What future for light rail in the UK after Ten Year Transport Plan targets are scrapped?

Knowles, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.tranpol.2006.10.001

Cited by 31 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Knowles (2007), after reviewing a National Audit Office Report (NAO, 2004), argues that costs of tram systems in the UK are disproportionately high because, among other reasons, there is a 'lack of standardisation' for their design; a 'slow planning and funding approval process' and 'inappropriate heavy rail safety standards' are used. Regarding user perceptions, Mulley et al (2014) argue that where cities have a positive experience of buses then a subsequent BRT is more likely to be successful.…”

Section: Brt and Tramsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new tram network for Bristol: a possible scenario?

Pollock-Fraser¹,

Christopher²,

Kenedy³

et al. 2016

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Municipal E

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General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Some UK cities have seen the successful reintroduction of trams to complement and improve public transport services. This paper investigates the impact a hypothetical tramline would have in Bristol. This study was conducted in light of proposals for a bus rapid transit (BRT) network in Bristol. The literature review undertaken concludes that while BRT systems tend to have lower capital costs, a tram system could also be considered. At near-capacity operation, trams may be more effective in encouraging a modal shift away from travelling by car. Evidence from a preliminary simulation model, which was built to evaluate the demand a hypothetical tramline from the airport to the city centre would attract, suggests that a tram would encourage users to switch to public transport. Suggestions for further work for model refinement coupled with better understanding system impacts of the proposed tram system are included.

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Section: Brt and Tramsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new tram network for Bristol: a possible scenario?

Pollock-Fraser¹,

Christopher²,

Kenedy³

et al. 2016

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Municipal E

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“…This is because the operation of the straddle bus is similar to modern light rail (e.g. Manchester Metrolink), which can also operate on the existing road surface with steel-wheel (Knowles, 2007) rather than the guided light transit (GLT) with rubber tyre, and the insurance and maintenance of this innovative technology should be much higher than conventional buses. The total vehicle-related cost for the straddle bus is 1/3 higher because it has more car units for one vehicle than modern light rail.…”

Section: Straddle Busmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reassessing the financial and social costs of public transport

Li¹,

Preston²

2015

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Transport

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Increasing urbanisation around the world has raised the passenger demand for public transport. Many public transport technologies are available to meet this demand. This paper develops a spreadsheet cost model that simulates public transport modes operated on a 12-km route and incorporates a new public transport mode, the straddle bus. Previous research has assumed that demand is exogenous (externally fixed). This work investigates the impact of endogenous demand, which varies with service level characteristics. Elasticities for passenger waiting time and in-vehicle time are used to assess actual passenger reactions to the attractiveness for different public transport technologies at different levels of demand. The result of this work shows the lowest average social and operator cost public transport technologies for different ranges of demand. Based on the default values used in the spreadsheet model, smaller size vehicles (e.g. personal rapid transit and minibus) dominate the low passenger demand range due to their short waiting times. Single-decker and double-decker buses appear to be the best option for a demand of around 3000-60 000 passengers per day (ppd), followed by the straddle bus (from around 60 000 to 100 000 ppd). The great capacity but high capital costs of underground make it the most cost-effective technology when other technologies are experiencing high congestion, with demand levels higher than 100 000 ppd.

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“…Cheap fares were cited in two reports (FitzRoy and Smith 1998;Kain and Liu 1999). A number of researchers cite the importance of a strong policy context as a basis for high light rail ridership (e.g., Knowles 2007). Several researchers have suggested that high car ownership can reduce light rail usage (Mackett and Babalik-Sutcliffe 2003;Babalik-Sutcliffe 2002).…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%