Full Version - Issue 7 | November 2011 - LTA Academy

JOURNEYS 

Publisher 

LTA Academy 

Land Transport Authority 

1 Hampshire Road 

Singapore 219428 

Editorial Team 

Naleeza Ebrahim 

George Sun 

Mageret Ely 

Foo Jong Ai 

All feedback, suggestions and contribution of papers for future issues are welcome. 

Please address all correspondence to: 

JOURNEYS 





Fax: 65 6396 1890 

Email: JOURNEYS@lta.gov.sg 

JOURNEYS is also available online at www.LTAacademy.gov.sg 

© 2011 LTA Academy, Land Transport Authority, Singapore 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by 

any means without the prior written permission of the LTA Academy, Land Transport Authority, Singapore. 

The opinions and views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect 

the views of the LTA Academy or the Land Transport Authority, Singapore. 

ISSN: 1793-494X

Contents 

Sustainable Urban Transport 

07. Urban Sustainability and 

Transportation: Research 

Framework for Medium and 

Long Term Transport Planning 

K.W. AXHAUSEN 

Alex ERATH 

20. Transport Mobility Management: 

Small Changes - Big Impacts 

Damian PRICE 

Amy LEATHER 

Best Practices 

31. Different Approaches to Public 

Transport Provision 

David A. HENSHER 

Gabriel WONG 

42. Recommendations for Improving 

Transportation Energy Efficiency 

in APEC Economies 

Laura VAN WIE MCGRORY 

52. Achieving Green Freight in Asia 

Sophia PUNTE 

Yan PENG 

References 

60. Passenger Transport Mode Shares 

in World Cities 

71. Comparison of Public Transport 

Operations

Mohinder Singh 

Dean 


A 

s we publish yet another issue 

of JOURNEYS, the contributions 

of our authors attest to the 

fact that matters relating to urban and 

transport planning continue to challenge 

governments, policy makers and societies all 

over the world. It is clear that great minds 

are kept busy with ideas and concepts on 

how to move people, goods and services in 

the best possible way. The issue is getting 

more complex with greater urbanisation in 

every country, and as the global village gets 

smaller, as more people want or need to 

travel or transport things. Yet, rising to the 

challenge, urban and transport planners 

are unstinting in their efforts to make 

improvements and chart the way forward. 

Professor KW Axhausen and Alex Erath 

from ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of 

Technology Zurich) give a glimpse of the 

research on Mobility and Transportation at 

the Future Cities Laboratory. The goal is to 

derive tools to manage, plan and optimise 

the flow of people and goods at different 

Dean’s Words 

time scales and in their interactions with all 

elements of the future city. The project has 

both medium and long-term perspectives. 

The authors say that the integration of the 

medium and long term horizons in the 

research is a significant methodological 

innovation that will enable a global analysis 

of complex issues related to mobility in the 

future. 

From Mott MacDonald, Damian Price 

and Amy Leather explore what is still 

considered a relatively new element of the 

transport practitioner’s toolbox, Transport 

Mobility Management (TMM). They present 

examples of international best practices in 

TMM and examine the degrees of success. 

They have found that the more successful 

TMM initiatives are those embedded in the 

wider transport approach of a government, 

authority or service provider. The authors 

have even distilled the Top Ten Measures for 

success in TMM to share with our readers. 

Collaborating at the LTA Academy, Professor 

David Hensher and Gabriel Wong examine 

the different approaches to the provision 

of public transport in various cities around 

the world. These approaches include 

government operation, competition in the 

market, government regulation of fares 

and services, competitive tendering, and 

negotiated performance-based contracts. 

What emerges is that there is no one-size fits 

JOURNEYS | November 2011 

5

all approach. Cities, governments and policy 

makers have to test out and decide which 

model suits them, their ultimate aim being 

to develop integrated and accessible urban 

public transport systems with reasonable 

quality of services and at affordable fares. 

At the Alliance to Save Energy, Laura Van 

Wie McGrory puts together the consensus 

reached at the 2009 APEC Workshop on 

Policies that Promote Energy Efficiency 

in Transport (WPPEET). Specifically, the 

agreement was that APEC economies 

should aim to increase transit-oriented 

development and integrated land-use 

planning while minimising private motorised 

transport. It also proposes that APEC has 

a role in promoting energy efficiency in 

transportation, through projects and the 

coordination of bodies that advise leaders 

of the APEC economies. Furthermore, 

these measures in APEC may also be used 

to enhance other global transportation 

initiatives. 

Sophie Punte and Yan Peng, both from 

Clean Air Initiative Asia, raise the less 

common topic of freight’s contribution 

6 JOURNEYS | November 2011 

to air pollution and what can be done 

to reduce their emissions. The authors 

reveal how a small trucks pilot project in 

Guangzhou led to a larger freight project 

in Guangdong, which eventually paved the 

way for a national freight programme in 

China. According to them, these initiatives 

on greening the freight and logistics sector 

are expected to be replicated in other Asian 

countries, with strong support from private 

sector. These revelations should certainly 

spell good news across these societies as the 

movement of freight is a major component 

of their economic wealth, while conversely 

contributing to poor physical health due to 

their pollutant emissions. 

I would like to thank all the authors for 

their myriad of ideas and concepts, proving 

that transport planning continues to be 

an intriguing and exciting topic. I am sure 

readers will find it so. More than that, 

hopefully, their contributions help to bring 

us closer to solutions.

Urban Sustainability and Transportation: Research Framework for Medium and Long Term Transport Planning 

Urban Sustainability and Transportation: 

Research Framework for Medium and 

Long Term Transport Planning 

K.W. AXHAUSEN and Alex ERATH 

Abstract 

This paper presents an overview of the research of the module, Mobility and Transportation, 

one out of nine modules of the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL), the first interdisciplinary 

research group of the Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability 

(SEC). The aim of the module is to advance research into the complex arena of land 

transport, which derives from the demands of managing, planning and optimising the 

flow of people and goods at different time scales and the interaction of these aspects 

with all elements of the future city. 

Introduction 

This century will, for the first time, see over 

half the world’s population living in cities 

(UN 2007). Making these urban structures 

environmentally, economically and socially 

sustainable and liveable is one of today’s great 

challenges. Due to the central importance 

of cities’ infrastructure and performance, 

one key element to meet this challenge is 

transportation infrastructure. Embedded in 

the Singapore National Research Foundation’s 

initiative, Campus for Excellence and 

Technological Enterprise (CREATE), and with 

the objective to advance research into the 

complexity of land transport, the research 

outlined in this article addresses this challenge. 

The research is one of the nine modules of 

the Future Cities Laboratory, the first research 

programme of the Singapore-ETH Centre for 

Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC). The 

research is performed in close collaboration 

with the other FCL modules, the ETH Institute 

of Transport Planning and Systems based 

in Zurich, and the Interdisciplinary Research 

Groups of the SMART MIT Future Mobility and 

TUM CREATE initiatives based in Singapore. 

The goal of this research is to derive tools to 

manage, plan and optimise the flows of people 

and goods at different time scales and in their 

interactions with all elements of the future city. 

The project has two perspectives: medium- and 

long-term (Figure 1). The medium term refers 

to the change across all degrees of freedom 

of the system (population, infrastructure, land 

use, regulation and pricing), but still taking 

the given situation as the starting point. The 

long-term processes make it possible over time 

to consider the changes required to achieve 

overarching policy goals and to account for 

The goal of this research is to derive 

tools to manage, plan and optimise the 

flows of people and goods at different 

time scales and in their interactions 

with all elements of the future city. 


7


Figure 1: Research Framework 

Preparatory work 

Research 

Implementation of MATSim Singapore 

Medium Term 

Long Term 

their benefits and costs. Both perspectives will 

be developed in an integrated manner based 

on the same software framework and are 

presented in the following sections. 

Research Framework 

Basis: Large-scale, 

multi-agent,activity-based 

transport demand model 

The research framework is provided by the 

multi-agent-based travel demand simulation 

MATSim (MATSIM-T 2011). Open-source 

MATSim is one of a group of agent-based 

models that have recently been developed 

to realise the potential of the activity-based 

approach in practice (Bradley and Bowman 

2006). In line with the activity-based approach 

(Jones et al. 1983), MATSim is based on the 

idea of the 24 hour daily activity schedule as 

the basic behavioural unit. In contrast to most 

other current agent-based models, it fully 

integrates traffic flow simulation to calculate 

the generalised costs of travel implied by the 

schedule. In addition, MATSim is designed for 

speed and scale, which allows it to address 

large-scale and finely detailed scenarios. For 

example, the Switzerland implementation has 

7.5 million agents, 1 million links and 1 million 

destinations (Figure 2), and is still able to 


find a steady state solution within acceptable 

computing time (Balmer et al. 2010). Besides 

Switzerland, MATSim has been successfully 

implemented in Toronto, Berlin and Tel-Aviv. 

Figure 2: MATSim model for Zurich morning peak traffic at 

7am. (Source : Visualisation courtesy of senozon AG Zurich) 

The research will be based on a calibrated 

and validated version of the multi-agentbased 

travel demand simulation MATSim 

for Singapore. This model will provide the 

simulation environment needed for both the 

medium-term and the long-term developments. 

Medium Term 

For the medium term time s c a l e , two 

subprojects are envisaged. The first will develop 

an approach to scheduling activities over the 

course of a week. The second is dedicated 

to the simulation-based optimisation of two 

aspects of urban transport systems: transport 

demand management and bus network 

optimisation. 

• Weekly Activity Scheduling 

Current activity-based models are generally 

one-day equilibrium-based models. 

This one-day restriction is becoming 

increasingly problematic, as many policies


aim to reshape demand across longer time 

horizons; taking peak-spreading beyond a 

single day. Furthermore, it has been long 

recognised that this time horizon is too 

short, as at least a weekly rhythm is natural 

for the choices of many recurring activities. 

...many policies aim to reshape demand 

across longer time horizons; taking 

peak-spreading beyond a single day. 

One way to overcome this constraint is to 

reformulate MATSim so that it can be run 

open-ended. This redesign has to consider 

factors such as the rhythms of the year, the 

rhythms of major events, the business cycle, 

and long-term changes in the population 

and in the facilities (see below for the work 

on the agents and modules addressing the 

choices implied here). 

The key design decision will be the choice 

of the learning mechanism with which the 

agents adapt their behaviour to the patterns 

they experience. While MATSim+ will not 

impose the strict maximiser implied by 

stochastic user equilibrium, it will still assume 

that the agents want to improve their daily 

experience. 

Based on the idea of an ‘activity calendar’ 

of desired, but not yet undertaken activities, 

the project will develop an approach to 

schedule these activities over the course 

of a week (Axhausen 2006). The work of 

Feil (2010) will be the starting point for 

the development of the approach. It will 

integrate the idea of a committed core 

schedule around which the travellers build 


Based on the idea of an ‘activity 

calendar’ of desired, but not yet 

undertaken activities, the project will 

develop an approach to schedule these 

activities over the course of a week. 

their week. It will not adopt a fully continuous 

view of activity generation as arising out of 

an understanding of incremental need 

build-up. Still, the model will be rewritten 

to enable such an open architecture. This 

path-dependent MATSim will combine 

the weekly horizon with the ability to be 

integrated in the longer-term considerations 

of a year and their development over time. 

The new processes to be added in the next 

element of the project will therefore have 

a suitable environment for people to age, 

move house, change jobs, etc. 

• Simulation Based Optimisation 

In terms of transport demand management, 

an integration of an optimisation approach 

for ERP will be developed, which will be 

based on the information available from 

the simulation. In contrast to the agents 

added for the long-term horizon, this 

optimiser will have a definite time horizon 

of one day. Furthermore, and again based 

on information of the transport simulation, 

research on the optimisation of bus network 

design and operation will be conducted, a 

topic of special importance to Singapore 

with its large public bus network. 

i. Optimising Traffic And Transport 

Demand Management Strategies 

The derivation and evaluation of traffic and 

transport demand management strategies 

9


for urban road networks typically relies 

on the use of microscopic simulation 

tools that capture in detail the behaviour 

of drivers, as well as, their interaction 

with the network infrastructure. 

Unfortunately, this degree of detail and 

realism comes at the cost of non-linear 

objective functions with no available 

closed form and potentially containing 

several local minima. To integrate these 

non-linear, stochastic and evaluationexpensive 

simulation models within an 

optimisation framework is a difficult 

and intricate task. In order to perform 

both fast and reliable simulation 

optimisation for congested networks, 

information from the simulation tool 

should be combined with information 

from a network model that analytically 

captures the structure of the underlying 

problem. The objective of this subproject 

is to derive efficient simulation-based 

optimisation methods for traffic and 

transport demand management. 

New simulation-based optimisation 

algorithms for the generation of road 

pricing strategies and speed control will 

be developed, implemented, and tested. 

The algorithms are designed for offline 

operations on medium time scales. This 

work is likely to consist of the further 

development of research previously 

conducted at EPFL (Osorio 2010) and 

TU Berlin (Lämmel and Flötteröd 2009); 

and have been already successfully 

implemented for MATSim scenarios 

(Mezdani 2011). Interfaces of the 


realised algorithms to the simulation system 

are implemented and tested. 

...to perform both fast and reliable 

simulation optimisation for 

congested networks, information 

from the simulation tool should 

be combined with information 

from a network model that 

analytically captures the structure 

of the underlying problem. 

ii. Optimising Bus Systems 

The optimisation of bus networks and 

its operation is a highly complex, multiattribute 

problem (Figure 3). Besides 

dynamic demand, it features a range of 

variables such as number and location of 

the bus stop, bus routes, service frequency, 

availability of bus lanes, integration with 

other modes of public transport and 

even fare collection methods. Due to the 

complexity of the system, the problem will 

be decomposed into sub problems but 

all results will be evaluated based on the 

MATSim framework. 

The network design problem will be based 

on earlier work by Daganzo (2010) which 

describe the network shapes and operating 

characteristics that allow an efficient transit 

system, and by Fletterman (2008) which 

applies metaheuristics for network design. 

Special attention will be paid to the impact 

of separate bus lanes (Daganzo 2006). 

Based on this research, the city of Barcelona 

reorganised its bus network (Institute of 

Transportation Studies 2010). However, it 

has not yet been tested within a multi-agent


Figure 3: Representation of the public transport supply in Singapore in first quarter of 2010. 

(Width indicates capacity, brown lines represent buses, and other colours represent various MRT/LRT lines) 

transport demand model, which allows 

further refinement of the approach. 

In terms of bus operations, the research will 

build on earlier work proposing an adaptive 

control scheme to mitigate the problem of 

bus bunching (Daganzo 2008). The MATSim 

simulation allows for integration of the 

proposed scheme which dynamically 

determines bus holding times at control 

points based on simulation-based, real-time 

headway information. Finally, the findings 

of Tirachini and Hensher (2011) on the 

influence of fare collection systems and 

optimal infrastructure investments will be 

incorporated and applied to the Singapore 

scenario. 

Long Term 

The urban system is constantly evolving. It 

is changing at different speeds and scales. 

Endogenous and exogenous agents and forces 

accelerate or delay these changes. Current 

urban land use and transport models focus 

their attention on the impact of accessibility 

changes arising from shifts, reductions or 

increases in the general transport cost surface. 

They do so by employing spatial aggregates 

or zones as their reference system. They 

assume many atomistic actors, who interact 

freely in an open land and housing market. 

So far, the first characteristic has been the 

result of data availability considerations and 

not of theoretical desirability. The second 

assumption reflects both American and 

European conditions, but is clearly untenable 

for other places such as China or Singapore, 

where land availability, land use and household 

capital availability are jointly regulated by the 

government. In Singapore, for example, the 

government controls land use, a vast share 

of the property market and pensions through 

instruments, such as, government land sales, 

Housing and Development Board (HDB) or 

Central Provident Fund (CPF) and their various 

rules and regulations (Phang 2001). 


11


The microscopic adaptations of the residents 

and firms on exogenous planning scenarios 

will be the centre of the work in the longterm 

part of the project, as they are generic 

in their methodology and transferable to other 

locations. The research is organised based on 

three main pillars (Figure 4), namely, object fine 

location choice, service provider agents and 

social network geographies. The forecasting 

procedure is based on steps of one year. For 

each year, information on exogenous factors, 

such as, new property developments, is fed in 

the loop whereupon the different agents react. 

Based on their reactions, a new state for year 

n+1 is computed which serves as the basis for 

the next loop run. 

The microscopic adaptations of the 

residents and firms on exogenous 

planning scenarios will be the centre 

of the work in the long-term part 

of the project, as they are generic in 

their methodology and transferable 

to other locations. 

Figure 4: Overview of Long Term Framework 

Location choice 

-object-fine 

-social network informed 

-secondary location choice 

Hedonic regressions, facilities database 


• Advanced Location Choice 

Model 

Current software systems, such as, MATSim 

and UrbanSim (UrbanSim 2011), and others 

as well, are moving from an aggregate 

description of the land use system to a 

parcel-based one. This has the advantage 

that all agents in the simulation correspond 

to individual entities: residents, their 

households and residences, firms and their 

branches, institutions and their locations, 

the associated vehicle fleets, transport firms 

and their services. This consistency in model 

resolution is not matched yet in some of 

the behavioural models, most importantly, 

residential location choice, activity location 

choice, location choice of firms and 

institutions. 

Service provider agent 

-location choice 

-choice of location size 

-regulations 

The current choice models cannot fully 

characterise the individual alternatives, as 

central variables are missing. The 

construction of the very large choice sets 

is still computationally very expensive and, 

therefore, often not properly addressed. 

Initial demand year n +1 

Information year n+2 

-new housing 

-new work places 

-new service locations 

Processing 

Social network 

-evolution 

-ageing 

Analysis, 

figures, 

evaluation


Previous work has served to highlight the 

shortcomings and issues, but has not yet 

integrated the proposed solutions into a 

working system, which is the only way to 

verify if the parts work together or if other 

solutions have to be found. 

The description of the alternatives will 

include the usual variables: attributes of 

the apartment, accessibility, etc., for the 

case of residential location choice, and 

generalised cost elements for the given 

schedule (including parking variables), store 

size brand name, etc., for the activity and 

firm location choice. However, to address 

the issues of choice set size but also to take 

advantage of new available data sources, 

the description of the alternatives will have 

to be enriched by further elements, such 

as, capacity effects, quality of service, price 

levels, target markets and brand visibility. 

A further strategy to control the size and 

actual relevance of the choice set will be 

based on existing approaches (Horni et al. 

2009, and Scott 2006), to incorporate the 

time-space constraints of the schedules 

(Hägerstrand 1970). Those approaches 

have improved the performance of the 

choice models. However, since they still lack 

a coherent way to estimate the appropriate 

endogenous size of the time-space prisms, 

the research will particularly focus on this 

problem. 

The incorporation of social networks and 

analysis of its impact to location choice 

problems is a further aspect of the research 

and described later in this article. 


The construction of the very large 

choice sets is still computationally 

very expensive and, therefore, often 

not properly addressed. Previous 

work has served to highlight the 

shortcomings and issues, but has not 

yet integrated the proposed solutions 

into a working system, 

• Service Provider Agents 

The agent-based models do not model the 

choices of the suppliers of these services, 

so-called service provider agents, i.e., 

retailers, car sharing companies, restaurant 

chains, banks, etc. For a long-term model 

of land use and transport at the parcel level, 

it is not possible to ignore the moves of the 

firms in response to transport and land use 

policies. 

The design of the agents will be developed 

based on a review of the existing 

literature about the strategies of the 

service providers, so that the scope of the 

capabilities is both realistic and appropriate. 

In case of retailers, the project can draw 

on initial work undertaken at ETH, where 

detailed interviews of retailers (Löchl 

2010) were undertaken (Arentze and 

Timmermans 2007). The design phase will 

specify the internal model of agents, which 

will be used to adapt their network of 

locations, capacities and service/price levels. 

While formal optimisation techniques are a 

possibility, the preferred approach at this 

time is, for example, a guided adaptation 

(Ciardi et al. 2008). 

13


...the design phase needs to be 

complemented with local information. 

A series of qualitative interviews will 

be undertaken with service providers in 

the industries of interest. The interview 

results will detail the software design 

and provide initial estimates for the 

necessary parameters... 

In addition to the literature review, the 

design phase needs to be complemented 

with local information. A series of qualitative 

interviews will be undertaken with service 

providers in the industries of interest. The 

interview results will detail the software 

design and provide initial estimates for the 

necessary parameters (e.g., minimum store 

sizes, minimum-maximum catchment areas, 

investment costs, labour pool preferences, 

etc.). 

The software design of the service provider 

agent will be rather generic so that the 

concept can also be adapted for the medium 

term model. In that spirit, agents will be 

implemented to manage and optimise, for 

example, the taxi fleet. 

Following on the design phase, the agents 

will be implemented and tested in isolation 

to see that the code performs as designed. 

The capabilities will include the definition of 

chains, the addition and removal of locations, 

choice of service and price levels for each 

location of a chain. Once the software runs 

stable and delivers meaningful results, a joint 

test will be performed in order to understand 

the interactions better and various future 

scenarios will be tested. 


• Social Networks 

As pointed out above, the second element 

missing for a destination choice at the 

parcel level is the understanding of the 

social network structures influencing these 

choices. In this context, an original survey 

will be undertaken in Singapore to capture 

the structure of local social networks and 

investigate the impact of social networks in 

joint decision-making. 

The survey will feature a name generator, 

as this methodology has a long history in 

sociology (Marsden 1990). However, so far 

the geographic spread of the contacts has 

normally been omitted or downplayed (Frei 

and Axhausen 2007) in such surveys. Recent 

work in transportation has three directions: 

building models of the dynamics of social 

networks, generating spatially distributed 

social networks in agent-based simulations 

(Hackney 2009) and, finally, capturing the 

geography of the social networks (Mok and 

Wellman 2007), (Carrasco 2006), (Carrasco 

et al. 2008), (van den Berg et al. 2009), 

(Frei and Axhausen 2011b) (Figure 5). While 

Axhausen et al. (2006) had focussed on the 

interaction with the mobility biography 

Most work so far has centred the 

social networks on the contacts, 

which are relevant for joint leisure, 

but has omitted the fact that people 

also have attachments to particular 

places and firms. 

(Lanzendorf 2003), the survey planned 

here will combine the capture of the


social network with the network of links 

and preferences to particular places and 

brands. Most work so far has centred the 

social networks on the contacts, which are 

relevant for joint leisure, but has omitted 

the fact that people also have attachments 

to particular places and firms. 

The survey will be conducted as an egocentric 

survey of contacts with whom the 

respondents spend their leisure time and 

fulfil the priority of obtaining a general 

and broad understanding of the network 

geographies. Special care will be taken to 

involve both citizens and foreign residents 

to get as complete an overview as possible. 

The survey will give insights, as discussed 

above, in the number and geography of 

social networks of the Singapore residents 

and of the frequency of their interactions. 

The uses of ‘clique’, an item tested in 

the current work at ETH Zurich (Kowald 

and Axhausen 2010), will allow us to 

characterise the internal structure of the 

Figure 5: Residential locations of the respondents (Zurich only) 

and acquaintances, as reported in Frei and Axhausen (2011b) 


networks in a first approximation. The 

information about the place and 

firm attachments complements the social 

geography. Information about the mobility 

biography will place the current situation 

into the biographical context of the 

respondents. 

Implication Of Social Network 

On Location Choice 

The survey results will allow to do two 

things, firstly, generalise the social networks 

to the population as a whole (Arentze and 

Timmermans 2006), (Hackney and Marchal 

2008), (Frei and Axhausen 2011b), (Arentze, 

Kowald and Axhausen 2011) by linking the 

agents via a probabilistic model, and secondly, 

establish new model structures to capture joint 

decision-making in destination choice (Frei and 

Axhausen 2011a). 

Based on the substantial literature on joint 

household decision-making in transport 

(Zhang et al. 2007) and on-going work within 

the SustainCity project (SustainCity 2011), 

suitable model structures will be developed 

to capture the joint choice of locations within 

social networks, in particular, for leisure 

The survey will be conducted as an 

ego-centric survey of contacts with 

whom the respondents spend their 

leisure time and fulfil the priority 

of obtaining a general and broad 

understanding of the network 

geographies. Special care will be 

taken to involve both citizens and 

foreign residents to get as complete 

an overview as possible. 

15


activities. The challenge will be to integrate this 

within the MATSim approach of modelling the 

whole daily schedule. The interaction of the 

joint choice on the then partially coordinated 

schedules will be the focus of the work. It is 

open at this point whether the most productive 

path will be a joint optimisation/satisfaction 

approach or an explicit discrete choice model. 

Both options will have to be explored and 

tested. 

Key Impacts And Outlook 

The integration of the two time horizons, 

m e d i u m a n d l o n g , is a s i g n i f i c a n t 

methodological innovation that will enable 

a global analysis of complex issues related to 

mobility in the future, as the various modules 

of the system can be integrated as the issue 

concerned requires. Hence, this framework 

allows large-scale policy tests for various 

temporal dimensions. However, the system 

will be first explicitly tested for stability of 

the simulation results, multiple equilibria and 

heterogeneous demand- and supply-side 

agents. 

The integration of the two time 

horizons, medium and long, is 

a significant methodological 

innovation that will enable a global 

analysis of complex issues related 

to mobility in the future, as the 

various modules of the system 

can be integrated as the issue 

concerned requires. 


From a medium-term horizon, the generalised 

costs of moving persons, goods and 

information can be derived from the new 

framework. Policymaking is interested in 

lowering these generalised costs of movement 

as these induce more efficient labour and 

goods markets. Policymaking also requires a 

detailed account of the winners and losers of 

any change in the supply, regulation and costs 

of transport infrastructure and services. The 

proposed framework targets in this direction 

and allows, due to the highly disaggregated 

approach, detailed analysis of winners and 

losers of change, either in infrastructure or 

policy. 

For policymaking over time horizons of several 

years, an account of the daily flows and the 

form and structure of the urban environment 

is needed. The development of a spatially 

detailed, path-oriented, land-use aware 

transport model for Singapore will provide 

new insight into the possible risks and benefits 

of different policies. 

The p r o j e c t will p u b l i s h its results 

t h r o u g h appropriate working papers 

on the Future Cities Laboratory website 

(www.futurecities.ethz.ch), peer-reviewed 

journals, and supplement this with papers and 

presentations at peer-reviewed, as well as, 

professional conferences. The code written will 

be licensed as GNU public licence and where 

appropriate, it will become part of the then 

current MATSim release.

References 


Acknowledgement 

The authors thank National Research Foundation of Singapore which is funding this research programme, and the Future 

Cities Laboratory as part of the CREATE initiative. Furthermore, we are grateful to the numerous data providers, especially 

Land Transport Authority of Singapore, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore Land Authority, SingStat, and Housing 

Development Board, to name a few. Finally, we appreciate the collaboration with the colleagues from Future Urban 

Mobility, MIT SMART and from TUM CREATE. 

Arentze, T. A. and H. J. P. Timmermans. 2006. A new 

theory of dynamic activity generation. Paper presented at 

the 85th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research 

Board. Washington, D.C., USA. 

Arentze, T. A. and H. J. P. Timmermans. 2007. A multiagent 

activity-based model of facility location choice and 

use. Transportation Research Record 43 (3): 33–44. 

Arentze, T.A., M. Kowald and K.W. Axhausen. 2011. A 

Method to Model Population-Wide Social Networks for 

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K.W. Axhausen is Professor of Transport Planning at the ETH Zürich. 

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Alex Erath is currently senior researcher and research module 

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from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH where he studied 

the vulnerability of transport infrastructure. He was also involved 

in various projects focusing on measuring and modelling transport 

related decision processes. His MSc. thesis in Civil Engineering at 

ETH on shopping location choice was awarded with the VSS price 

for the best thesis in Road and Transportation research. 


19

Transport Mobility Management: Small Changes - Big Impacts 

Transport Mobility Management: Small 

Changes - Big Impacts 

Understanding TMM in the Urban Context 

Damian PRICE and Amy LEATHER 

Abstract 

Although Transport Mobility Management (TMM) is still considered a relatively new 

element of the transport practitioner’s toolbox, it is increasingly being adopted by 

governments and city planners as a dynamic approach that can support a wide range 

of environmental, economic and social goals. This paper presents three examples of 

international best practices in TMM and examines their success in the implementation of 

a variety of measures and initiatives. It argues that the more successful TMM initiatives 

are those that are embedded in the wider transport approach of a government, authority 

or service provider. It goes on to identify the top ten factors for success that should be 

considered when taking forward TMM. 

What is Transport Mobility 

Management? 

Transport Mobility Management (also known 

as Transport or Travel Demand Management) 

has been a key tool in transport planning since 

the early 1990s. The idea that the demand 

for transport could and indeed should be 

managed marked a shift in attitude from the 

earlier ‘predict and provide’ approach, where 

future transport demand was predicted and 

the necessary infrastructure was provided. 

At the core of its definition is the ability to 

influence travel behaviour and shift travel 

activity to achieve a desired site or location 

specific objective. This could be a reduction 

in car use to ease congestion and improve 

journey times along a particular route, or an 

increase in the use of a particular mode of 

transport to support its operation. A study 

carried out by the European Union defines 

mobility management as follows: 


management is primarily a 

demand-oriented ‘‘Mobility approach to transport 

that involves new partnerships and a set of 

tools to support and encourage change of 

attitude and behaviour towards sustainable 

modes of transport. These tools are usually 

based on information and organisation, 

coordination and require promotion. 

Mobility management addresses specific 

target groups and has developed a range of 

instruments, best known are the mobility centre 

and the mobility plan. Mobility management is 

a constant process of development 

” 

Source: European projects, 

MOSAIC and MOMENTUM 

The phrases in bold are at the heart of the 

mobility management approach. The set of 

tools that can be used as part of an overall 

TMM strategy are wide-ranging. The crucial 

issue is that ‘hard’ infrastructure measures

The idea that the demand for transport 

could and indeed should be managed 

marked a shift in attitude from the 

earlier ‘predict and provide’ approach, 

where future transport demand 

was predictedand the necessary 

infrastructure was provided. 

are supported by ‘soft’ measures that include 

engagement, marketing, and information 

provision. These ‘soft’ measures are 

the elements that make TMM distinctive 

from traditional forms of transport planning; 

they complement and reinforce the ‘hard’ 

infrastructure measures, thus maximising the 

potential impact. Table 1 shows the various 

TMM strategies that can be adopted and 

examples of corresponding hard and soft 

measures that can be implemented. Some of 

these measures can be adopted at the city 

level, for example, the provision of a new bus 

route; whilst others can be adopted at a site 

specific level, for example, limiting the car 

parking availability at a particular organisation. 

Today, an increasingly multi-disciplinary 

approach is being taken to transport planning, 

where it is recognised that the application 

of mobility management principles can 

successfully support not only environmental 

goals by encouraging the use of more 

sustainable goals of travel, but also a wide 

range of land use planning, economic and 

social goals. 

Mobility Management in Practice 

To date, governments in the UK, USA, Europe 


and Australia have been the most proactive 

in adopting and applying TMM tools and 

strategies. Generally, the key objectives 

have been to reduce traffic congestion and 

associated negative effects, such as increased 

journey times, and to achieve a shift in travel 

behaviour towards the use of more sustainable 

modes. Two established examples of best 

practices in TMM in the UK and Ireland are 

discussed below, followed by the example of 

Abu Dhabi, which is currently developing its 

own comprehensive TMM strategy. 

London Borough of Sutton, UK 

The application of TMM measures at a small 

scale can still be highly effective in achieving 

sustained changes to travel behaviour. The 

Smarter Travel Sutton project was launched 

in 2006 as a three year, £5m scheme, to 

introduce measures and initiatives that would 

encourage sustainable travel behaviour. The 

project focused on soft measures, such as, 

the provision of travel information, marketing 

and promotion, rather than installing new 

infrastructure. The key measures adopted and 

their achievements are shown in Table 2. 


The Smarter Travel Sutton project 

was launched in 2006 as a three year, 

£5m scheme, to introduce measures 

and initiatives that would encourage 

sustainable travel behaviour. 

Project planning took place as part of an annual 

cycle of activities, with a feedback loop built into 

the process to ensure that lessons were learnt and 

continual improvements were made. Figure 1 

illustrates the annual cycle of phased activity. 

21


Table 1: The Transport Mobility Management Toolkit 

TMM Tools Hard Measures Soft Measures 

Provision of improved 

travel options 

Incentives to use more 

sustainable modes / 

disincentives to travel 

by car 

Land use 

management 

Policy and institutional 

reform 

Marketing, awareness, 

promotion and 

engagement 

Travel reduction 

initiatives 

• New public transport routes / 

services 

• Private shuttle buses for 

employers 

• Dedicated cycle lanes and other 

cycling support facilities 

• Improved pedestrian footways 

and other walking support 

facilities 

• Reduce availability of car 

parking spaces 

• High Occupancy Vehicle priority 

• Provision of cycle parking 

• Transit Oriented Developments 

• Streetscape improvements, e.g., 

pedestrianisation 

Implementation Tools • Workplace TMM plans 

• School TMM Plans 

• Visitor TMM Plans 

• Residential TMM Plans 

• Personal TMM Plans 


• Provision of travel information, e.g., 

route maps which show safe walking 

and cycling routes 

• Implementation of a car sharing 

database 

• Cycle training 

• Cycle training 

• Discounted tickets for use on public 

transport services 

• Parking pricing strategies 

N.A. • Requirement for site specific 

TMM plans to be prepared and 

implemented for new developments 

• Policy changes to encourage 

transport service competition and 

efficiency 

• Integration of land use and transport 

planning agencies 

N.A. • Special events, e.g., ‘Walk to Work 

on Wednesday’ and ‘In Town 

Without My Car Day’ 

• Branding, e.g., logos 

• Provision of travel information, e.g., 

on company websites 

• Social marketing campaigns 

• Promotional initiatives to support 

new / existing specific elements of 

TMM 

N.A. • Flexible working, smarter working 

methods, e.g., working from home, 

compressed working hours 

N.A.

Table 2: Key Measures Adopted in the Smarter Travel Sutton Project 

Initiative Key Achievements 

Workplace travel planning – support and 

advice offered to larger employers to assist 

them in the development and implementation 

of their own travel plan 

School travel planning – each school 

was offered support and advice in the 

development and implementation of their 

own travel plan 

Personalised travel planning – every 

household was offered tailored travel 

information and incentives to use appropriate 

sustainable modes. Residents were also 

targeted through doctor referrals 

Car clubs – on-street vehicles that can be 

booked in advance and rented out by the 

hour by car club members 

Promotion of cycling – provision of cycle 

training, additional on-street cycle parking 

spaces, themed events 

Marketing, awareness and promotions – 

major festivals, events and roadshows, direct 

marketing campaigns, incentives and rewards 

The case study of Sutton offers some 

interesting and useful lessons in behaviour 

change that should be considered in the future 

application of TMM. Although the project has 

achieved measureable success, the adoption of 

some behavioural change theories could have 

increased the level of effectiveness of the overall 

approach taken. The Diffusion of Innovation 


• All major employers engaged; 16,000 

employees covered 

• Average 2% reduction in car use for work 

trips 

• First London Borough with 100% school 

travel plan coverage 

• Average 5% point reduction in car use 

for trips to school (some schools achieved 

reductions as high as 17%) 

• 52% of the participants who participated 

in the doctor referral scheme reported 

reducing their car use 

• 300 car club members and 16 vehicles in 

the scheme 

• Average utilisation equates to six hours per 

day per car 

• 50% increase in the number of recorded 

cycle trips compared to stable levels across 

other outer London Boroughs 

• Increase in awareness of available 

alternative travel modes 

• Contribution to mode shift results, e.g., 

13% growth in the number of bus 

passengers in the borough compared to a 

9% increase in an adjoining borough 

model explains how a new technology or 

idea becomes adopted by a population. 

Those people who are first to adopt the new 

technology or idea are described as Innovators, 

followed by Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late 

Majority and Laggards. They can be arranged 

linearly on a bell curve as shown in Figure 2. 


23


Although the project has achieved 

measureable success, the adoption 

of some behavioural change 

theories could have increased the 

level of effectiveness of the overall 

approach taken. 

Although one of the key objectives of the 

project was to target the Early Adopters and 

the Early Majority through the initiatives set out 

in Figure 2, it may have been more effective 

if baseline consumer research was carried out 

into the characteristics of these Early Adopters. 

In addition, for some of the key measures, 

such as, the promotion of cycling and the 

introduction of car clubs, it may have been 

more effective to focus on the likely Innovators, 

given that relatively few people in Sutton were 

using these modes at the outset of the project. 

Smarter Travel Ireland 

In some cases, the move towards the 

application of TMM is facilitated by the 


Figure 1: Sutton Smarter Travel Project Delivery Cycle (Source: 

‘Smarter Travel Sutton: Lessons Learnt in the Delivery of a Behaviour 

Change Programme, Summary Report,’ November 2009). 

introduction of an overarching national policy 

on sustainable travel. In the case of Ireland, 

it was the adoption in 2009 of the ‘Smarter 

Travel: A Sustainable Transport Future’ strategy 

published by the Irish National Government 

that led to increased investment and interest in 

the promotion of sustainable modes of travel. 

Figure 2: Diffusion of Innovation Model (Source: ‘Smarter Travel Sutton: Lessons Learnt in the Delivery of a Behaviour Change 

Programme, Summary Report,’ November 2009). 

Innovators 

2.5% 

Early 

Adopters 

13.5% 

Early 

Majority 

34% 

Late 

Majority 

34% 

Reporting 

dissemination 

and 

improvement 

Monitoring 

and evaluation 

Laggards 

16% 

Strategy 

development 

Project 

management 

and staff 

management 

100 

75 

50 

25 

0 

Markets Share % 

Forward 

planning 

programme 

and budget 

forecast 

Programme 

and budget 

management

As resources to implement such policy 

initiatives are limited, one of the key initiatives 

developed by the Irish Government in support 

of the Smarter Travel strategy is a national 

funding competition that was established to 

deliver outstanding and innovative examples 

of sustainable travel in areas across Ireland. 

Local governments are required to develop 

an appropriate package of measures and 

demonstrate adequate stakeholder support for 

such measures. Such a competition means that 

only those strategies and measures considered 

to be most effective are funded. 

One of the 11 shortlisted Stage 1 applicants 

that were invited to progress to Stage 2 

is Limerick City Council. Limerick and the 

other shortlisted applicants competed for 

funding of up to £50m over five years to 

transform them into world class Smarter Travel 

demonstration zones. Limerick City Council’s 

overarching programme contains four separate 

geographical areas of focus, each with their 

own distinct target groups: 

1. City Centre – employees; 

2. Southill – regeneration; 

3. Corbally – residential; and 

4. Castletroy / University – mixed use. 

Specific initiatives and campaigns were 

developed for each target group or hub, which 

sat underneath the over-arching, area wide 

TMM programme. Thus, the local authority 

had the ability to amend or ‘tweak’ its TMM 

approach in order to engage more appropriately 

with relevant target groups. These hubs are 

the key local trip attractors and generators in 

Limerick and therefore form a suitable basis for 

the development of smarter travel initiatives. It 


is proposed that local champions be designated 

for each hub, who will provide a recognisable 

‘face’ behind the initiative and help to achieve 

maximum levels of public awareness and also 

local ownership. Each hub will be the focus of 

a number of initiatives, summarised in Table 3 . 


In some cases, the move towards the 

application of TMM is facilitated by 

the introduction of an overarching 

national policy on sustainable travel. 

One of the key factors in Limerick’s successful 

bid was that it demonstrated a high level of 

political and stakeholder support for the 

measures it proposed. Limerick City Council 

and Limerick County Council worked together 

in partnership with the University of Limerick 

to develop the overarching programme. In 

addition, the measures proposed not only 

encourage sustainable travel, but also a shift 

to more healthy and sustainable lifestyles. 

One of the key factors in Limerick’s 

successful bid was that it demonstrated 

a high level of political and stakeholder 

support for the measures it proposed. 

Implementation of TMM in 

Abu Dhabi 

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi took the decision to 

develop a TMM strategy as part of its Surface 

Transport Master Plan process in 2008. The 

Emirate is experiencing significant changes; a 

potential trebling of the population by 2030 

and extensive plans for the development of 

public transport. Prior to 2007 there were few 

25


Table 3: Overview of Measures Proposed as Part of Limerick City Council’s Smarter Travel Bid 

Measures 

Cycling / Walking • New cycle lanes and walkways. 

• Installation of Advanced Stop Lines (ASLs) for cyclists at traffic signal 

junctions 

• New covered cycle parking 

• Adult cycle training lessons 

• Provision of bike racks on local bus services 

Travel Planning • Appointment of Mobility Co-Ordinator 

• Employer Travel Plan Networks 

• School / residential / student / station travel planning 

• Car sharing management tool 

Research and Marketing • Local campaigns and events to support the use of particular modes 

e.g. electric vehicles 

• GIS mapping of commuters 

Policy Changes • Introduction of thresholds for travel planning into local policy 

• Park and Ride scheme 

• Real time bus information 

• Parking regulations 

• Parking management 

• Speed limit changes 

or no alternatives to the private car. The newly 

developed bus network already experiences 

significant demand and there are plans to 

The Emirate is experiencing significant 

changes; a potential trebling of the 

population by 2030 and extensive plans 

for the development of public transport. 

supplement this with a light rail system and a 

metro system. Despite the economic downturn 

of 2009, there is still considerable development 

taking place across the Emirate; most markedly 

within the city centre. 

TMM development began in January 2011 and 

is scheduled for completion at the end of the 

year. Core elements of the Abu Dhabi TMM 

approach include: 


• A review of wider transport activity to 

understand how and where TMM can fit into 

the ongoing development of the transport 

network; 

• A review of international best practices in 

TMM to understand the strategies and tools 

that work well and those that don’t; 

• Pilot TMM plans at a range of sites across the 

Emirate, including workplaces, schools and 

visitor attractions; 

• The development of various surveying tools 

that will facilitate the adoption of a robust, 

standardised approach to monitoring that 

will substantiate further development of 

TMM; 

• Modelling and quantitative assessment, to 

better understand the potential impacts 

of TMM on congestion, trip numbers and 

carbon emissions;

• The development of a brand for TMM in 

Abu Dhabi and an associated marketing 

programme; 

• Identification of the legislative and policy 

changes needed to support TMM; 

• Guidance on the incorporation of TMM in the 

development process; 

• The d e v e l o p m e n t of a short-term 

implementation programme and action plan; 

• The preparation of a TMM Toolkit that 

organisations can use in taking forward their 

own TMM plans; and 

• An overarching TMM strategy that sets out 

how the concept can be moved forward. 

This programme is the most ambitious 

application of TMM in the region. As it is also a 

relatively new concept, a number of challenges 

have arisen. A summary of the key issues that 

the TMM programme has needed to address is 

provided in Table 4. 

Table 4: Core Challenges for TMM in Abu Dhabi 


Critical Factors for Success 

Whilst TMM is still considered a relatively 

new element of the transport practitioner’s 

toolbox, the examples cited above are part of 

a growing evidence base of TMM approaches 

and applications across the world. The more 

successful TMM initiatives are those that are 

embedded in the wider transport approach of 

a government, authority or service provider. 

TMM is not a stand alone concept; it is a 

dynamic approach that can maximise the 

potential of new and existing infrastructure 

and policy (Table 5). 

Challenge Approach Taken to Address Challenge 

1. A lack of awareness of 

TMM 

2. The view that TMM is 

solely a European / USA 

concept 

3. The need to understand 

the potential Abu Dhabi 

specific benefits of TMM 

4. The need to quantify the 

potential benefits 

5. A lack of TMM skills 

and experience that 

are needed to ensure 

momentum is maintained 

An extensive stakeholder engagement programme to inform 

and secure buy-in 

The need to keep driving home the message that TMM is 

about delivering site specific / locally appropriate initiatives 

that meet the needs of local users. 

Close engagement with pilot organisation to assess the role 

that TMM can play and where the benefits lie. The key output 

was that TMM will play a useful role in the Corporate and 

Social Responsibility agenda. 

An impacts assessment undertaken to show the potential 

benefits. This, along with the use of international best 

practice examples helps to facilitate the roll out of the TMM 

programme. 

Whilst TMM is not an expensive initiative in comparison to 

new infrastructure projects, it is labour intensive. It requires 

ongoing input from those that understand TMM to upskill 

new individuals and organisations. This can be done quite 

quickly but cannot be ignored. 


TMM is not a stand alone concept; 

it is a dynamic approach that can 

maximise the potential of new and 

existing infrastructure and policy. 

27


Table 5: Top Ten TMM Measures for Success 

Top Ten TMM Measures for Success: These factors are by no means exhaustive. 

However, they do provide a useful core checklist that can contribute to the successful 

implementation of TMM. 

1. A National Approach TMM needs to be defined at the national level, with a consistent 

approach adopted countrywide. This is not to say that initiatives 

need to be on a national scale. However, the core TMM objective 

and philosophy needs to be set out at the highest level. 

2. Integration with 

Land Use Planning 

and Wider Policy 

3. Incorporation into 

the Development 

Process 

4. High Level 

Commitment 

5. A Robust Stakeholder 

Engagement 

Approach 

6. Pilot Studies to 

Gather Evidence of 

Success 

TMM is not a stand alone element of transport planning. Our 

earlier examples highlight how the impact of TMM measures can 

be increased when incorporated into wider planning and transport 

impacts. When any transport or planning decision is being made, 

the question should be asked, ‘What is the role of TMM in this?’ 

TMM can have the biggest impact when incorporated into new 

developments. Many countries across the world require new 

developments above a specified size to develop a site specific 

TMM plan that mitigates the transport impact on the surrounding 

network. The TMM plan does not facilitate additional traffic – it proactively 

reduces it. 

TMM needs to have senior level support and buy-in. It needs to 

have ‘innovators’ who support the concept from the outset. 

A key element of TMM is the way in which it achieves stakeholder 

involvement from a wide range of societal sectors. These could be 

business leaders who facilitate the implementation of TMM plans in 

the workplace, or schools which influence student travel. A robust 

TMM programme needs to identify who it should engage with, 

when, how and why (refer to the Bell Diffusion of Innovation Model 

noted earlier). 

It is important to understand which are the site specific TMM quick 

wins in a particular area. What are peoples’ views on TMM? These 

will differ from city to city and country to country. Therefore, the 

best way to ensure that a TMM programme is right for an area is 

to undertake pilot studies. This also ensures that quick wins can be 

implemented; thus people can see the benefits immediately. 

28 JOURNEYS | November 2011

7. Targeting and 

Segmentation 

8. Branding, 

Marketing and 

Social Marketing 

9. Emphasising the Site 

Specific Nature of 

TMM 

10. Recognition that 

TMM is for the 

Longer Term 


A number of different messages can be used to achieve TMM 

objectives. For this to be done successfully, specific target groups 

need to be identified, for example, employees in a particularly 

congested part of the city, all Central Government employees or 

those with a strong interest in the environment. For each group, 

the message and initiatives will differ – as will the propensity to 

change travel behaviour. This influences the direction of the TMM 

programme. 

Awareness is key to the success of any TMM programme. Therefore, 

it is useful to have a central, recognised branding strategy. This can 

be supported by area wide marketing activities to promote specific 

initiatives; for example, the development of a new car sharing tool. 

However, the next level – social marketing – is where the benefits can 

truly be realised. This is where campaigns and events are targeted at 

specific groups; for example, a TMM roadshow for employers along a 

particular public transport route, or a sustainability themed event for 

a particular community. 

Not all TMM measures are suitable everywhere. Some need to be 

enhanced or refined to meet particular local needs. Others are only 

appropriate in particular locations. For example, in Abu Dhabi, the 

potential for cycling in the summer months is limited due to the hot 

climate. 

The definition at the beginning of this paper highlights that TMM is a 

continuous process. It does not stop at a particular point. TMM is an 

ongoing concept that changes over time to best meet and address the 

needs of the target groups it is designed for. 

Conclusion 

Mobility management has the power to create a shift in overall attitudes and perceptions to travel 

and transport. It has achieved significant success in a variety of cities across the globe and could 

be an integral part of the forward planning of many more. 

References 

Mott MacDonald Ltd. 2009. ‘National Smarter Travel 

Areas Competition: Limerick City Council and Limerick 

County Council in Partnership with the University of 

Limerick’, October 2009. 

www.smartertravel.ie (accessed 13 September 2011). 

The Mayor of London, the London Borough of Sutton 

and Transport for London. 2009. ‘Smarter Travel Sutton: 

Lessons Learnt in the Delivery of a Behaviour Change 

Programme, Summary Report’, November 2009. 


29


Damian Price is a Senior Project Manager at Mott MacDonald. He has 

extensive international experience in sustainable transport and mobility 

management and has been appointed to: 

• Transport for London’s Travel Plan Site Specific Advice Panel; 

• The Olympic Delivery Authority’s Travel Advice to Businesses Panel of 

Advisors; and 

• The Irish Department of Transport’s Panel of Expert Technical 

Advisers for ustainable Travel. 

Damian is currently Project Manager for the development of an Emirate-wide TMM strategy for 

Abu Dhabi, which aims to promote sustainable transport behaviour and facilitate a sustained 

change in attitudes to travel. 

Amy Leather is a Transport Planner in Mott MacDonald’s Singapore office. 

Amy has been involved in the development of a wide range of TMM plans 

in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East and has successfully delivered 

sustainable travel initiatives on behalf of public sector agencies and for 

private organisations, including workplaces, residential developments and 

event venues. Amy is currently developing policy guidance on behalf of 

Abu Dhabi Department of Transport to integrate the requirement for TMM 

plans into the planning process. She is also developing a TMM Plan Toolkit, which provides best 

practice guidance in the development of TMM plans for workplaces, educational institutions, 

residential developments and visitor attractions. 


Different Approaches to Public 


David A. HENSHER and Gabriel WONG 

Abstract 

Public transport is an essential service, and ensuring its effective and efficient provision 

is a priority of many governments. Different cities have adopted different approaches to 

public transport provision, each with its merits and shortcomings. This article provides 

a brief overview of the main approaches – government operation, competition in 

the market, government regulation of fares and services, competitive tendering, and 

negotiated performance-based contracts – with some real-world examples. There 

is no one-size-fits-all model, and cities have to decide the appropriate approaches 

for themselves based on their contexts and priorities. Singapore adopts an approach 

where the government regulates public transport fares and services provided by private 

operators. This has worked reasonably well, with some room for improvement. 

Introduction 

Travelling is part and parcel of modern urban 

living – people travel for work, education, 

recreation and many other reasons. For 

those who do not own motor vehicles, 

public transport could be their main means 

of travel. Because of its economic and social 

importance, public transport is considered 

an essential service in most cities, much like 

electricity, water and telecommunications. 

Hence ensuring effective and efficient 

provision of public transport services is a 

priority of most governments. 

Different cities have adopted different 

approaches to public transport provision, each 

with their own pros and cons. The history of 

public transport in many cities shows how 

views on the appropriate method of provision 

have evolved over time. This article aims to 

provide a brief survey of different approaches 

of public transport provision and Singapore’s 

approach. A global perspective is provided 

in the many papers from the International 

Conference Series on Competition and 

Ownership of Land Passenger Transport 

(the “Thredbo Series” http://www.thredboconference-series.org/papers/). 

Historical Trends in Public 


There was a wave of nationalisation in the 1940s 

to 1970s followed by privatisation from the late 

1970s in many countries. At the core of the 

nationalisation and privatisation waves were 

those industries providing essential services, 

such as public transport, telecommunications, 

electricity and gas. 

In the first half of the 20th century, urban public 

transport services in the UK and the US were 

mainly provided by private enterprises. 


Different Approaches to Public Transport Provision 

31


However, rapidly rising automobile ownership 

after the Second World War led to a drastic 

decline in public transport ridership and 

revenues. Public transport service levels fell as 

these transport enterprises cut costs to survive. 

To maintain service provision, governments 

decided to nationalise their decrepit public 

transport industries by taking over the failed 

transport enterprises in the 1940s to 1960s. 

Due to inefficiency and the lack of 

incentives to reduce costs, unit operating 

costs in many government-operated public 

transport enterprises increased steadily after 

nationalisation. Public transport operations 

had to be heavily subsidised to maintain 

service levels and affordable fares. With rising 

government debt in many countries since the 

1970s, it became increasingly unsustainable 

to continue subsidising public transport. The 

lack of funds also led to significant underinvestment 

in public transport infrastructure 

and assets. 

Due to inefficiency and the lack 

of incentives to reduce costs, unit 

operating costs in many governmentoperated 

public transport 

enterprises increased steadily after 

nationalisation. 

Since the 1980s, many cities in Australia, 

Europe, the UK and the US have privatised public 

transport provision, in attempts to harness the 

market to keep costs down and tap on private 

finance for infrastructure investment. It was 

believed that, under private ownership and 

operation, the profit motive would incentivise 


operators to be efficient, innovative and reduce 

costs. These would in turn reduce the need for 

government subsidies, hence lightening the 

fiscal burden on governments and taxpayers. In 

addition, lower unit operating costs of private 

operators could also lead to lower fares. 

In many cities, privatisation was accompanied 

by the introduction of competitive tendering 

for public transport provision in the 1980s 

and 1990s, which usually led to substantial 

unit cost reductions. However, in several cases, 

unit costs actually increased in subsequent 

competitive tenders without corresponding 

service improvements. This has led to 

discussions over the need for an alternative 

approach to competitive tendering in the form 

of negotiated performance-based contracts 

(Hensher 2007). 

In many cities, privatisation was 

accompanied by the introduction 

of competitive tendering for public 

transport provision in the 1980s and 

1990s which usually led to substantial 

unit cost reductions. 

Public Transport Industry 

Structure 

Similar to electricity, water, gas and 

telecommunications, a large proportion 

of public transport costs comes from 

expenditure on infrastructure, for example, 

bus interchanges, rail stations and tracks, and 

operating assets, such as trains and buses. The 

other main cost component is the costs of 

operations and equipment maintenance. Due 

to the high fixed costs relative to operating

costs, public transport, especially in local 

urban contexts, can be considered a natural 

monopoly with significant economies of scale. 

This means that one large operator can supply 

public transport services at lower costs than 

two or more smaller operators. 

Due to the high fixed costs relative 

to operating costs, public transport, 

especially in local urban contexts, can 

be considered a natural monopoly 

with significant economies of scale. 

This means that one large operator 

can supply public transport services 

at lower costs than two or more 

smaller operators. 

While there are potential benefits, there are 

also risks associated with privatisation. Basic 

economic theory warns of the dangers of 

monopoly, public or private. Driven by the profit 

motive, private monopolies could exploit their 

market power to charge much higher prices 

than would have been possible with market 

competition. They may also reduce costs by 

lowering service levels, such as reducing service 

frequencies and equipment maintenance 

levels. An effective regulatory framework with 

price control must be in place to ensure that 

monopoly exploitation does not occur. 

Different Approaches to Public 


Government Operators 

Some would argue that, since private 

monopolies are likely to abuse their market 

power, it would be preferable to nationalise 

public transport. Nationalisation can be 

defined in several ways, for example, it could 

mean the government taking over transport 

planning, ownership of infrastructure, or 

service provision. In this article, nationalisation 

is defined specifically as government provision 

of public transport services. 

Proponents believe that government-run public 

transport operators which are not profit-driven 

would be less likely to abuse their market power, 

and would place greater priority on public 

service objectives, such as affordable fares and 

service enhancement. The government would 

also have more direct control over fares, supply 

of services, and service quality. 

However the lack of a profit motive provides 

little incentive for government operators to 

be efficient. While it is possible to set clear 

performance objectives for public enterprises, 

the experience in several countries has shown 

that government operators have generally 

failed to operate efficiently and their unit costs 

have increased steadily over the years. They 

would also face greater political pressure to 

provide unprofitable services. 

A benchmarking study done in 2008 compared 

Sydney’s government-run rail operator CityRail 

with Melbourne’s private rail operator Connex 

(LEK 2008). Both operators were comparable in 

scale but there was a disparity in cost efficiency. 

Using data from 2006/7, the study found that 

Connex’s costs were lower than CityRail’s. 

Connex’s annual rolling stock costs were 40% 



Some would argue that, since private 

monopolies are likely to abuse their 

market power, it would be preferable 

to nationalise public transport. 

33


less than CityRail’s. Connex’s crewing costs per 

service kilometre were about half of CityRail’s, 

while the former’s station costs per passenger, 

overhead costs per service kilometre, and 

employees per service kilometre were less than 

half of the latter’s. 

Proponents believe that governmentrun 

public transport operators 

which are not profit-driven would 

be less likely to abuse their market 

power, and would place greater 

priority on public service objectives, 

such as affordable fares and service 

enhancement. 

Competition in the Market 

At the other extreme, the government could 

deregulate (through relaxing price and quantity 

controls) the public bus services market and 

allow private operators to compete in the 

market. Operators are allowed to choose 

the routes they wish to serve and set fare 

and service levels. This could lead to cherrypicking 

where only profitable routes with 

high commuter demand would be served, 

sometimes by more than one operator, as is the 

case in New Zealand. Competition between 

the operators, however, encourages them to 

be cost efficient and reduce their operating 

costs, and could lead to increased choice and 

lower fares for commuters, but the evidence in 

urban areas is that natural monopoly tends to 

result in a single service provider. 

However, competition in the market, with more 

than one operator providing bus services on 

the same routes, leads to wasteful duplication 

of fixed costs and may prevent operators 


from reaching sufficient size to benefit from 

economies of scale. In addition, unprofitable 

routes with low commuter demand would not 

be served. This could lead to a fragmented 

public transport system with poor connectivity 

and accessibility where commuters have to 

make several transfers and journey times are 

long. Competition for passengers between 

buses could also lead to unsafe driving and 

unreliable schedules. 

Competition in the market, with more 

than one operator providing bus 

services on the same routes, leads to 

wasteful duplication of fixed costs 

and may prevent operators from 

reaching sufficient size to benefit 

from economies of scale. 

Although unit costs fell after privatisation and 

deregulation of bus services, the experiences 

of Sri Lanka with ‘peoplisation’ in the 1990s 

(Gomez-Ibanez 1997) and Britain (outside 

London) after deregulation in 1986, show 

the shortfalls of competitive and unregulated 

bus markets. Their bus networks were not 

integrated, leading to unserved corridors and 

timings with low demand. Bus drivers drove 

recklessly to compete for commuters and 

waited at bus stops until their buses were full. 

In Sri Lanka, buses were often overcrowded, 

old and not well-maintained. Singapore’s 

experience with an unregulated bus market 

before the 1970s was similar to Sri Lanka’s. 

In Britain, bus services in some areas are 

monopolised by large operators after they 

priced out smaller competitors and fares would 

rise.

In Britain, bus services in some areas 

are monopolised by large operators 

after they priced out smaller 

competitors and fares would rise. 

Government Regulation of Fares 

and Services 

With privatisation of essential services, 

governments often have to be more involved 

in regulating monopolistic operators to prevent 

abuse of market power. They may have to 

regulate prices and service levels to ensure 

affordability and minimum service standards. 

Fare regulation involves the regulator 

controlling fares that the public transport 

operator could charge. The criteria for deciding 

an appropriate fare level could include operator’s 

costs, rate of return on assets, improvements 

in productivity and fare affordability. If such 

criteria are applied correctly, the resulting 

subsidy is optimal in terms of value for money. 

To prevent operators from cutting corners 

to increase profits, it may be necessary 

for regulators to specify minimum service 

standards that operators have to comply 

with or be penalised for non-compliance. 

The standards could include service coverage, 

frequency, crowding and vehicle breakdowns. 

To improve public transport accessibility, 

regulators may require that operators serve 

some unprofitable routes and off-peak hours 

as a condition for the rights to operate services. 

The success of government regulation requires 

that regulators be able to approximate the 

optimal level of fares and service standards. 

Optimal fares have to be affordable to most 

commuters, but allow operators to provide 

reasonable quantity and quality of services 

and earn adequate profits for shareholder 

dividends and capital investment. This is 

difficult due to lack of information. The public 

may also judge the success of the regulatory 

regime based on their perceptions. Public 

acceptance would drop if the operators are 

perceived to be making excessive profits from 

high fares or providing poor quality of service. 

Singapore’s current approach to public transport 

provision, which will be discussed below, is an 

example of government regulation. 

Competitive Tendering 

Competition is important to ensure that 

privatisation improves efficiency. Many cities 

have introduced competition for the market 

through competitive tendering (CT) of licences 

to operate public transport services for a 

specified duration, for example, 15 years 

to operate a rail line or 5 years to operate 

a package of bus services. Cherry-picking 

of profitable routes could be prevented by 

packaging unprofitable routes with profitable 

ones or by provision of government subsidies. 

Licences could be awarded based on a number 

of criteria, for example, track record, proposed 

fares and services, or required amount of 

government subsidies. 



To prevent operators from cutting 

corners to increase profits, it may be 

necessary for regulators to specify 

minimum service standards that 

operators have to comply with or be 

penalised for non-compliance. 

35


Cherry-picking of profitable routes 

could be prevented by packaging 

unprofitable routes with profitable 

ones or by provision of government 

subsidies. 

Interested operators would submit competitive 

bids proposing high levels of service, low 

fares and low level of government subsidies 

in order to win the tenders. If there is intense 

competition for the tender, the winning bid 

would be close to the outcome with market 

competition. The transport regulator would 

enter into a contract with the winning operator 

based on the proposed terms. The operator 

has the incentive to be as efficient as possible 

to maximise profits for the limited duration 

of the licence. Extension of the licence could 

be contingent on the incumbent operator’s 

performance. The threat of replacement after 

expiry of the licence incentivises the incumbent 

to maintain good performance. 

Due to the durable, immobile nature of 

transport investments and the essential service 

nature of public transport, both parties – 

the operator and the regulator acting on 

behalf of commuters – are vulnerable to 

opportunistic behaviour of the other party. 

A long-term contract could protect both 

parties from opportunism by establishing 

clear commitments. The level of commitment 

depends on the completeness of the contract; 

a more complete contract is able to cover 

more contingencies (Hensher 2010). However 

it is undesirable and impossible to write a 

complete contract with a long duration if the 

environment is changing rapidly. A contract 


that is overly prescriptive may be inflexible to 

changing circumstances. Drafting a relatively 

complete contract may be too difficult and 

the transactions costs too high (Gomez-Ibanez 

2003). 

The threat of replacement after 

expiry of the licence incentivises the 

incumbent to maintain good performance. 

London’s bus system is the oft-cited example 

of how one of the world’s largest urban bus 

systems has benefited from CT at the route 

level. London began privatising its governmentrun 

bus operator and tendering bus services 

in 1985, and the conversion was completed 

by 1999. An expert (Cox 2004) compared 

the situation in London before and after the 

conversion, and found significant productivity 

improvement and cost reductions. Prior to 

privatisation and CT, bus costs per vehicle 

kilometre had risen 79% between 1970 and 

1985. This trend was reversed with costs per 

vehicle kilometre falling by 48% from 1985 

and 2001. Annual capital and operating 

expenditures dropped 26%, despite service 

expansion of a similar magnitude in the same 

period. Unit costs fell 48% and productivity 

measured by level of service per unit of currency 

increased 91%. Government subsidies were 

reduced substantially and reached a low of 

zero subsidies in 1997/8. Similar benefits were 

observed for Copenhagen, Stockholm, San 

Diego, Denver and Las Vegas after CT was 

introduced (Cox 2004). 

These cost savings, however, were often onceoff, 

a windfall gain. Many of the cities which 

experienced cost savings after introducing CT

saw unit costs rising in subsequent tenders, 

for example, in London, Copenhagen and 

Stockholm (Hensher and Wallis 2005), despite 

the primary focus of CT being to lower costs, 

subject to prescribed service levels. This 

has stimulated discussion on alternatives to 

CT, such as negotiated performance-based 

contracts (NPBCs) between regulators and 

operators, where there is greater emphasis on 

service improvement. 

Many of the cities which experienced 

cost savings after introducing CT 

saw unit costs rising in subsequent 

tenders... 

Negotiated Performance-Based 

Contracts 

Through negotiations and performance 

incentives, NPBCs may better enable the 

regulator to tap an operator’s expertise to 

facilitate innovation, patronage growth and 

service improvement. In addition, transactions 

costs of NPBCs are likely to be lower than CT 

as operators do not have to spend significant 

sums of money to prepare tender proposals. 

Efficient incumbent operators also face less 

uncertainty associated with renewal of licences, 

thus encouraging them to make long-term 

investments. Importantly, negotiation increases 

trust between the regulators and the operators 

which enables better communication and 

quicker resolution of issues arising from the 

inevitable incompleteness and lack of clarity 

in contracts, thus saving time and money 

(Hensher and Stanley 2010). Critics point out 

that there are risks of regulatory capture and 

collusion by operators with NPBCs. However 

these risks are also present in CT. NPBCs 

could complement CT, with CT as a last resort 

when incumbent operators fail to meet their 

contractual obligations. 

Analysis of a survey of bus contracts throughout 

the world confirmed the effects of increased 

trust in improving operators’ perceived clarity 

and completeness of contract obligations, 

which in turn improves the effectiveness 

of NPBCs and reduces the uncertainty with 

negotiations (Hensher 2010). 

The Need for Benchmarks 

Where there is only one operator providing 

public transport services without competition 

(e.g., under regulatory or contractual regimes), 

it may not set fares at competitive and 

affordable levels. The regulator may have to 

dictate fare levels to ensure efficiency and 

affordability, but this is difficult because the 

regulator does not have as much information 

on costs as the operator. Without benchmarks, 

it is difficult for the regulator to ascertain 

whether the public transport operator is 

efficient. Thus the operator is likely to request 

for fare increases every time its costs increase, 

but it is difficult for the regulator to turn down 

the request on the basis of inefficiency. The 

presence of other operators under similar 

cost conditions could provide benchmark 

comparisons for efficiency. The regulator could 

compare costs of the various operators to get 



Analysis of a survey of bus contracts 

throughout the world confirmed the 

effects of increased trust in improving 

operators’ perceived clarity and 

completeness of contract obligations... 

37


more information, before deciding whether to 

approve applications for fare increases. 

The presence of other operators 

under similar cost conditions could 

provide benchmark comparisons 

for efficiency. The regulator could 

compare costs of the various 

operators to get more information, 

before deciding whether to approve 

applications for fare increases. 

In Sydney (Australia) an effective benchmarking 

programme is in place (developed by Hensher 

and Saha International) that is used on an 

annual basis to identify bus operators (and 

soon to include rail and ferries) who satisfy a 

number of performance measures and those 

who do not. A process is in place to warn 

operators who do not pass on at least 6 of 

the 8 key performance indicators (of which 

cost efficiency and safety are mandatory). The 

approach not only ensures operator efficiency 

but also provides important data to understand 

the performance of the sector, something that 

is often missing under CT. 

Singapore’s Approach 

Singapore’s approach to public transport 

provision is based on sound economic theory 

and practical considerations. As with most 

goods and services in the economy, the 

Government believes that public transport 

services could be more efficiently provided 

by commercially run operators. There are 

two multi-modal operators providing rail and 

bus services in Singapore. Each operator has 

exclusive rights to operate its rail lines and bus 

services in its distinct Area of Responsibility. 


The Land Transport Authority (LTA) develops the 

public transport infrastructure and purchases 

the rail operating assets which it leases to the 

operators to operate and maintain. Operators 

pay licence charges for rights to operate public 

transport services. They retain revenues from 

fares and rental of commercial spaces in rail 

stations and bus interchanges, and pay for the 

operating costs without government subsidies. 

Recognising that public transport has the 

characteristics of a natural monopoly, the 

Government has established a tight regulatory 

framework to prevent the operators from 

abusing their market power to set excessively 

high fares and cut corners. 

The Public Transport Council (PTC), which is 

responsible for regulating bus and rail fares, 

uses a Fare Adjustment Formula to determine 

the maximum allowable fare increase each 

year, based on inflation in the operators’ costs 

and a productivity extraction to be shared 

with commuters. The average productivity 

improvement of the two operators is used 

to determine the productivity extraction. 

Recognising that public transport has the 

characteristics of a natural monopoly, 

the Government has established a tight 

regulatory framework to prevent the 

operators from abusing their market 

power to set excessively high fares and 

cut corners. 

This encourages each operator to be more 

efficient than the other. The presence of two 

operators allows for benchmark comparison, 

and gives a better idea of reasonable costs and 

service levels.

The presence of two operators allows 

for benchmark comparison, and gives 

a better idea of reasonable costs and 

service levels. 

The PTC would deliberate on operators’ 

applications for fare increases, taking into 

account the macro-economic environment, 

operators’ retur n-on-total-assets and 

affordability of fares. The PTC has often not 

granted the maximum allowable fare increase. 

The PTC also has the power to initiate decreases 

in fares, if this is justified. This approach to 

fare regulation has ensured that fares remain 

affordable to most Singaporeans (Figure 1). 

The PTC also regulates bus services by 

establishing basic Quality of Service (QoS) 

standards which comprise Operating 

Performance Standards (OPS) and Service 

Provision Standards (SPS). OPS measure 

minimum daily or monthly operational 

deliverables at the bus network or route levels, 

such as bus reliability, loading and safety. 

Figure 1: Public Transport Fare Increases 

Index Value 

1.70 

1.60 

1.50 

1.40 

1.30 

1.20 

1.10 

1.00 

0.90 

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 

Year 

SPS measure overall bus route planning and 

provision of services which covers service 

availability, integration and provision of 

information (PTC). The LTA imposes minimum 

Operating Performance Standards (OPS) for 

rail services which measure service quality, 

safety assurance and equipment performance 

through indicators, such as service availability, 

schedule adherence, and severity of service 

disruption. Operators would be fined for failure 

to meet these standards. 

The annual Public Transport Customer 

Satisfaction Survey in 2010 found that more 

than 92% of respondents were satisfied 

with overall public transport services. 

However recently there has been some public 

unhappiness over overcrowding on buses and 

trains during peak hours and the irregular 

frequencies of buses. Since 2010, the LTA 

has worked with the operators to review and 

improve bus and train services. More bus 

and train trips have been added to address 

overcrowding. To cope with increasing 



Avrg Monthly 

Earnings 

Fare Adjustment 

Cap 

Overall Public 

Transport Fares 

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 

39


The annual Public Transport 

Customer Satisfaction Survey in 

2010 found that more than 92% of 

respondents were satisfied with 

overall public transport services. 

train ridership, the LTA is expanding the 

rail network and increasing capacity on the 

current network. 

The LTA is also enhancing competition for the 

rail and bus markets. The licence duration 

for rail lines has been shortened from the 

current 30 years to about 15 years, thereby 

encouraging the incumbent operators to 

perform better in order to retain their 

licences. The LTA is also studying tendering 

of packages of bus routes in future, in order 

to inject competition for the bus market and 

spur efficiency. 

To cope with increasing train 

ridership, the LTA is expanding the 

rail network and increasing capacity 

on the current network. 

Conclusion 

There are different approaches to providing 

public transport services, each with its merits 

and shortcomings. Most governments aim 

to develop integrated and accessible urban 

public transport systems with reasonable 

quality of services and at affordable fares. 

These would ideally be fiscally sustainable, 

and provided by efficient and financially viable 

operators. There could be tradeoffs between 

the different objectives and governments have 

to strike a balance between public service and 

economic efficiency. 


Nationalisation was popular in the 1940s to 

1960s as governments attempted to provide 

integrated and affordable public transport 

services which the private operators were 

increasingly unable to provide. Privatisation 

of public transport gained ground from 

the 1980s due to increased importance of 

operator efficiency and fiscal sustainability. 

The appropriate approach for each 

government depends on what its priorities 

are. As with other policies, there may not 

The appropriate approach for each 

government depends on what its 

priorities are. 

be a one-size-fits-all model as contexts and 

imperatives differ among cities. Singapore 

has adopted an approach which seems to 

work reasonably well, with some areas for 

improvement. It could serve as a case study 

for other cities attempting to improve their 

public transport systems. 

References 

Cox, Wendell. 2004. Competitive Tendering of Public 

Transport. Presentation to the Urban Road and Public 

Transit Symposium. Montreal. 

Gomez-Ibanez, Jose A. 1997. Sri Lanka Transport (A): 

The Bus Industry. Kennedy School of Government Case 

Program CRI-97-1377.0. 

Gomez-Ibanez, Jose A. 2003. Regulating Infrastructure: 

Monopoly, Contracts, and Discretion. Harvard University 

Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England. 

Hensher, David A. 2007. Delivering Value for Money to 

Government through Efficient and Effective Public Transit 

Service Continuity: Some Thoughts, (including commentary 

of 8 respondents) Transport Reviews, 27 (4). pp 411-448. 

Hensher, David A. 2010. Incompleteness and Clarity in Bus 

Contracts: Identifying the Nature of the ex ante and ex post 

Perceptual Divide. Research in Transportation Economics, 

29 (1), pp. 106-117.

Hensher, David A and Stanley, John. 2010. Metropolitan 

Bus Service Contracts (MBSC): Thoughts on the Next 

Round. Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies Working 

Paper ITLS-WP-10-02. The University of Sydney, Sydney, 

New South Wales. 

Hensher, David A and Wallis, Ian P. 2005. Competitive 

Tendering as a Contracting Mechanism for Subsidising 

Transport: The Bus Experience. Journal of Transport 

Economics and Policy, 39 (3), pp. 295-321. 

LEK. 2008. Cost Review of CityRail’s Regular Passenger 

Services. Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, 

Sydney, New South Wales. 

PTC (Public Transport Council), Singapore. 

http://www.ptc.gov.sg. 



David A. Hensher is Professor of Management, and Founding Director of 

the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at The University of Sydney. 

A Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and Honorary 

Fellow of the Singapore LTA Academy, David has received several awards 

including the 2009 IATBR (International Association of Travel Behaviour 

Research) Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for his longstanding 

and exceptional contribution to IATBR as well as to the wider 

travel behaviour community. David is Vice-Chair of the International 

Scientific Committee of the World Conference of Transport Research, and the Executive Chair 

and Co-Founder of The International Conference in Competition and Ownership of Land 

Passenger Transport (the Thredbo Series). David has published extensively and written many 

books. He is on the editorial boards of leading transport journals, and edited volumes on 

Handbooks in Transport, Transport Economics, and Transport and the Environment. Australia’s 

most cited transport academic and number three academic economist, David has advised 

numerous government and private sector organisations on transportation matters. His interests 

are transport economics, transport strategy, sustainable transport, productivity measurement, 

traveller behaviour analysis, choice analysis, stated choice experiments, and institutional reform. 

Gabriel Wong is a Researcher at the LTA Academy where he does 

research on land transport policies and developments in Singapore. 

He was previously with the Civil Service College’s Centre for Public 

Economics, Centre for Governance and Leadership, and Institute of 

Policy Development where he has written on Singapore’s experience 

in the areas of economic regulation, industrial policy, and industrial 

relations. Gabriel obtained his Bachelor in Social Science (Honours) 

degree and completed his Master in Social Science in Economics degree 

on a Research Scholarship at the National University of Singapore. 

41

Recommendations for Improving Transportation Energy Efficiency in APEC Economies 

Recommendations For Improving 

Transportation Energy Efficiency 

In APEC Economies 

Laura VAN WIE MCGRORY 

Abstract 

The March 2009 APEC Workshop on Policies that Promote Energy Efficiency in Transport 

(WPPEET) produced broad consensus that APEC economies should aim to increase 

transit-oriented development and integrated land-use planning, and minimise private 

motorised transport. The workshop recommendations for APEC economies included 

methods of overcoming institutional barriers and information gaps, as well as, the 

adoption of best practices to both improve the energy efficiency of vehicles and promote 

efficiency in the entire transport system. The workshop recommendations also suggested 

a stronger role for APEC in supporting needed research into key areas related to energy 

efficiency in transportation, and acting as a clearinghouse of information. 

Introduction 

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 

(APEC) Workshop on Policies that Promote 

Energy Efficiency in Transport (WPPEET) – 

held at the APEC Secretariat in Singapore on 

24-25 March, 2009 – provided a lively forum 

on a range of transport topics, including fuel 

economy standards, operational efficiency 

programmes, freight efficiency, mass transit, 

reducing road congestion, and land use 

and urban planning. While the workshop 

focused on policies that could decrease the 

energy intensity of the transport sector in 

APEC economies, participants unanimously 

recognised the importance of energy 

efficiency and transportation within the larger 

context of climate change and sustainable 

economic development. Discussion also 

focused on how to write transportation into 

global climate policy. 


Particularly for developing economies, an 

emphasis on the economic and other cobenefits 

of energy efficient transport policy 

can help leaders overcome the perceived tradeoff 

between economic growth and adopting 

measures to cut emissions. For instance, 

reduced road congestion resulting from a 

modal shift from private-motorised transport 

to public transit – such as, a bus rapid transit 

or subway system – significantly improves 

road safety, local air pollution, and economic 

productivity. 

...for developing economies, an 

emphasis on the economic and 

other co-benefits of energy efficient 

transport policy can help leaders 

overcome the perceived trade-off 

between economic growth and 

adopting measures to cut emissions.

There was broad consensus among 

WPPEET participants that transit-oriented 

development, integrated land-use planning, 

and minimised private motorised transport 

should be among every economy’s primary 

development goals. 

The “Avoid-Shift-Improve” framework 

used by the Asian Development Bank provides 

a succinct lens for evaluating transport policy: 

Comprehensive transportation policy aims 

simultaneously to avoid travel, encourage 

a shift from motorised to non-motorised 

and low-carbon transport, and improve the 

efficiency of existing systems and vehicles. 

The WPPEET participants recommended the 

introduction of this framework into further 

discussions of APEC activities related to 

efficient transportation policy. 

Recommendations 

The recommendations emerging from the 

presentations and discussions at WPPEET fell 

into three categories: 

Recommendations for APEC 

Economies: Overcoming Barriers 

M a n y e c o n o m i e s f a c e c h a l l e n g e s 

integrating transportation policies with 

Table 1: Policies to encourage vehicle and transport system efficiency 


energy and planning p o l i c i e s . The 

WPPEET experts suggested measures for 

overcoming institutional barriers and the lack 

of reliable and comprehensive information, 

and for ensuring effective education of 

policy-makers and the public. 

Recommendations for Economies: 

Best Practices in Transport Policy 

The workshop recommendations also 

included specific policies for APEC economies 

to consider in addressing transportation 

energy efficiency. The policies are divided 

into strategies for improving the energy 

efficiency of vehicles, and strategies for 

promoting energy efficiency in the entire 

transport system (Table1). 

A Role for APEC 

APEC has an important role in supporting 

needed research into key areas related to 

energy efficiency in transportation, and 

acting as a clearinghouse of information on 

these issues. WPPEET workshop participants 

specifically recommended two measures; 

firstly, studies to improve and fill gaps in 

information, and secondly, the creation of a 

forum on energy-efficient transportation. 

Policies to Encourage Vehicle Efficiency Policies to Encourage Transport 

System Efficiency 

• Increasing Fuel Economy of New Vehicles • Reducing Road Congestion 

• Improving Operational Efficiency • Land Use and Urban Planning 

• Energy Efficiency in Freight • Mass Transit 


43


APEC has an important role in 

supporting needed research into key 

areas related to energy efficiency 

in transportation, and acting as a 

clearinghouse of information on these 

issues. 

Recommendations for the APEC 

Economies 

In addition to providing key information and 

resources, APEC can also encourage its 21 

member economies to consider certain policy 

strategies and goals. Despite the great diversity 

of economic and political climates of APEC 

members, workshop participants identified a 

number of common challenges that almost 

every economy faces, such as, the lack of 

reliable and comprehensive information, the 

need for effective education of policymakers 

and the public, and institutional barriers. 

All levels of government, from municipal to 

national, face challenges in the coordination 

of transportation and energy policy. These 

challenges are both horizontal (e.g., difficulty 

in coordinating policy among agencies at 

the same level) and vertical (difficulty in 

coordinating policy among agencies at 

different levels of government). To address 

overlapping (and sometimes conflicting) 

interests among different layers of government 

and different agencies, as well as, jurisdictional 

issues, p o l i c y m a k e r s should consider 

establishing cross-cutting task forces or 

consolidating leadership in transportation 

planning under one overarching agency . 

Another significant challenge is educating the 


public on the transportation options available 

to them, the considerable benefits of a 

comprehensive transportation policy, and the 

urgent need for action to ensure a sustainable 

future. In a difficult economic climate, an 

effective education/outreach campaign 

can help create the political will to make longterm 

investments in sustainable transportation. 

Public outreach also can help address cultural 

preferences and promote positive attitudes 

about using mass transit as an alternative 

to personal motorised transport. Lastly, 

ongoing education for policymakers on the 

interrelated impacts and challenges of energy 

and transportation, possible solutions, and 

potential benefits will facilitate every stage of 

this process. 

A third challenge is the problem of collecting 

reliable and consistent data and then 

translating and communicating those data in 

meaningful ways to the different government 

agencies with a stake in a new, comprehensive 

transportation and development strategy. 

Below are some recommendations on how to 

address these challenges. 

Institutional Recommendations 

APEC economies should establish official 

mechanisms of coordination among their 

ministries of transportation, energy, and 

environment. Often, the greatest barrier to 

effective policy making on energy-efficient 

transport is the lack of clear jurisdiction for a 

given programme, or the lack of communication 

among agencies regarding their needs and 

goals and possibilities for finding synergies 

among them.

Often, the greatest barrier to 

effective policy making on energyefficient 

transport is the lack of clear 

jurisdiction for a given programme, 

or the lack of communication among 

agencies regarding their needs and 

goals and possibilities for finding 

synergies among them. 

Data Collection and Goal 

Formulation Recommendations 

APEC economies should prioritise the 

collection and analysis of data relating to their 

transportation energy consumption, to enable 

the characterisation of their transportation 

systems. This effort will benefit greatly from the 

development and harmonisation of common 

methodologies currently under development 

by the Asian Development Bank and other 

organisations. 

Policy/Programme 

Recommendations for 

Improving Vehicle Efficiency 

• Increasing Fuel Economy of New Vehicles 

The key recommendations for increasing 

new vehicle efficiency in all economies 

centre around fuel economy standards. 

Economies with fuel economy standards 

already in place are recommended to 

develop implementation and enforcement 

plans to ensure the standards have the 

This initiative proposes making vehicles 50% 

more efficient by 2050. Though aggressive, 

GFEI maintains that this goal can be achieved 


The 50 by 50 Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) 


desired maximum impact, and to consider 

adopting more stringent standards – e.g., 

those advocated by the International 

Energy Agency (IEA)’s 50 by 50 Global Fuel 

Economy Initiative. Economies that do not 

have fuel economy standards are urged to 

develop and adopt them, and to prioritise 

the harmonisation of new standards with 

existing ones in the region or coordinate 

with neighbouring economies to facilitate 

manufacturers’ compliance with new 

standards. 

The key recommendations for 

increasing new vehicle efficiency 

in all economies centre around fuel 

economy standards. 

Other recommendations include 

internalising the external costs of 

transportation energy consumption by 

increasing fuel taxes and removing fuel 

price stabilisation policies; investing in 

research and development for new highefficiency 

vehicle technologies; providing 

economic incentives (e.g., tax credits) 

to promote market penetration of highefficiency 

vehicles; and complementing 

policies with economic disincentives 

for the use of inefficient vehicles, such 

as, higher fuel taxes or excise taxes on 

vehicle sales. 

with existing technologies, and in the short 

term will have a high impact on reducing fuel 

consumption and carbon emissions. 

45


Two-wheelers in Asia 

The predominance of two- and three-wheelers 

is a growing phenomenon in Asian cities. 

Transportation and planning policies should 

find ways to consider their impacts and 

• Improving Operational Efficiency 

Several recommendations focus on 

improving the operational efficiency of 

all vehicles on the road. These include 

implementing a vehicle lifetime or 

scrappage policy–being mindful of 

unintended impacts to the import/export 

market for used vehicles and parts. A 

dedicated study on the topic of the Import/ 

Export of Used Vehicles and Parts could 

help inform on this issue. The workshop 

experts also recommended that economies 

that import and export vehicles coordinate 

actions to develop and enforce standards 

on imported used vehicles. 

Other recommendations include adopting 

fuel-quality standards; designing driver 

education, training, and enforcement 

programmes to improve driving behaviours 

(which can raise a vehicle’s effective fuel 

efficiency by as much as 35 percent); 

implementing centralised inspection and 

maintenance programmes; and supporting 

the development of policies regulating twowheeler 

(Figure 2) operational efficiency, 

particularly in Asian cities. 

• Energy Efficiency in Freight 

For the freight sector, the following threepronged 

approach is recommended for 

improving the energy efficiency of freight 

operations: 

Figure 2: Two-wheelers in Asia 


accommodate these fleets as they continue 

to grow. Chinese Taipei, for example, has 

implemented a highly successful inspection and 

maintenance programme for two-wheelers. 

i) Improve the energy efficiency of freight 

vehicles by providing incentives (e.g., 

rebates and tax credits for the purchase 

of fuel-efficient freight vehicles, 

or subsidies for their manufacture), and 

investing in research and development for 

more fuel-efficient freight vehicles. 

ii) Improve freight logistics by providing 

incentives for higher cargo volume per 

trip, and for two-way shipping (i.e., 

ensuring that vehicles transport cargo 

on return trips). Both incentives and 

new infrastructure are also important for 

encouraging switching from truck freight 

to rail and ocean freight. 

iii) Provide driver education and training, 

e.g., by requiring freight drivers to attend 

courses that teach them how to improve

Freight Tax Incentives in Japan 

In Japan, three types of taxes are imposed on 

freight vehicles: 

(i) A one-time vehicle acquisition tax 

(ii) An annual vehicle tonnage tax (based on 

weight) 

a vehicle’s operational efficiency through 

such measures as reducing speeding, 

minimising gear changing, and scheduling 

regular inspections. As a complementary 

measure, economies are urged to 

implement programmes aimed at raising 

the awareness of freight companies and 

drivers about the link between fuel-efficient 

driving practices and safe operations, as 

well as, the fact that saving 10 percent on 

fuel costs can increase a freight company’s 

bottom line by 15-35 percent. 

...economies are urged to implement 

programmes aimed at raising the 

awareness of freight companies and 

drivers about the link between fuelefficient 

driving practices and safe 

operations, as well as, the fact that 

saving 10 percent on fuel costs can 

increase a freight company’s bottom 

line by 15-35 percent. 

Policies to Encourage Transport 

System Efficiency 

• Reducing Road Congestion 

To mitigate road congestion, the workshop 

recommendations include implementing 

demand-centric measures to reduce 


(iii) An annual vehicle capacity tax (based on 

cargo capacity) 

To incentivise fuel efficient freight vehicles, 

Japan reduces the level of all three taxes for 

fuel-efficient vehicles. 


congestion on existing roads, before 

implementing supply-centric measures (e.g., 

building more roads), since experience has 

shown that the addition of more roads does 

not alleviate congestion. Another strategy 

is to price parking in commercial business 

districts at a rate that prevents congestion 

due to “parking cruisers”. Studies have 

shown that the ideal price for parking may 

be one that ensures a 15 percent vacancy 

rate at any given time, so that vehicles 

looking for parking will not contribute to 

congestion and emissions by circling city 

blocks. 

...Studies have shown that the 

ideal price for parking may be one 

that ensures a 15 percent vacancy 

rate at any given time, so that 

vehicles looking for parking will 

not contribute to congestion and 

emissions by circling city blocks. 

Congestion pricing systems can also be 

extremely effective, particularly when 

they are designed to maximise congestion 

reduction rather than revenue generation. 

Charging for congestion rather than, or 

in addition to, car ownership enables 

policy to shape marginal behaviour, 

47


Figure 3: Congestion Pricing in Singapore 

so those who choose to own cars can 

still make energy-efficient decisions. 

Electronic congestion pricing systems 

(Figure 3) can further promote energy 

efficiency in transport by varying charges 

according to vehicle fuel efficiency. 

• Land Use and Urban Planning 

Recommendations for improving land 

use and urban planning include incentivising 

mixed-use development – to ensure that 

retail, commercial, and residential areas 

are developed together (Figure 4) to reduce 

the need for car trips. Economies should 

adopt a long-term vision for land use that 

integrates transportation goals, along with 

medium-term plans to achieve the vision. 

Other recommendations include investing 

in infrastructure, such as, underpasses 

Congestion Pricing in Singapore 

Since 1975, Singapore has addressed the issue 

of road congestion with a road pricing system, 

which charges vehicles a fee to travel congested 

roads during peak hours. The system, which 

has been electronic since 1998, has increased 

Figure 4: Mixed-use development 


and covered walkways, that create a 

safe and comfortable environment for 

pedestrians (to provide an alternative to 

driving), and connecting non-motorised 

transport users to mass transit systems 

so that pedestrians and bikers can access 

mass transit systems. 

• Mass Transit 

One key workshop recommendation 

for mass transit is to focus on improving 

ridership on existing mass transit 

s y s t e m s b e f o r e expanding these 

systems or building new ones. Other 

suggestions include funding repairs and 

expansions of mass transit systems through 

tax revenue on land whose value has 

increased due to the development of the 

systems; and reforming mass transit pricing 

the speed at which traffic flows through the 

central business district by 20 percent. Prices 

are set with a goal of maintaining an optimal 

speed range of 45 to 65 km/h for expressways 

and 20 to 30 km/h for arterial roads.

Urban Planning in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China 

Shanghai has made efforts to control the 

rate of growth in private vehicle ownership 

through a multi-modal system of urban 

development. The city has built mass transit 

systems (Figure a), such as, light rail and bus 

lines to minimise the rate of growth in personal 

vehicle ownership. In addition, it has provided 

bike lanes and pedestrian walkways to enable 

commuters to connect to the mass transit 

system. Unlike Chinese cities with similar rates 

of population growth, Shanghai has stabilised 

the growth rate of private vehicle ownership 

based on distance rather than multiple 

trips to make it more convenient and less 

expensive at modal interfaces. 

When deciding which mass transit system 

to build first, it is recommended that 

economies consider time horizons for 

system completion (since the culture of 

personal vehicle ownership may become even 

more entrenched during the time it takes 

to complete a major system); integration 

of commercial and residential development 

around the system; and difficulties involved 

in developing the route (e.g., can a new 

right-of-way be built, or must it be carved 

out of existing road space?). 

...it is recommended that economies 

consider time horizons for system 

completion (since the culture of 

personal vehicle ownership may 

become even more entrenched during 

the time it takes to complete a major 

system)... 


Figure a: Maglev in Shanghai 


In addition, the cost-per-unit-of-energysaved 

of a given system is a key factor. It 

is important to consider what level of 

investment is required to yield the resulting 

energy savings, because there may be other 

transportation programs or policies that can 

reduce energy consumption at a lower cost. 

This calculation must take into account 

several factors, including: 

i) The energy consumption of a given system; 

ii) The energy consumption displaced by that 

system, which will be determined largely by 

ridership levels (a system with low ridership 

may actually consume more energy than it 

displaces); 

iii) The cost of building the system; and 

iv) The lifetime of the system. Systems that 

require a good deal of infrastructure are 

more expensive initially, but the system may 

last much longer, reducing the cost of the 

system over time. 

49


A Role for APEC 

Within the institutional framework of APEC, 

there exist many opportunities for promoting 

energy efficiency in transportation, both 

through projects and through the coordination 

of working groups and other bodies that 

advise the Ministers and Leaders of the APEC 

economies. APEC can play a unique role in 

improving information on current practices 

and policies in the region. The results of 

APEC studies and other information-sharing 

strategies can be used to enhance other global 

initiatives focusing on transportation in the 

context of the sector’s impacts on energy use, 

economic development, health, and climate. 

The results of APEC studies and other 

information-sharing strategies can 

be used to enhance other global 

initiatives focusing on transportation 

in the context of the sector’s 

impacts on energy use, economic 

development, health, and climate. 

Potential Projects 

APEC could undertake the following events 

and analyses, the results of which would be 

made available to the member economies for 

use in the development of transportation plans 

and policies. 

• Workshops on Transportation Energy 

Efficiency Improvement Potential, with a 

focus on potential energy savings from 

various policy options and the pace at 

which overall energy efficiency in transport 

could improve over time. 

• Detailed Study of Bus Rapid Transit and its 

potential benefits in terms of reduced oil 


imports, greenhouse emissions, and road 

congestion. 

• Detailed Analysis of Transit-Oriented 

Development to assess the most effective 

means to reduce automobile traffic 

through strategies that stress the clustering 

of commercial and residential buildings 

around urban transit routes. 

• Detailed Analysis of Intermodal Freight to 

examine the energy savings, greenhouse 

gas reductions, and transport system 

benefits of shifting freight from energyintensive 

modes (such as trucking) to 

energy-conserving modes (such as ships, 

barges, and rail). 

• Detailed Study of Import/Export of Used 

Vehicles and Vehicle Parts to characterise 

the import/export market of used vehicles 

and vehicle parts in APEC economies and 

provide recommendations on retirement/ 

scrapping, recycling of vehicle parts, and 

geographical and topical opportunities for 

saving energy through addressing import/ 

export issues. 

• Case Studies and Success Stories from the 

APEC Economies to provide a clearinghouse 

of information and support for the Asia- 

Pacific economies. 

• Development of Common Methodologies 

and Metrics to provide consistent and 

comparable metrics (e.g., energy intensity, 

carbon emissions, and vehicle miles traveled) 

to help policymakers make a strong business 

case for sustainable transportation policies. 

Coordination of APEC Working 

Groups 

Integrating the activities of APEC’s Energy

and Transportation Working Groups could 

provide significant assistance in coordinating 

the development of energy and transportation 

policy in APEC economies. Effectively improving 

the energy efficiency of transportation systems 

requires close coordination by ministries 

that in many cases have traditionally worked 

separately. The energy challenges that the 

Effectively improving the energy 

efficiency of transportation systems 

requires close coordination by 

ministries that in many cases have 

traditionally worked separately. 

APEC economies face cannot be addressed 

without considering transportation policy, 

and the transportation challenges cannot 

be addressed without incorporating energy 

issues. The establishment of an APEC forum 

on energy efficient transportation that involves 

and informs the APEC ministries of transport, 

energy, and the environment could: 



• Provide focus on the need to reduce the 

energy intensity of, or the carbon emissions 

from, the transport sectors of the APEC 

economies; and 

• Ensure that the results of transport-related 

studies reach APEC ministers and encourage 

them to use the results to strengthen the 

business case for sustainable transport 

policies. 

Best Practices and Case Study 

Resources 

Resources available to policymakers include: 

i) “Avoid–Shift–Improve: 

An Action Plan to Make Transport in 

Developing Countries More Climate- 

Friendly,” Asian Development Bank 

ii) “50 by 50 Global Fuel Economy Initiative,” 

International Energy Agency 

iii) “Bellagio Memorandum on Motor Vehicle 

Policy,” International Council on Clean 

Transportation. 

This article is based on a recommendations report - “Improving Energy Efficiency in the Transportation Sector of APEC 

Economies” – prepared for APEC as a follow up to the APEC Workshop on Policies that Promote Energy Efficiency in 

Transport (WPPEET) In 2009. The original recommendations report was co-written by Diana Lin, Sally Larsen, and Laura 

Van Wie McGrory of the Alliance to Save Energy. 

Laura Van Wie McGrory, Vice President of International Programs with 

the Alliance to Save Energy, has managed the Alliance’s international 

energy efficiency projects since 2008. Before joining the Alliance, she 

worked with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Lawrence 

Berkeley National Laboratory for nine years, managing the Washington 

DC office of the Lab for the last two. Laura previously worked with the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and was a consultant to the 

US EPA’s Global Change Division, and the World Bank. She has a B.A. in 

Geography and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, and a Master of International 

Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. 


51

Achieving Green Freight in Asia 


Sophie PUNTE and Yan PENG 

Abstract 

Road freight is the ‘Cinderella’ of the transport sector because of policy, technological 

and financial barriers which result in intense fuel use and increased emissions. This paper 

describes how a small trucks pilot project in Guangzhou led to a larger freight project 

in Guangdong and paved the way for designing a national freight programme in China. 

These initiatives on greening the freight and logistics sector are expected to be replicated 

in other Asian countries with strong support from private sector, as it is in their interest 

that common policies and integrated programmes are established. 

Introduction 

The efficient movement of goods and services 

contributes significantly to the economic 

growth of countries. As the Asian economy 

continues to grow at a rapid pace, an increase 

in freight activity is also expected. It is 

estimated that by the year 2050, medium and 

heavy freight trucks worldwide will consume 

1,240 billion litres of fuel (gasoline equivalent), 

138% more than 2000 levels. The global share 

of trucks operating within Asian countries is 

expected to increase from 19% in 2000 to 

34% in 2050. In China, more than 24 billion 

tonnes of freight were transported in 2010, 

twice as much as in the United States, with an 

annual growth rate of 14% in freight turnover. 

The high percentage of empty hauls combined 

with systemic overloading of trucks is common 

and results in economic loss, higher fuel use and 

emissions, and safety issues. Trucks are a main 

cause of greenhouse gases and air pollutants. 

For example, 4% of Chinese vehicles are trucks 

but they are responsible for 57% of particulate 


emissions from transport. The potential for 

savings is huge; fuel costs can be 60% of truck 

operating costs in Asia, making it an even more 

attractive area for cost reductions than in the 

US, where driver wages are the largest cost 

component. 

The high percentage of empty hauls 

combined with systemic overloading 

of trucks is common and results in 

economic loss, higher fuel use and 

emissions, and safety issues. 

Whether it is the introduction of cleaner 

fuels, fuel economy standards, tax incentives 

or investments in infrastructure to improve 

transport, the freight sector is seldom given 

attention and often ignored. People either 

drive cars or ride the bus and so trucks are not 

in the public eye. Within cities, trucks are often 

allowed along specific corridors only at night, 

as a way to reduce traffic congestion during 

the day. Freight is clearly the “Cinderella” of 

the transport sector.

Barriers to a Sustainable Road 

Freight Sector 

Some of the main challenges that Asian 

countries must overcome to effectively 

address sustainability issues of the freight and 

logistics sector are policies and institutional 

arrangements, characteristic of the freight 

sector, technologies and financing mechanisms. 

Policies that deal with the environmental 

performance of trucks and the trucking 

industry are often lacking or limited, and poorly 

enforced. Freight is seldom included in the 

design and planning of urban transport systems 

and in policy development, resulting in ad hoc 

measures to accommodate urban freight. The 

wide range of government agencies with a 

stake in freight also makes it difficult to assess 

and formulate policies to develop the sector 

more sustainably. 

The trucking sector in China is highly 

fragmented with almost 90% of trucks owned 

by individual drivers and only 0.1% belongs 

to companies with more than one hundred 

trucks. This makes it difficult for government 

agencies to reach them with information and 

policies on, for example, new technologies. 

Freight is seldom included in the design 

and planning of urban transport systems 

and in policy development, resulting in 

ad hoc measures to accommodate 

urban freight. 

Furthermore, the adoption of cleaner 

technologies is vital for developing Asia as 

many trucks are old and poorly maintained. 

Driver training and technologies can render 

significant fuel savings, which is important 

in developing Asian countries where the fuel 

costs are the largest component of a truck’s 

operational costs. Widespread technology 

adoption becomes challenging due to limited 

availability, fragmented suppliers’ network, 

and scarce case studies for Asia. 

Financing green technologies is hampered 

by high investment costs (despite potential 

large savings and short payback periods), the 

reluctance of banks and financiers to lend 

money to trucks drivers and small companies, 

and the lack of experience of ESCOs (energy 

service companies) with trucking fleets. 

Financiers often do not know how to appraise 

financing of technologies for trucks and 

policymakers have minimal experience in 

applying economic instruments to the trucking 

sector. 

Local, national and regional initiatives are 

needed to green freight and logistics in Asia. 

Piloting Green Trucks and Freight 

Logistics in China 

It all started with a truck pilot project in 

Guangzhou, a key transportation hub and 

capital of Guangdong Province, China (CAI- 

Asia and World Bank 2010). The pilot project 

started in 2009 and analysed the truck sector 

through research and a survey, developed 



Financiers often do not know how to 

appraise financing of technologies for 

trucks and policymakers have minimal 

experience in applying economic 

instruments to the trucking sector. 

53


and tested training materials for truck fuel 

efficiency and carried out a technology 

pilot. It was a collaborative effort between 

the Guangzhou transport and environment 

agencies, three trucking companies, Clean 

Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia), U.S. 

Environment Protection Agency (US EPA), U.S.based 

Cascade Sierra Solutions (CSS) and the 

World Bank. 

CAI-Asia tested tyre and aerodynamics 

technologies on ten long-haul and short-haul 

trucks of private companies, and garbage trucks 

(CAI-Asia and World Bank 2010). Technologies 

were selected based on successes achieved in 

the United States under the US EPA SmartWay 

programme. Fuel and emissions savings for 

garbage trucks equipped with low rolling 

resistance tyres and a tyre pressure monitoring 

system (Figure 1) were about 18%. This figure 

is much higher than the savings seen in the 

United States, most likely because aside from 

Figure 1: Low rolling resistance tyres and pressure monitoring systems 

Single-wide tyres 

or Dual low rolling 

resistance tyres 

reduce rolling 

resistance 

Aluminium wheels 

reduce weight 

Automatic tyre 

pressure monitoring 

systems keep tyre 

pressure more 

constant 


reducing friction with the road, the new tyres 

also made the truck more stable, thus reducing 

fuel use. 

Fuel savings of long distance trucks was about 

6.6%. This was less than expected because 

the trucks in the pilot travelled at lower speeds 

than the 75 km/hour needed for aerodynamics 

technologies to significantly reduce drag and 

fuel use. Still, the savings are high enough 

for companies to be interested in these 

technologies. 

To complement the technology pilot, truck 

drivers and truck fleet managers from the pilot 

companies participated in a training course 

on how to reduce truck fuel use. The course 

covered truck specifications, technologies, 

route planning, maintenance and inspection, 

and driving behaviour. The importance of driver 

training was highlighted as the difference in 

fuel efficiency between the best and worst 

Gap fairing reduces 

the tractor-trailer gap 

Skirts reduce wind 

underneath the trailer 

Nosecones reduce 

turbulence

driver in the US can be as high as 35%. A 

10-minute video of the technology pilot 

(CAI-Asia and World Bank 2010) and driver’s 

training materials are available in both English 

and Chinese. 

The survey involving 1,040 truck drivers and 

43 companies revealed that maintenance 

practices are poor as most drivers only use a 

hammer to check tyre pressure and 14% check 

pressure less than once per week (CAI-Asia and 

World Bank 2010). 

The importance of driver training 

was highlighted as the difference in 

fuel efficiency between the best and 

worst driver in the US can be as high 

as 35%. 

The pilot showed that Guangdong’s 825,000 

heavy duty trucks have the potential to reduce 

diesel use by 3.8 million hectolitre, CO2 emissions by 8 million tonnes and particulate 

matter (including black carbon) by 1.2 million 

tonnes each year through proper management 

and technologies. This helped convince 

Guangdong authorities to start a three-year 

USD $14 million Green Trucks Demonstration 

Project (CAI-Asia and World Bank 2010) cofinanced 

by GEF and covering the whole 

Guangdong Province. 

Launched at an International Green Freight 

Fair in October 2011, this new project will 

install new technology on Guangdong trucks 

and explore technology financing options. The 

project will also investigate ways to optimise 

freight logistics and address fuel wastage from 

the estimated 40% empty hauls of trucks. 

To help design the project, CAI-Asia, US EPA 

and CSS hosted 19 government officials from 

Guangdong Province in June 2010 to visit 

truck fleets, the California Air Resources Board 

and several non-governmental organisations 

in California and Washington State. A visit 

to Europe in August 2011 gave insights into 

innovative freight logistics practices in Finland, 

Sweden and Switzerland (Figure 2). 

Establishing a Green Freight China 

Program 

The Guangzhou and Guangdong pilot became 

a springboard to establishing a national green 

freight programme. With Energy Foundation 

support, CAI-Asia designed a Green Freight 

China Program with five components: Clean 

Technologies, Freight Logistics, Financing 

Mechanisms, Knowledge & Capacity, and 

Partnerships between government and the 

private sector (CAI-Asia and World Bank 

2010). Its design is based on the US SmartWay 

Partnership programme, and comes at the 

right time for China. “Energy efficiency is a 



The pilot showed that Guangdong’s 

825,000 heavy duty trucks have the 

potential to reduce diesel use by 3.8 

million hectolitre, CO 2 emissions by 8 

million tonnes. 

Figure 2: A visit to Europe to benchmark freight logistics 

practices in Finland, Sweden and Switzerland 

55


Figure 3: Delegates at the 1st Green Freight China Seminar in May, 2011. 

key factor in making the freight sector in China 

more competitive,” stated Mr. Xu Yahua, 

Deputy Director-General, Road Transportation 

Department, Ministry of Transport. 

The Guangzhou and Guangdong pilot 

became a springboard to establishing 

a national green freight programme. 

At the 1st Green Freight China Seminar last 

May 2011 (Figure 3), over ninety Chinese 

government officials, private sector and civil 

society representatives discussed how to 

advance green freight in China and several 

organisations committed to collaborate on 

policy research and pilot studies. The Seminar 

was organised by CAI-Asia with support from 

the Road Transportation Department of the 

Ministry of Transport, the Vehicle Emission 

Control Center of the Ministry of Environment 

Protection, Energy Foundation, US EPA, World 

Bank and CSS. 

Companies such as C.H. Robinsons, Schneider 

Logistics, Xin Bang Logistics and GITI Tires 

shared their experiences in introducing clean 

technologies and logistics solutions. “Those 


who can organise the labour capacity to 

move freight in China will be the winners” 

commented Schneider Logistics, pointing to 

the highly-fragmented truck sector. 

CAI-Asia will further develop the programme 

design with stronger collaboration among 

local, national and regional stakeholders from 

the freight sector. 

Expanding Efforts to Asia 

Green freight efforts in other Asian countries 

are also gaining traction. This is a welcome 

development, since tackling the barriers to a 

sustainable road freight sector would certainly 

require a common framework across Asia, 

especially with the freight movement going 

beyond international borders. 

...tackling the barriers to a sustainable 

road freight sector would certainly 

require a common framework 

across Asia, especially with the 

freight movement going beyond 

international borders. 

Improved freight transport efficiency is one 

of the sustainable transport goals under the

Bangkok 2020 Declaration signed by 15 Asian 

countries in August 2010 during the Fifth 

Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum. 

A report highlighting the strategies and best 

practices for green freight in Asia will be 

released as a briefing paper for policy makers 

from transport and environment ministries 

during the Sixth Environmentally Sustainable 

Transport Forum to be held in Delhi, India in 

December 2011. 

Interest in pilots and programmes on freight and 

logistics management has also sparked. The 

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers 

(SIAM), together with CAI-Asia, will hold a 

Green Freight India Seminar in January 2012 to 

engage truck manufacturers and government 

officials on establishing a programme design 

for improving fuel efficiency and reducing 

emissions from freight. Likewise, low carbon 

projects to reduce emissions from freight are 

also being implemented along the economic 

corridor of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, also 

known as the Greater Mekong Sub-region. 

...low carbon projects to reduce 

emissions from freight are also being 

implemented along the economic 

corridor of Thailand, Laos and 

Vietnam, also known as the Greater 

Mekong Sub-region. 

Private sector support is pivotal to make these 

initiatives work. In the process of developing 

the Green Freight China Program design, CAI- 

Asia has brought together shippers, carriers 

and logistic service providers operating in 

China to discuss the role of the private sector 

in emissions reductions from freight and 

logistics. A follow-up meeting will be held 

before end of 2011, supported by Logistics 

Institute - Asia Pacific and the Deutsche Post 

DHL. It will initiate the establishment of an 

informal partnership of private sector and 

other collaborating organisations to advance 

green freight programmes in China and other 

countries in Asia. 

Improving freight logistics would involve 

integration of truck companies, as well as, 

logistics centres. To facilitate this, CAI-Asia 

established a dedicated Green Freight website, 

www.greenfreightandlogistics.org. The goal is 

to improve access to information on policies 

and programmes, technologies and logistics, 

contacts and data relevant to the freight sector, 

especially for developing countries. 

Conclusion 

The China experience has shown that there 

is an untapped opportunity to reduce fuel 

use and emissions from the fuel-intensive 

freight and logistics operations. As proven by 

the green freight pilot project in Guangzhou, 

truck performance can be improved through 

technologies and drivers’ training to realise fuel 

savings and emissions reduction. 

City level and regional level projects for the 

freight sector can be successful and sustained 

if an integrated policy is in place nationally. 

This programmatic approach will only work 

if supported by stakeholders especially 

carriers, shippers, logistics providers and the 

government. 



57



The authors want to thank Energy Foundation, World Bank, US EPA, Cascade Sierra Solutions, DHL, SSCCAP and Chinese 

government authorities for their support to advancing green freight in China and Asia. We would also like to acknowledge 

Bert Fabian, Sudhir Gota, Alvin Mejia, Su Song, Mingming Liu, and Parthaa Bosu from CAI-Asia for their role in green 

freight research and project implementation. 

Notes 

1. More information on the global share of trucks and their 

worldwide fuel consumption can be found in (WBCSD 

and IEA 2004). 

2. The full copy of the technology pilot report can be found 

at http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/GreenTrucksPilot 

3. The viewing of the video may be accessed at http:// 

cleanairinitiative.org/portal/knowledgebase/videos/Gree 

nTrucksPilotProjectinGuangzhou%28video%29 

4. More information on Guangdong GEF Green Freight 

Demonstration Project can be found at http:// 

cleanairinitiative.org/portal/GuangdongGEF 

5. More information on Development of Green Freight 

China Program can be found at http://cleanairinitiative. 

org/portal/projects/GreenFreightChinaProgram. 

References 

CAI-Asia and World Bank. 2010. Green Trucks Pilot Project 

in Guangzhou: Final Report . http://cleanairinitiative. 

org/portal/GreenTrucksPilot 


6. In order to highlight the issue of freight to senior 

decision makers in Asia, CAI-Asia prepared a background 

paper on the “Challenges and Opportunities for an 

Environmentally Sustainable Road Freight Sector in 

Asia” for the United Nations Centre for Regional 

Development’s Fifth Environmentally Sustainable 

Transport Forum held in Bangkok, Thailand on 23- 

25 Aug 2010 (see http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/ 

node/6340). 

7. Challenges and Opportunities for an Environmentally 

Sustainable Road Freight Sector in Asia. 2010. 

Background paper prepared by Sophie Punte, Bert 

Fabian, Sudhir Gota and Alvin Mejia for the 5th Regional 

Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia. 

World Business Council on Sustainable Development 

(WBCSD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). 

2004. Sustainable Mobility Project. http://www. 

wbcsd.org/includes/getTarget.asp?type=p&id=MTQ0



Sophie Punte is Executive Director with the Clean Air Initiative Asia 

(CAI-Asia) in Manila, which promotes reductions in air pollution and 

greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors, including trucks and freight. 

She leads the work on green freight in China together with the CAI- 

Asia China office. For four years she worked at the United Nations in 

Bangkok to lead a UNEP energy efficiency and climate change project 

for Asian industry in nine countries. Prior to joining the UN, Sophie was 

senior manager with audit and advisory firm KPMG in Australia and 

The Netherlands, a policy analyst with the New Zealand Environment 

Ministry and an environmental scientist with an engineering firm. She holds a Master of Science 

(Biology) and a Master of Environmental Management from the Netherlands. 

Yan Peng has been the China Representative of Clean Air Initiative Asia 

(CAI-Asia) in China since 2005. Prior to joining CAI-Asia she worked 

with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and 

consulting firm ERM in China. She has a Master of Law degree from 

Peking University and studied at the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing 

University Center for Chinese and American Studies, and the University 

of Toronto, Canada. Her areas of specialty are environment public policy, 

social impact assessments. Yan leads CAI-Asia’s China Network of 13 

cities and the annual Air Quality Management city workshop held together with the Ministry of 

Environmental Protection. She also leads CAI-Asia’s work in China to improve energy efficiency 

and reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from freight and logistics. 

59

References 

Passenger Transport Mode 

Shares in World Cities 

Passenger transport mode share refers to the 

percentage of passenger journeys or trips by 

the main mode of transport and is typically 

reported through travel surveys. Comparing 

passenger transport mode share across 

different cities is a challenging task. As travel 

surveys are typically conducted for long-term 

strategic planning purpose, such surveys are 

not conducted frequently and detailed reports 

are not always published. The situation is 

further complicated as the surveys are often 

commissioned by local governments. The 

geographical areas covered, sampling and 

interviewing techniques, questionnaire and 

stratification methods deployed by travel 

surveys vary greatly in different countries. 

For example, the definition for a pedestrian 

trip or a public transport trip may be different 

in different countries. In cities like Hong 

Kong, mode share is based on the number of 

boardings by mode of transport (or journeystages). 

In most cities, however, mode share 

is reported on the basis of the number of 

journeys, which may consist of a series of 

boardings on different modes of transport and 

the main mode is reported as the transport 

mode. 

Mode share is affected by household incomes, 

land use patterns, and many other economic 

and social factors. Therefore, the figures may 

not be directly comparable. They should be 


analysed together with the historical, social 

and economic situation of the city. 

The mode share information of some major 

metropolitan cities in the world is presented. 

They include the traditionally advanced 

cities (e.g. London, Paris, New York and 

Tokyo), newly developed cities (e.g. Hong 

Kong, Seoul), cities often cited in transport 

innovations or sustainable transport surveys 

(e.g. Bogota, Osaka), and emerging megacities 

(e.g. Shanghai, Bangalore) (Table 1). 

For cities where mode share information of 

different geographical coverage is available, 

the geographical area that is approximately in 

a similar pattern to Singapore is used (e.g. land 

area, population density). 

Table 1: List of Selected Cities 

Asia 

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Beijing, Delhi, 

Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Osaka, 

Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo 

Australia 

Melbourne, Sydney 

Europe 

Barcelona, Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, 

Prague, Rome, Vienna 

North America 

Chicago, New York City, Toronto 

South America 

Bogota, Curitiba

AHMEDABAD 

Population: 5.6 million 

Land area: 281 km 2 

Mode share 

Based on the number of journeys by main 

mode of transport. It includes all modes for all 

purposes. Mass transit constitutes 16% of all 

journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Census of India 2011 

Ministry of Urban Development, 2008. Study on Traffic 

and Transportation Policies and Strategies in Urban Areas 

in India 

BANGALORE 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 




in India 

BARCELONA 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Urban Transport Benchmarking Initiative Year Three, Annex 

A1. Common Indicator Report 2006 

Figure 1: Mode Share in Ahmedabad 


Paratransit 

6% 

Cycle 

14% 

Public 

transport 

16% 

Figure 2: Mode Share in Bangalore 

Walk 

26% 

Public 

transport 

35% 

Figure 3: Mode Share in Barcelona 

Walk 

38% 

Walk 

22% 

Taxi 

1% 

Public 

transport 

26% 

Private 

transport 

42% 

Private 

transport 

25% 

Cycle 

7% 

Paratransit 

7% 

Private 

transport 

35% 

References 

61

CHICAGO 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Chicago Regional Household Travel Inventory: Mode Choice 

and Trip Purpose for the 2008 and 1990 Surveys, Chicago 

Metropolitan Agency for Planning 

CURITIBA 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

ICLEI EcoMobility Case “Curitiba, Brazil - A model of transit 

oriented planning” 

DELHI 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 




in India 

Figure 7: Mode Share in Chicago 

Walk 

19% 

Figure 8: Mode Share in Curitiba 

Figure 9: Mode Share in Delhi 


Bus 

11% 

Bus & BRT 

45% 

Walk 

21% 

Rail 

5% 

Taxi 

1% 

Others 

1% 

Cycle 

5% 

Public 

transport 

42% 

Cycle 

1% 

Private 

transport 

63% 

Private 

transport 

28% 

Walk 

21% 

Private 

transport 

19% 

Cycle 

12% 

Paratransit 

6% 

References 

63

MADRID 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 



MELBOURNE 


Land area: 1,566 km 2 

Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity 2007 

MUMBAI 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 




in India 

Figure 13: Mode Share in Madrid 

Public 

transport 

34% 

Figure 14: Mode Share in Melbourne 

Walk 

13% 

Figure 15: Mode Share in Mumbai 


Bus 

Rail 3% 

4% 

Walk 

27% 

Cycle 

2% 

Taxi 

1% 

Walk 

36% 

Others 

1% 

Public 

transport 

45% 

Private 

transport 

29% 

Private 

transport 

77% 

Private 

transport 

15% 

Paratransit 

7% 

Cycle 

6% 

References 

65

References 

NEW YORK 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Census 2010, U.S. Census Bureau 

National Household Travel Survey 2009, New York City 

OSAKA 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Osaka Prefecture Travel Report 2000 (in Japanese only, 大 

阪府全体の人の動き第4回パーソントリップ調査から, 

Japan) 

PARIS (Paris et Petite Couronne) 3 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

National Transport Survey 2008 (in French only, Enquête 

Nationale Transports et Déplacements) 


Figure 16: Mode Share in New York 

Walk 

39% 

Others 

6% 

Figure 17: Mode Share in Osaka 

Walk 

27% 

Rail 

32% 

Bus 

10% 

Bus 

2% 

Private 

transport 

33% 

Rail 

12% 

Private 

transport 

39% 

Figure 18: Mode Share in Paris et Petite Couronne 

Public 

transport 

62% 

Cycle 

1% 

Taxi 

1% 

Private 

transport 

32% 

Walk 

4%

PRAGUE 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

The Yearbook of Transportation 2009, Prague 

ROME 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 



SEOUL 



Mode share 


mode of transport. It includes only motorised 

modes for all purposes. Mass transit 

constitutes 63% of motorised journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Seoul Statistics – Population Trend in 2010 

Seoul Statistics – Composition of Daily Passenger 

Transportation in 2009 

Figure 19: Mode Share in Prague 

Public 

transport 

43% 

Figure 20: Mode Share in Rome 

Figure 21: Mode Share in Seoul 


Public 

transport 

20% 

Walk 

21% 

Bus 

28% 

Cycle 

1% 

Rail 

35% 

Walk 

23% 

Private 

transport 

33% 

Private 

transport 

59% 

Private 

transport 

26% 

Taxi 

6% 

Others 

5% 

References 

67

References 

SHANGHAI 4 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Shanghai Yearbook 2011 

Shanghai Construction and Transport Commission 2009 

(data provided directly) 

SINGAPORE 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Singapore in Figures 2011 

Travel Survey 2011, Land Transport Authority, Singapore 

SYDNEY 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

2009/10 Household Travel Survey-Key Indicators for Sydney 

Figure 22: Mode Share in Shanghai 


Figure 23: Mode share in Singapore 

Rail 

19% 

Walk 

22% 

Taxi 

4% 

Cycle 

1% 

Figure 24: Mode Share in Sydney 

Walk 

18% 

Walk 

27% 

Bus 

6% 

Public 

transport 

33% 

Rail 

5% 

Others 

2% 

Private 

transport 

20% 

Private 

transport 

29% 

Bus 

25% 

E-bike 

10% 

Cycle 

10% 

Private 

transport 

69%

References 

VIENNA 



Mode share 




journeys. 

Data Sources: 

Vienna Modal Split 2010 (in German only, APA-Grafik 

Modal Split, Wiener) 

Notes 

1. For Beijing, this includes the traditional urban area, 

which is only part of the area administered by the Beijing 

Municipality. 

2. For Guangzhou, this includes the central districts (i.e. 

Liwan, Yuexiu, Haizhu, Tianhe, Baiyun, Huangpu) only, 

which is only part of the area administered by the 

Guangzhou Municipality. 

3. For Paris, this includes the city of Paris and the surrounding 

districts collectively called “Petite Couronne” (Little 

Crown, or Inner Ring): Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint- 

Denis and Val-de-Marne. 

Figure 28: Mode Share in Vienna 

Public 

transport 

36% 


Cycle 

5% 

Walk 

28% 

Private 

transport 

31% 

4. For Shanghai, this includes the traditional urban area 

and the Pudong New District, which is only part of the 

area administered by the Shanghai Municipality. 

5. For Tokyo, this includes the traditional urban area 

collectively called “23-Ward”, which is only part of 

the area administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan 

Government (TMG).

Comparison of Public Transport 

Operations 

Comparing the performances of public 

transport operators helps surface some 

understanding of the best practices employed in 

the industry. Here, key performance indicators 

have been identified for three functional areas, 

namely: system utilisation, fare level, and 

operational efficiency. 

We recognise that these indicators do not 

represent the complete picture of the company’s 

performances, and some of them may not be 

directly comparable because of the differences 

in operational scales, organisational structure 

and accounting practices. These indicators 

should be interpreted together with other 

performances such as service quality, safety 

and security, employee and public relations, as 

well as the planning, design, development and 

regulatory regime within which they operate. 

Table 1: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 

Functional 

Area 

System 

Utilisation 

Indicators Description/Remark 

Average 

passenger-km 

per vehicle-km 

Annual ridership 

(million) per 

station 

Annual ridership 

(million) per bus 

Key Indicators in Comparison 

A list of performance indicators of selected 

public transport operators are compiled in 

terms of system utilisation, affordability, and 

operational efficiency for reference (Table 1). 

System utilisation measures the level of 

assets being utilised - adequate utilisation 

is essential to generate revenue to fund 

operations. However, excessive utilisation may 

imply crowding (an aspect of service quality) 

during peak periods if the demand is not well 

distributed. 

The purpose of public transport is to provide 

basic amenity and mobility to the society; thus 

it is critical that the fare level is affordable to the 

general public. As an indicator of affordability, 

the fare is normalised using PPP conversion 

This indicator measures the average system loading, in other words, how 

well the operating capacity has been utilised. A higher value suggests 

better utilisation. 

This indicator can be used to measure the performance of both bus and rail 

systems. However, as the information of passenger-distance travelled is not 

always available in bus systems, this indicator is used in the comparison of 

rail systems only. 

This indicator normalises the ridership by the number of stations in the 

rail system. A higher value suggests a better utilisation of the system 

infrastructure. 


References 

This indicator normalises bus ridership by bus fleet size, and reflects the 

asset utilisation. A higher value means that on average, a bus carries more 

passengers and suggests better asset utilisation. 

71

References 

Functional 

Area 

Affordability 

(Fare Level) 

Operation 

Efficiency 

Indicators Description/Remark 

Average fare per 

passenger-km 

Average fare per 

boarding 

Operating costs 

per passengerkm 

Operating costs 

per boarding 

This indicator measures how much a commuter pays for one kilometre 

he/she travels in the public transport system. As fare structures may be 

distance-based (e.g. Singapore and Hong Kong) or Zone-based (e.g. 

London), therefore, removing the effect of travelling distance provides a 

fair comparison among operators. A lower value means that commuters 

pay less for every kilometre travelled. 

This indicator is used only in the comparison of rail systems due to a lack of 

information for bus systems. 

Average fare per boarding is computed using total fare revenue divided by 

total ridership. Different from the previous indicator, this indicator measures 

average fare per trip directly. The comparison of this indicator is still 

meaningful as commuters usually would not compute how long they have 

travelled; instead, they care more for how much they have been charged 

for a trip. This indicator applies to both bus and rail operator comparisons. 

Subsides are excluded from fare revenue. In some cities, the government 

subsidises concession travel (e.g. the difference between normal fare and 

concession fare) and pays the difference to operators accordingly. Such 

subsides are excluded from fare revenue computations as they are paid by 

the government, instead of commuters. 

This indicator measures the cost required to deliver every kilometre a 

passenger travels. As operating cost is largely fixed (e.g. manpower cost, 

fuel cost) once the route and schedule are determined, a higher ridership 

and longer trip distance would lead to higher operational efficiency. 

As different development stages and financial methods result in different 

depreciation of rail assets, the depreciation cost is removed from the operating 

cost for a fair comparison across rail operators. 

This indicator measures the operating cost (excluding depreciation cost 

of rail assets) for every passenger trip. A higher value refers to lower 

efficiency. 

Farebox ratio Farebox ratio is computed by total fare revenue over total operating cost. In 

rail comparison, depreciation cost is excluded from operating cost. 

This indicator measures the financial viability of an operator without 

subsidy. A ratio above 1 suggests that the operator is able to recover its 

operating cost (excluding depreciation of rail assets) with fare revenue. If 

operators could not recover their operating cost from fare revenue, then 

government subsidy or other income is required to maintain the fare level 

and service quality. 

factor, as it takes into account both cost of 

living and exchange rates. 

Operational efficiency is essential to keep the 

fare affordable. A high operating efficiency 

ensures that lower revenue is able to cover 

operating cost. Subsidies may be required 


by operators who are unable to recover their 

operating cost from fares. 

Public Transport Operators (PTOs) 

in Comparison 

Public Transport Operators (PTOs) are selected 

based on their performance, geographical

Table 2: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 

Asia / Australia Europe North America 

[r] [b] 

SMRT, Singapore 

SBST, Singapore [b] 

MTR Corporation, Hong Kong [r] 

KMB, Hong Kong [b] 

Shanghai Shentong Metro [r] 

Taipei Metro [r] 

[r] [b] 

Toei, Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro [r] 

Sydney Bus [b] 

Notes: [r] rail; [b] bus 

London Underground [r] 

London Bus [b] 

Nexus Tyne & Wear Metro [r] 

Dublin Bus [b] 

[r] [b] 

TMB Barcelona 

SL Stockholm [b] 

coverage, and data availability (Table 2). Data 

here is obtained mainly from annual reports 

and financial statements published by the 

operators. 

Comparisons among Rail Operators 

The rail operations in this comparison refer 

to those of mass rapid transit systems (MRT, 

metro, or subway, as it is called in some cities). 

They do not include operations of inter-city 

rail, commuter rail and light rail systems 

because the operating cost, demand (volume 

and distance) and fares of these systems are 

generally different from that of the MRT system 

Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

TMB-Barcelona 

Taipei Metro 

SMRT-Singapore 

Shanghai Shentong 

Nexus Tyne & Wear 

MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 

London Underground 

CTA-Chicago 

Infrastructure - Rail Length 


[r] [b] 

MTA New York 

Chicago Transit Authority 

MTA Washington [b] 

Translink Vancouver [b] 

and therefore, not directly comparable. 

References 

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 

[r] [b] 

The infrastructure (including length and 

number of stations of the rail network) is 

presented as supplementary information. It is 

used to normalise some indicators, such as, 

annual ridership, for a fair comparison. The 

infrastructure here shows the status at the 

point of comparison and it may not be the 

latest figure. For example, the Circle Line Stage 

4&5 in Singapore is not included in SMRT 

(Singapore) rail length as its revenue operation 

only started on 8 Oct 2011. For Shanghai 

Shentong metro, only Line 1 was included as 

the other lines were not accounted for under 

Shanghai Shentong, the public-listed company. 

km 

73

References 

Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

TMB-Barcelona 

Taipei Metro 




MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 


CTA-Chicago 

Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

Taipei Metro 


MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 


CTA-Chicago 

Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

TMB-Barcelona 

Taipei Metro 




MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 


CTA-Chicago 

0 

Infrastructure - Number of Stations 

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 

System Utilisation - Average passenger-km per vehicle-km 

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 

System Utilisation - Annual ridership (million) per station 

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 


Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

Taipei Metro 


MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 


CTA-Chicago 

Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

TMB-Barcelona 

Taipei Metro 




MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 


CTA-Chicago 

Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

TMB-Barcelona 

Taipei Metro 




MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 


CTA-Chicago 

Fare Level - Average fare per passenger-km 

$0.00 $0.05 $0.10 $0.15 $0.20 $0.25 $0.30 $0.35 $0.40 $0.45 

Fare Level - Average fare per boarding 


S$, PPP 

S$, PPP 

$0.00 $0.50 $1.00 $1.50 $2.00 $2.50 $3.00 $3.50 

Operation Efficiency - Operating cost per boarding* 

References 

S$, PPP 

$0.00 $0.50 $1.00 $1.50 $2.00 $2.50 $3.00 $3.50 $4.00 

*Operating cost excludes depreciation 

75

References 

Toei - Tokyo 

Tokyo Metro 

TMB-Barcelona 

Taipei Metro 




MTR-Hong Kong 

MTA-New York 


CTA-Chicago 

0.0 

*Operating cost excludes depreciation 

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 

Comparison of Bus Operators 

The bus operations in this comparison refer 

to those of public buses in a city. They do not 

include school bus, company bus, inter-city bus 

and tourist bus, etc., because the operating 

cost, demand and fares of these systems are 

generally different from public buses and 

therefore, not directly comparable. 

Translink-Vancouver 

Toei - Tokyo 

TMB-Barcelona 

Sydney Bus 


SL-Stockholm 

SBST-Singapore 

MTA-Washington 

MTA-New York 

London Bus 

KMB-Hong Kong 

Dublin 

CTA-Chicago 

Operation Efficiency - Farebox ratio* 

Infrastructure - Fleet Size 


The infrastructure (i.e., bus fleet of the 

operators) is presented as supplementary 

information. It has been used to normalise 

annual ridership to compare system utilisation 

as operators are running at different scales. 

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000


Toei - Tokyo 

TMB-Barcelona 

Sydney Bus 


SL-Stockholm 



MTA-New York 

London Bus 

KMB-Hong Kong 

Dublin 

CTA-Chicago 


Toei - Tokyo 

TMB-Barcelona 

Sydney Bus 


SL-Stockholm 



MTA-New York 

London Bus 

KMB-Hong Kong 

Dublin 

CTA-Chicago 


Toei - Tokyo 

TMB-Barcelona 

Sydney Bus 


SL-Stockholm 



MTA-New York 

London Bus 

KMB-Hong Kong 

Dublin 

CTA-Chicago 

System Utilisation - Annual ridership (million) per bus 

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 

Fare Level - Average fare per boarding 

0 $0.2 $0.4 $0.6 $0.8 $1.0 $1.2 $1.4 $1.6 $1.8 $2.0 

Operation Efficiency - Operating cost per boarding 


References 

S$, PPP 

S$, PPP 

$0.0 $0.5 $1.0 $1.5 $2.0 $2.5 $3.0 $3.5 $4.0 $4.5 

77

The LTA Academy was launched in September 2006 by the Singapore Land Transport Authority. 

The Academy aims to be a global knowledge hub in urban transport. It serves as a one-stop focal 

point for government officials and professionals around the world to tap on Singapore’s knowhow 

and exchange international best practices in urban transport management and development. 

The LTA Academy’s Advisory Board provides high-level advice on strategic directions and major 

initiatives for the Academy to establish itself as a leading land transport institution in the world. 

The Advisory Board comprises the following international ensemble of distinguished members: 

Professor Cham Tao Soon (Chair) 

Chancellor and Chairman, SIM University, Singapore 

President Emeritus, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 

Professor Henry Fan 

Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 

Singapore 

Professor Fwa Tien Fang 

Director, Centre for Transportation Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 

Professor Phang Sock Yong 

Professor of Economics and Interim Dean, School of Economics, Singapore Management University 

Singapore 

O P Agarwal 

Vice President, Institute of Urban Transport, India and Senior Transport Specialist, World Bank 

Professor Lu Hua Pu 

Director, Institute of Transportation Engineering, Tsinghua University, China 

Professor Anthony May 

Emeritus Professor of Transport Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom 

Michael Replogle 

Global Policy Director, President Emeritus and Founder, Institute for Transportation and Development 

Policy (ITDP), United States of America 

JOURNEYS is a biannual publication of the Academy. It provides a platform for the Academy 

to showcase and share urban transport trends, policies, technologies and challenges in different 

cities. It is also one of the key resources to complement and enhance the learning experience of 

participants at the Academy’s programmes.





www.LTAacademy.gov.sg

Full Version - Issue 7 | November 2011 - LTA Academy

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