News from the Cities
Employer-subsidised commuter tickets introduced in the Helsinki metropolitan area
New employer-subsidised commuter tickets have been introduced in the Helsinki metropolitan area at the beginning of 2006. The goal of the new ticket system is to increase public transport attractiveness. Employers decide individually whether they acquire the ticket to their employees or not. Employers can also decide the level of the subsidy but they have
Keolis wins Kent rail franchise contract, First group wins Thames-link/Great Northern franchise
UK Department for Transport announced in November several franchise contracts awarding for regional trains. – The Integrated Kent franchise (IKF) has been awarded to Govia, common subsidy of Keolis and Go Ahead as of 1 April 2006. The IKF will include routes on the national rail network currently operated by South Eastern Trains throughout Kent,
Towards a connection between Dublin LUAS lines
The Red Line and the Green Line that entered in service in 2004 constitute Dublin light rail scheme, LUAS. These two lines do not connect: there is a 15-minute walk between Abbey Street on the Red Line and St Stephen’s Green on the Green Line. However, tickets bought for a journey starting on one line
Hannover Mobile turns public transport into a full mobility service provider
The Greater Hannover Transport Association (GVH) manages mobility issues of a 1.1 million inhabitant metropolitan area through an integrated system. It offers a wide range of public transport services provided by four different companies: urban bus, tram, suburban bus, regional trains, and local rapid transit. However, this level of integration and this range of services
Rail services improvements foreseen in Switzerland
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) are currently working on the strategic planning of rail services for 2030: the Zukünftige Entwicklung der Bahnprojekte (ZEB). Concrete measures will be announced in 2006, as required by the Parliament. However, general guidelines of service improvements have been exposed in September. The scope covers all types of rail services: freight, long
Stockholm about to experiment congestion charging
The Municipality of Stockholm will experiment a trial period for congestion charging for all private vehicles crossing the city border on weekdays. Car users will have to pay for each crossing with a maximal daily fee of about €6 per day and per car. The trial will take place from 3 January to 31 July
London uses fare policy to influence behaviours of travellers
In order to encourage the use of public transport by young people, the Mayor of London – Ken Livingstone, through his agency Transport for London, has extended the age limit for children eligible for free travel on bus and tram networks from those under the age of 11 to those under 16. Children aged less
Very short term rental of cycles available in Lyons
Greater Lyon launched in May VeloV, an innovative service of cycle rental for very short duration. Rental spots are spread across the cities of Lyons and Villeurbanne, where about 600,000 people live and work. The network consists of almost 200 stations, situated in strategic locations and no more than five minutes away from any place
Turin prepares to host winter Olympics
In about 100 days, Torino will host the XX Olympic Winter Games that will take place from 10 February 2006. Organisation of world wide events welcoming thousands of visitors put a strong pressure on transport systems a wide range of projects are undertaken to face the expected demand, even if for winter Games, sports venues
New night bus services in Paris Ile de France region
In order to better match the growing mobility needs in night time, the network of night buses in Paris and Ile de France region has been restructured and reinforced in September. Provision of services has been doubled compared to the before situation. They are now run under the same name ‘Noctilien’ and are operated by
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