Assessment of Physical and Ecological Space Consumed by Transport Modes: a Case of Rajkot City, India

The space needed by various urban passenger transport modes varies greatly depending on the size and the speed of vehicles. Available studies on this topic have shown that public transport and non-motorized transport can be up to 20 times more space-efficient than the typical car. This is particularly relevant in urban context where space is a constrained resource. Yet space use is rarely assessed explicitly in the transport planning practice, the connection between the low carbon transport planning agenda , and there exists no standard method for quantifying the use of space in complex urban settings like that of developing cities. This study builds on the space-time concept to propose a method for quantifying and comparing the circulation space, parking space and ecological space between modes. The method is showcased by evaluating a Low-carbon Comprehensive Mobility Plan (LCMP) scenarios against a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario in the city of Rajkot, India. Based on a multi-modal transport model elaborated for the design of the LCMP, the indicator assesses the overall space-time used by each mode category, both for parking and travelling. The indicator shows that significantly less space is used by transport in the LCMP than in the BAU scenario, which provides evidence that could contribute to alleviating chronic congestion expected from a car- and motorcycle-based transport development only. This research participates in creating an assessment framework for low carbon transport development that would include spatial efficiency concerns.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD40 Standing Committee on Transportation and Sustainability.
• Authors:
  • Will, Marie-Eve
  • Cornet, Yannick
  • Munshi, Talat
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Spatial analysis; Traffic distribution; Transportation modes; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: Rajkot (India)
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01660419
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-04133
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 20 2018 9:28AM