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integrated with pedestrian and cycle traffic, and can be routed along pedestrian
streets and other city centre areas where car traffic is prohibited or is subject to
strict limitations. The streetspace can be utilised most effectively with light rail,
followed by bus, cycle and car. Car traffic places almost twenty times as great a
demand on the streetspace as light rail traffic. The area of land required by buses
is almost twice that required by light rail. In many cities, light rail has also
become a symbol of a modern and attractive city.
The other function of light rail is to provide radial transport towards the city
centre. The longer the routes and the larger the catchment area, the greater the
capacity which the systems have, ranging from trams and streetcars, through light
rail and metro, to heavy rail in the form of suburban and commuter trains. The
boundaries and definitions between different types of railbound transport systems
are indistinct. Development of modern dual purpose systems, TramTrains, means
that the function as city centre shuttle system and transport provider in local and
regional corridors can be integrated in one and the same transport system.
It must however be said that no system based on light rail and/or bus has been
successful merely on its own merits. That public transport as such must satisfy
stringent demands for ”system internal” effectiveness and that the systems must
be provided with adequate resources, can be seen as a self-evident prerequisite.
Factors such as routing, integration, service frequency, comfort, safety and speed
must work satisfactorily. This means, in turn, that there must be an organisational
and institutional structure which is able to produce these results. But what is
mainly shown by an examination of the state of knowledge is that these system
internal qualities must also be backed up by ”system external” conditions.
Examples of these are physical planning regarding the way land is to be built on
and utilised in the short and long term, general traffic planning regarding the way
the transport system is to be designed, and a large number of direct measures
which influence the way in which passenger traffic is carried by other modes. It
has been shown with all desired clarity that it is essential to strengthen the
competitiveness of public transport, primarily in relation to the car, in order that a
successful overall solution may be achieved. It has been found in many countries
that it is easier, both in terms of public opinion and politics, to carry through such
a reorientation if light rail in cities is part of the future oriented investments.
The research project ”Light Rail – Light Cost, Part II” has functioned as a
unifying platform for the generation of knowledge about the modern light rail
system. In the same way, the actual future prevalence of light rail in Swedish
cities and regions will be dependent on whether it will be possible to achieve
some kind of more unified and advanced strategy and structure for the future role
of public transport in Sweden. If the transport and environmental policy goals and
the statements contained in official documents are interpreted literally, it appears
inevitable that the market position of public transport must be improved,
especially for local and regional transport.
It is of great importance that research concerning public transport should
continue to focus on those areas in which it has been traditionally active. In the
interim reports produced within this theme, the need for knowledge in a number
of distinct subject areas is identified. But it is also important that these
perspectives should be complemented with more research and generation of
knowledge regarding the way public transport systems can be implemented,
organised and operated. The final discussion in the report and the discussion of
the orientation of future research concentrate on these issues.
10 VTI rapport 504