1. Congestion
The state of being overcrowded, clogged, overloaded with traffic or people

2. Causes
Increased car ownership from a rapidly growing population and wealth
Large trucks/vehicles on the road, carrying cargo or raw materials to meet demands
Poor road designs that naturally leads to congestion, e.g. narrowing roads
Lack of (accessible) transport options
Network overload - demand > capacity
Lack of space
Suburbanisation, increase of satellite settlements & commuter towns

3. Causes Disturbances leading to “traffic waves”: construction
double-parking (lack of government control)
accidents (weather conditions, drunk driving...)

4. Effects

5. HIC Case Study
Singapore

6. The Situation - 1970s Rapid industrialisation
Emerging as a strong economic market in Asia
Congestion was severe in (and nearby) CBD
Air pollution was increasing - WHO urged Singapore to take preventive measures
Deteriorating quality of life in city centre
Increasing population - population increase of 16% from

7. Solutions Urban Planning Connecting land use with transport facilities
High building densities nearby mass rapid transit systems
Road Development

8. Solutions Area Licensing Scheme (ALS), 1975
Drivers purchase a license to go through designated Restricted Zones during rush hour
Restricted Zones were only found in the CBD
Only city in the world to implement something like this!
World Bank conducted a before-and-after study:
45% reduction in traffic
25% decline in vehicle crashes
Average travel speed increased from 11 mph to 21 mph
Problems with ALS:
Too much manpower
Inconvenient (still requires waiting, for the license)

9. The Situation s
Vehicles per km of road (Source: The World Bank)

10. Solutions Urban Planning
Relocating commercial activity to 4 major suburban areas; commuters are closer to their jobs
Road Development
11% of the country is taken up by roads; 13% is taken up by housing
Government investment: Spending 1.1 billion SGD (6.7 billion HKD) to expand the road network during
Technological Opportunities
Underground road systems: Expensive (estimated capital cost = 4.8 billion SGD, operating cost = 80 million SGD / year) but increases city centre road capacity by 40%
Green Link Determining System (GLIDE): Increases ‘green time’ for vehicles according to the situation, allows traffic signal faults to be rectified efficiently

11. Solutions ALS → Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), 1998
All vehicles have an On-Board Unit (OBU)
Cash Card inserted at the start of the journey
Charge is deducted and displayed on OBU every time a ERP gantry is passed (Charge varies according to traffic conditions, vehicle type, time, location)
Emergency vehicles exempted
2005: ERP system expanded to other major roads
System is revised every 3 months
Traffic levels decreased by 15%
65% of commuters use public transport (increase of 20%)
176,400 pound reduction in CO2 emissions, 22 pound reduction in soot in charged areas
Cost of implementing ERP system = 125 million USD
Revenue = 50 million USD, Net Profit = 40 million USD

12. Solutions Reducing Car Ownership
Adding taxes and charges to buying vehicles
Open Market Value (OMV) The value of the vehicle determined by Customs
Import Duty (ID)
Goods and Service Tax (GST)
Registration Fee (RF)
Additional Registration Fee (ARF)
Annual Road Tax (ART)
Vehicle Quota System (VQS), 1990 Implemented by the Land Transport Authority (LTA)
Potential vehicle owners bid for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE)
Quota on COEs are determined twice a year
41,000 fewer vehicles registered between
Car Ownership in Singapore = 39%

13. LIC Case Study
Lagos

14. The Causes Rapid industrialisation
Emerging as a strong economic market in Africa
Deteriorating quality of life in city centre (Slums) ; which narrows
the roads down
Increasing population - the rate is slowing down but still increasing rapidly

15. Possible Solutions Road Development
Make wider roads to spread out traffic
Make ring roads to circle the city to reduce traffic in city
Reducing Car Ownership
Increase taxes and increase tax of fuel prices to reduce people wanting to own cars
Use bridges and tunnels to divert traffic
Add additional was to move around the city
Congestion Charging
Ask people to pay to enter CBD during peak hours to reduce congestions

16. Sources How Stuff Works
Traffic Waves
IBM
The World Bank
Singapore Infopedia
Department of Statistics, Singapore
Student Report from UCL
DAC& Cities
One Motoring
Transport Policy Blog