Freiburg:
Public transport policy as a key element of traffic displacement
Freiburg:
| |
| Country: | Germany |
| Type: | Policies |
| Area: | Entire City, Region |
| Actors: | Local Gov., Private |
| Funding: | Local Gov. |
| Topics: | Built environment |
| Mobility | |
| Objectives: | Increase non-motorised mobility |
| Increase use of public transport | |
| Reduce car mobility | |
| Reduce car parks | |
| Reduce energy consumption | |
| Instruments: |
The City of Freiburg is one of the German cites that did not principally orient its town planning towards the "suited to car" guideline. Due to the preservation of the historic city centre the focus of inner city traffic policy was put on public transport. In 1969 the decision for the maintenance of the light rail system was taken. In consequence, the city centre was pedestrianised in the 1970s and in 1983 the first new tram route was opened.
Furthermore, in the 1970s, transport policy was integrated into the citytown planning policy. Since the introduction of the overall traffic plan of 1979 (Generalverkehrsplan) all means of transport have been regarded as equal parties in traffic. Therefore, the development of the 1980s is characterised by an approach of traffic displacement. The areas of action include the extensive introduction of 30 kph zones, the promotion of bicycle use, and the improvement of the public transport sector. The guideline of transport planning can be summed up as more mobility with fewer car rides.
Within the last 25 years the philosophy of urban traffic planning changed from the mere provision of infrastructure for alternative means of transport to an environmentally oriented planning of a city- wide transportation system. Nowadays the ecological impacts of traffic are considered in other public policy plannings (e.g. economy, urban development, cultural events etc.). The importance of the issue was revealed by a study on the environmental situation in Freiburg. As a result traffic has been identified as a major source of pollution as it is responsible for 93% of CO emissions, 82% of NOx emissions, 22% of SO2 emissions, and about 30% of CO2 emissions. Therefore, the Freiburg transport policy adopted the strategy of establishing the tram as the backbone of the public transport system.
In the 1980s the principles of public transport management increasingly focus on the improvements in services. The following themes are regarded as essential preconditions of an attractive public transport system:
In the first place careful planning of new routes has to take into account the requirements in accordance with the city structure, in particular as far as residential and industrial areas are concerned. This planning approach also applies for the region and the connection of different networks. The second fundamental element of an attractive public transport has to be the pricing. In the mid-1980s the public transport company started to implement measures in both areas and soon the combination of technical infrastructure, services and prices proved to be highly successful.
The policy of an attractive service in public transport is not only a question of pricing but in the first place a matter of access to and comfort of the means of public transport. The Freiburg tramway network was perfectly fitted for such high demands as it had been newly created in the mid-1980s.
The optimisation of different systems of public transport is a sophisticated task as previously separate and newly established networks have to be connected. In Freiburg the tram has to be integrated into the existing bus system. Furthermore, the routing of new lines has to be oriented towards current as well as forthcoming urban development. Although the tramway network only consists of three cross- city tram routes with a total length of 26.2 km, it is carrying 59% of all passengers within the catchment area. In contrast the buses serve routes with a total length of 168 km. However, the tramways have been carefully planned along the main arteries of traffic volume.
In 1985 the first route has started to serve the suburb of Langwasser. Within a short time about 2,000 people switched from car use to public transport. The new line has segregated tracks, and at traffic lights it automatically gets green lights. The preferential traffic regulation has contributed to the halving of the previous travelling time by bus. The advertising slogan of the introduction campaign was: "Faster than a sports car to the city centre".
The importance of route planning has been demonstrated in the new route number five which passed a residential and an industrial area. In order to get the greatest benefits for the network as a whole the City of Freiburg bought and demolished 40-apartments building which blocked the planned track. In the meantime the integration of the urban development dimension into the planning of the public transport network has become a familiar issue. Priority is given to a route which connects the so- called Rieselfeld district with the city centre. Until the year 2000 the development of 4,000 apartments will be completed and approximately 12,000 people will have access to an efficient tramway. Usually the tram is running every two or three minutes in peak time. After 7 P.M. the interval is 15 minutes.
All infrastructure is designed to get optimal conditions for the tram. Each new route is replaces bus routes which nowadays have only the status of feeding the tram line with passengers from the suburban or remote areas. At certain points there are special connection stations to the German Rail network which secure short distances to the other means of transport. These stations are also focal points of the bus transport system.
In 1984 the new city-wide environmental card for 38 DM per month allowed the holder in to travel a unlimited number of trips with the urban network. Previously the subscription of a monthly ticket cost 50 DM per month. This was the first type of an environmental ticket for an urban public transport system in Germany. The introduction had been inspired by the Basle regulations.
In 1991 introduction of the regional environmental card for 49 DM per month set a new standard as it gave access to all 16 public transport networks within the region. The new regional card replaced the environmental card of Freiburg and it is also valid on the routes of the neighbouring districts of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Emmendingen. In total it gives access to 2,719 km of public transport routes which also includes the tracks of the German Rail. In 1993 the price was raised to 55 DM per month or 550 DM for a year. The current price is 59 DM per month or 590 DM per year. This card replaced the city-wide card and also introduced some additional bonuses, like transferability, weekends and holidays travel for groups up to two adults and four children.
The Freiburg public transport company VAG serves an area of approximately 227,000 people (including approximately 60,000 commuters from the region). Within a decade the number of public transport passengers has more than doubled to 65,900,000 passengers. In 1995 the tram had been used for 38,600,000 journeys per annum and the buses had transported 27,300,000 people. In 1984 the total number of public transport trips had been 29,000,000.
The introduction of the new regional card proved to be an important factor for the increase in transport figures. Within the first year the number of daily trips in Freiburg and the region increased by 26,400 journeys whereas the number of car drives fell by 29,000.
Between 1976 and 1992 the percentage of car use declined from 60% to 46%. The change in modal split resulted in 4,000 cars less per day in the city centre. Despite the growing number of inhabitants ( increase of 25,000) the absolute number of car entrances to the city centre felt from 236,000 to 232,000. Freiburg is the only town in Germany which can report such a turn-around.
70% of the population live within 500 metres of a tram stop. The length of the tramway network amounts to 26.2 km and the bus network serves a length of 168 km. The average distance between two tram stops is 452 m and the average distance between two bus stops is 646 km. The rolling stock includes 61 tram vehicles and 86 buses.
90% of the students at the University of Freiburg are using public transport or their own bicycle.
Apel, Dieter / Pauen-Höppner, Ursula 1992: Neue Verkehrskonzepte großer Städte, Arbeitshefte Umweltverträglicher Stadtverkehr:, Nr. 3, Berlin
Baumheier, Ralph 1993: Kommunale Umweltvorsorge. Chancen und Probleme präventiver Umweltpolitik auf der kommunalen Ebene am Beispiel der Energie- und Verkehrspolitik, Basel
Göbel, Norbert 1994: Integriertes umweltorientiertes Gesamtverkehrskonzept in Freiburg i. Br., in: Siegfried Behrendt / Rolf Kreibich, (Hg.), Die Mobilität von morgen. Umwelt- und Verkehrsentlastung in den Städten, Weinheim, pp. 101-109
Blatter, Joachim 1994: Möglichkeiten und Restriktionen einer umweltorientierten kommunalen Verkehrspolitik - dargestellt am Beispiel Freiburg im Breisgau, in: Archiv für Kommunalwissenschaften, II, pp. 317-341
Kretschmer, Rolf-Michael 1995: Report about public transport in Freiburg, Paper presented to the Light Rail 95 Conference in Croydon, (ms.)
| Name | : | Kretschmer |
| Firstname | : | Rolf-Michael |
| Telefon | : | ++49 / 761 / 45 11 0 |
| Telefax | : | ++49 / 761 / 45 11 139 |
| Address | : | Technical Director |
| Freiburger Verkehrsbetriebe | ||
| VAG | ||
| Postfach 506 | ||
| Besanconallee 99 | ||
| D - 79005 Freiburg i. Br. | ||
The City of Freiburg has a population of 185,000. Approximately 250,000 people live within the wider catchment area. The City is located in the Southwest of Germany near the French and the Swiss borders. It is the centre of the southern part of the Baden region. It has an university, and industrial production is concentrated in the chemical fibre sector, wood processing, electrical engineering, design and manufacturing of medical apparatus, and pharmaceuticals. The number of workplaces amounts to 110,000.
Project was added at 27.06.96
Project was changed at 27.06.96