Policy makers are becoming increasingly aware of the need for public transport to compete with private transport in order to manage demand on the transport networks. Sustainable transport use is supported by good interchange design; therefore it is important to understand what makes interchanges successful. A consortium of 9 European research institutes from 9 different countries are involved in the City-HUB project, supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework research programme. The project aims to contribute to the design and operation of seamless, smart, clean and safe intermodal public transport systems.
The project is coordinated by the Transport Research Center (TRANSyT) of the
Universidad Polytecnica de Madrid (UPM). EMTA-secretary is member of the expert advisory group of the project and has contributed to the validation of results in the first stages of the project.
The first stages of City-HUB have used literature and evidence reviews, stakeholder and practitioner interviews and traveller surveys to understand what makes a successful interchange from the perspective of the user/traveller, the transport operators and also assess the relation to policy, business model and governance. We have identified the key determinants for successful interchanges (see figure below).
This is input to the City HUB model that will be developed and tested in the next stages of the project and aims to improve efficiency and accessibility to all user groups.
Conclusion
The results from the City-HUB project have shown that there are many different aspects that need to be combined to make a successful interchange. It is also clear that different features have different levels of importance for the various stakeholders involved. The next steps of the project are to develop a ‘Guide for Efficient and Smart Design and Integrated Management’ and the City-HUB Model which will provide specific guidance on how to put these findings into practice and develop a successful interchange.
These guidelines will be tested in several European interchanges. Final results will be available in February 2015.
For more information, visit the project website
Contacts:
Barry Ubbels, Panteia , The Netherlands
Ruud van der Ploeg, EMTA-secretary general