sustainable management of transport systems Flashcards
how do transport systems impact the environment
- Changes to the physical environment impact flora and fauna
- Increased carbon footprint
explain changes to the physical environment
how do transport systems impact the environment
- Physical space is needed to build transport systems.
- Natural vegetation and landscapes are cleared → deforestation
- Habitat fragmentation, loss of animal habitats, restricts animal movement, loss of wildlife.
- Animals may attempt to cross the roads, leading to road accidents, or the animals get killed.
- Modification of natural landscapes such as mountains, river channels, slopes and seas to allow transport modes to access them.
what are examples of habitat fragmentation
loss of animal habitat
impact of habitat fragmentation
restricts animal movement → loss of wildlife.
how to prevent animals from being killed
build wildlife corridors to allow animals to move safely across roads.
example of wildlife corridors
- Eco-link@BKE
- built over the Bukit Timah Expressway to connect Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
examples of modifications
- Build tunnels through mountain
- Build roads along mountain sides
- Diversion of river channels
why build tunnels through mountain
to reduce travel time
why build roads along mountain sides
to travel across mountains
why divide river channels
to create a more direct path to locations
example of diversion of river
Singapore River was diverted twice to allow for the safe construction of the MRT tunnels connecting Fort Canning and Chinatown stations on the Downtown Line.
explain increase carbon footprint
- fossil fuels are used to power motorised transport modes → increased carbon footprint
- Burning of fossil fuels generate greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
- Transport activities account for up to 25-30% of all greenhouse gases released
- As cities develop, transport systems will grow, and carbon footprints will increase.
why is it bad that fossil fuels generate greenhouse gases
- Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring gases in the atmosphere that trap heat to keep the Earth warm.
- Excessive concentrations of greenhouse gases due to human activities leads to enhanced greenhouse effects, global warming and climate change.
what does a carbon footprint measure
the amount of greenhouse gases released during human activities.
How Do Transport Systems Impact People in Cities?
- Improved mobility for elderly and people with disabilities
- Traffic congestion
- Health risks
- Safety risks
explain improved mobility for elderly persons with disabilities
(how do transport systems impact people in cities)
- Access to barrier-free and age friendly transport systems is important for independent living for the elderly and physically impaired.
- Singapore has designed Silver Zones
what is mobility
ability of people and freight to move from one place to another
why is mobility important
allows people access to goods and services, and opportunities for business, education and employment.
examples of ways to improve mobility
- pedestrian crossings that have longer crossing times (elderly and the disabled)
- need wider pedestrian lanes (wheelchairs and personal mobility devices)
where are silver zones located
areas in neighbourhoods that have higher concentrations of the elderly.
features of silver zones
- Brightly marked signage and yellow painted road strips
- Vehicular speed limit capped at 40km/h.
- Reduction of lanes at some road sections
- two-stage crossing
- Mountable centre dividers
what is the use of brightly marked signage and yellow painted road strips
to alert motorists to the start of a Silver Zone
what is the use of reducing the speed limit
so the elderly can cross the road safely
what is the use of the reduction of lanes at some road sections
to shorten crossing distance and reduce time taken to cross roads
what is the use of two stage crossing
that allows senior pedestrians to rest in the middle of a crossing
what is the use of mountable centre dividers
enable emergency vehicles to pass over them when safe to do so
Introduction of Silver Zones has reduced_
accidents involving elderly by 75% in 2019
indicators of traffic congestion
(how do transport systems impact people in cities)
- Long vehicle queues.
- Slow-moving vehicles.
- Longer travelling times for all road users.
impacts of traffic congestion on people
- Experience more accidents and delay for events.
- Experience frustration.
- Waste more time travelling.
- Display aggressive behaviour.
- Lose concentration.
impacts of traffic congestion on the environment
When congestion occurs, vehicles spend more time on the road, consuming more fuel and causing more pollution → increased carbon footprint
what are the health risks
(how do transport systems impact people in cities)
- air pollution
- noise pollution
how would transport systems cause air pollution
Burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere creating smog
impacts of smog
- Breathing difficulties
- Asthma
- Lung infection
- Potential lung cancer
- Eye irritation
how do transport systems cause noise pollution
Traffic congestion generates noise and results in people’s constant exposure to noise.
what noise level can affect health
above 53 dB
(according to WHO)
what is WHO
world health organisation
what impacts on health can noise >53 dB affect
- Sleep disturbance
- Reduced work performance
- Mental stress
- feelings of frustration and annoyance
- Hearing impairment
what are some safety risks
(how do transport systems impact people in cities)
- road safety
- personal security
- national security
how many traffic accidents did singapore record in 2022
108 fatalities
what is the impact of traffic accidents
- Loss of life
- Disabilities
- Increased health care demand due to medical follow-ups
- Damaged personal and public property
- Traffic police introduced more speed cameras to deter and detect speeding.
- Rules on usage of personal mobility devices (PMDs)
- its speed limit on different paths.
what are some personal security concerns
- Theft/pickpocketing
- Outrage of modesty
what are some ways that singapore countered the personal security concerns
- Increased police patrols
- Increasing number of security camera
- Introducing gender-segregated transportation
why would there be national security concerns
- Large number of people use terminals;
- Potential targets for terrorist attacks.
- High-profile targets that will garner media’s attention, giving terrorist groups the attention to boost their cause.
How can transport systems by sustainably managed?
- Laws and policies on transport
- Integrated land use and transport planning
- Provision of a range of mobility options for different groups of people
- Research and Development in transport
why is laws and policies on transport important
(How can transport systems by sustainably managed?)
manage people’s demand for transport
how does law and policies on transport manage peoples demand
- Discouraging ownership of private vehicles
- Encouraging commuters
- Road pricing or congestion pricing
how to discourage ownership of private vehicles
by controlling the number of private vehicles. E.g. Certificate of Entitlement (COE) vehicle quota system
what are some encouragements the government gives
(to make transport sustainable)
- to walk and cycle.
- use of public transport.
why is road/congestion pricing implemented
- Shape travel behaviour.
- Raise revenue to finance the transport system
what is road/congestion pricing
drivers are charged a premium when they use certain roads during specific time periods
what is the effect of road/congestion pricing
- makes driving costlier than public transport
- raise revenue to support development of public transport.
challenges of road pricing
- Overall flow of traffic is not reduced, just diverted to other roads without congestion pricing.
- Regulations on vehicle usage have to be tightly enforced.
- Unhappiness may arise over additional charges.
example of road/congestion pricing
- In 2007, Sweden implemented a congestion pricing system in central Stockholm has reduced:
- Traffic in and out of city by 20%
- Traffic delays by 30 to 50 %.
what does integrated land use and transport planning allow
(How can transport systems by sustainably managed?)
a better accessibility to different places
how does it allow better accessibility
- Reduces travel time.
- Makes travelling safe.
- Makes travelling affordable, convenient and environment friendly.
what does integrated land use and transport planning require
- good coordination and communication between different stakeholders to balance social, economic and transport needs.
- investing of time and large amount of capital to design and develop infrastructure.
what is needed to encourage active mobility
designing and developing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure
example of designing and developing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure
- the walkable distance from a location known as a pedestrian shed is defined as a 5 min or 400 m walk.
- Wide, shaded paths with attractive facades and shops to provide an enjoyable walking experience.
what is land use planning
Refers to where and how land should be used.
example of good land use planning
the need for long distance commutes is reduced when business parks and commercial centres offering employment opportunities are planned near residential areas.
what is transport planning
Refers to the process of looking at the current state of transport, then predicting and designing the operation, provision and management of transport infrastructure and services for current and future needs.
if transport planning is executed properly __
will make future transport, safer, faster and more convenient.
what is singapores land transport master plan
(8)
- Creates well-planned towns and cities.
- Grow business and employment opportunities.
- Increase educational opportunities.
- Increase healthcare and recreational options.
- Reduce passenger travel times and frequent single trips.
- Expand the MRT network to 360km by 2030.
- Have 80% household live within a 10 min walk of a train station.
- Develop 20 min town rides and 45 min city ride using shared modes of transport by 2040.
why is providing a range of mobility options for different groups important
- Mobility of individuals can be limited
- Poorly designed transport infrastructure and inconvenience of travelling can prevent elderly, wheelchair users, disabled people from travelling → leading to isolation.
- Provision of barrier-free transport facilities is important in developing inclusive transport systems that cater to diverse mobility needs.
examples of limited mobility of individuals
- physical disabilities
- health issues
- cost of transport
- transport system design
- availability of transport modes
challenges of provision of range of different mobility options
- Costly and require physical space.
- Careful planning is needed to ensure that resources are not wasted while providing a range of mobility options for all communities.
- A balance must be struck between cost of providing mobility options and resources wasted, as it is important that everyone has access to transport systems.
what are the key R&D areas in transport
- Mobile applications
- challenges of mobile applications
- Environmentally friendly transport modes
- Electric vehicles
- challenges of electric vehicles
- Autonomous vehicles (AVs) or driverless vehicles
- challenges of AVs
benefits of mobile applications
- Mobile applications to improve mobility:
- Arrival times
- Delays due to weather or road conditions
- Availability of wheelchair access
- Seat availability on transport
with information from mobile apps,
commuters can better plan their journey → reduce travel time and cost → public transport becomes attractive mode of transport.
challenges of mobile applicants
- Elderly who is less tech-savy will not know how to use mobile application.
- Dependency on technology that is online opens people to cyber security risks.
- Transport arrival times can be inaccurate.
how to develop safer and more environmentally friendly transport modes
through the use of green building materials and techniques when constructing transport infrastructure
benefit of electric vehicles
- Has a smaller carbon footprint compared to conventional vehicles powered by fossil fuels.
- Produce less air and noise pollution.
when was the 1st fleet of electric buses rolled out
2020
when does the LTA aim to have 100% cleaner energy bus fleet
by 2040
challenges of electric vehicles
- Electric buses cost at least twice as much as conventional buses.
- Cost of building and maintaining new infrastructure to support use of electric vehicle is high.
- Supply of electricity is generated by fossil fuels so carbon footprint of electric vehicles is not zero.
benfits of AVs/driverless vehicles
- Use sensors to identify other vehicles and pedestrians to avoid road accidents and enhance road safety.
- Use fuel-efficient technology that reduces emission and energy consumption.
what does AVs stand for
Autonomous vehicles
challenges of AVs
- There are people who are uncomfortable with driverless cars.
- R & D of AVs requires huge amount of investment and is time-consuming.
- Safety and cyber security challenges must be overcome before AVs can be a common feature on road.
