happening with the thousands of apps now available and open data trends. Just one example: the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston opened the real time data to the public, and developers very rapidly created on line apps to provide real time information to users regarding their next bus or route combinations. On-line routing services are no longer limited to cars: people are able to find transit, biking and walking directions – inclusive of congestion, right in the palm or their hands. It was wonderful in London in preparation for the Olympics, and it is expanding to many cities as we speak. One of the next developments will be the extended use of smart phones for payment of transport services, replacing transit fare cards, cash and credit cards at parking-meters, gas stations, and in garages with the added value of real time information.

How does the Car of the Future look like? What are the most promising drives (hybrid, fuel cell, e-car?).

Dalkmann:We should not see sustainable drives as the solution. We just get from congestion to clean congestion, and this does not solve the problem at all. We need to understand that cars are part of mobility, but not the only path to mobility. We need to build our cities differently, so it is possible to enjoy urban spaces by walking, biking and with public transport to offer access to more opportunities in an equitable fashion. The other advantages in climate change and safety impacts are also enormous.

But the car has a role in mobility, for instance a portion of the non-work trips and country travel. And the car of the future shall be more efficient and safer, and adapted to the use. In urban settings, it makes a lot of sense to have smaller vehicles that better use the road and parking space.

Chase:I agree with Holger. Successively, the car of the future will be a shared car, meaning that we pay for it by the hour and by the day, choose the right vehicle for each trip, fill that vehicle to capacity (or choose a right-sized one). All of this will mean that we only use cars when they are the best transportation choice for that particular trip. The car will no longer be the default.

In a nutshell: What is your vision of the “mobility of the future”?

Chase: Multi-mode and shared vehicle.

Dalkmann:I agree…Multi-mode and shared vehicles, complemented and integrated to dense, mixed use, accessible urban environments.

The interview was conducted by Andrea Frost.