Importance of virtual trips for transport infrastructure planning

K Jauneikaitė,M Carreno

doi:10.3846/1822-427x.2009.4.61-68

Abstract

Limited possibilities of transport mobility, low quality and high prices of services induce local (change of living or working place) or virtual (e-work, e-government, e-shopping, e-communication) mobility of citizens. Despite the increased possibilities to avoid transport trips, street jams, pavement deterioration, the number of traffic accidents have been continuously growing. For this reason the research was carried out to define a possibility of physical trips (their purpose, length, transport mode) to be replaced by virtual trips, and to identify the influence of this replacement on the planning of territories and transport infrastructure. Based on the obtained results, the main assumptions have been formulated allowing a more effective plan of the land-tenure of transport and social infrastructure and to optimize new construction.

Highlights

According to State Enterprise “Regitra” “Statistics of Transport Registration” 2002, 2005 and 2008 years and Dept of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “Number of Habitants” 2002, 2005 and 2008, motorization level in Lithuania has been rapidly increasing; if in 2002 there were 340 cars per 1000 inhabitants, in 2005 this number came to 426, in 2008 – even to 506
Proposals for land use and transport infrastructure planning based on conclusions
The survey results were analysed with 95% probability and 1.9% error. Preliminary analysis of this data by the authors found an increasing use of the internet and decrease in number of physical trips made, suggesting an association between the 2 variables, but an inability to establish cause and effect. To address this key point, the 2006 diary was amended to include a series of questions asking respondents to state if physical trips have been replaced with virtual trips, and if yes, what trips and under what circumstances (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

According to State Enterprise “Regitra” “Statistics of Transport Registration” 2002, 2005 and 2008 years and Dept of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “Number of Habitants” 2002, 2005 and 2008, motorization level in Lithuania has been rapidly increasing; if in 2002 there were 340 cars per 1000 inhabitants, in 2005 this number came to 426, in 2008 – even to 506 Associated with this increase in car ownership, most of Lithuanian cities face a range of environmental and problems, including increasing city-centre congestion, high accident rates and a general worsening of environment quality. These problems have arisen as an outcome of too small supply of transport infrastructure and low quality of traffic organisation Such solutions like episodic reconstruction or building of intersections, streets, new structures fail to solve the above-mentioned problems but even worsen them: during such reconstructions the traffic is paralysed on the main streets (Burinskienė, Jauneikaitė 2008). It causes additional problems like costs of land use planning related to the taking of land for the right-of-way (Čygas et al 2007), conflict of interests, as owners of land to be taken off are involved and it enables solution to be operative and big demand for investment, which does not lead to an expected benefit.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion