Christopher De Gruyter

Mobile phone use among motorcyclists and electric bike riders: a case study of Hanoi, Vietnam

Motorcyclist injuries and fatalities are a major concern of many developing countries. In Vietnam, motorcycles are involved in more than 70% of all road traffic crashes. This paper aims to explore the prevalence and factors associated with mobile phone use among motorcyclists and electric bike riders, using a case study of Hanoi, Vietnam. A cross-sectional observation survey was undertaken at 12 sites, in which each site was surveyed during a two-hour peak period from 16:30 to 18:30 for two weekdays and one weekend day. A total of 26,360 riders were observed, consisting of 24,759 motorcyclists and 1601 electric bike riders. The overall prevalence of mobile phone use while riding was 8.4% (95% CI: 8.06-8.74%) with calling having higher prevalence than screen operation: 4.64% (95% CI: 4.39-4.90%) vs. 3.76% (95% CI: 3.52-3.99%) respectively. Moreover, the prevalence of mobile phone use was higher among motorcyclists than electric bike riders: 8.66% (95%CI: 8.30-9.01%) vs. 4.43% (95% CI: 3.40-5.47%) respectively. Logistic regression analyses revealed that mobile phone use while riding was associated with vehicle type, age, gender, riding alone, weather, day of week, proximity to city centre, number of lanes, separate car lanes, red traffic light duration, and police presence. Combining greater enforcement of existing legislations with extensive education and publicity programs is recommended to reduce potential deaths and injuries related to the use of mobile phones while riding.

Rail-road crossing impacts: an international synthesis

ABSTRACT Rail-road crossings generate a range of transport, economic, social and environmental impacts. While much research has focused on selected impacts such as safety, little consideration has been given to wider impacts. The aim of this research was to therefore develop a holistic understanding of the impacts of rail-road crossings (both at-grade and grade-separated) and to identify key gaps in knowledge in this field. An international synthesis of rail-road crossing impacts was developed through a detailed literature review, which revealed a total of 18 different types of impacts associated with rail-road crossings. The review found that most research to date has focused on quantifying transport and economic impacts, particularly safety and road vehicle delay, with little consideration given to social and environmental impacts. A number of research gaps have been identified which provide a clear agenda for future research. These gaps include the use of empirical evidence to support impact assessments, and the need to better understand the impacts of grade-separating rail-road crossings in terms of safety, travel time variability, land use, traffic flow, rail vehicle delay, disability access, and crime.

Travel plans for new residential developments : insights from theory and practice

Continued demand for new housing development is expected to add further pressure to existing transport networks and services in many urbanised areas. Given these challenges and a limited ability to add more capacity to the transport network, it is appropriate to consider the role of demand-side strategies, such as travel plans. Travel plans aim to manage car use among building occupants by providing a package of site-specific initiatives and facilities that support access by more sustainable forms of transport. They can be required through the land use planning and approvals process for new and expanded buildings, such as offices, schools and residential developments. However, there is a limited understanding of the effectiveness of travel plans when applied to new residential developments. Furthermore, the implementation of travel plans at new residential developments has not been sufficiently explored. This thesis aims to assess the effectiveness of travel plans for new residential developments and identify opportunities to enhance their effectiveness. A mixed methods approach comprising five key research components is adopted to achieve this aim, including the application and integration of both implementation theory and planning enforcement theory. The first component involves a survey of councils to examine the scale of travel planning practice for new urban developments in Victoria, Australia. Results show that half of the councils had previously required a travel plan for a new development, primarily to offset the impact of less car parking being provided. Around 100 travel plans were found to be required during 2010-12 alone, yet 80% of councils had not monitored any of those travel plans. The second component develops an appreciation for the perspectives of industry actors involved in travel planning for new residential developments through a set of interviews. This shows general support for travel plans at new residential developments, but limited confidence in the ability to implement them successfully. Implementation challenges were found to centre on a lack of enforcement, uncertainty regarding implementation responsibilities, and a general of lack of ownership of travel plans when applied to residential settings. The third component provides an assessment of the quality of travel plans prepared for new residential developments against a best practice framework. This shows considerable scope to improve travel plan quality, particularly in estimating expected travel patterns of future building occupants, specifying how the travel plan will be managed and implemented, and outlining clearer processes for monitoring and review. The fourth component provides an assessment of the effectiveness of travel plans at new residential developments. A set of multi-modal trip counts reveal that car use at new residential developments with travel plans was 14 percentage points lower than matched control sites. In addition, it provides some preliminary evidence of residents ‘self-selecting’ into developments with travel plans, with this accounting for a relatively small yet non-trivial proportion of observed differences in travel behaviour. The fifth and final component views the research findings through the lens of both implementation theory and planning enforcement theory to identify opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of travel plans for new residential developments. Short-term enhancements include greater ownership and engagement of ‘implementers’, improvements to travel plan quality, provision of guidance material and training, and a more pro-active and facilitative style of enforcement. Long-term enhancements include sound planning requirements, a stronger industry focus for residential travel planning and ensuring an adequate number of technically competent staff are available for enforcement. An integrated theory of implementation and enforcement, with consideration to both top-down and bottom-up styles of implementation, and both facilitative and systematic styles of enforcement, is developed to guide future travel planning practice. This thesis provides a number of original contributions to knowledge in the field of travel planning for new residential developments. Overall, it is concluded that while travel plans can be effective in reducing car use at new residential developments, a number of opportunities can be realised to enhance their effectiveness. Acting on these opportunities will require sufficient resources and commitment. However, this will ultimately improve the way in which travel plans are developed, implemented and monitored at new residential development into the future, thereby supporting a greater uptake of more sustainable forms of transport.