CREATING A FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC CYCLES IN THE FRANKFURT RHINEMAIN REGION A REGIONAL APPROACH

Transcription

1 CREATING A FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC CYCLES IN THE FRANKFURT RHINEMAIN REGION A REGIONAL APPROACH Heike Mühlhans, Matthias Franz ivm (Integrated Traffic and Mobility Management in the Frankfurt RhineMain Region) Volker Blees Hochschule RheinMain University of Applied Sciences 1. Introduction For the Frankfurt RhineMain Region public cycles provide a sustainable way to organise the mobility of citizens and visitors. They encourage a flexible and climate-friendly mobility and increase the individual range of travel, in particular when they are directly linked to public transport. A variety of services already exists within the region, several are coming into existence each with its own approach. This means numerous processes and ways of gaining information, registration, booking and paying, hence access for the user can become challenging. The aim of regional stakeholders and the ivm is to create a framework for continuous and regional-wide accessible cycle hire schemes as an integrated part of the regional mobility system. A key element of this strategy is to create regional planning guidelines and standards for installing regional accessible cycle hire schemes. Therefore, several concepts have been developed. In addition, a manual is being developed to provide local and regional stakeholders practical assistance with planning, installing and operating cycle hire schemes for daily and leisure travel. Moreover, an organisational strategy and concept is being developed to establish a basis for harmonised access to the different existing and upcoming schemes. The concept specifies the part of each stakeholder in the region within this process. Together with regional stakeholders, the ivm moderates and supports the process of creating a framework and a role concept for a regional access and planning strategy to public cycles. The ivm is a regional public association which supports its members in their task of meeting present and future mobility needs. Shareholders of the company are the districts and cities of the Frankfurt RhineMain Region, the Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association (RMV) and the federal states of Hessen and Rhineland-Palatinate. The ivm fosters regional cooperation within the Frankfurt RhineMain Region in terms of traffic and mobility management by offering practical and innovative solutions. 1 AET 2014 and contributors

2 2. 2 AET 2014 and contributors

3 Planning guidelines for the Frankfurt RhineMain Region With the promotion of continuous and regional-wide accessible cycle hire schemes in the Frankfurt RhineMain Region several goals are being pursued: - promoting cycling in everyday- and leisure travel, - encouraging inter- and multimodal mobility, - enhancing the local and regional accessibility, notably by complementing public transportation services, - gaining new customers for public transportation and strengthening of existing customer ties as well as - fostering the image of the Frankfurt RhineMain region and its entities. A close connection of public cycles and classical public transportation, as well as new offers, such as car sharing, throughout the region is a major planning guideline of the concept. The idea is to establish docking stations along the corridors of public transportation, notably following the (commuter) rail lines as a regional backbone (see figure 1). Step by step, this backbone is to be complemented by local schemes serving adjacent cities and towns. It is obvious, that small municipalities will have difficulties in funding and operating sustainable cycle hire schemes. Thus, local and regional cooperation is a key element of the regional strategy and concept. If supported by the regional level neighbouring entities work together to establish common cycle hire schemes, this increases the cost-effectiveness and reduces pressure on costly resources. 3 AET 2014 and contributors

4 Figure 1: Planning guidelines: backbone along the corridors of public transportation, complemented by local cooperating systems In order to support the districts and municipalities in the planning phase, the ivm has awarded a study to analyse the specific potential for different types of cycle hire schemes throughout the Frankfurt RhineMain Region and the jurisdiction of the Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association (RMV). With the help of detailed maps, the local and regional stakeholders can derive the potential for cycle hire schemes in their entity and identify the relevant target groups. Conclusions for everyday travel, as well as leisure travel, can be drawn. This sets the basis for subsequent detailed planning concepts on the local level (see figure 2). 4 AET 2014 and contributors

5 Figure 2: Specific potential for different types of cycle hire schemes and target groups in the Frankfurt RhineMain Region (left: potential for everyday travel; right: potential for leisure travel) 3. The organisational framework To implement a sustainable concept for compatible cycle hire schemes, it is crucial to develop a role concept which defines the tasks and responsibilities of the local and regional stakeholders. For this process, each element of a consistent cycle hire scheme has to be considered. Eight different elements have been defined for the Frankfurt RhineMain Region (see figure 3). 5 AET 2014 and contributors

6 Figure 3: Elements of a consistent cycle hire scheme Cycles As a centerpiece of the scheme, the cycles have to be robust and suitable for different target groups. In order to promote regional-wide access to different schemes, appropriate technical devices should be considered where applicable. The implementation of new cycle hire schemes throughout the region gives an opportunity to establish a regional bike design which is also open for local specifications. Docking stations / rental stations Regarding the heterogeneity of the region, a mix of flexible and fixed stations will be a realistic option. Analogical to the design of the cycles, the implementation of new cycle hire schemes provides the chance to promote a regional branding. Access media Here it is important to promote regional-wide access to different cycle hire schemes for local residents, as well as visitors to the region. Moreover, easy access for frequent users, as well as occasional users, should be guaranteed. The electronic mobility card of the Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association (RMV) could play a key role as an access media for local frequent users. Tariff A general tariff for the whole region is unlikely to meet the needs of local operators of cycle hire schemes, nevertheless, it is preferable to create a framework for a regional tariff structure in order to increase reliability for users. 6 AET 2014 and contributors

7 Funding The current experience with cycle hire schemes around the world shows that a general funding by fares paid by users is unlikely. Rather, other funding sources have to be generated, such as public funding, sponsorship or advertisement. At the moment, there is no public support programme for the implementation of cycle hire schemes within the region. Thus, it is a goal of the regional concept to identify ways of creating initial funding programmes which are linked to the implementation of regional standards to promote regional-wide accessible cycle hire schemes. Background system, customer care A major challenge is to minimise the efforts of the user to register, book and pay when using different cycle hire schemes within the region. The concept examines and questions different solutions, such as a regional platform, and defines the necessary steps and tasks that have to be done by local and regional stakeholders. An important issue is to protect personal customer data. Maintenance and distribution Expenditure for the time-intensive maintenance and distribution of cycles and docking stations can be reduced when neighbouring cycle hire schemes share resources and work together. Furthermore, local economies can be included, such as local bike retailers. Information and marketing A first step to harmonise and simplify access to cycle hire schemes was the implementation of information about cycle hire services in the Frankfurt RhineMain Region and Hessen in the Bicycle Route Planner Hessen ( see figure 4). On this internet platform, maintained and developed by the ivm in coordination with the Federal State of Hessen, users get neutral access to information about prices, cycles, docking station locations, opening hours and more. 7 AET 2014 and contributors

8 Figure 4: Neutral access to information in the Bicycle Route Planner Hessen Currently, almost 4,000 cycles at about 350 automated docking stations and 140 staffed rental locations all over Hessen, are covered by the Bicycle Route Planner no matter which operator is running the scheme. For the future, the ivm will work on providing an interface to collect and distribute dynamic information from and to other mobility information services. Each of these eight elements for regional-wide accessibility is inter-related and recommendations are made for each phase of the life cycle of a cycle hire scheme: Planning, tendering, realisation, operation and potential adjustments (see figure 5). Figure 5: Life cycle of a cycle hire scheme Together with stakeholders within the region, and by learning from other regions, two general role concepts have been developed for the Frankfurt RhineMain Region. The goal is to define the roles and the distribution of tasks 8 AET 2014 and contributors

9 between the regional (such as regional transport association, public regional agencies and companies) and the local level (such as districts, municipalities, local transport associations, municipal companies). Understandably, not all of the tasks to establish a regional-wide accessible cycle hire scheme can be fulfilled by one central stakeholder. The expert knowledge and planning authority of the local level should be considered. Nonetheless, the regional level can support the local entities in planning, tendering and operating compatible cycle hire schemes. In the following two figures, two general models for regional role concepts are described, showing possible distribution of tasks between the regional and local levels. These alternative concepts will set the basis for the following decision-making process within the region. Figure 6: General organisational concept 1: Regional support Figure 7: General organisational concept 2: Regional frame 9 AET 2014 and contributors

10 4. Perspective The illustrated organisational concepts now have to be consolidated together with regional and local stakeholders. It is a goal to test this new form of cooperation in pilot schemes within the Frankfurt RhineMain region. The Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association, several districts, local transport associations and municipalities have an interest in setting standards for planning, tendering and realising regional-wide accessible cycle hire schemes. The ivm will continue to support and moderate this process. As a next step, the developed results will be incorporated into a defined planning manual, giving practical assistance with planning, tendering, realising and operating compatible cycle hire schemes within the Frankfurt RhineMain Region. 10 AET 2014 and contributors