Search

The origins of a road user charging concept for central London and the development of the central London congestion charging scheme are outlined. The paper then explains the objectives and the main features of Transport for London's programme of impacts monitoring of the scheme. It summarises the main results that were obtained. Drawing on the extensive data from the monitoring programme, the paper then compares the patterns of congestion and traffic flows that were observed in the original scheme and in its western extension. This shows how congestion was initially eased as traffic levels were reduced and how it subsequently increased as the effective capacity of the road network was reduced or reallocated. The paper concludes with some reflections on the achievements of the charging scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chassis dynamometer driving cycles designed to quantify vehicle emissions often miss the extremes in driver behaviour. The vehicle emissions measured during these driving cycles are used for modelling and policy purposes. To better understand the impact of omitting such extremes, two drivers were asked to follow a set of behavioural rules to replicate 'aggressive' and 'passive' driving styles along a real-world route in Southampton, UK. The test route included a wide range of traffic conditions that could be expected on urban roads. The resulting driving profiles were compared to a number of legislative driving cycles - this indicated that aggressive driving was poorly addressed by these cycles. When replicated on a chassis dynamometer, the aggressive profile produced carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and carbon dioxide emission rates of 2·68, 0·853 and 183·6 g/km, respectively, whereas the passive profile produced only 0·064, 0·011 and 124·4 g/km, respectively. Non-inclusion of aggressive driving styles in legislative driving cycles will mean that driving events that lead to disproportionately high emissions are not addressed by legislation designed to improve overall vehicle emissions control performance (e.g. Euro standards). In addition, a proportion of vehicle emissions will be missed from the modelling process which may have implications for local authorities declaring Air Quality Management Areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1990s Cambridgeshire County Council considered the implementation of a road user charging scheme for the city of Cambridge, UK. This involved the trial of a congestion metering scheme, a form of road user charging. Cambridge presented an ideal opportunity for the implementation of a road user charging scheme not least in terms of its congestion problem, the free-standing nature of the city and the fact that at the time, the local authority in the form of the council was sympathetic to the objectives of road user charging. The scheme did not, however, proceed and many reasons have been put forward as to why this was the case—issues such as not all the alternatives having been exhausted, the level of sophistication of the proposed scheme and the lack of a similar scheme to consider elsewhere. Fifteen years later, Cambridgeshire is once again considering the whole issue of road user charging. As such, the aim of this paper is to assess how the authority is proceeding this time round: what type of technology is being considered; how the politicians are presenting the concept to the local population and what are they doing differently from the first time round, in terms of consultation; and most importantly, what provision for alternative means of transport will be made and how this relates to the potential success of any road user charging scheme? The paper aims to conclude on what lessons can be learnt in terms of other cities considering the implementation of a road user charging scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Victoria line, extended to Brixton by July 1971, was London's first completely new underground line since the 'tube boom' of the early twentieth century. The new line created connections between the underground and national rail networks, and relieved congestion on London's transport network. Three decades later, Brixton station was at the forefront of a new challenge, this time to improve accessibility of the London Underground network to disabled and encumbered passengers. In 2001 work began to provide step-free access from street to platform levels at Brixton station, to alleviate congestion within the station, and to harness additional benefits by constructing new office and retail facilities. This paper describes the construction, emergency preparedness, site safety, contract administration and assurance aspects of delivering the project. The project successfully executed demolition, building construction, structural, tunnelling and services works while maintaining the safe and effective operation of the station. A number of recommendations are made to assist in the execution of similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Highways Agency's National Traffic Control Centre (NTCC) became fully operational in November 2003. The services provided by the control centre are key to satisfying the objectives of providing better information to travellers and ensuring more reliable journeys. This paper describes the policy context within which the control centre has been delivered; the means by which it collects data on conditions on England's motorway and all-purpose trunk road network; how those data are analysed; and the means by which information is disseminated to the general public. These services are providing the catalyst for the development of traffic information delivery tools by the Agency and private sector information providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, studies of incidents on British motorways have been very limited. As part of a study into the role of Incident Support Units (ISUs) on the M25, the London orbital motorway, an analysis of road traffic incidents was undertaken. Motorway incident data were collected through closed circuit television (CCTV) observations at Surrey Police's Godstone Motorway Control Room. The collected data covered the Surrey Police section of the M25 motorway between Clacket Lane Services and Junction 14, for a four-week period between 5 November and 11 December 2003. Incident frequency, durations, locations, detection times, notification methods and ISU involvement were examined. It was found that the average incident frequency was 16.1 incidents per day for the study area, and the highest occurrence of incidents was found to be between 11.00 am and 12.00 pm. On average the recorded incidents lasted 1 h 9 min, with those occurring in the evening peak period lasting the longest. The distribution of incidents along the study area showed that the section between Junctions 9 and 10 had the highest rate for the study period. A comparison of incident characteristics between US and UK studies was also conducted. Incident rates between the M25 and the US were found to be substantially different, and incident durations were found to be between double and triple those of the US. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed in the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of a road user charging concept for central London and the development of the central London congestion charging scheme are outlined. The paper then explains the objectives and the main features of Transport for London's programme of impacts monitoring of the scheme. It summarises the main results that were obtained. Drawing on the extensive data from the monitoring programme, the paper then compares the patterns of congestion and traffic flows that were observed in the original scheme and in its western extension. This shows how congestion was initially eased as traffic levels were reduced and how it subsequently increased as the effective capacity of the road network was reduced or reallocated. The paper concludes with some reflections on the achievements of the charging scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]