Every morning I come to the university by bus which takes around 20 minutes. The bus is using its own lane so it’s fast compared to cars which are standing in a traffic jam. So often I see only one person sitting in a car and I think how far he/she is coming from and where he/she is going to. I have heard someone to say that it’s not economically reasonable to use public transportation system if you are working because using your own car is cheaper. We have one of the best public transportation systems worldwide in Helsinki and the new underground line is under the construction at the moment. In my case using public transportation is very reasonable. I don’t need to invest in a car and I save time and nerves, and also money. It’s also more environmentally friendly solution and promotes safety and convenience. I was shocked to hear the fact that 50% of the all car trips are less than 5 km. The means of walking and cycling are decreasing so we really are that lazy!
Urban transportation planning is needed because the population living in the urban areas is increasing and at the same time there will be more cars needing more space. This requires comprehensive urban planning that takes into account all the stakeholders. Other challenges are related to controlling the CO2 emissions and other air pollution produced by car engines and the noise the traffic is causing. The traffic also needs lots of energy. The sustainable urban transportation planning concentrates to provide transportation system which combines all these aspects but also social and economical point of views.
Different areas and regions need different planning. In Asia, where the urbanization is the strongest one, an effective urban transportation planning is needed. Many times plans are failed because the government cannot implement these plans for economical and financial reasons or just because the lack of information and skills. The solutions are not the same that are developed and used in western countries because the amount of passengers and their needs are different in different places. Both policymakers and users should understand the benefits that improved urban transportation system will bring. Public transportation should be for all groups in society and cheap enough that even the poorest people can afford it. This needs an effective subsidy policy from government.
It’s interesting to see what kind of transportation systems we have after 30 or 50 years. Today in western countries attitudes and values are based on consumption and lifestyle is strongly dependent on cars. How long it takes that this lifestyle will change and people start to respect other things like clean environment and pure air. How strongly the car industry can affect on this development. Do we have cars any more in the future or are they totally different ones and emission frees. Also the oil companies have a big role affecting on this trend. The urban transportation planning should have an objective to show that the public transportation is cheap and works well enough that people want to use it. All the negative news heard here in Finland about problems in the railway traffic and the late coming buses of course affects people’s moods.
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