We talk to Mort Downey, Washington Metro board member, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation and leader of President Obama's review of transport, about the current state of urban transport development in the United States of America.

LR Podcast #1: Talking Urban Transport in the USA with Mort Downey

1500 electric school buses in Virginia will power the grid when parked, in the first US commercial application of vehicle to grid technology. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

School Bus Plus

Dr Lorelei Schmitt now works as Principal Multimodal Advisor at Waka Kotahi, Māori for ‘travelling together as one’(1), and the name of the  New Zealand Transport Agency. In today’s show, Lorelei discusses the importance of first impressions on public transport and the collaborative ways NZTA is building the agency’s capability to integrate different modes of transport.

Lorelei completed a PhD as a member of the Public Transport Research Group. Her research focused on unfamiliar travel, among new users, visitors or users changing routes or modes in public transport networks. Leveraging her psychology training, Lorelei explored the ways in which unfamiliar trips differ from familiar trips. Unfamiliar travel has a primacy effect, conjuring more vivid recollections than for habitual trips. The way people perceive a network is important for shaping future behaviours. Visitors also form opinions about cities based on their unfamiliar journeys. In addition, new users have a higher cognitive load. She highlights the importance of providing clear signage and real-time information, since not all travellers have access to smart devices. Interventions can be targeted around locations or times when unfamiliar journeys often occur, such as sporting events or university semesters to ensure new users have a positive and efficient experience. 

As a multi-modal planner in New Zealand, Lorelei’s responsibilities include developing national public transport design guidelines collaboratively with local and regional agencies who deliver transit. The first iteration of the Public Transport Design Guidelines (2) provides advice on public transport infrastructure, including bus stop design and corridor clearance. They are designed to promote national consistency in the delivery of public transport, tailored to the New Zealand regulatory environment. Developing a tool that is useful for a wide range of stakeholders with different expertise was an unexpectedly complicated process. 

 “Trying to get solutions that are really passenger-centric, user-friendly, but also meet all the different requirements of different transport planners of different modes hasn’t been a simple exercise”

Multi-modal integration inherently complicates the transport planning process. A key challenge is enabling people to realise that what’s good for one mode isn’t necessarily best for the system as a whole. Much of the formal training for transport planning has a vehicle throughput focus. In the interest of achieving better multi-modal integration, Lorelei’s team explored the project funding and delivery Lifecyle to identify key stakeholders pivotal in shaping projects. Training modules developed by Waka Kotahi is provided to these stakeholders to lift the multimodal capability and unlock multimodal potential of projects.  

One key area that has benefited from collaboration between planners with different modal expertise is that of safety. Interestingly, Lorelei’s multi-modal responsibilities extend to that of Te Araroa, a 3000km walking trail that runs the length of New Zealand (3). Working with the road engineers improved the safety outcome for walkers at an intersection where Te Araroa crossed a major highway. Lorelei stresses the need for empathy, patience and collaboration when challenging status quo for modes. Multi-modal planning also fosters consideration of a wider range of access and mobility needs across the community. The process of collaborative planning therefore allows for accessibility to be provided more equitably.

Visit our website for the full notes from today's show.

Sing up for updates when we release shows: http://eepurl.com/g9tCdb

Music from this episode is from https://www.purple-planet.com

Researching Transit

RT16 - Dr Lorelei Schmitt - First trips and multi-modal integration matter

In this episode of Researching Transit, Professor Graham Currie speaks with Dr John Hultén from K2; the Swedish Knowledge Centre for Public Transport. Directed by Dr Hultén, K2 derives its name from the Swedish words kollektivtrafik (public transportation) and kunskap (knowledge). The centre was formed out of a drive for more comprehensive and integrated public transport research in 2013. It operates under a unique partnership model, bringing together two universities, a research institute and the three metropolitan regions which govern Sweden’s public transport. 

K2’s research agenda was defined by Sweden’s public transportation actors. Focus areas include:
•	the future of mobility, 
•	markets for, and funding of, public transport, 
•	the impact of interventions on public transport performance, 
•	integrated transport planning and 
•	public transport for all, which captures the social aspects of public transport. 

This interdisciplinary agenda reflects the decision-making focus that Dr Hultén, a political scientist by training, regards as an important and traditionally overlooked research area for public transport.   The centre oversees both small, rapid projects; as well as larger projects. A requirement of project funding is a certain level of engagement and co-development of research projects with the public transport industry. 

Dr Hultén shares some lessons about the ingredients for successful collaboration between research and practice. Relationships, trust and being able to articulate added value lie at the heart of K2’s success. Their added value is its critical mass of important partners, and its ability to provide a one-stop shop for practitioners to engage with academia. 

Current issues for public transport research in Sweden include the future of public transport, sustainable mobility choices outside cities and procurement. 

Recent focus on increasing transit’s market share has seen transit concentrated into cities, where there is high ridership demand. Yet in Sweden, a large proportion of the population lives outside the city. New ways must be found to provide sustainable mobility choices for people living outside urban areas. 

K2 also has a strong focus on procurement. Their research continues to investigate the effect of incentives in public transport operating contract on ridership performance. So far, no conclusive evidence that incentives promote ridership. 

“Incentives are not enough. You also need to have freedom to do things as an operator. If you don’t have that freedom, you can’t change anything in accordance with incentives.”

As in many other countries and cities, Swedish public transport fares are fixed, as are service areas and route alignments. This inhibits operators’ ability to innovate to meet the incentives. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the lack of sensitivity of contracting arrangements to the ridership fluctuation experienced during the COVI-19 pandemic.  

To access K2’s research outputs, visit http://www.k2centrum.se/en. Dr Hultén encourages anyone interested in collaborating with K2 to get in touch. 

Sing up for updates when we release shows: http://eepurl.com/g9tCdb

Music from this episode is from https://www.purple-planet.com

RT18 - Dr John Hultén - Public transport research partnerships in Sweden

Most humans now live in growing cities where increasing traffic congestion risks liveability, the environment and economic productivity.  Public transport is now widely seen a solution for mega-city growth due to its social, economic and mass travel efficiency.  However the industry faces significant challenges.  Infrastructure, systems and even thinking in the industry is old and out of date.  Policy and regulatory structures are ‘path dependent’ on historical approaches and lack progressive thinking.  There is a global need to revitalise  public transport with new knowledge and thinking to build a progressive future for the industry.

Researching Transit introduces listeners to the latest thinking in global public transit research.  It aims to engage the industry, researchers and the wider community in shared learnings about the latest innovations in public transport research providing a platform for research communication.    Professor Graham Currie and Laura Aston talk to some of the world's leading researchers in a podcast series brought to you by the Monash University Public Transport Research Group.

RT18 - Dr John Hultén - Public transport research partnerships in Sweden

Researching Transit

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