Study Note - Transport in Sustainable Cities

Sustainable cities, or eco-cities, are designed or managed to reduce their carbon footprint. Policies surrounding public transport and the regulation of private transport are designed specifically for this purpose, and initiatives can range from implementing a Congestion Charge, such as in London, to a full-blown integrated transport policy that makes public transport and bicycles ubiquitous, and all but eliminates the personal car from the city centre.

Here are some examples of different schemes being implemented across the world in attempts to reduce the carbon footprint of a city.

Singapore – Digital Congestion Charging

Singapore is well-known for its congestion charging, having first introduced a low-tech man-powered version in 1975. By charging drivers a flat fee for unlimited entries into Singapore’s central area there was an almost immediate 45% reduction in vehicle traffic, which led to less congestion and, therefore, faster travel times. In 1998 Singapore introduced an Electronic Road Pricing program (ERP) which charges all vehicles, except for Emergency vehicles. With the ERP, traffic levels have decreased even further, leading to a reduction of 176 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Copenhagen – The Bicycle is King

The popular image of a city dominated by bicycles usually involves Amsterdam, but in Denmark there is a concerted effort to make Copenhagen the cycling capital of the world by 2015. By encouraging residents to cycle there is a huge reduction in traffic and emissions in the city. By improving the transport infrastructure with a bias towards cyclists, Copenhagen has attracted more than 55% of its population onto bicycles as their main form of everyday transport. There are currently 340km of cycle lanes, and traffic lights are managed so that bicycles have priority over cars.

San Francisco – Green Taxis; Reading – Hybrid Buses

Another solution used in several cities is to make the existing forms of transport more environmentally friendly. In San Francisco more than half of the city’s taxis are hybrid vehicles, or run on compressed natural gas. Hybrid vehicles are far more fuel efficient, so not only do they reduce vehicle emissions, they also save the owner money, incentivising other taxi owners to switch to greener technologies.

Closer to home, in Reading, Berks, several bus routes operate buses running on ethanol, and more recently electric hybrid buses have been introduced on busier ‘premier’ routes. This policy, combined with managed pedestrianisation and restrictions on private vehicles in the town centre, has reduced emissions in the central business district, and made the air cleaner.