Istanbul IETT Professional Development Workshop, #1 of 6, Foundations of Public Transport Planning Presenter: Todd Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute Assistant: Aysha Cohen, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies Scholar Presentation Date: June 14, 2015

1. Foundations of Public
Transport Planning
Todd Litman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
Presented
IETT Professional Development Workshop
Istanbul
14 June 2015

2. Help Create Paradise in IstanbulHelp Create Paradise in Istanbul
Paradise is not a
distant destination
- it is something we
create in our own
communities.

3. Sustainable PlanningSustainable Planning
Sustainability
emphasizes the
integrated nature of
human activities and
therefore the need to
coordinate planning
among different sectors,
jurisdictions and
groups.

4. Sustainabile Transportation?Sustainabile Transportation?
Is a transport system
sustainable if all
vehicles are electric
powered?
4

5. Electric Power Does Not:Electric Power Does Not:
• Reduce traffic congestion
• Reduce accidents
• Reduce roadway costs
• Reduce parking facility costs
• Reduce vehicle purchase costs
• Improve mobility for non-drivers
• Improve social equity
• Improve public fitness and health
• Reduce sprawl
• Protect threatened habitat
5

6. Past Visions of Future TransportPast Visions of Future Transport
1949 ConvAIRCAR Flying Car
Segways
Supersonic Concord
Jet Pack Audi Self-Driving Car 6

7. 2001 A Space Odyssey2001 A Space Odyssey
7

8. Wheeled LuggageWheeled Luggage

9. We Have Solutions!We Have Solutions!
• Public transit
improvements can make
Istanbul a better city.
• It is up to IETT planners
to identify practical transit
improvement strategies.
• If you don’t do it, nobody
else will.

10. Transportation Affects Our LivesTransportation Affects Our Lives
• People tend to spend a major portion of their
money and time budgets on travel. More
affordable and efficient transport leaves more
money and time for other goods and activities.
• Travel is the main way that people interact with
their city. A good city requires a good
transportation system.
• Stressful and uncomfortable travel makes people
unhappy and a city unattractive, improving travel
conditions improves livability.
• Improving public transit service can improve
residents’ quality of life – it makes people happy,
makes cities more livable, and reduces the need
to own a car.
• Public transit planners are responsible for making
this happen – it’s up to you!

11. Mode Share By CountryMode Share By Country
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Sw
itzerlandN
etherlands
Spain
Sw
eden
Austria
G
erm
any
Finland
D
enm
ark
N
orw
ay
U
K
France
Belgium
Ireland
C
anada
Australia
U
SA
Bicycle
Walk
Public Transit
Many affluent countries have high walking, cycling and public transit
mode due to policies and planning practices that support multi-modalism.

12. Efficient TransportationEfficient Transportation
12
An efficient urban
transport system
encourages people to
use the most efficient
mode for each trip:
• Walking and cycling for local
travel.
• Public transit for travel on
busy corridors.
• Driving only when necessary.

13. Principles of Good PlanningPrinciples of Good Planning
Comprehensive – all significant options and
impacts are considered.
Efficient – the process should not waste time
or money.
Inclusive – people affected by the plan have
opportunities to be involved.
Informative – results are understood by
stakeholders (people affected by a decision).
Integrated – individual, short-term decisions
should support strategic, long-term goals.
Logical – each step leads to the next.
Transparent – everybody involved
understands how the process operates.

14. Good Planning Starts With ClearGood Planning Starts With Clear
DefinitionsDefinitions
Planners are professional problem solvers.
Good planning starts with clear definitions:
•Problems – undesirable conditions, the things
people don’t want. Example, crowded transit.
•Goals – want we ultimately want. Example:
reduced transit crowding.
•Objectives – ways to achieve goals. Example:
increase peak-period transit service.
•Targets – specific, measurable outcomes that
you plan to achieve within a specified time period.
Example: within two years service frequency will
increase by 50% during peak periods, resulting in
a 40% reduction in crowding.

15. What are Istanbul’ s Transport Problems?What are Istanbul’ s Transport Problems?
• Traffic congestion among the world’s worst, which is
bad for people and industry.
• Parking congestion. Many streets are crowded with
parked cars.
• Unaffordable. Many households spend more than
they can afford on transportation.
• Walking and pubic transit travel is often inconvenient
and uncomfortable.
• Traffic accidents
• Air and noise pollution.
• Many Turks are overweight partly due to inadequate
physical activity.
• Others?
TomTom 2015

16. 16
Traffic ProblemsTraffic Problems
Traffic problems tend to
be severe in cities that:
• Are large (more than 1 million
population).
• Growing rapidly.
• Sprawled (automobile-oriented
land use).
• Have rising incomes (leading to
growing per capita vehicle
ownership rates).
(Embarq Turkey 2013)

17. Paradigm ShiftParadigm Shift
Old Paradigm New Paradigm
Definition of
Transportation Mobility (physical travel)
Accessibility (people’s overall ability to
reach services and activities)
Transport planning
goals
Maximize travel speeds and
minimize user costs
Optimize transport system efficiency and
equity
Modes considered Mainly automobile
Multi-modal: Walking, cycling, public
transport, and automobile
Performance
indicators
Vehicle traffic speeds, roadway
Level-of-Service (LOS),
distance-based crash and
emission rates
Quality of transport options. Multi-modal
LOS. Land use accessibility. Quality of
accessibility for disadvantaged groups.
Various costs to users and society.
Favored transport
improvement
strategies
Road and parking facility
expansion.
Improve transport options. TDM. More
accessible land development.
Health impacts
considered
Per-kilometer traffic crash and
pollution emission rates
Per capita crash, emission and physical
activity rates, and basic access 17

18. Mobility Versus AccessibilityMobility Versus Accessibility
Accessibility (ability to reach
desired services and activities)
• How close are destinations (shops,
schools, work)?
• How many ways can we get there?
• What does it cost to travel?
Mobility (physical movement)
• How fast can we travel?
• Are destinations close to
highways?
• What does it cost to drive a car?

19. Multi-modal Accessibility Models

20. Istanbul Accessibility Map
Istanbul Walk Score now
provides maps that indicate
the area that people can
reach within a defined time
period by various travel
modes.
It currently lacks information
on public transit.
www.walkscore.com/score/20.dash.44-sadri-alışık-sokak-ista
.

21. Mobility Vs. Accessibility Trade-Mobility Vs. Accessibility Trade-
OffsOffs
• Should Istanbul develop into a city for cars or for
people?
• Should streets be designed to increase
automobile traffic speeds, or to improve walking
and public transit conditions?
• Should common destinations (employment
centers, shops, medical clinics, etc.) be located
for convenient access by car or by public transit?
• Should parking be abundant and free, or limited
and priced?
• Should transportation funding focus on
expanding urban highways or improving walking
and public transit services?
• Should urban arterials have bus lanes?

22. 22
Conventional Transport IndicatorsConventional Transport Indicators
• Roadway Level-of-Service (LOS)
• Average traffic speeds.
• Per capita congestion delay.
• Parking occupancy rates.
• Traffic fatalities per billion
vehicle-miles.
• Traffic fatalities per 100,000
population.

23. 23
Multi-Modal LOSMulti-Modal LOS
New indicators can
be used to
evaluate multiple
modes.
This is critical for
creating more
efficient and
diverse
transportation
systems.

24. Integrated PlanningIntegrated Planning
The most fundamental
principle of good planning is
that individual, short-term
decisions should support
strategic, long-term goals.
Does Istanbul have well-
defined strategic planning
goals? How well does IETT
support these larger goals?
Integrated planning helps
identify win-win strategies,
that is, the solutions to one
problem that also help achieve
other planning objectives.
For example, cities should
choose congestion reduction
strategies that also help
reduce parking problems,
improve safety and reduce
pollution.

25. What isWhat is “The” Transportation Problem?“The” Transportation Problem?
• Traffic congestion?
• Road construction costs?
• Parking congestion or costs?
• Excessive costs to consumers?
• Traffic crashes?
• Lack of mobility for non-drivers?
• Poor freight services?
• Environmental impacts?
• Inadequate physical activity?
• Others?
25

26. Current Transport PlanningCurrent Transport Planning
Current planning tends to be reductionist: each
problem is assigned to a single agency with
narrowly defined responsibilities. For example:
• Transport agencies deal with congestion.
• Environmental agencies deal with pollution.
• Welfare agencies deal with the needs of disadvantaged
people.
• Public health agencies are concerned with community
fitness.
• Etc.
26

27. Reductionist Decision-MakingReductionist Decision-Making
Reductionist planning can
result in public agencies
implementing solutions to
one problem that
exacerbate other problems
facing society, and tends to
undervalue strategies that
provide multiple but modest
benefits.
27

28. Win-Win SolutionsWin-Win Solutions
Put another way, more
comprehensive
planning helps identify
“Win-Win” strategies:
solutions to one
problem that also help
solve other problems
facing society.
Ask:
“Which congestion-reduction
strategy also reduces
parking costs, saves
consumers money, and
improves mobility options for
non-drivers.”
28

29. Comparing BenefitsComparing Benefits
Planning
Objectives
Expand
Roadways
Efficient and Alt.
Fuel Vehicles
Improve Walking
and Public Transit
Reduce traffic congestion  
Minimize roadway costs 
Minimize parking costs 
Consumer savings 
Improve mobility options 
Improve traffic safety 
Energy conservation  
Pollution reduction  
Efficient development 
Public fitness & health 
29

30. Affordable-Efficient ModesAffordable-Efficient Modes
Walking, cycling and public
transport are affordable and
resource efficient, and so tend to
be most sustainable.
Sustainability does not require
eliminating automobile travel
entirely, but it does require favoring
affordable-efficient modes in policy
and planning decisions.

31. Public Transit Benefit CategoriesPublic Transit Benefit Categories

32. Limited CapacityLimited Capacity
• How much
water can a
one-litre bottle
hold?
• How many
vehicles can a
city street
carry?

33. Road Space RequirementsRoad Space Requirements

34. Road and Parking SpaceRoad and Parking Space
RequirementsRequirements
Automobile
travel requires
far more space
than other
transport
modes.

35. Generated TrafficGenerated Traffic
• Traffic congestion tends to
maintain equilibrium, traffic
volumes increase to the point
that congestion delays
discourage additional peak-
period vehicle trips.
• Expanding roadway capacity
often generates traffic,
additional peak-period
vehicle trips that would not
otherwise occur. As a result,
urban roadway expansions
fail to reduce traffic
congestion over the long run.
Figure depicts AADTs on Bosporus Bridge (blue bars)
opened in 1973 and Fatih Sultan Mehmet (FSM) Bridge
(orange bars) opened in 1988. The patterns of traffic
volumes over the years clearly support your prediction.
By Pro. Ismail Sahin, 11th
Congress of Transportation,
Chamber of Civil Engineers in Istanbul, 2015

36. Congestion ReductionCongestion Reduction
• The quality of travel options affects
this point of equilibrium: If
alternatives are inferior, few
motorists will shift mode and
congestion will be severe. If
alternatives are attractive, motorists
are more likely to shift modes,
reducing congestion equilibrium.
• Grade-separated transit tends to
reduce congestion on parallel
highways. When all impacts are
considered it is often the most cost
effective congestion reduction
strategy.

37. Parking CongestionParking Congestion
Finding a parking
space is a constant
problem for
motorists, and
illegal parking is
common, often
blocking sidewalks,
bus lanes and
traffic flow.

38. Manage Street SpaceManage Street Space
Public streets are the City’s
most valuable asset. They
are currently devoted
primarily to automobile. To
become more efficient the
City must prioritize use of
road space.

39. 39
Public Transit Allows GrowthPublic Transit Allows Growth
Road Capacity

40. Optimal Urban Mode ShareOptimal Urban Mode Share
40
Urban transport
systems work best if
traffic is managed to
favor space-efficient
modes.
As a city becomes
larger and denser,
the portion of trips
that should be by
automobile declines.

41. Vehicle Ownership TrendsVehicle Ownership Trends
As people become
affluent they tend to
increase their vehicle
ownership and use until a
point of saturation. Public
policies determine the
point of saturation, with
much higher rates in
automobile-dependent
than in multi-modal areas. 0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2009
Year
VehiclesPerCapita
Denmark
Germany
Spain
France
Italy
Netherland
s
Portugal
Finland
Sweden
UK
US

42. Vehicle Travel Vs. Traffic DeathsVehicle Travel Vs. Traffic Deaths
R2
= 0.6405
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
Annual Vehicle Kilometers Per Capita
TrafficFatalitiesPer100,000Pop.
Canada
Denmark
Germany
Iceland
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
Norw ay
Sw eden
Sw itzerland
United Kingdom
United States
42

43. Traffic FatalitiesTraffic Fatalities

44. Traffic FatalitiesTraffic Fatalities
Traffic fatalities per 100,000
residents typically average 20-
30 in developing country cities,
10-20 in affluent, automobile-
dependent cities, 5-10 in
affluent, compact cities, and
just 1.5-3 in affluent, compact
cities with strong transportation
demand management (TDM)
programs.

45. Traffic FatalitiesTraffic Fatalities
In 2010, traffic accidents killed
265 people in Istanbul, or 1.9
deaths per 100,000 residents.
This gives Istanbul one of the
lowest traffic fatality rates in the
world.
This results, in part, from the
city’s heavy reliance on walking
and public transit and low rates
of automobile travel.
Well done!
 Istanbul

46. Overweight Rates, Turkey #18
46

47. What Gets People Moving?What Gets People Moving?
Walking is a natural
and essential activity.
If you ask sedentary
people what physical
activity they will most
likely to stick with,
walking usually ranks
first.

48. AffordabilityAffordability
Households can save
thousands of dollars annually
by reducing their vehicle
ownership.
This requires:
•Good walking and cycling
conditions and convenient public
transit and taxi services.
•Compact, mixed neighborhoods
with services and activities near
homes.
•Convenient vehicle rental
services (such as carsharing)

49. Cost-Efficiency ExampleCost-Efficiency Example
Cars Special Buses Existing Public
Transit
Vehicles
6,300 cars (1.1
pass.)
140 buses (50
pass.) 35 trains (200 pass.)
Fuel ~21,000 l/day ~5,000 l/day ~500 l/day
Parking
6,300
(25 hc) 140 (1 hc) None
Roads
4 highway
9 streets
1/8 highway
1/4 streets None
Inputs required to transport 5,000 attendees and 2,000
employees a downtown conference

50. Total Costs Per CommuterTotal Costs Per Commuter
When all costs are
considered, automobile
commuting costs far
more than public
transport.
However, many of the
costs are external –
motorists do not pay the
full costs of roads and
parking, resulting in
economically excessive
car travel.

51. Return on InvestmentReturn on Investment
High quality public transit
typically requires about $268 in
additional subsidies and $104 in
additional fares annually per
capita, but provides vehicle,
parking and road cost savings
averaging $1,040 per capita,
plus other savings and benefits:
• Parking cost savings.
• Congestion reductions
• Accident reductions
• Pollution reductions Improved
mobility for non-drivers,
• Improved fitness and health

52. Economic DevelopmentEconomic Development
Public transit supports economic
development in several ways:
•Transport savings and efficiencies
(congestion, parking, taxes) increases
productivity and competitiveness.
•Helps employees reach jobs and students
attend school, allowing businesses to attract
the employees they need.
•Reducing vehicle expenditures and
expanding transit service increases regional
employment and business activity.
•Supports compact development, which
provides agglomeration efficiencies.
•Supports real estate development.
R2
= 0.3363
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
$80,000
$90,000
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400
Per Capita Annual Transit Passenger-Miles
PerCapitaAnnualGDP

53. Social Equity ObjectivesSocial Equity Objectives
Public transit helps achieve social equity
objectives:
•It provides basic mobility for people who are
unable to drive an automobile due to low
incomes and disabilities.
•It supports economic opportunities (access to
jobs and housing) for economically
disadvantaged people.
•It ensures that people who don’t drive receive
a fair share of public resources such as road
space and parking facilities.

54. Motorist BenefitsMotorist Benefits
A more diverse transport system is
no more “anti-car” than a healthy diet
is anti-food. Motorists have every
reason to support alternative modes
because they can:
• Reduce traffic and parking congestion.
• Improve safety.
• Improve travel options.
• Reduce chauffeuring burden.
• Provide mobility if needed due to
disability, vehicle failures or other
problems.
• Improve driving conditions more quickly
than roadway expansion.

55. Performance IndicatorsPerformance Indicators
Performance indicators are like the score in a game. They define
what must be accomplished to succeed.
Old New
• Roadway level-of-service (LOS)
• Traffic speeds and delay
• Accidents and emissions measured per mile
• Cost to government of facilities and services
• Quality of access options (ability to reach desired
services and activities) by user type
• Total costs to users, businesses and users (for vehicles,
fuel, insurance, parking, roads, transit services, etc.)
• Affordability (costs to lower-income people)
• Quality of mobility for non-drivers
• Portion of household budget devoted to transport
• Accidents and emissions measured per capita
• Average daily minutes engaged in active transport
• Land use impacts
• Portion of residents exposed to excessive pollution.
• User satisfaction

56. Improve Transport DataImprove Transport Data
Good planning
requires good data in
order to identify
problems, evaluate
potential solutions,
track trends and set
performance targets.

57. Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions
• What are the Istanbul’s transport problems and
goals?
• Does everybody agree? What goals face debate.
• How can public transit help achieve the Istanbul’s
overall goals?
• What other organizations and professions should
IETT work with to promote public transit
improvements.
• How good is the data needed for planning and
performance evaluation? What more is needed?

58. “Evaluating Public Transit Benefits and Costs”
“Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis”
“Parking Management Best Practices”
“Evaluating Smart Growth Benefits”
“Online TDM Encyclopedia”
and more...
www.vtpi.org