How do you define sustainable mobility?

The reason why cars are more evident everywhere is that we are reaching the capacity of our road network and soon enough we will face gridlock throughout the whole day

Dr Maria Attard: There are many definitions of sustainable mobility, from ones that talk about limitations to the energy sources which are currently driving our infrastructure, to those that refer to inter-generational talk about ensuring future generations having the same, if not better mobility than us.

I think in practice, sustainable mobility is the understanding of the costs and impacts of car use: congestion, pollution, health impacts including obesity, accidents, severance, dependence on oil, and being more sensible about the use of other transport options like walking, public transport, cycling, or not travelling at all. This is, of course, the responsibility of each one of us.

There is also the concept of sustainable transport systems, relying on the understanding of the demands for mobility, proper and efficient management of infrastructures, long-term vision and appropriate funding.

It became evident in the 1990s that no infrastructure provision can satisfy man’s needs for mobility, given the high costs associated with the infrastructure and its impacts on the earth and humans. So sustainable transport systems are those that can provide accessibility, are affordable and are managed in a manner which satisfies demand as this changes over time.

A long-term solution should be one that encompasses an array of transport demand management measures that work together to provide the necessary incentives (and restrictions where necessary) to ensure a fair and equitable use of the entire infrastructure.

What are Malta’s current transport failures?

Prof. Adrian Muscat: Our major transport problems can be summarised as too much dependence on private cars. The question we need to ask is: why do we have to depend so much on the private car? Probably, alternatives do not compete, especially given that our distances are short and the operational expense is simply cost of fuel. So given that one owns a car, the cost of using it is lower than other automated modes and is also safe.

The social cost is of course high. If, for instance, we introduce a parking charge and offer alternatives, then the outlook will change. Malta has yet to offer alternatives, which are ride-share, taxi-share and cycling. Taxi-share is a five-star form of public transport and has to be treated as such in system design. Ride-share solves problems that cannot be solved economically by increasing PTS capacity during rush hours. Cycling is a personal private mode. On the other hand, encouraging the use of two-stroke petrol engines fitted to bicycles is wrong.

Dr Attard: The 1990s saw the largest increase in car ownership and decline in the use of public transport. This reflected Malta’s economic growth, improved standards of living and higher household income, smaller families, female employment, and unfortunately a bus system that evolved organically and which did not reflect the modern and complex travel needs. And although the 1992 Structure Plan did highlight the need for land use planning to take into consideration transport and access, very little thought went into the way land use developed spatially and the impacts that the location of particular activities would have on the mobility patterns and infrastructure necessary to support it. So while other countries were insisting on reducing the need to travel by planning their land use more carefully, most importantly around public transport infrastructures, we allowed all sorts of activities to happen all over the place.

There are of course exceptions with respect to some activities, like employment and shopping in Valletta where some very positive trends can be seen happening. In the latest Household Travel Survey, a 10 per cent shift from private to public transport was recorded between 1998 and 2010. A number of transport measures were implemented during that time so it’s probably a good example to follow for other towns.

If we understand sustainability to also mean equity, there is also the concern over the imbalanced use of our transport infrastructures – who uses cars, who uses public transport and who uses roads for walking and cycling. There are considerable differences between genders, age and disabilities, making our infrastructure not sustainable at all. If one thinks of the two-thirds of our population being too young, too old or unable to drive, then we realise that our country’s efforts to build roads, remove or reduce pavements to increase parking, object to bus priority and allow traffic in streets that were not designed for cars, have considerably reduced accessibility to a large majority that would like or have to walk, use the bus or cycle. This is fairly evident in old village centres where children are not allowed in the streets any more and old people are forced indoors as they fear speeding cars in the narrow roads without pavements.

The reason why cars are more evident everywhere is that we are reaching the capacity of our road network and soon enough we will face gridlock throughout the whole day. This is already evident in the peak hours where cars and buses are stuck in endless traffic jams, not only on the main arterial roads, but now even in village streets.

The problem will never be solved by increasing the capacity of the road network. In transport, the more capacity is added, the higher the demand will rise. What we have therefore failed to do on a national scale is manage the demand for car use. This can be achieved in many ways and by implementing a number of measures including some which Malta has managed to implement over the past decade, such as park and ride, road pricing (CVA), pedestrianisation and the reform of the public transport service. It is evident however that unless a sustained and long-term strategy is developed, demand for transport will continue to rise.

What effects are these failures having on the environment and our quality of life?

Dr Attard: One of the most important aspects of sustainability is the understanding of the impacts of unlimited car use. And it is not only about cost of fuel, which is what people talk about the most. The cost of mobility in Malta is among the highest in Europe, impinging on household income and other, probably more important aspects of domestic spending. This in turn affects our quality of life.

The impacts of transport on the environment are well documented today with MEPA regularly publishing its air monitoring results online. Many studies, even here at the Institute for Sustainable Development, have confirmed the link between the occurrence of particular pollutants and traffic. This pollution has a direct impact on health through the poor air quality in our urban areas and the increase in respiratory illnesses – this is shown in studies carried out by Prof. Stephen Montefort from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, and his team.

Car dependence has also affected the health of the population in other ways. Lack of exercise puts Malta at the top of the WHO lists for child obesity. Despite our low per capita number of fatalities from road accidents, we certainly injure a lot of people (some 800-900 a year and kill some 16) each year when compared to the distances and speeds at which we drive. Disturbance from traffic noise also affects our quality of life, especially those living near busy roads.

Then there is congestion. The time lost in congestion and the stress caused by congestion are very costly on the economy and the individual quality of life.

What role does public transport service play in enhancing sustainable mobility?

Dr Attard: An efficient public transport service is a critical infrastructure for sustainable mobility. Ensuring an efficient public transport service means not only that there is an alternative to the use of the car, but also that public transport users are not disadvantaged in any way. This brings us back to the concept of equity, so central to the discussion about sustainability.

What is the potential of Geographic Information Systems and other technologies in supporting sustainable mobility?

Dr Attard: Transport related technologies have become mainstream in the provision of transport services and in the management of infrastructures. So, if on one hand technologies such as GIS help us plan infrastructures through spatial understanding of trends and processes, such technologies are also embedded in systems that drive transport services. Intelligent transport systems use communication and other technologies to monitor transport infrastructures and collect information in order to improve the throughput of networks, increase safety and mobility, and reduce the impact of the road system on the environment. Implementing an intelligent transport system, or parts of it, would substantially improve the flow of traffic by, for instance, diverting traffic to less congested parts of the network or simply by informing drivers of the expected travel times.

Bus services would benefit greatly from such systems as they operate and flow within a real time environment which is updated and can therefore be managed almost in real time. Other movements, such as school transport and goods movement would benefit from real time information directly to their vehicles, and help distribute traffic along the network. This could be achieved without having to build new roads, but managing the existing infrastructure more efficiently.

There are great benefits in applying intelligent transport systems to support sustainable mobility in that it allows greater information about travel in general, people to make informed decisions about their journeys, road managers, facility managers, maintenance, and so on to plan their work according to observed patterns and mitigate impact, and for the testing and modelling of different scenarios in managing demand.

The Institute for Sustainable Development is investing heavily in research and capacity in this area. In collaboration with the Faculties of ICT and Engineering, a number of research initiatives are underway, some of which have been presented in the Institute’s 2012 Conference on Sustainable Mobility held last November.

Dr Kenneth Scerri: At the development and strategy building stage, models of the Maltese network are used to identify the best solution to the various bottlenecks in our network.

Such models require data gathering to identify all car flow rates into the troublesome intersections. Simulations are developed to visualise traffic behaviour and solutions tested virtually prior to implementation. These models can further be used to tune traffic light behaviour to control traffic build-up and thus limit queues at junctions.

Prof. Muscat: Closer to the commuter, telematics or ICT can help in improving the experience of using transport systems. For instance when on foot, a mobile phone can help us negotiate rides or provide updates on service time. When driving a private car, on-board navigation systems can identify empty parking slots. Likewise notification of charges for road use or parking slot use can be sent instantaneously. For example on entering Valletta CVA it would be nice to receive on-board instant notification upon entry and exit.

Who should be the key players in enhancing sustainable mobility in Malta?

Dr Attard: A well-defined, sustainable and long-term strategy from Government is welcome. We also need a critical infrastructure for sustainable mobility.

Achieving the integration of all departments and authorities related to transport was important but Government should also appreciate that transport is a horizontal subject which affects every other sector, including tourism travel, access to employment and competitiveness, movement of goods, road safety, energy and transport, environmental impact and public health. These are just a few of the sectors where coordination at some level is necessary. They are all key players that bring with them a wealth of knowledge and evidence, on which transport decisions are taken.

Further institutional reform to allow for the key players to come together and align policies and projects is necessary. After all this is also what sustainable development is all about.

Research is a key support infrastructure for sustainable mobility. Transport literature identifies local factors as playing an important role in the success or otherwise of transport measures. Research in transport, focusing specifically on Malta, is still too little. Decision-making should be based on sound empirical evidence and knowledge collected through research – hence the importance of specific funding for research in this area.

Prof. Muscat: Nowadays policies fail if not endorsed by the general public. Given this, the general public is a key player. Probably we are at the stage where most of us do not realise the implications of overusing private cars. Awareness may help.

What is the role of the Institute for Sustainable Development in all this?

Dr Attard: The Institute for Sustainable Development has been working in the field of transport for the past four years, in collaboration with other departments and faculties. The Institute is looking at developing the transport research theme in support of Government’s objectives for sustainable mobility and sustainable development overall, but also to partner with private industry in the provision of high quality research and innovation in transport technologies and services.

My research stems from my background in geography and the specialisation in transport geography and policy. My work has mainly focused on the implementation of demand management measures such as park and ride and the CVA and how these affect transport and policy. Recently I’ve moved into looking at behaviour and the impact on projects over time, thus the sustainability of transport projects in the context of changing economic contexts. A number of Masters students at the Institute are looking at mobility and ageing, child mobility and the adoption of green travel planning. It is hoped that these studies will one day be used to support decision-making.

In other areas of transport research, the Institute is collaborating with Dr Scerri from the Department of Systems and Control Engineering and Prof. Muscat from the Department of Communications and Computer Engineering.

Dr Scerri: At the Department of Systems and Control Engineering, a number of students at all levels from undergraduate to doctoral, are working on the modelling of the Maltese network aimed at the analysis of the current network and the development of new control ideas.

Traffic modelling is a complex task requiring multiple submodels working together to resemble as such as possible the actual flow of traffic on our roads. These submodels range from the identification of the main attractors of traffic such as shopping malls and large office establishments to the modelling of single junctions and roundabouts. Novel methods have been developed aimed at describing the traffic assignment problem, that is to identify the route choices we all make when deciding to drive to our destination. Such models can be used to identify alternative routes and study drivers’ behaviour under different scenarios such as road closures, accidents and flooding.

On a macroscopic level, models of individual intersections are being developed to study the use of intelligent traffic light systems, that is, traffic lights which intelligently change their timings to reduce the waiting time at junctions while not adversely affecting other intersections.

Prof. Muscat: My research is on studying the impact of ICT on the transport system itself and on peoples’ everyday life. For instance, would a traffic management system reduce pollution or simply shift pollution and congestion to another area? Are a dial-a-ride system and a shareable private car in a family a better alternative for young people? I therefore see the sustainable transport question as a multi-objective optimisation problem, where resources are dynamically allocated, maximising their use.

Dr Attard is a senior lecturer in Geography and the Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development. Dr Scerri is a lecturer in Systems Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering. Prof. Muscat is an associate professor in Computing at the Faculty of ICT.

The work of the Institute for Sustainable Development has been published locally and abroad and is available online at www.um.edu.mt/isd.

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