Motorized Two and Three Wheeler Design and Regulation

Walter Hook and Luc Nadal, ITDPTransforming Transportation, January 2011

Motorization is taking the form of two, three and four wheelers in much of Asia…

Photo: abc.net

Motorcycle growth

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2005 2008 2015 2025 2035 2005 2008 2015 2025 2035 2005 2008 2015 2025 2035 2005 2008 2015 2025 2035

SAARC(excluding India, Maldives,Bhutan)

INDIA ASEAN (Major Countries) China

Two and Three Wheelers - Number & Motorization Index

Total Vehicles (in millions)- (Left Axis) Motorization Index (V/1000 P) (Right Axis)

Top Ten Countries By Motorcycle Population

Slide 4IRF 2007, NSO 2000, BPS 2006, JAMA 2006, Nguyen 2008, Gong 2008)

Motorcycles per Four-Wheeled Vehicles

Motorcycles per Four Wheeled Veh

2.16 to 2.7 (1)1.62 to 2.16 (2)1.08 to 1.62 (2)0.54 to 1.08 (3)0 to 0.54 (62)

Slide 5Meszler 2007

European Union (15 countries)

• 2000-2005, 28% increase of motorcycle fleet in the European Union

• 8.4 Million vehicles

PTW Park in 2005Approx. 28.4 Million vehicles

Sweden, 1%

Belgium, 2%

Finland, 1%

Denmark,1%

Austria, 2%

Portugal, 2%

Greece, 3%

Netherlands, 4%

83%

France, 9%

UK, 5%

Spain, 14%

Germany, 20%

Italy, 36%

Air pollution contribution of 2 and 3 wheelers. Should be controlled through emissions regulation

Motorcycle share of total transport emissions in selected Asian cities

City VOC CO PM NOx CO2

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 90% 70% No estimate 12% 40% Delhi, India 70% 50% No estimate No estimate No estimate Bangkok, Thailand 70% 32% 4% <1% No estimate Dhaka, Bangladesh 60% 26% 42% 4% No estimate

Source: Mezler 2007

Accidents of 2W and 3W with other vehicles in Delhi Car Bus 2W 3W Bicycle Total

3W 24 % 17 % 17 % 25 % 17 % 100 %

2W 22 % 27 % 18 % 13 % 20 % 100 %

Source: Tiwari et al, Accid. Anal. and Prev., Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 207-215, 1998

Motorcycles and Congestion • Recommended Motorized 2-wheeler PCE in select

countries =– USA: 1 (one Motorcycle = 1 car)– China: 0.7– India: 0.5

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PCUs at different traffic volumes

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Volume (veh/ hr)

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Observed PCEs• 0.5 factor for 2-wheelers at intersections in India is still

underestimated• Counts at roundabouts showed that actual capacity was

about twice the traffic simulations based on 0.5 PCE• Using 0.16-2 PCE factors, the traffic model produced

estimations close to empirical data• 0.5 -0.6: adequate factor for motor-rickshaws• Assumes no lane demarcation or enforcement of lanes

Slide 11

2 & 3 Wheelers and congestionconclusions:

Slide 12

• Motorcycles are highly efficient users of road space at slow speeds if lane sharing is allowed.

• Congestion mitigation measures should target cars first.

Two & three wheeler infrastructure

• Design guidelines objectives:– Prevent encroachment on walkways and

bikeways and public space– Improve motorbike safety– Optimize level of service’ for each mode– Minimize nuisances in residential areas

Slide 13

esidential pedestrian spaces

Slide 14

We need systematic design development to prevent motorbike encroachments

Dedicated 2 & 3 Wheeler lanes?

• Segregation or integration with mixed traffic

• Increasing interest in separate motorcycle lanes– Malaysia– Brazil– China, P. R.– Island of Taiwan– Philippines

Slide 15Malaysia doubling limited access high-way

Sao PauloHigh speed motorcycle lane along median

Hefei, China

Segregating or Integrating Motorbikes from General Traffic

Slide 16

Slide 17

Bangkok Sukhumvit Rd

Slide 18

Separate 2-Wheelers lanes are of no use if:

• Motorists lane discipline is not assumed• 2-Wheelers compose less than 10% and

more than 50% of modal split• Design speed is under 40km/h

Slide 19

• Mode separation (and management of conflicts) may be workable if no more than 2, at most 3, modes dominate the road (ex: cars and motorcycles)

• In case of truly heterogeneous traffic, separation of motorcycle from mixed traffic may not be warranted

Slide 20

Light vehicle vs. heavy

Motorcycles and bus lanes

Slide 22

Bikes in the Curitiba busway: Photo, ITDP

Slide 23

Widely Divergent Policies

• China gradually banning motorbikes• Indian cities impose almost no road

access restrictions on Motorized 2 wheelers

• Many cities ban, cap, or restrict motor-rickshaws and motorbikes from certain highways, arterials and zones

Slide 24

Motorcycle encroachment on bikelanes and walkways occurs in specific and predictable

locations for predictable reasons

How to integrate with bicycles?

• Large motorbikes tend to terrorize bicycles off the roads and should be treated like cars.

• Electric light motorbikes integrate reasonably well with bicycles and could create additional users for bicycle-oriented infrastructure

• Hard to enforce any subtle distinction so middle range vehicles need to be banned.

Key regulatory conclusions• Road design for motorbikes should not be done in isolation. Rather,

multi-modal street design needed for specific traffic mix. • Standard lane widths and delineation not relevant if motorized two

and three wheelers are significant share of traffic• Segregation of motorcycles at junctions improves junction efficiency

but the same holds for bicycles. • Need clear distinction between motorbikes that are clean, light, and

quiet like a bicycle and those that are fast, heavy, and noisy like a car.

• Infrastructure and regulatory structures should privilege access to junctions and locations for the clean and light motorbikes to promote their use.