Green Transportation Definition (MALAYSIA)

UDM717: URBAN TRANSPORTATION: GREEN TRANSPORATATION PLANNING

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Urban Transportation (UDM 717)

Msc. In Urban Development And Management

GREEN TRANSPORTATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IN ACHIEVING

SUSTAINABILITY

Prepared by:

ANWAR BIN SURAN

2012977513

Prepared for :

ASSOC. PROF AHMAD SUHAIMI BIN ISMAIL

Institute Of Graduate Studies

Faculty Of Architecture, Planning And Surveying

Universiti Technology Mara


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Abstract

Green transport refers to the broad subject of transport that is or approaches being sustainable. Transport

operations and logistics as well as transit-oriented development are involved. Transportation sustainability

is largely being measured by transportation system effectiveness and efficiency as well as the

environmental impacts of the system. The entire life cycle of green transport systems is subject to

sustainability measurement and optimization. Green transport systems make a positive contribution to the

environmental, social and economic sustainability of the communities they serve. Transport systems exist

to provide social and economic connections, and people quickly take up the opportunities offered by

increased mobility.

Keywords: Green Transport, Sustainable Transportation Planning

1.0 Introduction

Transportation helps shape an area’s economic health and quality of life. Not only does the

transportation system provide for the mobility of people and goods, it also influences patterns of

growth and economic activity by providing access to land. The performance of the system

affects public policy concerns like air quality, environmental resource consumption, social

equity, land use, urban growth, economic development, safety, and security. Transportation

planning recognizes the critical links between transportation and other societal goals. The

planning process is more than merely listing highway and transit capital projects. It requires

developing strategies for operating, managing, maintaining, and financing the area’s

transportation system in such a way as to advance the area’s long-term goals.

2.0 What is Green Transportation?

The Centre for Sustainable Transportation's (CST) definition of a sustainable transportation

system is one that:

i. Allows the basic access needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a

manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and

between generations


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ii. Is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant

economy.

iii. Limits emissions and waste within the planet's ability to absorb them, minimizes

consumption of non-renewable resources, limits consumption of renewable resources to

the sustainable yield level, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use

of land and the production of noise.

Therefore, green transport is a category of sustainable transport which uses human power,

animal power, public transportation, smart design, and renewable energy. In common usage

public transport is considered a green transport option in comparison with private vehicles, as is

car pooling. But some people prefer a definition that does not include public transport or vehicle

movements which relies on non-renewable energy.

Green transport includes:

i. Walking

ii. Cycling and some other types of human-powered transport

iii. Green vehicles

a. Solar powered vehicles

b. Wind powered vehicles

c. Water powered vehicles

d. Electric powered vehicles

Often there can be a sliding scale of green transport depending on the sustainability of the

option. Public transport on traditional diesel buses uses less fuel per passenger than private

vehicles so is more green than private vehicles, but is not as green as using a hybrid electric

powered bus. It can often be useful to talk about moving a community towards the ultimate

People Walking to work Wind Powered Vehicle Smart Car (Electric Power Vehicle)


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green mode transport outcomes - instead of declaring that they are there if they cross a

particular sustainability threshold. Walking across sensitive environments can often cause

considerable damage and so is not always the greenest option. Green transportation is for

reducing the environmental damage originated in individual's use of cars and light trucks.

The green transportation hierarchy is the basic concept behind transportation reform groups all

over the world such as Transportation Alternatives. The hierarchy puts city-friendly cyclists and

pedestrians first. It rewards their low cost, space efficiency, and zero environmental impact.

Trucks are not last because they perform vital commercial functions in cities. An important part

of the green transportation hierarchy is that trucks get priority over personal automobiles for

scarce curb side parking. This would eliminate many of the double-parking problems that plague

places such as the 6th Avenue bike lane.

In an ideal, many high development city such as

in New York, transportation decision-making,

allocation of road space, and project funding and

resources would reflect the green transportation

hierarchy. While we still have a long way to go,

we champion projects such as the widened

sidewalks at Herald and Greeley Square, and new

bike lanes, as important steps towards more

rational transportation planning.

Other policies that would reflect and reinforce the green transportation hierarchy include:

i. The pricing of all on-street parking in Manhattan south of 96th Street

ii. Tolls on bridges and tunnels

iii. Congestion pricing

iv. Parking policies that prioritize commercial needs over personal autos

Sustainable transportation can be supported by promoting the use of:

i. more energy efficient forms of transportation such as public transit

ii. alternative transportation to the single occupancy vehicle

iii. low emissions vehicles

Green Transportation Hierarchy


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iv. transportation demand management

v. active transportation, and

vi. supportive land use practices.

2.0 The Importance of Transportation Planning in Achieve Sustainability

Transportation planning plays a fundamental role in the state, region or community’s vision for

its future. It includes a comprehensive consideration of possible strategies; an evaluation

process that encompasses diverse viewpoints; the collaborative participation of relevant

transportation-related agencies and organizations; and open, timely, and meaningful public

involvement.

Transportation planning is concerned with identifying and planning for the accessibility needs of

people and freight within livable and sustainable communities. Transport planning therefore

takes into account the desirable social, environmental, economic outcomes and develops

strategies to achieve those outcomes within planning frameworks.

2.1 The Traditional Transport Planning Process

Transport planning is usually focused on specific problems or on broad transport concerns at a

local level. It has been traditionally a preoccupation of lower tier governments, such as the state

or municipality. Because of this fact, transport planning is most developed in the urban sphere,

Sustainable and well plan commuter


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and it is there where most experience has been gathered. The planning process, however, has

a number of similarities with the policy process. Identifying a problem, seeking options and

implementing the chosen strategy are essential steps in planning too. Because it tends to deal

with localized problems, the solutions adopted in transport planning tend to be much more exact

and specific than policy directives.

For a long time been planning was a field dominated by traffic engineers who gave it a distinctly

mechanistic character, in which the planning process was seen as a series of rigorous steps

undertaken to measure likely impacts and to propose engineering solutions. There were four

major steps: Trip generation, trip distribution, modal split, and route selection. They involved the

use of mathematical models, including regression analysis, entropy-maximizing models, and

critical path analysis.

There are many reasons why the results of these models should be treated with caution:

i. They are only as good as the data they manipulate and many times the data is

inaccurate or incomplete.

ii. They are based on assumptions that the mathematical relationships between variables

remain constant.

iii. They can be manipulated to produce the outcome that the analyst knows the client

prefers.

iv. Because the predictions were rarely subjected to subsequent evaluation, their validity is

largely questioned, and the modeler is happy to predict the future since projections

rarely question the validity of the methodology.

The predictions of future traffic flows produced by the four stage sequence are then used to

identify planning options. Since the most common prediction of the modeling is that present

capacities will be unable to cope with traffic growth, the tendency has been to produce planning

solutions that call for an expansion of capacity. This has been referred to as predict and

accommodate. It is the solution that has typified so much urban transport planning from the

1940s to the 1980s. It has given rise to the enormous expansion of highway construction that

reinforces the dominance of the automobile. Rarely are there post mortems of the prediction

models, and as has been learned by empirical observation, the issue of induced demand has

distorted the actual traffic.


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2.2 Contemporary Transport Planning

In cities traffic problems have increased significantly since the 1970s, despite a great deal of

urban transport planning. There is a growing realization that perhaps planning has failed and

that the wrong questions have been asked. Rather than estimate traffic increases and then

provide capacity to meet the expected growth, it is now accepted that what is required is better

management of the transport system through new approaches to planning. Just as urban

planning requires the inputs of many specialists, transport planning is beginning to utilize multi-

disciplinary teams in order to broaden the scope of the planning process. Planning is still a

multi-step process, but it has changed considerably:

a. Goals and objectives.

While the goal of traditional transport policy, improving accessibility, is still useful, it has

to be considered in the context of other desirable goals. For instance improving safety

and health, reducing emissions from vehicles, improving equity, enhancing economic

opportunities, improving community livability, promoting mobility are all valid. But which

goal(s) are pursued results in a very different planning process.

b. Options.

Given the possible range of goals that transport planners have to consider, it becomes

necessary to provide a set of possible options. Several objectives may be desirable, and

thus it is important to consider what they imply. Several scenarios may have to be

considered, and they must become important components of the planning process.

c. Identification of actors, institutions, stakeholders.

Given that transport planning has the potential to influence so many elements of society

- economic wellbeing, environmental conditions, social integration – it is important that

those affected by the transport problem and its potential resolution should be identified

so that they can be engaged.

d. Predicting outcomes, identifying benefits, and assessing costs.

The stage of predicting the outcomes for each of the options is a critical step in the

process. Models continue to play an important role, but whereas the traditional models

were based on the number of trips, increasingly modeling is becoming more activity

based. Transport is seen in the context of scheduling household decisions in time and


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space. Demographic and social data are used extensively, and the mathematical models

have become more sophisticated.

e. Choosing course of action.

Evaluation of the scenarios has to consider the costs and benefits from the frequently

conflicting perspectives of the stakeholders and actors. Extensive public consultation

may be required. The information has to be disseminated and explained so that an

informed public can participate in the debate.

Planning is commonly scale specific and multidimensional.

2.3 Transport Demand Management

In rejecting the former paradigm of building capacity, transport planners have turned

increasingly to managing both demand and the transport system. Building roads has produced a

car-oriented society in which the other modal alternatives have little opportunity to co-exist. Car

ownership is beyond the ability of the transport planner to control directly and the question

remains if it should. But car use and ownership is affected by land use and density, both

elements that planners can affect.

High population densities, in particular, favor walking, bicycling and public transit use. It is for

this reason that a great deal of attention in planning is being paid to densification and

integration. This includes concentrating development along well served transport corridors

(transit oriented development) and increasing densities in areas undergoing rehabilitation.

Managing the demand for transport is made up of a large number of small interventions that

cumulatively can impact of car use, but in particular improve the livability of cities. A sample of

well-practiced and successful interventions includes:

a. Park and ride.

Parking spaces are provided, usually close to an expressway, where drivers can board

busses that provide service to the city center. This has become a staple feature in the

outer zones of many US and British cities. Its success is variable, however, and there is


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some evidence from the UK that park and ride may actually increase car use, as people

who may have used regular bus services now use their cars to drive to the car parks.

b. Traffic calming.

Measures that seek to reduce the speed of vehicles in urban areas, such as speed

bumps and street narrowing. For residential streets the goal is to make their use by car

drivers unattractive because of the obstacles, for thoroughfares the objective is to

reduce the average speeds. The measures indicate the need for much greater attention

to street design and layout.

c. Priority lanes for busses and high occupancy vehicles.

Lanes on major thoroughfares and expressways that are reserved for busses, taxis and

passenger vehicles with several occupants. This has become an important feature of

transport planning in North America, where major highway expansion projects offer

priority lanes. The goal is to encourage use of busses and high occupancy vehicles that

can be seen to travel at higher speeds along the reserved lanes by other drivers who

may be stuck in traffic jams.

d. Alternate work schedules.

Encouraging work hours other than the dominant 9 to 5 schedule. One of the great

problems in transport planning is that demand is concentrated in two main peak periods.

In the past, efforts were made to meet this demand by increasing road capacity, which

was never sufficient, and resulted in an under use of the capacity the other 20 hours

each day. Promoting flexible schedules and encouraging telecommuting are policies that

are seeking to spread out the demand for transport over more hours and even reducing

the demand altogether.

e. Promoting bicycle use.

In some countries, particularly the Netherlands, the bicycle is an important mode of

travel. It is a green and healthy mode, but in automobile dependent cities, the bicycle

does not share the roads easily with trucks and cars. Encouraging greater use of the

bicycle requires significant planning adjustments, such as the provision of bicycle lanes

and bike stands.


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f. Car sharing.

Encouraging drivers to share car use with neighbors or co-workers.

g. Enhancing pedestrian areas.

In most cities vehicles dominate the streets. In many areas of high population density,

the quality of life (enhanced safety, less pollution etc.) and the visual attractiveness of

streetscapes can be enhanced by excluding vehicles from streets altogether, or limiting

access to public transport vehicles. In Europe this has become a distinctive feature of

the historic cores of many cities.

h. Improving public transit.

For fifty years or more public transit use as declined in most cities. Yet it is the only

major alternative to the car in these cities, and thus enhancing the use of transit has

become a major planning objective. Improvements include making transit more

attractive, by improving bus schedules and improving the appearance and comfort of

transit vehicles and stations.

i. Parking management.

Restricting on-street parking and charging higher rates for parking.

Intelligence Highway System Well plan parking Management


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2.4 Benefit Sustainable Transportation Planning (Commuter based)

Economic Benefits

i. Save money on gas. Driving 18,000 km per year costs an average of $9,525 per year or

52.9 cents per kilometer (Canadian Automobile Association 2004 national average for a

2004 Chevrolet Cavalier Z-24).

ii. Reduce health care costs. It is estimated that transportation-related emissions will cost

the health care system $11 billion to $38 billion between 1997 and 2020 (Transportation

Association of Canada, 1998).

iii. Save tax. Reduce roadway construction and maintenance costs.

Community Benefits

i. Active and sustainable transportation makes the community safer by reducing the risk of

vehicle-pedestrian accidents.

ii. Increase social interaction within the community, resulting in much improved personal

relationships and community health.

iii. Support community-based businesses, such as local shops, restaurants, bakeries and

newsstands.

iv. Decrease traffic noise like engines and horns, or sprockets and bells

v. Reduce traffic jams and parking hassles.

Environmental Benefits

i. Active and sustainable transportation keeps air clean by improving air quality and

reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

ii. Reduce toxic air pollution. Pollutants from many transportation sources aggravate

respiratory disease, and contribute to property damage and acid rain.

iii. Reduce the threat of climate change. This is because, it takes 130 trees to produce the

amount of oxygen needed to combat the carbon dioxide emitted from one car each year.

iv. Conserve natural habitat. Fewer cars on the road decrease the demand for more roads

and parking lots, allowing more land for green space.

v. Driving less reduces the need for non-renewable fossil fuel resources.

vi. Reduce ozone layer destruction. Did you know that motor vehicle air conditioners are the

world’s single largest source of CFC leakage into the atmosphere? (Zielinski, 1995).


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3.0 Conclusion

Sustainable transport planning systems make a positive contribution to the environmental,

social and economic sustainability of the communities they serve. Transport systems exist to

provide social and economic connections, and people quickly take up the opportunities offered

by increased mobility. The advantages of increased mobility need to be weighed against the

environmental, social and economic costs that transport systems pose. Green vehicles are

intended to have less environmental impact than equivalent standard vehicles, although when

the environmental impact of a vehicle is assessed over the whole of its life cycle this may not be

the case. Electric vehicle technology has the potential to reduce transport CO2 emissions,

depending on the embodied energy of the vehicle and the source of the electricity.


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Indicators, and Metrics", Journal Of Infrastructure Systems: 31–50

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Aldershot, 1989

Heather L. MacLean and Lester B. Lave University of Toronto. "OECD’s Economic Assessment of Biofuel

Support Policies".

Brinkman, Norman; Eberle, Ulrich; Formanski, Volker; Grebe, Uwe-Dieter; Matthe, Roland (2012-04-15).

"Vehicle Electrification - Quo Vadis". VDI.

Ellis, Cliff. "Lewis Mumford and Norman Bel Geddes: the highway, the city and the future". Planning

Perspectives 20 (1): 51–68.

Kenworthy, J R Transport Energy Use and Greenhouse Emissions in Urban Passenger Transport

Systems : A Study of 84 Global Cities Murdoch University

Ewing, R and R Cervero (2001). "Travel and the Built Environment: A Synthesis" (PDF). Transportation

Research Record, 1780: 87-114. 2001. Transportation Research Record 1780,87-114.

Green Transportation Definition (MALAYSIA)

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