Increasingly, the role of transport planning is not just to build more roads to ease the passage of vehicles through town and city centres but to devise more pedestrian-friendly, accessible transport schemes that reduce car use and give people more choice in how they get from A to B. With congestion and long distance commuting continuing to rise, how people organise their journeys takes on a greater significance.
Multi modal studies (MMS) provide a powerful tool for developing integrated, environmentally responsible transport strategies. Buro Happold’s planning team use modelling techniques to identify alternative means of travel to the private car. We forecast the usage of each type of public transport and assess the impact of this holistic approach on income streams, traffic flow and sustainability targets.
Our designers assess the best long-term solutions to specific transport problems – which may or may not involve building new roads. We look at the effectiveness of each transport ‘mode’ in meeting people’s travelling needs, looking in particular at opportunities for ‘modal transfer’, where local journeys are completed using a combination of roads, mass transit systems (buses or light rail), cycling and walking.
It has been shown that a fully integrated system can be more efficient than relying on a single transit solution – for example, European cities with light rail (or trams) and buses tend to have a higher public transport modal split than (say) buses-only cities. Because public transport offers easy street access and integrates well with pedestrian movement, it also becomes more practical to pedestrianise central shopping areas.
Multi modal studies can vary in size and complexity: larger studies cover major strategic transport networks while smaller studies focus on more specific localised problems that would benefit from detailed analysis. By helping to solve chronic congestion and pollution problems, a multi modal approach creates a cleaner, safer urban environment and enables smoother movement of people and goods.
