Elisabetta Venezia

Urban Travellers’ Mode Choice: Towards a New Culture for Urban Mobility

This paper will discuss how rethinking urban mobility involves various aspects, among which is the optimization of the use of all transport modes and the adoption of means of policies aimed at improving quality and accessibility of public transit networks. Nevertheless, in order to be effective, urban mobility policies need to use an approach as integrated as possible, which combines the most appropriate tools to each individual problem. To that end, it is important to have a clear knowledge of urban mobility; data collection initiatives may help to fill the gap in statistics related to the phenomenon. In this paper, some considerations on a new culture for urban mobility are presented. In the light of new exigencies, decision-makers should support sustainable mobility-related measures to meet people’s expectations. In addition, a survey on local public transport in Bari – a southern Italian city – is presented and a random utility model has been used to investigate probable transport users’ attitudes for the future. It provides indications on the needs of public transport users and there are lessons that can be learned from the Bari case

Transport issues and sustainable mobility in smart cities

This paper is part of a wider work- developed in the context of URBANETS project - Sustainable Management of Urban Networks with the Use of ICT- and of scientific research projects, mainly, on traffic and environmental requirements for Brindisi and Gallipoli. The paper is structured by considering different aspects having as an objective the satisfaction of transport knowledge needs with regard to Brindisi and Gallipoli, two significant Italian cities The aim is to supply policy indications in the light of population, economic operators and stakeholders exigencies. In the first part an analysis of territorial characteristics of Brindisi and Gallipoli, developed through a cluster analysis based on indicators referred to population, social aspects and economic elements, is presented. Further, the paper contains results stemming from a consultation process of citizens, tourists, public employees and stakeholders. Finally, indications on perspectives and final conclusions are presented. The authors believe that this paper can represent a useful tool for applied research, for those who operate in the transport sectors and for policymakers as well. It contributes to explain critical aspects of the transport sector, which are of great importance for citizens and for the economy of both the examined realities, and that can be extended to similar geographical sites.

Transport investments: are they crucial for the economic system?

The main aim of this paper is to look for a causal impact of transport investment activity on employment and on GDP through an empirical analysis, and to understand whether or not investments are really important for the economy. The results of the empirical investigation demonstrate the existence of such links and that the impact of transport investments can indeed bring about changes in the economic system, although one must consider that the nature of investments is a strategic factor to have desirable effects and that other variables, such as technology, have a greater importance in the short term on the economic system. The examples for this investigation have been implemented by using national and regional Italian data, although results may be easily extended to other areas, both sectorial and geographical.