Importance of transport in London:
● Has a well integrated transport system
○ 2014 → 75 million passengers weekly
■ 25 million on the underground
■ 50 million on buses
● Struggling to cope with increase in passenger numbers
● More people are using public transport
○ Population growing
○ Work opportunities increase
○ People commute to work
● Driving a car is not a sensible option → limited parking space due to traffic congestion
Planned transport improvements:
● Demand for public transport → predicted to grow by 60% by 2050 due to population growth
● Improvements to transport need long-term planning and investment
○ Example: Crossrail/Elizabeth line
■ New east-west rail route across London (opening 2018)
■ Links Shenfield and Abbey Wood with Reading and Heathrow
■ Reduces journey times
■ Increases total number of passenger journeys in London
■ Crossrail 2 → planned for 2030 (north-south) route
Impacts to London:
● Reduces journey times
● Increases number of rail passenger journeys in London by 10%
○ Extra 200 million journeys a year
● Brings an extra 1.5 million people within a 45-minute journey of central London
○ Increases number of people who can commute to work in London
● Improves integrated transport system in London
○ Provides more interchanges with Underground network
● Raises property values by 25% around Crossrail route
● Encourages further regeneration across London
○ More access to thousands more jobs
● Improves access for disabled people to new stations (eg/ no steps from platform to street level)
Sustainable urban transport: Bristol
● Introduction:
○ Bristol → developing more sustainable urban transport strategies
■ Growing city with densely populated historic centre
■ 1000s of journeys still made by car → traffic congestion, poor air quality, ill health
○ Cycling doubled in last decade
● New Bristol Cycling Strategy introduced
○ Provided cycle routes , both on-road and off-road
○ Cyclists directed along quiet roads away from heavy traffic
● Benefits of cycling:
○ Reduced air pollution
○ Reduced CO 2 emission
○ Form of daily exercise → positive mental health, less stress and lower levels of obesity
○ For every £1 invested, £4 goes to local economy
○ Improved access to shops and services → boosts tourism
● Other urban transport strategies:
● Metro-style rail service → reopened old railway lines (MetroWest)
● Rapid transit buses → improve journey times to Bristol (MetroBus)
● Network of charging points for electric vehicles (Source Bristol)
● 20mph limits in neighbourhoods → safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians