Toolkits for Urban Transport Development - UNEP

network. Therefore, it is very difficult to judge the demand for public transport based on revealed
preferences, and data collected on stated preferences should be used for demand assessment of PT
systems.
Improvement in public transport involves infrastructural improvements like reserving lanes and
tracks, improving the location and design of stops, and operational improvements like optimizing
routes and scheduling. It is necessary to identify the type of improvement required to improve the
level of service. The improvement in level of service is likely to not only maintain the existing modal
share of public transport but also create a shift from other modes to public transport. These shifts are
determined by city structure and travel behaviour. Important consideration needs to be given to
optimizing the fleet based on demand: instead of offering a 50-seat bus every 30 minutes, it might be
better to provide 25-seat buses every 15 minutes. Secondly, most of these small cities are likely to
grow into larger metropolitan towns in future, so a gradual progression towards public transport
technology can be also suggested. For example, a strategy could start with city buses and progress to
BRT and eventually to a metro. This is also important from the low-carbon point of view, as operating
a public transport system at low capacities will result in higher per-capita carbon emissions from
transport use, in comparison to a PT transport system operating near its capacity.
System planning should consider not only where it’s placed (i.e. routes and stops), but also whether it
is accessible to all potential users. Plans for the system should take into account accessibility issues
for pedestrians and cyclists, the disabled and elderly, as well as private vehicle users once they have
parked.
Task 5-3 Preparation of Road Network Development Plan
CMP lists road projects to be developed, including hierarchical road network, arterial road
construction/widening projects, secondary road construction/widening projects, intersection
improvement projects, flyover projects and railway over bridge or underpass projects.
According to CMP, the hierarchical road network should be based on travel demand. In addition to
assigning the proper hierarchy to the road network, which is derived from its land use, it is important
to consider urban roads as streets and assigned functions. Considering that more than half of the trips
recorded in India are NMT, it is essential roads provide proportionate space for NMT. Despite the
latent demand for motorized vehicle use, proposals to improve motorized vehicle mobility by
increasing road space under the pretext of easing congestion should be discouraged as much as
possible.
Task 5-4 Preparation of NMT Facility Improvement Plan
In preparing NMT facility improvement plans, the most important consideration to keep in mind is
that a large proportion of urban travel involves using these transport modes. Thus, is essential to
identify specific streets and the street types preferred by individuals when walking or using a bicycle.
This, in turn, will lead to ranking streets for walking and bicycle use. As stated earlier, if the TAZ
sizes are small, the spatial interaction between zones can be captured and assigned to the network
using street ranking for walking and bicycle use. The modelling spatial interaction should represent
the current preferences and demand, as well as for stated choices, which represent demand for
walking and bicycling if a certain level infrastructure is provided. When planning NMT infrastructure,
due consideration should be given to the existing networks and not patches. For example, all roads
where individual are likely to walk should include at least 2 metres of clear, walkable footpath.
Moreover, all potential walking or bicycling locations should have NMT infrastructure, including
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