Public transportation systems secure mobility in cities
October 01, 2007
How many people are familiar with Tianjin? And still, the Chinese city with over 3.5 million inhabitants is larger than Berlin. Dimensions such as these are not unusual in China. Nowadays, there are almost 50 cities with over one million inhabitants in the "Central Kingdom" of China. And, just like all areas of high population density, these cities are struggling with increasing traffic, especially with the growing number of cars. Anyone who associates mobility with freedom and considers cars to be simply practical is happy to enjoy the benefits of having one.
Cars vs. public transportation
The public transportation system is having a hard time competing with this development. "Cars are easy to use and costs for usage are generally prepaid except for parking fees," says traffic expert Professor Felix Huber from the University of Wuppertal. "In contrast, public transportation requires a lot of planning." It may require more planning, he adds, but using public transportation takes up less space, causes less noise and helps minimize air pollution.
Making public transportation more attractive
The expert therefore welcomes the "new urbanism" movement, whose city development concepts are based on transit-oriented development. He adds, however, that an essential task of local transportation strategists is to make public transportation more accessible. With elements such as innovative ticketing solutions (instead of inconvenient ticket dispensing machines), for example, which will make public transportation that much more attractive.
Read the article by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Felix Huber and learn more about the elements of the mobility of the future.
