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management framework, and performance measure- buses are operated largely by private-sector compa-
ment systems in place at each agency. The systems nies and serve more than 2.2 billion passengers per
have much in common with each other and with U.S. year (see Figure 1). In accordance with the bus oper-
transit agencies: quality of service, safety, and cost ating contracts, the bus fleet is replaced every 3 years,
control, for example, present the same challenges and the fleet includes a large contingent of diesel-
worldwide. On the other hand, many of the condi- electric vehicles to help meet the agency's targets
tions underlying the success of transit systems in for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The 3-year
Europe do not exist in U.S. cities. The political sys- replacement cycle is intended to ensure a clean, safe,
tems, approaches to planning, population densities, and state-of-the-art fleet that will attract riders and,
and levels of investment in transit in the European thus, increase the bus mode share.
systems are dramatically different from those in the The Greater London Authority sets TfL powers
United States. and duties. The Authority consists of the elected
Mayor of London, the 25 elected members of the Lon-
don Assembly, and a team of support staff. The mayor
TRANSIT SYSTEM PROFILES directs policies for London's transport, as well as for
London its social, economic, and environmental development.
The London Assembly examines the mayor's activi-
Transport for London (TfL) was created in 2000 ties, evaluates decisions and policies, approves the
to serve as the organization responsible for the inte- mayor's proposed budget before it is submitted, and
grated transport system in London. The primary roles investigates issues of importance to Londoners. It
of TfL are to implement the Mayor of London's uses this information to make proposals and recom-
Transport Strategy and to manage transport services mendations to the relevant organizations.
for the city. TfL is responsible for the oversight of
London's buses, London Underground, Docklands
Light Railway, London Overground, Tramlink,
London River Services, and Victoria Coach Station.
Other responsibilities include managing the conges-
tion charge (which is aimed at reducing traffic levels
in London, with the proceeds invested in improving
public transport); maintaining 580 km of main roads
and all of London's traffic lights; regulating the city's
taxis and private-hire trade; making London's trans-
port more accessible; and promoting a range of walk-
ing and cycling initiatives.
London has more than 7 million residents. TfL
estimates that it provides a combined total of more
than 24 million trips each day. Total annual expendi-
tures for TfL are £9 billion, half of which are funded
by fares and half of which are provided by govern-
ment grants.
The London Underground, under TfL's over-
sight, carries more than 1 billion passengers per year
on its 11 lines, which consist of more than 800 km of
track and more than 270 stations. TfL operates the
trains, stations, and control centers, as well as sets fare
policies and collects the fares. TfL has more than
£40 billion of upgrade work for London planned over
a 10-year period.
TfL manages the city's bus services, known as
London Buses. It is one of the largest bus networks in Figure 1 London's iconic double-decker buses carry
the world, with more than 8,000 buses in the fleet. The more than 2.2 billion passengers each year.
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Nottingham
Nottingham is a city of almost 400,000 located in
the county of Nottinghamshire, less than 2 hours by
train from London. Responsibility for delivering tran-
sit service in the region is divided between the county
and the city. The county services cover a larger geo-
graphical area, while the city has more transit services
operating in a smaller area. The city of Nottingham
provides 75 million trips annually (35% by bus), and
the county delivers 35 million rides per year. The
region recently constructed a tram line that traverses
the center of the city, and a commuter rail line con-
nects the city to other parts of the United Kingdom.
The majority of bus services in this region are
operated on a commercial basis. In the greater Not-
tingham area, 80% of the network is privatized, while
this figure is closer to 97% in the city. The remain-
ing 20% of services in the county and 3% of services
in the city, which include services for persons with
disabilities and for the elderly, are supported and
subsidized by government grants. If there are any
underserved areas in the county or in the city, the city
or county will subsidize additional service to ensure
accessibility to public transport. These subsidized
routes may travel on a portion of a commercial oper-
ator's routes or operate independently of the com- Figure 2 Five years after Nottingham's tram went into
mercial operators. operation, public transport use in the city had increased
Augmenting the bus network is the 14.5-km tram by 8%, and more than 95% of the riders report being
line that opened for service in March 2004. Notting- satisfied with the service.
ham Express Transit (NET) was built to ease conges-
tion, enhance the environment, and improve access
within the greater Nottingham area. NET Line One
· General revenue funds from the city and
has 24 tram stops and more than 3,000 car parking
spaces at five strategically located park-and-ride sites. county,
· Community infrastructure levy,
The system, which operates 7 days a week, carries
· Advertising revenues, and
approximately 10 million passenger journeys per year
· Central government.
and has done so since it opened for service. The sys-
tem is widely popular, with more than 95% of pas-
sengers expressing satisfaction with the service. Strasbourg
Five years after the inauguration of Line One, public
transport use in the city had increased by 8%--twice The Strasbourg metropolitan area is composed
the average growth for public transport in the United of 28 communities with a population of 456,000 in
Kingdom over the same period--and traffic volumes an area of more than 300 sq km. The city of Stras-
had decreased by 1% (see Figure 2). bourg has a population of 264,000, which includes
Funding for public transport in Nottingham and 50,000 students at three universities. The delivery of
Nottinghamshire comes from several sources, includ- transport is managed by the Communauté Urbaine de
ing the following: Strasbourg (CUS). CUS controls a broad range of
urban affairs, which includes urban infrastructure
· Council tax (property taxes), development, town planning, housing, transport, and
· Ticket sales, economic development. CUS does not deliver trans-
· Parking fees (park-and-ride facilities), port services; however, it regulates it (e.g., through
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parking policies) and oversees the transport service
provider.
Transport services within the Strasbourg region
are provided by the Compagnie des Transports Stras-
bourgeois (CTS). CTS operates the tram system and
the bus network, under a contract with CUS. In addi-
tion, CTS is responsible for the maintenance of vehi-
cles and related transport infrastructure.
CTS is 80% owned by the city; the other 20% of
the organization is funded through the private sector,
which has a financial interest in the success of the city.
CTS's contract for delivering the service and main-
taining the system extends to 2020. Negotiations to
the contract occur only when extensions are planned
or implemented. Control of the organization is largely
influenced by the mayor, who is the chairman of the Figure 3 Strasbourg's trams were designed to have
board. CTS owns 256 buses and 94 tram vehicles and very large windows to provide passengers with a wide
has 1,454 employees. The assets must be returned to view of the city and to have low floors, ensuring easy
the city at the end of the contract. access for passengers with disabilities and passengers
pushing strollers or carts.
In the early 1960s, city leaders made the decision
to remove the old wooden trams from the streets and
to build up the bus system instead. Soon after, how-
ever, the city experienced an enormous increase in the tram lines, providing easy and convenient con-
congestion as the privately operated automobile, nections for the passengers. Platforms are equipped
rather than the bus, became the major form of trans- with real-time information displays and ticket-
portation. In 1989, planning began for a system of vending and validation machines.
modern trams that would regain a role in the region's CTS has initiated a program to modernize its bus
transportation plan. During that year's mayoral fleet. The average age of the fleet is 7 years. About
election, the successful candidate won on a plat- 95% of the bus fleet is air conditioned, and 95% are
form of bringing trams back to the city and creat- low-floor vehicles. Forty-three percent of the fleet
ing a pedestrian-only zone in the city center. Today, (109 buses) run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
the city's tram network is the largest of any city in In 2009, CTS added 28 articulated hybrid buses
France. (electric/diesel) to the fleet.
The first tram line, which opened in November
1994, ran north and south. The second line opened
in 2000, running east and west. The tram system is Karlsruhe
currently 54 km long and connects with more than The Karlsruhe Transport Authority, Karlsruher
12 park-and-ride facilities that offer more than Verkehrsverbund (KVV), operates public transport
5,000 parking spaces. The system has 70 tram stops. services in the greater Karlsruhe area in southwest-
Currently, 300,000 daily trips are taken on the tram-- ern Germany. Several modes are operated by KVV
10 times the number originally expected--and the including light rail, trams, and buses. Overall, the
number is expected to rise to 500,000. City leaders KVV provides more than 160 million trips per year.
insisted on modern-looking vehicles with wide, KVV is known primarily for its tram-train sys-
unique windows. The vehicles are low floor to ensure tem, operating since the early 1990s, in which one set
easy access for passengers with disabilities (see Fig- of tracks and related infrastructure are used by both
ure 3). The vehicles are maintained at one mainte- tram and train. This model allows for enhanced direct
nance depot. After 11 years and 600,000 km, the trams connections between cities and towns, making inter-
undergo a major refurbishing. changes unnecessary. To implement this ambitious
Dedicated bus lanes are prevalent through the plan, Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) designed
city, which contributes to the efficiency of bus oper- and manufactured a "dual-mode vehicle" that func-
ations. Local buses share passenger platforms with tions on both the tram and the rail network. The direct
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the Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (VBK) as the local
tram operator and with the federal railway company
Deutsche Bahn AG. Segments of the railway tracks
are leased from Deutsche Bahn AG. This arrange-
ment allows AVG to adapt the infrastructure to the
needs of the tram-train operation model.
Berlin
The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) is the main
public transport company of the city of Berlin. BVG
manages the city's U-Bahn underground railway, the
tram system, the bus network, and the ferry networks.
The BVG service does not include the S-Bahn urban
(commuter) rail system, which is a subsidiary of
Figure 4 Karlsruhe's tram-train is a dual-mode Deutsche Bahn AG. BVG primarily serves the city of
vehicle that can be run on tram and train tracks and on Berlin, which has an area of approximately 891 sq km
AC and DC power, allowing for direct connections and a population of 3.4 million. Approximately
between cities and towns and reducing infrastructure
costs.
900 million trips per year, or 2.5 million trips per day,
are generated.
The current configuration of the BVG system
connection between these two modes allows for lower was very much influenced by World War II. After the
infrastructure costs (see Figure 4). war, when the city was divided, East Berlin became
The tram-train system covers 530 km of tracks the capital of East Germany, while West Berlin
and has more than 260 light-rail vehicles. Of the became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded
260 vehicles, 121 of these are tram-train cars. These by the Berlin Wall. During this period, the BVG net-
"hybrids" operate on dual modes, allowing them to works in West Berlin and East Berlin were operated
switch between direct current (DC), which is used separately as BVG West and BVG Ost (which in
when they operate as part of the tram network (gen- 1969 was renamed the Kombinat Berliner Verkehrs-
erally inside the city), and alternating current (AC), betriebe, or BVB). Prior to the division of Berlin, tram
which is used when they operate as part of the train lines had provided service throughout the city; by
network (generally outside of the city). Changeover 1967, however, BVG West had abandoned the tram
between the two modes is seamless and relatively lines in its part of the city, replacing them with buses.
undetectable to passengers. BVG Ost kept its tram lines in East Berlin.
The tram-train has features that allow it to oper- With reunification of the city, the two agencies
ate with greater flexibility than other types of rail faced major obstacles in linking Berlin transport. Bus
services. The high acceleration and short-distance lines were added to fill service gaps in the train and
braking features allow the tram-train to stop fre- tram networks. Despite the challenges, the public
quently without affecting travel times. An example of transportation systems worked for a resolution, and,
this can be seen in the town of Bretten, population at the start of 1992, the two transportation agencies
28,000, which prior to the introduction of the tram- became Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG).
train had only six railway stops. With the introduction The focus of BVG became the introduction of
of the tram-train, the number of stops increased to 13, uniform standards. The company underwent an
allowing greater accessibility to the town center, unprecedented modernization program in which
schools, and industrial and residential areas. The sys- technical innovation took center stage as massive
tem has done so well that it is being adopted in other investment was directed toward improving aging
areas of Germany and is even being considered for infrastructure. Part of the modernization process
operation in Strasbourg, France. included reductions in BVG's workforce. Between
AVG is owned by the city of Karlsruhe and the 1994 and 2009, the number of employees was cut by
non-state-owned railway company (NE-Bahnen). 40% from 21,811 to 13,017. These reductions took
AVG operates light-rail services in cooperation with place while BVG was optimizing the transportation
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