Recommendations for regional cycling developments of Budapest metropolitan area European Union European Regional Development Fund
Transport challenges in metropolitan regions: The Catch-MR project Transport challenges in metropolitan regions: The Catch-MR project Catch-MR is an INTERREG IVC research project, co-funded by the European Union, finding cooperative approaches to the transport challenges of metropolitan areas. The objective of the project is to improve the competitiveness and the quality of life in Metropolitan Regions. The measures principally contain the reduction of transport needs, and improving the share of environment friendly modes. The project participants from Hungary are the Municipality of Budapest and BKK, (Centre for Budapest Transport replacing the Budapest Transport Association after it closed down its operation), indicated the regional development of cycling as a strategic objective. The cycling development target areas in Budapest: I. centre and inner areas with a fix, highly densed infrastructure, short distances II. suburban area with dense enough infrastructure, short and medium distances, infrastructure developments possible III. regional relations, cycling depends on geographical context While the adequate answers for the challenges in area I are the bicycle-friendly development of the road network and public bike sharing (bubi), cycling network developments are the most suitable for area II. In regional means cycling has been developed along touristic aims so far. European Union European Regional Development Fund 3
Recommendations for regional cycling developments of Budapest metropolitan area Regional cycling developments for the Budapest region Cycling is widely known as an efficient and environmentally friendly transport mode of urban movements. Its role and potential in the metropolitan region, however, has always been an item of secondary importance in the Hungarian practice of planning and technical literature. Cycling has grown dynamically in recent years, which cannot only be seen on the streets but also from the facts and figures. Increase of bicycle traffic in Budapest (1994 2010) on the base of 6 crossings For the present cycle traffic, the following estimation was calculated on the basis of traffic counts: 4
Methodology Methodology The study is based on desktop research and a wide range of surveys: household survey, cross counting, workshops, on-line questionnaire and onsite assessments. The methodology of the research is illustrated in the figure below. Former studies providing information about regional cycling or daily bicycle commuters are represented in a limited way. However, the Concept for suburban railway developments for Budapest (S-Bahn Concept, 2008) indicates the importance of B+R. Surveys performed Surveys were carried out in the following fields in order to gather data about transport and modechoice habits and preferences: Traffic counting: cross-section counting and query at the border of Budapest and questionnaires distributed for sending back Household surveys: personal queries in 13 cities/towns in the selected area B+R assessment on the 70 and 71 railway lines on-line questionnaire (advertised in the mainstream on-line press, and reached 5.000 fill-outs) workshops European Union European Regional Development Fund 5
Recommendations for regional cycling developments of Budapest metropolitan area Key outcomes of the study The great number of completed on-line questionnaires represents well the intensity of bicycle usage and the destination weight points. The traffic flows show the main relations for the whole metropolitan area of Budapest. Traffic flows of bicycle users in the whole metropolitan area of Budapest The cross section countings and questionnaires give us a real picture about the volumes and habits of daily cycle users. It shows that the primary purpose of the cycle trips is commuting to work. 6
Methodology One important outcome of the counting is the number of crossings by time progress. From the figures, a conclusion drawn is that commuter traffic appeared and became significant beside touristic traffic. Experience shows that peak hours for cyclists are exactly the same as for the users of other modes. That means that more cyclists on the road reduce the saturation level on the road and of public transport vehicles. Daily cycling traffic time progress on workdays and weekends Time progress of incoming cycling traffic (source: Hungarian Cyclists Club) Average monthly cycling traffic Analysing the reasons of cycle usage on the basis of the household survey, cross section counting and on-line questionnaires, it can be stated that the financial reason of cycle usage is significant, either saving fuel costs, or the costs of public transport tickets. European Union European Regional Development Fund 7
Recommendations for regional cycling developments of Budapest metropolitan area The origin-destination data informs us about the average trip distances which draws an interesting picture, illustrated in the figure below in five categories. The most significant distance is between 10-20 km, which means a 30-60 minutes bike ride. Actual problems Under which circumstances would Budapest commuters use a bicycle more often? On the basis of the questionnaires the problems are summarised below, frequency of answers indicated in % need for better quality cycling routes (29%) possibility of bicycle transportation on buses and trams (13%) financial reasons of bicycle usage (11%) bike to work benefits (10%) safe bike parking and bike-and-ride facilities (8%) low level of quality bicycle transportation conditions on rail and suburban rail lines (6%) Others: lack of maintenance of cycling routes, workplace conditions 8
Best practice Best practice International outlook Regional cycling developments are more and more common in Europe and worldwide. England Worcester Transport Strategy Cycling and walking have an advanced role in the transport strategy of Worcestershire. The process to motivate people to use environmentally friendly modes started with the Choose How You Move Campaign, where a household survey was carried out at 4.500 households, followed by individual travel plans (with enhanced bicycle and public transport), which were worked out for 23.000 households. Walking increased by 19%, cycling by 30%, public transport by 24%, while car usage decreased by 13%. The results achieved were tried to be made irreversible by soft mode infrastructure investments (cycle and quality bus corridors, cycling and pedestrian bridge) Germany Bike on public transport vehicles 10% of cycle users use public transport in Berlin. In most cases a bicycle is used to reach B+R facilities but carrying bicycles on public transport vehicles is also a common way. There is an integrated tariff and ticketing system in the North-Rhine Westphalia region of Germany, which has a positive effect on cycle usage. In certain cases of subscriptions (monthly or yearly passes) it is allowed to take the bike for free at certain times (evening and week-ends) on the S-Bahn, the tram and the metro. Netherlands B+R facilities Bike and ride builds on the principle that transport interchanges where different modes meet (buses, trams, metrolines etc) are complemented with cycling, as an additional mode. This makes interchanges more accessible, transport becomes more flexible and improves level of service. An additional benefit is that the solution is suitable for the smallest stops as well as for large hubs. European Union European Regional Development Fund 9
Recommendations for regional cycling developments of Budapest metropolitan area Recent improvement in Budapest BKK Centre for Budapest Transport, founded in 2010, deals with cycling in and around Budapest with great enthusiasm. BKK has made huge efforts so far in the field of improving cycling modal split, building new cycling infrastructure and the development of environmentally friendly transport modes and their plans brings forward too. BKK emphasises that cycle developments and planning methods should be complex, in order to create a more efficient, cycling network. The objective is to form the city in a way to be bicyclefriendly and easy to cross. 10
Recommendations for developments Recommendations for developments As a result of the research, the developments can be ranked into two different categories. In the first group belong the horizontal developments containing requiring comprehensive measures. The second group contains infrastructure or other physical developments. I. Horizontal development recommendations Reform ticketing system to be suitable for the demands Supporting cycle to work schemes, subsidies Motivating campaigns Carrying out new methodologies for cycling project planning Unified cycling infrastructure maintenance organisation Reform ticketing system to be suitable for the demands Bike is not a typical regional transport means due to technical and human factors. Combined rail and cycle usage can be improved by positive discrimination with the help of the ticketing system. The following should in this regard be taken into consideration: characteristics of potential cyclists characteristics of trips (travel time and distance) making ticketing system more attractive The integration of ticketing system is essential, as well as the interoperability between the different modes of transport at the city border. Supporting cycle to work schemes, subsidies UK and Irish examples show, that subsidising cycle to work schemes is a suitable measure for motivating people to use their bikes. The subsidy for buying bikes and complements should be taken into consideration when elaborating new directives. Another form of supporting the cycle users might be the distancebased subsidy, which should be further investigated later. European Union European Regional Development Fund 11
Recommendations for regional cycling developments of Budapest metropolitan area Motivating campaigns Several successful campaigns were organised in Budapest (and elsewhere in Europe) in order to motivate people to use their bikes for daily trips. Campaigns should emphasise the advantages and benefits of cycling, give plenty of information to the wide public and communicate practical advantages of cycling. A development in this field can expand the campaigns to permanent ones, there by positive results can be secured and people will change to environmentally friendly modes of transport on an ongoing basis. Carry out new methodologies for cycling project planning Thanks to efforts made in recent years and the lower economic potential due to the financial crisis, the demand for cycling and daily cycle usage has increased significantly. The practice of cycling transport planning has become outdated due to the revolution of daily usage of bikes. The strategic planning methods should handle cycling as a specified mode of transport; then should be integrated into the traffic modelling practice and the development plans should be based on complex studies including cycling. Unified cycling infrastructure maintenance organisation The maintenance of cycling infrastructure has been quite neglected in Hungary. It would be reasonable to integrate the operation and maintenance of all cycling infrastructure and to establish one organisation which whould be responsible for the quality of the system and for the allocation of resources in the most efficient way. 12
Recommendations for developments II. Physical developments Maintenance and refurbishment of cycle routes, lanes and bikeways Building B+R facilities and cycle friendly interchanges Transforming public transport vehicles in a cycle friendly way Seamless cycling transport network Maintenance and refurbishment of cycle routes, lanes and bikeways Among the recommendations the maintenance of the existing infrastructure is of great importance. Permanent maintenance, information provision, pavement repair should be a daily practice of the operator. Building B+R facilities and bicycle-friendly interchanges Building B+R facilities are basically low-cost solutions with in many cases significant results in the usage of cycling. The public acceptance is also quite positive. All rail and suburban rail stations and stops should be equipped with B+R facilities. The public transport interchanges should be reformulated in a way to be bicycle-friendly, there by adding one more transport mode. Configuring public transport vehicles in a bicycle-friendly way Bicycle-friendly vehicles are wide spread in Europe. The recommendation is to make the cars of the suburban rail lines bicycle-friendly, in order to make bike carrying easy and comfortable. Enough places for bikes should be dedicated on the cars, with sufficient and safe racks, not at least without disturbing other passengers. Seamless cycling transport network Cycling networks are essential elements in determining the region s bicycle friendliness. Providing safe and comfortable routes is basically important to increase cycle modal share. Missing links should be covered immediately. The existing lines can be connected, by new sections or by integrating low-traffic, safe side-roads into the network. European Union European Regional Development Fund 13
Recommendations for regional cycling developments of Budapest metropolitan area Assessment of the developments The developments carried out on the basis of the surveys done are summarised in the toolbox below: It is estimated that cycling modal split has grown by 1% during the last 10 years in the region. In the present economic situation and the perspectives (which are advantageous from the point of view of cycling) and considering with the help of infrastrucural developments another ~1 % can be realized. International experience shows that in addition to the above, the public bike-sharing scheme can bring 1 % more. Due to financial reasons and bicycle transportation demand on the saturated public transport vehicles, North and South Pest areas are recommended as development action fields. 14
A CATCH-MR projekt az Interreg IVC Programban az Európai Unió és Magyarország társfinanszírozásával valósul meg. A tartalom a szerzők véleményét tükrözi. Az Irányító Hatóság nem felelős a benne található információk semmilyen felhasználásáért. European Union European Regional Development Fund