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The need for effective public transport is greater than ever in the 21st century. With countries like China and India moving towards mass-automobility, we face the prospects of an environmental and urban health disaster unless alternatives are found. It is time to move beyond the automobile age. But while public transport has worked well in the dense cores of some big cities, the problem is that most residents of developed countries now live in dispersed suburbs and smaller cities and towns. These places usually have little or no public transport, and most transport commentators have given up on the task of changing this: it all seems too hard. This book argues that the secret of 'European-style' public transport lies in a generalizable model of network planning that has worked in places as diverse as rural Switzerland, the Brazilian city of Curitiba and the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver. It shows how this model can be adapted to suburban, exurban and even rural areas to provide a genuine alternative to the car, and outlines the governance, funding and service planning policies that underpin the success of the world's best public transport systems.
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Professor John Whitelegg, Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, UK
The need for effective public transport in the 21st century is greater than ever. With countries like China and India moving towards mass automobility, we face the prospects of an environmental and urban health disaster unless alternatives are found. It is time to move beyond the automobile age. But while public transport has worked well in the dense cores of some big cities, the problem is that most residents of developed countries now live in dispersed suburbs and smaller cities and towns. These places usually have little or no public transport, and most transport commentators have given up on the task of changing this – it all seems too hard. This book argues that the secret of ‘European-style’ public transport lies in a model of network planning that has worked in places as diverse as rural Switzerland, the Brazilian city of Curitiba and the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver. It shows how this model can be adapted to suburban, exurban and even rural areas to provide a genuine alternative to the car, and outlines the governance, funding and service planning policies that underpin the success of the world’s best public transport systems.
TRANSPORT FOR SUBURBIA Beyond the Automobile Age
Paul Mees
Paul Mees is Senior Lecturer in transport planning at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He is the author of A Very Public Solution: Transport in the Dispersed City (Melbourne University Press, 2000).
TRANSPORT FOR SUBURBIA
‘This is a powerful book that combines detailed practical observation with a rigorous intellectual assessment and shows exactly what is wrong with public transport systems around the world and what is needed to put them right … a masterly overview.’
Cover images: ‘Transport diagram’ © iStockphoto.com/Richard Simpkins ‘Suburban streets, farmland vista’ © iStockphoto.com/fotoVoyager
www.earthscan.co.uk Earthscan strives to minimize its impact on the environment Cities and Infrastructure
Paul Mees
Transport for Suburbia
Transport for Suburbia Beyond the Automobile Age
Paul Mees
publishing for a sustainable future
London • Sterling, VA
First published by Earthscan in the UK and USA in 2010 Copyright © Paul Mees, 2010 All rights reserved ISBN: 978-1-84407-740-3 Typeset by JS Typesetting Ltd, Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan Cover design by Rogue Four Design www.roguefour.co.uk For a full list of publications please contact: Earthscan Dunstan House 14a St Cross St London, EC1N 8XA, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7841 1930 Fax: +44 (0)20 7242 147