A Catalogue of Solutions for Sustainable Cross-Border and Regional Public Transport
by S. Borén1, *, H. Ny1, J. Tenart2 and M. Mazouzi3
Abstract. The current public transport offers in the South Baltic region seldom meet customer expectations for easiness and attractivity of cross-border/regional journeys and rarely include integrated tickets for multimodal rides. To address that, stakeholders from six regions around the southern Baltic Sea developed the INTERCONNECT project that was guided by a holistic perspective on sustainability. Informed by that, this paper’s objective was to propose a tool/method containing a planning process with a comprehensive and on-line open-access catalogue of solutions for sustainable cross-border/regional public transport services to inspire and guide planning and decision-making. The tool/method that was developed in this paper include a 7-step process and a catalogue of 42 solutions that were developed through several workshops and discussions among the authors and other experts in the field. The findings were compared and integrated with literature findings, practical experiences, then assessed against a principled definition of sustainability, and finally scrutinized and reviewed by project partners and external experts. The authors expect the results to sufficiently cover possible solutions for strategic sustainable development of cross-border/regional public transport and to inspire further development in other regions with similar infrastructure and financial means.
In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing: (1) ... concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth's crust; (2) ... concentrations of substances produced by society; and (3) ... degradation by physical means; and people are not subject to structural obstacles to: (4) health; (5) influence; (6) competence; (7) impartiality; and (8) meaning-making.
These principles and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development are described in an article: Broman, G. I., and Robèrt, K. H., 2017. A framework for strategic sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production. Issue 140, page 17–31.
Table 1: List of solutions in the area of comfort for sustainable cross-border/regional PT (violations within parentheses can be avoided if improvements are made).
|
Solutions related to comfort |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
|
|
Violation |
Improvement |
||
|
Take measures to have cleaner facilities, e.g. toilets, seats, waiting rooms. |
- |
Use environmentally friendly cleaning products. |
Should be coupled up with information campaign. |
|
Improve access for reduced mobility users (disabled, trolley, elderly). |
- |
|
|
|
Build charging stations at train/bus/ferry terminals for e-car, e-bike, e-scooter. |
1, (2, 4) |
Close recycling loops. Electricity from renewable sources. Climate neutral concrete. No child labour. |
|
|
Enable fast and reliable internet connection and charging sockets onboard. |
1, 2, 4 |
Close recycling loops. Electricity for internet servers stems from renewable sources. |
Should be coupled up with information campaigns. |
|
Create service(s) for moving onboard luggage from a bus/ferry/train to another. |
- |
Powered by renewable energy carriers if vehicles are involved. |
|
|
Create safe spaces onboard vehicles and at terminals/PT nodes. |
- |
|
Should be coupled up with information campaign. |
|
Create service(s) available for kids travelling alone, elderly, disabled, etc. |
- |
|
|
|
Using tools to test how PT works for special groups, e.g. elder, blind, or kids. |
- |
|
|
|
More space onboard due to more departures => more vehicles in operation. |
(1-8) |
Vehicles to be powered by electricity (1st hand) or biofuels. |
|
Table 2: List of solutions in the area of information and communication for sustainable cross-border/regional PT (violations within parentheses can be avoided if improvements are made).
|
Solutions related to information and communication |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
|
|
Violation |
Improvement |
||
|
Implement dynamic PT information screens at stations. |
1, 2, 4, (5-8) |
No use of materials from conflict areas. No child labour. |
|
|
Educate to change mindset about travelling by unsustainable means. |
- |
|
|
|
Create a survey among citizens (not only PT users) to better understand travel behaviours. |
- |
- |
|
Table 3: List of solutions in the area of intermodality for sustainable cross-border/regional PT (violations within parentheses can be avoided if improvements are made).
|
Solutions related to intermodality |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
|
|
Violation |
Improvement |
||
|
Allow bikes on buses, trains, and ferries. |
- |
|
|
|
Develop walking/biking infrastructure to/from terminals and PT nodes. |
1 |
Use recycled asphalt and/or climate neutral concrete. |
|
|
Develop PT infrastructure to/from regional and x-border terminals. |
(1, 2, 4) |
Recycled asphalt and/or climate neutral concrete. Energy from renewable sources. Close recycling loops. |
Subsidies from local governments. |
|
Create interconnection with electric vehicles (e.g. BEV, (e)bike/e-scooter) sharing at terminals and PT nodes. |
1, 2, 4, (5-8) |
Close recycling loops. No child labour. No use of materials from conflict areas. |
Link with rural area. Peak load supply and use/parking regulations. |
|
Use multi-purpose vehicles that can be used for many functions (PT, etc). |
1, 2, 4, (5-8) |
Close recycling loops. No materials from conflict areas. No child labours. Energy from renewable sources. |
|
Table 4: List of solutions in the area of organization/business models for sustainable cross-border/regional PT (violations within parentheses can be avoided if improvements are made).
|
Solutions related to organization/business models |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
|
|
Violation |
Improvement |
||
|
Develop travel policies to use PT instead of cars and flights. |
|
Make sure trips use renewable energy. |
|
|
Install fleet management system for PT planning. |
1, 2, 4, (5-8) |
Close recycling loops. No materials from conflict areas. No child labours. Energy from renewable sources. |
|
|
Create joint procurement with neighbouring cities. |
- |
|
|
|
Pick up passengers based on their needs. |
- |
Make sure this is combined with a car-free zone policy. |
Vehicles can go empty and might replace walking/biking. |
|
Create one organization/ association for several PT areas. |
- |
|
|
Table 5: List of solutions in the area of planning for sustainable cross-border/regional PT.
|
Solutions related to planning |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
|
|
Violation |
Improvement |
||
|
Synchronize departures and arrivals at PT hubs for increased ridership. |
- |
|
Re-planning of affected PT lines. |
|
Use science-based models for planning towards sustainable cross-border and regional public transport. |
- |
Make sure to rely on models/ perspectives that include full sustainability. |
|
|
Use self-assessment to identify compliance and readiness for SUMP and MaaS. |
|
Complete with a strategic sustainability perspective, i.e. FSSD. |
|
Table 6: List of solutions in the area of productivity/reliability for sustainable cross-border/regional PT (violations within parentheses can be avoided if improvements are made)
|
Solutions related to productivity/reliability |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
|
|
Violation |
Improvement |
||
|
Create measures for PT to become faster or equally fast compared to car travelling. |
|
|
High investment - requires national/EU funding. |
|
Create a mobile app to inform passengers about position and estimated arrival time. |
1, 2, 4, (5-8) |
Make sure electricity for server comes from renewable sources. |
|
|
Create measures to increase reliability of PT by train, e.g. more tracks or meeting points, planned maintenance, rail security. |
- |
|
Collaboration with PTAs, operators and co-funding from national authorities. |
Table 7: List of solutions in the area of rolling stock and propulsion/powertrain for sustainable cross-border/regional PT (violations within parentheses can be avoided if improvements are made).
|
Solutions related to rolling stock and propulsion/powertrain |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
|
|
Violation |
Improvement |
||
|
Power ICE busses and trolleys with biodiesel. |
1, 2, (3) |
Make sure resources competing with food are not used and are locally produced. |
Higher tax on fossil fuels or emissions. Engines need adjustments. |
|
Switch from ICE to battery electric vehicles. |
1, 2, (4-8) |
Energy from renewable sources. No cobalt from conflict areas. No child labours. |
Charging infrastructure every 200 km. |
|
Enable electric supply to ferries in ports. |
1 |
Electricity from renewable sources. Close recycling loops. Climate neutral concrete. |
Requires inquiry about power supply in/to harbours. |
|
Convert ferries to hybrid or plug-in hybrid propulsion. |
1, 2, (4-8) |
Electricity from renewable sources. No child labours. Close recycling loops. |
|
|
Switch to electricity generated by renewable resources. |
- |
|
Possibility to buy renewable electricity. |
|
Switch from ICE to direct electric propulsion of vehicles. |
1, (2, 4) |
Electricity from renewable sources. Close recycling loops. Climate neutral concrete. |
High investment - requires national/EU funding. |
|
Switch from ICE to hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. |
1, 2, (4-8) |
Hydrogen from electrolysis with renewable electricity, and/or biogas, and/or seawater. |
|
Table 8: List of solutions in the area of ticketing/fares or sustainable cross-border/regional PT (violations within parentheses can be avoided if improvements are made).
|
Solutions related to ticketing/fares |
Sustainability |
Conditions and limitations |
||
|
Violation |
Improvement |
|||
|
Enhance booking of an entire trip with regional/national PT. |
- |
|
IT-based booking system. Agree with operators. |
|
|
Enable easy travel between countries. |
- |
|
IT-based booking system. Agree with operators. |
|
|
Reduce price for groups of PT users, at different periods of the year. |
- |
|
|
|
|
Create contactless cards, bank/credit account instead of cash. |
(3) |
Close material recycling loops. |
|
|
|
Create electronic ticket on a mobile app. |
1, 2, 4, (5-8) |
Electricity for server from renewable sources. |
|
|
|
Use PT tickets in combination with other offers, e.g. theatre, sport, cinema. |
- |
|
|
|
1 Department of Strategic Sustainable Development, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden
2 Bax & Company, C/Casp 118-120, 08013, Barcelona, Spain
3 Hanseatic Institute for Entrepreneurship and Regional Development at the University of Rostock, Richard-Wagner-Straße 31, House 1, 18119, Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany
* Corresponding author