Transport Problems

Causes

1. Suburbanization New town development since 1970s  Large difference in land use between major urban areas (industrial) and suburbs (residential )  require spatial interactions between them People becomes better-off  prefer live in suburbs, but work in urban area  greater no. of commuters, commuting time and cost

2.Lack of land use and transport planning in inner city Transport networks were built no time ago  can’t meet today’s traffic demand  Bottle neck problem e.g. Beijing transport network within the second road are old and narrow

3. Economic prosperity Higher income and purchasing power  increase in no. of private cars ; journey to work, to shop, to relax etc. Economic integration of HK and South China  more cross-border flow of people and goods (logistics)

How we are affected by transport problems?

(A) TRAFFIC CONGESTION INCREASE Increasing/ high transport cost Increasing commuting time  reduces regional economic health Decreasing in economic productivity  less time on productive activities Increase in production cost Waste in vehicle fuel Wear and tear on vehicles  result of idling in traffic, and frequent acceleration and braking  frequent repairs and replacements

Worsening air and noise pollution Increased fuel use may also in theory Stressed and frustrated motorists Higher accident rates Delays may result in late arrival  resulting in lost business, or other personal losses Emergencies Spillover effect from congested main arteries to secondary roads and side streets

(B) INADEQUATE PARKING SPACE Especially in the CBD Lack of parking space for the coaches and taxis in shopping areas  adversely affect tourism Large space consumption in central areas Parking on narrow street  accelerate the traffic congestion Hinder the smooth movement of traffic

(C) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Air pollution heat island effect  burning of fossil fuels increases  more carbon dioxide  rise in urban temperature  increases greenhouse effect  global warming

Noise pollution Water pollution  pollutants emitted by transport vehicles may enter the water supply and pollute surface and ground water  Deteriorating the quality of life and the health of urban populations

 Inadequate provision of public transport services.  Overused public transit systems:  During peak hours, crowdedness creates discomfort for users.  Limited coverage of public transport.  Underused public transit systems:  Low ridership makes many services financially unsustainable.  Public transit systems cannot generate sufficient income to cover its operating and capital costs in spite of strong subsidies. (D) Public transport inadequacy

 Accidents account for a significant share of recurring delays. (E) Accidents and safety

 These public activities may shift to shopping malls or be abandoned adversely affect social interactions and street activities.  Between 30-60% of a metropolitan area may be devoted to transportation.  The disappearance of traditional rural culture.  Adverse effect on natural ecosystem and visual pollution. (F) Loss of public and Land consumption

Solutions

1. Land Use Planning Land use planning: reduce the land use differences between places and develop self-sufficient towns (e.g. Shatin) Establish self-contained towns or towns with balanced land uses in suburbs. Decentralize population and economic activities to outer suburbs and set up different functional zones there. This can offer more employment opportunities for local people in outer suburbs. Urban renewal attracts more to move back and live in urban areas and hence reduce the amount of the commuting journey.

1. Evaluation The above mentioned urban projects take much time and public funds. It is difficult to establish a self-contained town. Besides, a self-contained new town may not curtail the commuting problems as people living in new towns are used to working in inner city.

2. Traffic management : priority given to the economical and efficient road land users Plate number system e.g.- Before the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou and 2008 Olympics in Beijing  the provincial governments adopted ”even- odd license plate restrictions”( 單雙號行車 ) -ve: people reacted by purchasing one more car (cheaper and environmentally unfriendly)

Electronic road pricing system e.g. in London, Britain -ve: immediately dropped flow of vehicles, but months after, people failed to find better substitutes  back to run on the original route -ve: high operating costs -ve : only divert the traffic problems to other areas First Registration Tax e.g. tax rate in HK is 40-60% of car prices; further risen by 15 % in 2011

3. Adopt “flexi-working time”  To lessen excess demand of public transport in rush hours -ve : difficult to alter transport behavior and working habit of the public; some jobs have rigid working time e.g. financial and banking industries  not applicable

4. Urban renewal, Improving road network and inner city transport Renewal  Allows more land available for building roads and other transport facilities in inner city. Decentralize some of the economic activities in down town to outer areas  to reduce the commuting time

Build outer ring road around the large city  people can travel within cities without getting through the congested inner city EXAMPLE : 1.The larger M25 orbital motorway which circles Greater London. 2.The Eastern Corridor in HK island.

4. Evaluation it is very expensive to build highways Building roads would consume much the green areas in the outer suburbs Improvement in transport facilities would lead to vicious circle of congestion

Pollution Control Methods

Encourage car owners to shift to …… provide incentive for those who are still using old diesel/ Euro I diesel commercial vehicles  encourage them to shift to Euro IV~V standard Switch to LPG vehicles And electrified vehicles

1.Encourage car owners to shift to Euro V diesel Case: In HK, The government introduced a concessionary duty of $0.56 for Euro V diesel. All petrol filling stations in Hong Kong are offering this fuel. Starting from 14 July 2008, the duty rate for Euro V diesel has been waived to further encourage drivers to use this more environment-friendly fuel.

2.LPG Commercial Vehicles Encourage the use of environment-friendly petrol private cars/commercial vehicles through Tax concession--- Motor Vehicle First Registration Tax ( 汽車首次登記稅 )

Evaluation

Effective ENVIRONMENTALLY!  less respirable suspended particulates are emitted from cars  government has to spend a high cost on subsidizing the vehicles  car owners are reluctant to change because  uncertain LPG price  uncertain long term price as the subsidies from government will end one day…

3.electrified vehicles Case: In Paris,  provide rental services of electrical eco-friendly motors & bicycles for citizens and tourists  can freely choose parking area  alleviate the pressure put on public transport  reduce emission of pollutants from traditional vehicles

4.Switching off engines while waiting Case: In HK, Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance Driver s are prohibited from operating engine for more than three minutes within continuous sixty-minute period while the vehicle is stationary. Fixed penalty of HK$320

Evaluation Effective ENVIRONMENTALLY!!  reduce incentive to use private cars e.g. X air-conditioning!  lessen respirable suspended particulates are emitted from cars  Ineffective  in order to avoid fine, drivers may drive around  more RSP are emitted around the inner city

The End