The capital of Austria, Vienna, is a city whose constant concern is to improve life quality through the measures implemented by authorities, especially in public transport, being an important factor of economic growth, sustainable and performing mobility and constant drop of emissions. Therefore, Vienna’s public transport system is one of the best developed and efficient in Europe having 5 underground lines, 28 tram lines, 85 bus lines, and facilities for ensuring bicycle mobility. However, plans for the development of a public transport system continue, the authorities focusing on expanding the tram network, especially in peripheral areas and new urban districts. In this context, the long-term strategy targets a public transport share of 40%.
Madame Angelika Winkler, Head of Transport Department and City Development, speaks about the method of approaching new mobility concepts, the set up of the objectives to be achieved for developing public transport both locally and all over Europe and the importance of public transport in a sustainable city.
Railway PRO: Urban transport system in Vienna is seen as one of the most efficient and developed public transport systems in Europe. As EU’s strategies promote a higher market share for public transport over the next decades, what are Vienna’s long-term strategies?
Angelika Winkler: Over the last decades the emphasis of public transport planning has been the construction of underground lines, since Vienna has started in to the “underground era” relatively late. The focus now shifts to the extension of the vast tram network with several new lines being built in the next years, especially tangential lines in peripheral urban areas and lines that serve new urban districts like “Nordbahnhof” and “Seestadt Aspern”.
The long-term strategy is to hold and even increase the high share of public transport (2011: 37 %, plan for 2020: 40 %) in the modal split. This will be achieved with a bundle of push and pull measures: reduced prices for yearly and monthly tickets (implemented), higher frequencies (especially on suburban trains), which is in implementation and new bus and tram lines on the one hand, restrictions on parking in public space (implemented), higher prices for car park tickets on the other hand.
Railway PRO: As regards the increasing level of eco-friendliness in public transport, what do you think about the problem of consolidating the markets of new-technologies for non-polluting vehicles and alternative fuels?
Angelika Winkler: New vehicles and the necessary new infrastructure (for maintenance and refuelling) often cost more than conventional vehicles. Considering shrinking budgets of public authorities and transport companies, this is a problem. The willingness to invest in new technologies on a large scale is there, but funds are scarce. So there is rather a tendency for refurbishment, I think.
Concerning e-mobility the city of Vienna is proud to have a vast tram network which runs with locally non-polluting electric trains for more than 100 years.
At the moment Vienna is elaborating a general e-mobility strategy, also including guidelines for a sensible use of e-cars in the agglomeration e.g. vehicle fleet of the city enterprises.
Railway PRO: How can the quality of public transport in European cities be improved?
Angelika Winkler: Even if most cities already have dense and good working public transport networks, there are a lot of measure that can improve them: accelerating trams and busses, prioritization at intersections, separated lanes, direct lines without the need to change and optimizing of intermodal transfers, in other words, minimizing service interruptions and delays and increasing speed. High and regular service frequencies are also a very important success factor, so that the passengers almost do not need a timetable. Measures for improving safety and security gain importance as well as accessibility for all (e.g. barrier-free access and ultra low floor trams ULF). Modern ICT tools like smart-phone apps for route planning or large screens for live travel and transfer information complete the range of improvements.
All these factors help increase the reliability and therefore the acceptance and usage of public transport.
Railway PRO: What are the most efficient means for modal shift to sustainable transport modes in cities? What role does the EU play in this?
Angelika Winkler: I think a good and coordinated bundle of measures, like mentioned above, is the key factor. Not to forget restrictive measures for individual transport, because only a mix of push and pull measures can guarantee long-term success.
The European Union offers a wide range of information and policy documents such as the guidelines for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (www.mobilityplans.eu) or the Green Paper – Towards a New Culture for Urban Mobility of 2007, the Action Plan on Urban Mobility of 2009 and the White book on Transport of 2011. Nevertheless the implementation of measures lies in the hand of the member states and regional and local administrative bodies and it is crucial how traffic policy is organized so that the measures will be effective.
Railway PRO: What measures should be adopted to better integrate passenger and freight transport into urban mobility planning?
Angelika Winkler: Cargo trams and city logistic systems were tested in several cities but unfortunately with unsatisfactory results. We believe that they are not the solution on a large-scale. Mainly because of high costs and restricted delivery time frames, not enough companies made use of it. Small goods like documents, of course, can be transported with public transport equivalent to bike messengers. Cargo-bikes can be a solution for medium sized and slightly heavier goods. When track sections suffer from capacity bottlenecks, physical separation of passenger and freight transport may be a solution. If this is not possible dedicated time frames for freight transport – outside of rush hours – can help.
Railway PRO: Public transport development plans should be aligned to urban and development planning. How can decision ma-kers implement these projects to the benefit of the company and transport?
Angelika Winkler: Traffic is not an end in itself (Verkehr ist kein Selbstzweck). There always have to be an origin and destination of traffic. Transport planning and urban development planning deal with the matter according to which people and goods have to overcome distances between locations.
Two principles in planning can integrate urban development and transport: 1. To plan new developments and settlements near public transport nodes and along public transport axes and 2. Providing public transport services already at an early stage of development, which is the case at “Seestadt Aspern”. Companies regarding that will benefit.
Railway PRO: How can one develop a better interconnection between urban transport, interurban transport and land use planning?
Angelika Winkler: All the instruments in urban, regional and traffic planning should be co-ordinated or even better, created in an integrative approach between the cities and their surrounded region together. Sustainable spatial and settlement development can only be reached with cooperative approaches. The municipal department 18 (responsible for urban development and planning, which includes also the general transport strategy) is involved in an EU project called “Catch-MR” that deals with problems like urban sprawl and its negative impacts and analyses good practices to overcome this challenge.
For more information visit http://www.catch-mr.eu/
Railway PRO: How can the existing financial instruments be turned into account as much as possible (EU and local administration instruments) to support an integrated and sustainable urban transport?
Angelika Winkler: In Austria there are some financial instruments in the fields of spatial planning and transport that are counter-productive regarding the objectives for compact settlement development and sustainable transport. Housing subsidies (Wohnbauförderung) und commuters allowance (Pendlerpauschale) give incentives to move to the outskirts of a city and build your family home in a rural area and travel by car. There are no specific rules to connect these with factors like accessibility by public transport for example. So in the first place the effects of all those financial instruments have adapted in a sustainable way.
Railway PRO: How can cities in Central and Eastern Europe benefit from a quality transport, such as those in Western Europe?
Angelika Winkler: Most of Central and Eastern European cities have a dense public transport system and high shares of public transport in modal split. But, unfortunately, the number and the usage of private cars have increase since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Central and Eastern European cities should not make the same mistakes as Western European cities by abandoning tram networks and transforming the cities into car-friendly environments. The loss of public space and quality of live would be enormous. Western European cities try to regain space for public transport, cycling and pedestrians for a better public space. A lot has to be done to make the existing public transport infrastructures attractive, but the infrastructural, network and organizational preconditions are in many cases available.
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