Reports:

Study of European best practice in the delivery of integrated transport: report on stage 1 - benchmarking

9. Medium Cities

KEY LOCAL DETRMINANTS

9.1 Newcastle is the largest city in the sample shown in Table 9.1, though its population density is lower than Marseille and Frankfurt, which have much smaller populations. Brussels has the highest density - one of the highest in Europe - and is the most centralised with 27% of jobs located in the city centre.

Choice of Cities The sample sought to include some UK areas that are currently considered to be leading with the delivery of integrated transport policies, rather than cities where data may be more readily available for comparison. As a consequence the data set is incomplete. Information describing transport outputs, in particular, is scarce, more so in the UK than overseas, and so not every city appears in the tables and charts in this chapter.

9.2 Helsinki and Nantes have the lowest city-wide population densities, but they retain dense cores (3,300 and 3,585 people per sq km, respectively). GDP is highest in the German cities and typically lowest in the UK cities.

Table 9.1 - Structural Indicators

	Population (000s)	Surface Area (km.sq)	Pop. Density (inhabitants per km.sq)	Central Area Density (pop per km.sq)	Employment in CBD (%)	Metrop. GDP per capita (US $)
Newcastle, UK	1,131	540	2,100	3,835	16	13,815
Brussels, Belgium	948	161	5,900	7,240	27	28,009
Helsinki, Finland	891	743	1,200	3,300	21	28,323
Amsterdam, Neth's	831	520	1,600	5,700	18	28,322
Marseille, France	798	239	3,350	5,870	20	29,337
Leeds, UK	727	560	1,300	n/a	n/a	14,7192
Frankfurt, Germany	653	243	2,690	4,764	20	54,571
Stuttgart, Germany	585	205	2,865	5,895	22	40,342
Nantes, France	534	487	1,100	3,585	12	32,332
Edinburgh, UK	450	261	1,725	4,800	40	27,6253
Bristol, UK	402	110	3,430	3,680	n/a	18,0001

Source: Millennium Cities, Citizens Network, UK Local Authorities, Regional Trends No. 35, French PDUs, Facilitators.
1: Estimate based on regional statistics. 2: Estimate for West Yorkshire based on Transport Statistics Bulletin (DETR website). 3: Edinburgh City Council.

Car Ownership

9.3 Car ownership varies considerably between cities (Table 9.2). Stuttgart has the highest level (502), followed by the French cities of Marseille (480) and Nantes (475), and these are also amongst the weathiest cities in the sample. Newcastle has the lowest level of car ownership (286) and the lowest GDP. Following the same pattern, the other UK cities of Bristol, Edinburgh, and Leeds, have the lowest GDP and some of the lowest car ownership levels.

9.4 There is no clear link between car ownership and population density; compact Brussels has the fourth highest car ownership and yet low density Helsinki has amongst the lowest. The low car ownership in the UK does not seem to be related to population density.

Table 9.2 - Car Ownership

	Cars per 1,000 pop	Rank	Change over 10 Years (%)	PTW per 1,000 pop
Stuttgart	502	1	7	25
Marseille	480	2	24	19
Nantes	475	3	5	48
Brussels	454	4	5	15
Frankfurt	451	5	n/a	20
Bristol	375	6	23	n/a
Edinburgh	373	7	17	5
Leeds1	342	8	141	n/a
Amsterdam	323	9	3	11
Helsinki	322	10	-9	11
Newcastle	269	11	152	4

Source: Millennium Cities, French PDUs, Bristol City Council, Facilitators.
1: Estimates for West Yorkshire and 2:Tyne and Wear based on Transport Statistics Bulletin (DETR website).

9.5 In common with the larger UK cities in this report, our medium cities have very low PTW ownership - about a tenth of Nantes.

Supply of Roads and Parking

9.6 The supply of roads tends to correlate with population density such that Helsinki and Nantes have the most roads (including amongst the highest provision of motorways) and lowest population densities, and Brussels and Marseille have the lowest lengths of roads per capita and the highest densities (and relatively high car ownership). The UK comparators do not appear to be out of line with overseas cities.

Table 9.3 - Supply of Roads and Parking

	Length of road (m per 1,000 pop)	Rank	Motorway (m per 1,000 pop)	Rank	Spaces per 1,000 jobs in CBD
Nantes	5243	1	127	3	555
Newcastle	3866	2	99	5	257
Helsinki	3358	3	149	2	380
Bristol	2952	4	44	8	n/a
Edinburgh	2950	5	551	7	n/a
Amsterdam	2598	6	95	6	316
Stuttgart	2461	7	118	4	310
Frankfurt	2018	8	155	1	269
Brussels	1974	9	37	10	275
Marseille	1628	10	41	9	425

Source: Millennium Cities and 1: Scottish Transport Statistics 2000.

9.7 Information on the supply of car parking is more limited. Table 9.3 demonstrates that Newcastle and Brussels are using parking supply (and cost - see Figure 9.1) as demand restraint measures, in contrast to the German cities. Bristol and Edinburgh also have high parking costs.

Figure 9.1 - Cost of Parking

Source: Millennium Cities and NCP car parks.
Note: Data relates to maximum cost of one hour of parking in central area.

Supply of Public Transport

9.8 The supply of public transport in Newcastle compares well against overseas cities in Table 9.4, however the greater use of smaller buses in the UK would suggest that the actual density of public transport routes (rather than vehicle kms) is lower than most overseas cities.

9.9 The provision of reserved routes is low in Newcastle, despite the city's metro system.

Table 9.4 - Supply of Public Transport

	Supply (veh kms per ha)	Rank	Reserved PT routes (kms per 1,000 pop)	Rank
Brussels	6153	1	13	1
Helsinki	3691	2	6	4
Frankfurt	3517	3	10	3
Newcastle	3502	4	3	6
Stuttgart	3390	5	13	1
Amsterdam	3286	6	5	5
Marseille	2169	7	2	7
Nantes	1216	8	2	7

Source: Millennium Cities.

Investment in Transport

9.10 Consideration of investment levels is complicated by the commercial sensitivity of private sector investment in the UK and this has not been included in the estimates for Bristol and Leeds. However, a basic comparison of annual investment in public transport and road infrastructure between cities in Table 9.5 shows that:

• Amsterdam and Stuttgart are investing significantly more in public transport than private transport and are the only cities to have prioritised public transport over investment in roads.
• Even if there are considerable private sector contributions, investment in public transport in UK cities is much lower than overseas. Spend on roads schemes and highway maintenance is also lower.

Table 9.5 - Investment in Transport Infrastructure

	Investment in Public Transport1		Investment in Roads2
	Euros per capita	(Rank)	Euros per capita	(Rank)
Amsterdam	447	(1)	269	(1)
Stuttgart	341	(2)	228	(2)
Brussels	140	(3)	243	(3)
Nantes	130	(4)	310	(4)
Helsinki	111	(5)	270	(5)
Frankfurt	83	(6)	189	(6)
Bristol	173	(7)	253	(9)
Newcastle	13	(8)	113	(7)
Marseille	11	(9)	207	(8)
Leeds	73	(10)	343	(11)
Edinburgh	n/a	(-)	674	(10)

Source: Based on Millennium Cities.
1: Investment in public transport excludes direct operating expenses. 2: Investment and maintenance spend by all levels of government and pmajor private road operators on all types of road.
3: Estimates from Local Transport Plans and 4: estimate based on Scottish Transport Statistics, 2000.

Relative Cost of Transport

9.11 Following the trend with London and the large cities, the cost of public transport in the UK medium sized cities is far higher than overseas. A limited comparison of typical monthly passes^[20] gives:

• Leeds - Euros 108
• Bristol - Euros 83
• Stuttgart - Euros 50
• Edinburgh - Euros 43
• Nantes - Euros 33
• Brussels - Euros 32

9.12 Figure 9.2 compares the cost of public and private transport per km and demonstrates that using a car is cheaper in Newcastle than any other city in the sample. The cost differential is amongst the lowest in Newcastle and highest in Nantes and Amsterdam.

Figure 9.2 - Comparison of Public and Private Transport Costs

Source: Millennium Cities.
Note: Car costs include fixed costs, depreciation, insurance and running costs.
Costs do not include user time. No comparable data available for other medium UK cities. PPP adjusted.

MOBILITY & MODAL CHOICE

9.13 Newcastle has amongst the lowest levels of overall motorised travel, with relatively high levels of public transport use. More kilometres are done by car travel than in Marseille and Brussels, for example, which have considerably higher car ownership (Table 9.2).

9.14 Stuttgart and Helsinki have the highest levels of motorised travel, as shown in Table 9.6. Stuttgart also has the highest volume of car travel, while Helsinki has the highest volume of travel by public transport.

Table 9.6 - Motorised Travel

	Pkm Per Person		Pkm Per Person, PPP adjusted
	Car	Public Transport	Car	Public Transport	Total	(Rank)	Car/ Car+PT (%)
Stuttgart	5540	1344	5129	1245	6374	(1)	80
Helsinki	4045	1970	4005	1950	5955	(2)	67
Frankfurt	5246	1167	4857	1081	5938	(3)	82
Nantes	4930	798	4881	790	5671	(4)	86
Newcastle	4019	1167	3979	1156	5135	(5)	77
Brussels	4072	1613	3668	1453	5121	(6)	72
Amsterdam	3909	1136	3490	1014	4504	(7)	77
Marseille	3544	540	3509	534	4043	(8)	87

Source: Millennium Cities.
Note: No comparable data available for other medium UK cities.

Trip Rates and Journey Lengths

9.15 Newcastle has relatively low trip rates, comparable with Frankfurt, though it has more car trips, despite having a much lower car ownership.

9.16 In contrast Amsterdam has the highest trip rate with a remarkably high number of bike trips, as illustrated in Figure 9.2. Brussels has the lowest trip rates.

.9.17 Stuttgart has the most trips by public transport, and also high cycle use. However, local sources suggest that the public transport trip rate for Helsinki shown in Figure 9.3 may be underestimated.

Figure 9.3 - Trip Rates by Mode

Source: Millennium Cities.

Figure 9.4 - Trip Lengths

Source: Millennium Cities.

9.18 Newcastle has mid-value trip lengths as shown in Figure 9.4. Private transport trips are generally twice as long as public transport trips - in common with other European cities (except Helsinki).

9.19 Frankfurt has the longest car trips and Marseille the shortest. Despite their differences in area and density, Helsinki and Brussels have the longest public transport trips.

Modal Split

9.20 Figure 9.5 compares modal shares and demonstrates that:

• The UK cities compare poorly against overseas with amongst the highest shares of private transport, 'average' levels of public transport and little cycling;
• The German cities have the greatest shares of public transport use, and comparatively low shares for private transport, despite high car ownership;
• Amsterdam has the lowest proportion of car/PTW trips and the most cycle trips.

Figure 9.5 - Modal Share

Source: Millennium Cities; 1: 1991 Census.

Shares of Public Transport

9.21 Newcastle relies heavily on bus transport, whereas other medium cities with metros have higher rail modal shares, as shown in Table 9.7.

Table 9.7 - Public Transport Modal Shares in Cities with Metro Systems

	% of Total Distance by Public Transport Per Capita Per Year
	Brussels	Helsinki	Amsterdam	Newcastle	Marseille
Metro	28	15	19	20	37
Suburban Rail	15	13	22	3	n/a
Tram	21	6	34	n/a	1
Bus	36	66	26	77	62

Source: Millennium Cities, Citizens Network.

Change in Modal Share

9.22 Data on changes in modal shares over time is limited but suggests that Stuttgart, Nantes and Leeds are the only cities in the sample to have reversed the trend of increasing car mode share. The general trend has been towards public transport and non-motorised travel, but not PTW.

9.23 Edinburgh has seen a 10% rise in car share, but the decline in public transport has been partly offset by more than doubling the cycling share.

ROAD SAFETY

9.24 The road safety record in UK cities compares reasonably well with other cities on fatality risk, and the rate has been falling significantly over the last ten years. However, we compare badly on injury risk with the worst rates, in excess of 500 accidents per 100,000 population, compared to under 200 in Helsinki.

9.25 Helsinki has the safest roads with 2.8 deaths and 167 injury accidents per 100,000 inhabitants, as shown in Table 9.8.

Table 9.8 - Casualty Risk

	Fatalities per 100,000 pop		Injury Accidents per 100,000 pop
	1998 (Rank)	1990-98 (%)	1998 (Rank)	1990-98 (%)
Helsinki	2.8 (1)	-54	167 (1)	17
Amsterdam	3.2 (2)	-44	462 (3)	56
Bristol	3.7 (3)	-501	513 (5)	11
Stuttgart	4.1 (4)	-50	579 (7)	-15
Brussels	4.7 (5)	-40	462 (4)	n/a
Leeds	5.1 (6)	n/a	678 (8)	30
Frankfurt	5.1 (7)	n/a	n/a (-)	n/a
Edinburgh	5.3 (8)	-38	539 (6)	-172
Newcastle	5.7 (9)	n/a	n/a (-)	n/a
Nantes	5.8 (10)	-54	288 (2)	31
Marseille	9.9 (11)	n/a	n/a (-)	n/a

Source: ECMT, http://www.destatis.de, Millennium Cities, RAGB 2000.
1: LTP, 2: change in all severities against 1981-1985 average.

CONGESTION & ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES

Congestion

9.26 Comparison of average speed against road utilisation in Figure 9.6 shows that Bristol has the worst traffic congestion with the slowest speeds, despite relatively low flows. (In a recent survey in the city, over 80% of respondents said that peak period congestion was sometimes or always a problem^[21].)

9.27 Helsinki and Newcastle have the best conditions for motorists with high speeds and relatively light traffic. The German cities retain relatively high speeds, despite heavy traffic, suggesting comprehensive use of traffic management techniques.

9.28 Unlike the large cities, there is little variation in vehicle occupancy in medium cities, as indicated by the panel.

Vehicle Occupancy Bristol - 1.40 (1991 data) Brussels - 1.40 Newcastle - 1.40 Amsterdam - 1.38 Helsinki - 1.37 Nantes - 1.37 Marseille - 1.31 Frankfurt - 1.30 Leeds - 1.28 (offpeak) Stuttgart - 1.26 Source: Millennium Cities, Local Authority Feedback.

Figure 9.6 - Congestion Levels

Source: Based on Millennium Cities, Bristol LTP.

9.26 Newcastle has amongst the slowest buses in the sample (Table 9.9). Helsinki has the fastest, reflecting the uncongested conditions demonstrated in Figure 9.6 above.

Table 9.9 - Average Bus Speed

	Average All-Day Speed (kph)	Rank
Helsinki	28.5	1
Brussels	22.5	2
Frankfurt	21.3	3
Stuttgart	20.0	4
Nantes	19.2	5
Newcastle	19.0	6
Amsterdam	18.5	7
Marseille	17.7	8

Source: Based on Millennium Cities.
Note: No comparable data for other UK medium cities.

Emissions

9.30 Like the large cities, medium cities produce relatively low levels of VHC and yet high levels of NOx, possibly reflecting the presence of nearby industrial activity (Table 9.10).

Table 9.10 - Emissions (kg per capita)

	NOx	(Rank)	SO2	(Rank)	CO	(Rank)	VHC	(Rank)
Nantes	27.8	(1)	2.2	(1)	152.2	(1)	23.7	(1)
Edinburgh1	24.1	(2)	n/a	(-)	87.5	(3)	n/a	(-)
Frankfurt	22.1	(3)	1.0	(5)	93.9	(2)	17.7	(3)
Bristol1	15.9	(4)	n/a	(-)	61.4	(5)	n/a	(-)
Helsinki	15.6	(5)	0.2	(8)	46.4	(7)	10.3	(5)
Brussels	15.1	(6)	1.5	(3)	54.2	(6)	19	(2)
Marseille	12.0	(7)	1.9	(2)	70.9	(4)	14.3	(4)
Amsterdam	10.8	(8)	1.4	(4)	21.6	(10)	4.5	(8)
Newcastle	10.1	(9)	0.4	(6)	32.9	(9)	9.9	(6)
Stuttgart	6.2	(10)	0.4	(6)	40.4	(8)	6.7	(7)

Source: Based on Millennium Cities, except 1: European Environment Agency.

9.31 Edinburgh compares poorly on emissions with amongst the highest levels of NO_x and CO, though no data is available for the other pollutants. Bristol has mid-ranking levels of NO_x and CO, while Newcastle has amongst the lowest levels of these pollutants and mid-ranking levels of SO₂ and VHC.

ACCESSIBILITY & SOCIAL INCLUSION

Distance to Work

9.32 Table 9.11 compares access distances to work and shows that:

• Commute lengths in the UK cities are typically shorter than overseas.
• Nantes has the shortest and Helsinki has the longest journeys to work, though these both have similar population densities.

Table 9.11 - Accessibility to Employment

	Average Distance to Work (km)	Rank
Nantes	4.8	1
Bristol	5.5	2
Marseille	6.2	3
Newcastle	7.1	4
Leeds	7.21	5
Amsterdam	9.7	6
Frankfurt	9.7	6
Brussels	9.9	8
Stuttgart	10.7	9
Helsinki	12.0	10

Source: Based on Millennium Cities, except 1: Local Authority feedback.

Support for Public Transport

9.33 Table 9.12 demonstrates the higher levels of public support for public transport overseas. UK operators cover 75% or more of their operating costs through commercial revenue, compared to between 35-63% in the overseas cities.

Table 9.12 - Revenue Source for Public Transport (% of operating cost)

		Commercial Revenue	Subsidy
Bus only:	Newcastle	86	14
	Bristol	82	18
	Edinburgh	80	20
	Leeds1	66	34
	Frankfurt	56	44
	Nantes	47	53
	Amsterdam	35	65
Public Transport System:	Marseille	63	37
	Frankfurt	53	47
	Helsinki	49	51
	Stuttgart	46	54
	Brussels	38	2

Source: Based on JUTS 2000. Commercial revenue includes farebox, other commercial revenue and reimbursement for concessionary fares.
Subsidy includes Fuel Duty Rebate (=10% of operating cost) in UK. 1: covers Leeds and Bradford.

9.34 One of the outcomes of these differences in attitudes towards profitability is a considerable variation in the age and quality of the bus fleet. All new buses coming into the UK market are now low floor and this has forced down manufacturers' prices, but we have yet to catch up with overseas cities. For example, low floor buses represent 28% of the fleet in Nantes and 38% of Stuttgart, but just 25% of principal operator FirstBristol's buses and 19% of buses in West Yorkshire.

Concessionary Fares

9.35 Table 9.13 summaries the availability of concessionary and discounted fares and shows that UK cities are broadly in line with overseas.

Table 9.13 - Concessionary Fares Summary Table

Amsterdam	reduced rate "strippenkaart" available for ages 4-11 and over 65
Bristol	1/3rd off for child fares, students can also receive this discount once they have purchased a £10 pass.
Brussels	schemes operate for senior citizens (60+), and for students and non students aged 12-25 offering much reduced monthly or annual passes
Edinburgh	30p/40p/50p flat fare for concessionary travel according to operator, scholar passes and student passes available.
Frankfurt	40% reduction for children, 25% for students and trainees. Typically half fare for pensioners and discounted or free travel for disabled, depending on nature of disability.
Helsinki	7-16 year olds receive between a 50 and 66% discount, Students and Pensioners receive a more limited discount on certain ticket types
Leeds	Children living more than two miles (under 8s) and three miles (8s and over) eligible for free travel to their 'designated' school under UK legislation. 11-16s £2 card for concessionary half fare travel, extended to 18 for students.
Marseille	20% reduction for under 25s, 50% reduction for over 65s, other reductions for under 18s and for children in school holidays
Nantes	15% reduction for pensioners, or means tested free travel, 80% reduction for holders of disability card, extensive school and student reduction schemes
Newcastle	Children living more than two miles (under 8s) and three miles (8s and over) eligible for free travel to their 'designated' school under UK legislation. Under 16s, 25p flat fare and half fare for 16-18, flat fares also for pensioners.
Stuttgart	Schoolchildren pay £15 a week for travel to school and unlimited travel on network after midday. 6-14's pay child fares, typically 2/3 of adult rate. Typically half fare for pensioners and discounted or free travel for disabled, depending on nature of disability.

Source: Facilitators, Local Authority Websites.

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20: Source: Citizens Network, EMTA.
21: Bristol Local Transport Plan, 2000.

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