Effective road and traffic management

Written evidence from Kapsch TrafficCom (ETM 24)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Congestion on the UK’s road network is likely to increase as the economy returns to growth. In some regions, capacity is already over-burdened and the issue of congestion may inhibit growth in the future if left unaddressed.

2. Intelligent transport systems can help to manage and alleviate congestion on and across the road network. Such systems can be tailored to the priorities and specific aims of the locality and can take account a variety of considerations including: fairness, relevance, deliverability, scheme mobility goals, use of funds and environmental drivers.

3. There are a number of intelligent road management systems that can be used to alleviate congestion or create extra capacity, for example the managed motorways scheme. In some cities, such as Stockholm and London, localised road user charging schemes have been used to reduce congestion. However, it is unlikely that such systems alone will be able to significantly reduce congestion without a more systematic approach.

INTRODUCTION

4. Kapsch TrafficCom welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Committee’s inquiry into effective road and traffic management. This is a timely inquiry; according to the RAC Foundation’s report, Governing and Paying for England’s Roads, in the decade leading up to 2008, total traffic in the UK increased by 11% but was accompanied by only 1.5% growth in the total capacity. There is a real prospect of a significant further increase in road traffic as the UK returns to economic growth.

5. The Kapsch Group, originating in Austria, is a supplier of advanced electronic toll collection and intelligent transportation systems. The Group has considerable experience in the development of technical and operational solutions for intelligent transport, tolling and congestion charging projects, as well as in the implementation, management and enforcement of specific schemes at both a national and local level. The Group operates and provides technology for projects across the world, including the Austrian National Lorry Tolling System and the Czech Republic’s National Truck Tolling System. Kapsch’s technology is currently used in over 200 projects in over 30 countries including the Dartford Crossing and M6 Toll.

THE PREVALENCE AND IMPACT OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND LIKELY FUTURE TRENDS

6. The importance of transport in assuring long-term economic and social prosperity is widely recognised. Road users continue to make up the greatest proportion of transport in the UK, with congestion on the UK’s roads predicted to rise significantly in coming years. Left unaddressed, this could have significant consequences for the growth of the UK’s economy.

7. The Eddington Report outlined some of the problems that the UK road network faces in terms of congestion. In the report, Eddington points to road charging as a potential solution to rising congestion. Although Government has ruled out a national road charging scheme in this Parliament, the coalition government has indicated that it would welcome proposals from the private sector for generating additional capacity and maximising the efficiency of existing assets, for example through tolling on new infrastructure.

8. Eddington estimated that, if left unaddressed, congestion could cost the UK up to £22bn a year in wasted time up to 2025. In this regard, Eddington recommends "[i]ntroducing well-targeted pricing on the UK transport system, and in particular road pricing, [which] offers enormous potential for improving network performance by spreading demand, lowering congestion and overcrowding, improving reliability and delivering GDP benefits", benefits that Eddington claims could total as much as £28bn a year by 2015.

9. Road transport currently accounts for 22% of the UK’s total CO2 emissions and 95% of the UK’s domestic transport CO2 emissions. These will need to be reduced significantly if the country is to meet its ambitious targets for reducing CO2 by 80% by 2050.

10. The problem of congestion is caused by either too many vehicles or not enough capacity, depending on which stance is taken when appraising the problem. This leads to the view that there are three options for alleviating the problem of road congestion – (a) adding more physical capacity to the roads through new construction (b) use the existing capacity more effectively or (c) encouraging road users to adopt alternative modes of transport.

THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES SHOULD INTERVENE TO ALLEVIATE CONGESTION AND THE BEST MEANS OF DOING SO

11. One of the key issues around the implementation of road management schemes is the influence of the electoral cycle on local authorities’ commitment to and ability to move forward with schemes, such as road charging. Recent examples abound, including in Bristol and Cambridge on the road charging front. However, in line with the principle of localism, local authorities are still best placed to know what schemes are necessary and appropriate in a particular region.

THE EXTENT TO WHICH ROAD USER CULTURE AND BEHAVIOUR UNDERMINES EFFECTIVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

12. There is a need to influence driver behaviour if the impact of congestion is to be alleviated. Both national and local governments have a critical role in reducing the impact of negative externalities, with technology playing a supporting role. However, it is also important to note that drivers may not have flexibility on some journeys so should not be unfairly penalised for having to drive a certain route in some circumstances.

INTELLIGENT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SCHEMES

13. The Kapsch TrafficCom Group is a system supplier with experience of a variety of different systems across Europe and the World and has an overview of the different approaches to motorway and road network management currently in operation.

14. Strategies designed to keep traffic flowing typically involve reducing traffic speeds, limiting or restricting access to specific areas; real time monitoring and traffic information systems enabling real time reaction to potential problems for example by managing the interaction of traffic signals and providing information to Roadside Variable Message Signs. In some instances such as in London or Stockholm, this limiting of access takes the form of charging vehicles to enter a specific area. In other areas, such as Italy, permits for access to an area are provided for free to those with permission to enter and violators penalised. The managed motorway scheme in the UK is a good example of how traffic can be managed actively in a way that is justified by the economic benefits. It has been generally well-received and is a good alternative to building extra capacity.

15. Examples of charged traffic management schemes include:

a. Zone – for example the London Congestion Charging scheme, a certain area is defined and drivers are charged for accessing this area. Charging can be altered to reflect peak use, day-pass tickets or progressive fees. This form of charging reduces traffic within a pre-defined area and also discourages short journeys from outside to inside the area.

b. Cordon – A cordon effectively encircles a defined area with vehicles paying to cross the cordon. Again this is a flexible form of charging and can be implemented so that vehicles pay each time they cross the cordon or only if they travel in a particular direction. A cordon discourages shorter and unnecessary trips.

c. Corridor – Drivers are charged or given a discount when using a specific route. This form of charging can be used in conjunction with other forms of charging.

d. Infrastructure – for example the Dartford Crossing. Drivers pay to use a specific piece of infrastructure, for example a bridge or tunnel, with the charging scheme designed to recoup the cost of building and maintaining that piece of infrastructure.

e. Distance-based – Vehicles are charged according to the distance travelled within a defined area. This is particularly well suited to larger areas, for example regional or nationwide schemes.

f. Dynamic parking – a vehicle is charged for the time spent within a defined area, with a charge imposed based on whether it enters and / or exits a particular zone. This system can also monitor the number of vehicles within the zone at any one time and therefore indicate the number of available parking spaces.

g. Restricted access – it is possible to restrict access to a limited number of vehicles in certain areas (for example pedestrian zones, historic city centres) through an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system and / or Tag and Beacon. Entry to areas could then be enabled by automatically controlled gates or rising bollards, or by recording the number plates of vehicles entering an area and issuing penalties to unauthorised traffic.

16. Free-flow tolling involves the replacement of toll booths with technology such as cameras or beacons that allow traffic to move through freely, such as on the M50 in Ireland, a project with which Kapsch is involved. Such schemes can also significantly reduce congestion. The Department for Transport is currently moving forward with proposals to introduce free-flow tolling on the Dartford Crossing and this could increase capacity on the crossing considerably. However, there is an issue around open tolling with regard to foreign vehicles and the proximity to the UK’s ports; it is likely, therefore, that HGVs will still need to pass via toll plazas thus limiting the impact that this measure will have on congestion.

CASE STUDY – Bergamo, Italy: Telematics System for monitoring and controlling Limited Traffic Zones (LTZ) Access Control System

17. Kapsch has undertaken a series of implementations of ANPR-controlled City Access schemes across 28 cities in Italy, a total number of 268 camera installation sites including in Rome and Turin. The following describes one of the schemes in Bergamo in more detail.

18. The aim of the scheme is to reduce traffic in order to protect the historic buildings and retain the city character as well as enhance the quality of urban life and traffic safety.

19. The scheme provides:

· Residential access;

· Controlled access for HGVs;

· Minimal impact on ‘streetscape’.

20. Other requirements included:

· Accommodating vehicles from different countries;

· ANPR cameras which provided encryption, high performance and are aesthetically pleasing;

· Systems which offered ease of use and full authentication and data privacy.

21. There are three types of zones within the city:

a. PEDESTRIAN AREA (AP): A zone in which vehicles are forbidden, except emergency vehicles, motor scooters and vehicles for disabled people and waivers for vehicles with zero emissions.

b. LIMITED TRAFFIC ZONE (ZTL): Areas to which vehicular access is limited to specific times or particular categories of users and vehicles.

c. LIMITED STOPPING ZONE: Areas where vehicles are allowed to stop for a short period of time (e.g. 15minutes) for uploading / unloading goods.

22. 13 ANPR sites have been are installed at the entry and exit points into the zones and all vehicles are checked to see whether they are permitted to be in the area.

23. Permanent residents of the area register their vehicles with the local authorities, some categories of users such as the Police and Emergency Services are exempt from the scheme rules and temporary visitors to the area can apply for one-off permissions to enter the area. These registrations are logged in the central system and constitute the scheme’s "white list".

24. When a vehicle is identified as being in the area without permission, a prosecution is initiated using the ANPR data and image as the basis of the evidential record which will include the vehicle’s registration plate and images of the vehicle showing it committing the offence. Where a vehicle is legitimately within the zone, all images and records are deleted from the system.

25. In the Limited Traffic Zone examples in Italy, the observed ANPR value is compared to a clear list of vehicles with permits for the zone, if the vehicle does not appear on this list then a violation or penalty notice is raised. It is also possible to maintain a "hot" list of vehicles that are repeat offenders so that an alarm can be raised in real time and traffic officials sent to intercept the vehicle whilst it is still in the area.

26. Within the limited stopping zone, the time spent within the zone can be exactly determined based upon the time stamps which are taken upon entering and exiting the zone.

THE IMPACT OF BUS LANES AND OTHER ASPECTS OF ROAD LAYOUT

27. Priority bus lanes when used effectively can help to encourage modal shift, acting as an incentive for individuals to use public transport over private cars. However, their effectiveness is limited where bus lanes are not well integrated with the rest of the road network. This is a problem in Cambridge, for example, where the guided bus lanes and standard road network converge at a point that suffers particularly from congestion, thus negating any time gained from having used a priority bus lane.

CONCLUSION

28. Transport remains a priority to the future growth of the UK’s economy and with impending cuts in public expenditure the Government will need to look increasingly to the private sector to provide funding for investment. The importance of transport for economic growth and the absence of public funding for new capacity increase the need to maximise the efficiency of the existing transport network.

29. Intelligent traffic management, such as managed motorways, the prioritisation of public transport through road junctions and real time traffic information system can be used to increase road capacity and manage traffic flow in congestion hotspots. However using such measures requires drivers to change their behaviour voluntarily and it may be necessary in extremely congested locations to implement congestion charging or work place parking levy schemes to provide a financial deterrent to car use. In the longer term, government will have to consider more systematic road charging if congestion is to be tackled effectively.

January 2011