A four-legged passenger enjoys the CycLAvia bike event in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Melissa Wall.

“The South California towns, Los Angeles and Pasadena, are now connected by the strangest and most interesting of links-a magnificent, elevated cycle-way, with a smooth surface of wood, running for nine miles through beautiful country, flanked by green hills, and affording views at every point of the snow-clad Sierras.”

–T.D. Denham

A reporter named T.D. Denham wrote that Southern California, ought to one day become, “a cyclist’s paradise,” with its “delightful climate and beautiful country, verdant and radiant with wild flowers in the midst of winter.” Denham wistfully lamented that the entire nation, in his opinion, should be connected by cycling roads, following southern California’s example.

The example that he is referring to was the California Cycleway, and T.D. Denham was writing in 1897.

The city of Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California, is home to nearly 4 million people nowadays. Of that number, it is estimated that only 0.9% of the population — approximately 16,011 residents — commute to work by bicycle. Rewind 116 years to 1897, and you will find that a full 6% of Los Angeles, California’s 500,000 residents were cyclists — nearly twice as many as today!

“On this splendid track cyclists may now enjoy the very poetry of wheeling.”

Pasadena resident Horace Dobbins bankrolled the construction of the Cycleway, after receiving approval from the state legislature, which was against the idea until a former governor and friend of Mr. Dobbins threw his weight in with the project. The Cycleway was to be a privately-owned elevated wooden boardwalk, connecting Pasadena with downtown Los Angeles, and upon which cyclists would pay $0.10 one-way, or $0.15 for a roundtrip journey.

The first mile and a quarter were actually constructed! But then technology intervened in the form of the automobile, which quickly led to the project being abandoned and sections of the route turned into a motorway, which would eventually become the Arroyo Seco Parkway, connecting Los Angeles with Pasadena, along the Arroyo Seco River.

“From the engineer’s point of view, the road is a triumph,” wrote Denham, because (of course), “there are no horses to avoid, no trains or trolley-cars, no stray dogs or wandering children.”

The idea might not be so abandoned after all…check out this example from the Netherlands and a concept video from Great Britain:

Thanks to Benoit Colin for providing the inspiration for this post!

A woman raises her hand to speak at a community meeting in Aurangabad, India. Photo by World Bank Photo Collection.

Public transport is a core part of our daily lives. It is an economic driver — linking commuters to employment opportunities and bringing potential customers to retail and commercial establishments. It impacts our health, as modes of urban transport affect the air we breathe; our safety when we walk, bike, and commute; and our physical fitness. Transport is, in short, a fundamental part of life for most of the world. As the world becomes more urban, transport will play an even more important role in our lives in the future.

Too often those who utilize public transport on a daily basis are not brought into the decision-making process or consulted on its operation. This lack of participation may damage public use and endorsement of mass transport. The public can offer valuable insight on how a transport system should be designed. Including the public in the design process from the beginning, and following through to solicit input during the operation stage, can help to build support for a project and avoid costly and time-consuming petitions of protest from the public. The advent of the internet is making it easier than ever to solicit public input.

Public consultation in the 21^st century

Once commonly associated with dispassionate town hall meetings, public consultations are evolving as public agencies embrace the internet as a communications tool. Traditionally, governments hosted information sessions or town hall meetings to update the public on the impact of an infrastructure project on the community and to receive comments in a forum setting, one-by-one. The best an agency could hope to receive was a few comments from those who could attend that night’s meeting. Attendees tend to self-select, and agencies would only receive input for a small subset of the population.

With the advent of the internet, new surveying techniques are helping to make it easier for the public to offer comments in a decentralized, user-driven fashion. The European Union, for example, has been soliciting input on transport projects online since 2005 and transparently providing summary reports on response trends written by a third party. In The use of internet for public consultation is not mutually exclusive with town halls and community meetings, which serve an important purpose in connecting the agencies directly with the public. In New York City, for example, the Department of Transportation hosted both 159 in-person community meetings and an online survey that received over 10,000 responses during its public consultation regarding its bike-sharing system, set to debut on Memorial Day next Monday. Many other cities and countries have turned to the internet as the easiest and widest reaching method of public consultation.

As smartphones become more ubiquitous, public consultation may become even more decentralized, providing the public with the tools to comment real-time when something goes wrong at a specific intersection or subway stop. During the operations phase, smartphone applications could provide commuters with a platform to recommend improvements, effectively crowdsourcing some of the maintenance duties of the transport agency.

The challenges of public consultation

Public consultation is not without its challenges. For one, all stakeholders are not alike. Most public consultations look to include all relevant stakeholders, but for large-scale infrastructure and transport projects, there can often be tensions between the “heavy” stakeholders involved in the project and the “end users,” the public. Stakeholders involved in the planning and financing process may have different interests from the commuters who ultimately use transport. It is incumbent upon the soliciting authority to weigh these inputs. That said, transparent, decentralized, open public consultations help to equalize he playing field and magnify the voice of the daily commuter.

Another challenge is making public consultation work in the developing world. Public consultation in New York, where the population tends to be wealthy, connected, and fairly opinionated, is one thing; soliciting input in Mumbai, India, or Nairobi, Kenya, is another. The need for public consultation is all the more vital in the developing world, however, because it is unlikely that the public’s input will be adequately voiced without it. Along similar lines, difficulties can also arise when trying to implement a project in a region with historic heritage. It can be challenging to weigh completely different viewpoints on how land should be utilized. Lastly, the delicate issue of balancing a project’s need for urgency with its need for stakeholder buy-in is a challenge that can’t be ignored. Public consultation must be implemented at an early stage and factored into construction and planning timelines, so it does not unnecessarily delay implementation.

Engaging the public during operation

Traditionally, when public consultation has been included in a project, it is incorporated during the planning process. This is natural, as the public should have a voice in how transportation projects are implemented in their neighborhoods, and there are big, impactful changes that occur during the planning stage of a project. The public should also be consulted, however, whenever significant changes to the operation of a transport system are implemented and periodically throughout the system’s operation. When a major schedule change is implemented on a bus rapid transit and light rail line, for example, it typically affects hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of daily commuters. Likewise, periodic public consultation can help to reveal ways to improve the user experience — often at low cost to the operator.

Public consultation is useful throughout the life of a transit system and should not end when the last slab of concrete is set, or the last track is laid. Constant feedback from the public can help improve the experience for commuters, and help improve the transport projects that governments plan and construct.

How do we make our cities more people-centric? Photo by Blmurch.

If cities are to be more people-oriented, shouldn’t we work on sharing the space with each other? That’s  the intention of the Bench of Friendship, upon which it is impossible to sit alone.

Sponsored by the British-based Fisherman’s Friend and designed by students from the Institute of Design Hamburg (IN.D), the bench invites those who want to rest or enjoy the view to invite someone else to share the bench with them.

The motto of the project is, “Never be without a friend,” and its aim is to restore the human connection to public space — a space in which people increasingly find themselves solitary, overly serious, or in a hurry. The experience — akin to that of a see-saw —  ends up being quite fun, as you can see in the video:

Another project which encourages interaction between people is 21 Balançoires (“21 swings”). Created by science students at Canada’s Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), together with designers Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiant, the installation in the center of Montreal consists of 21 swings, each of which plays a different musical note when moving. The tone increases and decreases in accordance with the motion of each person using the swing.

One cool feature of the swingset is that some notes can only be created if different movements are combined, i.e., people create music together with their momentum. The result is a collective symphony! Read more about the 21 Swings on TheCityFix Brasil.

Initiatives like these are fine examples of how friendly interactions in urban spaces, however simple they may be, can be very beneficial in making the experience of living in a city more inviting and welcoming. Even if your city does not have the Bench of Friendship or the 21 Swings, a simple smile, a “good day,” or a hug can make all the difference.

Source: Sustainable Planet

Maria Fernanda Cavalcanti also contributed to this post, originally published on TheCityFix Brasil.

A boy peers out a bus window in Mumbai, India. Photo by gregor_y.

More and more cities worldwide are grappling with the ever-increasing menace of air pollution — especially in India, which contains some of the most polluted cities in the world. Rapid economic growth in developing countries and increased individual wealth is leading to an ever-increasing number of cars and motorcycles on the roads. We are seeing highly increased emissions and rapid deterioration in urban air quality. The transport sector itself is now the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, accounting for 13% of total greenhouse gas emissions and 23% of global energy-related emissions.

Most Indian cities are exceeding the critical levels of particle pollution (particulate matter, or PM) and nitrous oxide (NOx), two of the worst air pollutants. This phenomenon is due to an ever-increasing number of private vehicles, old technology, and unclean fuels.

What are PM and NOx?

Particulate Matter: Particulate matter is a mixture of small particles and droplets including acids, like sulphates and nitrates, organic chemicals, metals, soil, or dust. Combustion can produce a large quantity of very fine particles, known as PM10 (defined as 10 nanometers in diameter or smaller). The human body cannot protect against exposure to these PM10s and against ultra-fine particles (PM2.5) which can enter the heart and lungs through inhalation and have serious health effects, including respiratory disease and heart  and lung conditions.

Nitrous Oxides: They are an important family of air-polluting chemical compounds. These highly reactive gases affect health and lead to increase in global warming. Nitrous oxide can be oxidized in the atmosphere into nitrogen dioxide, which is a dangerous air pollutant in itself and can also react to form ozone and acid rain.

How can our cities deal with this menace?

As far as vehicle pollution is concerned, the remedy lies in adopting a multi-pronged approach with concrete steps towards promoting public transport solutions, such as bus fleets which run on cleaner fuel, such as low-sulfur diesel or natural gas.

1. Make an informed, location-specific selection of fuels and vehicles

Cities should base their selection of fuel on the total cost and emissions  – from extraction or production, to processing to combustion —  associated with each type of fuel.

Fuel policies should be revisited by municipalities, and current gaps in pricing should be taken into consideration. In India, for example, there exists a huge gap in the prices of diesel and gasoline due to fuel subsidies on diesel, which are leading to increased sales, and production of diesel vehicles. Diesel vehicles now account for 40% of vehicles on Indian roads, and the figures are expected to grow further. Most of these vehicles are operating on dirty diesel, with a high sulfur content. Yet, technology today is capable of producing diesel fuel with as low as 50 ppm sulfur content, but this cleaner fuel has thus far not caught on.

2. Adopt the Avoid-Shift-Improve strategy

A more promising and holistic solution lies in the adoption of the avoid-shift-improve framework, which essentially entails avoiding motorized trips, by planning land use and mixity in buildings  in such a way that most of the trips are within short distances which can be covered by bike or on foot; shifting from individual motorized transport to public transport; and improving upon today’s fuel options and technologies.

3. Increase financial incentives for sustainable transport, disincentives for private vehicle use

At the same time, financial incentives, and disincentives, need to be put in place to encourage use of buses and clean fuels; at the same time governments should also aim at discouraging the use of personal vehicles through disincentives, such as levying congestion charges, raising parking fees, hiking insurance premiums, etc. Research in the alternate/renewable fuels should be undertaken and efforts focused on making technology more cost effective to enable wider commercial application.

The disposal of old, high-polluting vehicles also warrants more attention. The enforcement of emissions standards and disposal regulations should be strictly imposed. Moreover, emissions standards should be made uniformly applicable to an entire country across all modes of transport. Current fuel policy in India allows for a relaxation of emissions standards for 2-wheeled vehicles, such as motorbikes, which have become the major urban pollutants, due to sheer numbers and outdated technology.

Holistic approach should be taken toward fighting air pollution

Air pollution needs to be dealt with in a more holistic manner, wherein major contributors, like industries, power plants, and vehicles are addressed together. A host of policies, regulations, and incentives, implemented simultaneously, are required to deal with this issue, as no one policy is sufficient to deal with this multi-faceted problem.

Sources:

1. http://www.embarq.org/en/exhaust-emissions-transit-buses-working-paper

2. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-03/pollution/37409934_1_air-pollution-ghaziabad-critically-polluted-areas

The Otobuxi could serve as a feeder from residential areas to mass transport stations. Photo by Charles Bombardier.

Most residential streets are not serviced by city buses. Even if they were not too heavy, bulky, or noisy, there is seldom enough passengers to fill them. The automobile does not fare much better, creating traffic congestion and parking woes, contributing to poor air quality, and posing as a safety hazards for pedestrians. Another option — the taxi cab — adds the problem of high cost to the automobile’s list of negative impacts.

That’s where the Otobuxi comes into the picture. Developed by Canadian mechanical engineer Charles Bombardier, the Otobuxi (pronounced “Auto-Boxy”) would pick you up in front of your house at the time you would need to travel and would tailor your trip based on your travel needs (speed, cost, stops, etc). This electric-powered, self-driving vehicle bridges the gap between cars, taxi cabs, and buses across the urban landscape.

Bombardier calls the Otobuxi a “smart transit vehicle concept designed for cities.” Its name incorporates etymological elements of “automobile” (Oto-); “buses” (-bu-) and taxis (-xi). With all-wheel drive and electric power, the Otobuxi can travel with quiet ease on narrow, residential streets.  The vehicle can accommodate up to 12 passengers and does not require a driver — similar to the Google Car.

To get onboard, passengers use a smartphone app to request a pickup by and pay their fare. An intelligent transit calculator would automatically propose 2-3 possible itineraries to bring you to your final destination by using a combination of vehicles, such as metro, city bus, bus rapid transit, regional train, etc, all integrated into a larger transit network.

To learn more about Charles Bombardier’s Otobuxi concept, check out the website.

Boarding El Metropolitano BRT in Lima, Peru. Photo by EMBARQ.

In a capital city with 8 million inhabitants, not only was Lima’s advanced bus system the first of its kind in the country, but it also provides valuable lessons for the rest of Latin America. Building on the Lima experience, other cities in Peru can be inspired to deliver the saved time and lives that El Metropolitano is delivering day after day. TheCityFix sat down with Hernan Navarro, Operations Manager at El Metropolitano to learn more about Lima’s advanced bus system.

Navarro highlights key learnings about the 33-kilometer (20-mile) El Metropolitano system connecting 16 districts of Peru’s capital along a north-south corridor opened in October of 2010.

Interview:

1. What makes El Metropolitano unique in Peru, and across the BRT world?

What makes El Metropolitano so special in Peru, is that it is the first and only BRT system in the country; our buses also run on natural gas, which helps reduce tailpipe emissions.

Also, Lima’s BRT has a “fast track” with no stoplights called the “Via Expresa,” on which only small vehicles, and El Metropolitano are permitted in the dedicated lanes. Thus, it saves a tremendous amount of travel time to the benefits of the inhabitants of Lima.

2. Is El Metropolitano integrated with other transport systems?

To a certain extent, we could say it is integrated in a “casual way,” with the main, trunk line accessible by peripheral, non-BRT feeder buses. At certain spots in the city, minibuses have become the feeder system, forming a sort of natural integration, as they choose routes that can help passengers reach BRT stations, where they can continue their trips, with the benefit of a fast system as backbone.

Additionally, we have planned a formal integration with the Lima metro system to come into effect in the coming months. The metro and El Metropolitano will be connected through the Gamarra shopping center station, the commercial heart of Lima. We see this integration as a way of responding to customer demand in a more effective way.

3. Since El Metropolitano began operations, have Lima’s roads become safer?

Before El Metropolitano started working, there used to be around 30 accidents per month along the same route. Since 2010, the number of accidents per month has dropped by almost 90%, and we now have an average of three to four accidents per month.

4. What are the top three ways that El Metropolitano has directly improved people’s lives?

Saving time: Some trips that used to take 2 hours in rush hour and can now be made in 25 minutes with El Metropolitano.

Saving money: There is a flat fare for riding El Metropolitano, meaning that even in rush hour, and across long distances, passengers still pay 2 soles (USD$0.77).

Saving lives: People feel safer, and there are significantly fewer accidents, as compared with conventional buses.

5. Do you have any advice for other municipalities in the planning process for a BRT, or considering it? What lessons could they learn from you?

Be careful with contracts. Make sure that plans for necessary infrastructure and land acquisition are secured prior to making an offer to operators, so that you don’t experience later problems.

Define the station sizes according to public demand. Some stations are more popular than others, and therefore should be larger. It is all about making the most out of the available space and adapting to customer needs.

6. How is El Metropolitano perceived among the general public?

In a city of 8 million inhabitants, El Metropolitano serves 5% of the people. Yet when El Metropolitano is in the spotlight, its actions are closely followed and widely broadcasted by the media. Everything we do, whether good or bad is highlighted in the media and discussed among residents.

7. Now that you have surpassed 300 million passenger trips, what are El Metropolitano’s goals looking ahead?

We have 4 specific goals for our next 300 million trips:

1. Use all available buses: We have 522 buses, 96% of which are currently in use, but we want to have them all up and running.

2. Increase ridership: We measure ridership by passengers per kilometer (PKM) travelled along the corridor. For trunk-line buses we have a PKM index of around 6.5 and for feeders we have 3. Our goal is to increase these numbers to 7 and 5 passengers per kilometer, respectively.

3. Increase the value for the operators: In other words, help our bus operators increase their ridership and profit margin. Currently, we offer the operators an 85% of value per kilometer; this is mostly due to the fact that El Metropolitano only attends to 5 % of of Lima’s transport demand. We hope to build upon this.

4. Extend the corridor: We are extending the route 7 kilometers, from Naranjal to Patio Norte, in Lima.

El Metropolitano addresses a historic need in Lima, a city which had been waiting for a mass transport solution since the late-1960s. Overall it is making progress, providing passengers a cost-effective and efficient way to go from point A to point B. While the system still has a long way to go in terms of passenger capacity, fare integration, and routes, El Metropolitano is steadily moving Lima step closer to a more sustainable, organized urban environment – a place where people want to live.

Interested in learning more about El Metropolitano BRT in Lima? Visit their website.

For more info on BRT in Latin America, check out the upcoming conference of the Association of Latin American Integrated Transportation Systems and Bus Rapid Transit (SIBRT). The Third SIBRT Congress: “Best Practices in SIBRT in Latin America”, will be held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, June 4-7, 2013.