Preconditions for the introduction of free public transport in Tallinn Dago Antov Tallinn University of Technology Professor on transport planning 1 Tasuta ühistranspordile üleminekuks täidetud ja täitmata eeldused Tallinna liikluses

Fundamentals on travel mode choice Time Cost Quality 2

Travel mode choice The “weight” of every factor is also dependent on: Travel goal Trips from home to work are more sensible on travel time than trips made on weekends Traveller Income – people with less income are more sensible on cost Alternatives availability » Can I use bus/bicycle instead of car? 3

Time is often considerd to be the most important factor on travel mode choice Time from “door to door” – Includes waiting time at the stop, transfer time, time to aceess the stop, time from stop to the destination,.... – Travel time (= travel speed) in the vehicle is only one component. When shorter trip then less essential is travel speed Components of travel time are also considered differently – Waiting for PT in rain/windy is considered to be “longer” than indoors. Minute > minute 4

Quality Difficult to define: Includes: – Travel comfort (e.g. seating), travel and waiting environment (cleanliness, shelters,...), information availability, ticketing (incl. control),... – Quality is considered differently by user groups (e.g. young vs elderly, income related,...) and travel goal (e.g. Work trip vs leisure trip) – It is rather expensive to compete with personal car! 5

Cost Is important factor on travel choice People with less income is more sensible! 6 Transport cost coverage Ticket revenues + subsidy Missing revenues should be covered by additional subsidy FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS EXPENSIVE SOLUTION!

What are the key factors of successful public transport? What passengers say… Dr.-Ing. Volker Albrecht B.Sc. Florian Fiedler Survey of passengers in Munich: What is important for your choice of transportation? Source: Anwenderleitfaden – Optimierung von Busverkehren, IGV 2002 Quality Time Cost

Dr.-Ing. Volker Albrecht c. Florian Fiedler What are the key factors of successful public transport? What German guidelines say… Most important attributes for succesful public transport: -punctuality -distance to stops -headway -vehicle quality -travel time -travel speed -accessibility of the main places

What are the goals for the free public transport? Less cars – Less congestion – Cleaner air – Improved safety Better accessibility? Increased use of other travel modes Public transport Cycling, walking?? Better accessibility ? 9

Does the free public transport targets “right” people? What about car users? What group they belong to? Can we really push car users to change the travel habits? How many? Commuters? 10

Potential results of free public transport More PT usage! Less car users Less traffic ? Less congestion ??? More random/ impulsive PT usage! Very short trips made? Vehicles overload? Difficult planning! 11

Future of the transport system in Tallinn KEY POINTS Find a better balance between the different travel modes (car, PT, bicycling, walking) Improving road safety – Especially regarding vulnerable road users Development of the road network – incl. cycling Improving road pavement quality and traffic engineering measures (signals, road marking, road space reallocation,...) Developing the public transport network corresponding the (changing) demand and sustainable modes – Tram, commuter train, trolley,... – Area of demand- regional transport coverage 12

Need for a comprehensive strategy Must look on transport as an integrated system (land use - mobility, city + hinterland) Additional investments into transport system are essential! – Present steps made: free PT, dedicated bus lanes,... – > these all are single steps, but where is a big picture? 13

Thank you for your attention! 14 Does the free public transport helps to achieve these goals? What guarantee we will have for the next steps?