Deloitte - city governance and transport
Our forum on 'Connected cities - planning and place-making' this week at Deloitte's offices in London, begins with TfL talking about the mobility bus trial it is involved with in Sutton and the plans to provide three more tube stations linking Elephant and Castle to Lewisham.
Improving integrated transport systems and mobility will be a major theme of our June City Hall London forum with Stephen Dance, Director of Delivery from the Infrastructure Projects Authority.
Deloitte compiles research data into its' annual 'City Mobility Index', this year in one section providing insight into how city governance can enable strong or weak transport integration:
'Cities with high population such as London, Singapore and Berlin scored highest on transportation performance .... cities with large geographic areas such as New York and Chicago tend to do better within city limits but do not perform as well in their larger exo-urban areas.
'One reason for this may be the lack of integration, coordination and effective governance among transportation regulators and providers between the city and the suburbs and between public and private bodies. The city itself usually has one transit authority, surrounding areas have their own, and the level of cooperation between the various entities can vary widely.
'In many cities, private operators appear to act in competition- rather than concert - with public ones. It is not just integration across administrative or regulatory bodies even within a single authority. simply having coordinated timetables where for example bus drop-offs at transport hubs are timed to align with train departures can mean less time spent waiting and more convenience for riders overall. While this is improving in many of the cities surveyed, it still has a way to go.
'As cities grow and expand and housing costs rise, many young families have little choice but to move to the suburbs and commute into the city for work. Too, often, it becomes clear that the only viable commuting option is driving. Furthermore, absent a single authority or close coordination among multiple authorities, and public transportation can be too complex and time-consuming to utilize.'
Our forum this Tuesday will look at the efforts made in London to plan housing around tube lines and how this can be a boost for developing new communities and the creation of jobs.