Data-driven transport for a sustainable future
Many smaller cities lack the capacity to gather data on how their public transport networks are used and plan their ongoing development. The team behind the OPTI-UP project are developing data-driven methods and smart tools to help optimise public transport networks and reduce their environmental impact, as technical director Mateo Uravić explains.
Many public transport networks across Europe have been developed and planned stochastically, particularly in small and medium-sized cities, which often lack planning capacity. Transport planning is a complex area, and often decisions around provision are driven by political demands rather than actual data, an issue the team behind the EU-backed OPTI-UP project is working to address. “We want to highlight the importance of data-driven methodologies and explore how modern analytical tools and modeling techniques can support effective planning and decisionmaking,” outlines Mateo Uravić, the project’s Technical Director. These solutions will be tested in six small and medium-sized cities across central Europe, with the aim of helping them provide sustainable public transport networks that meet local needs.
“We want to introduce transport authorities in these cities to the tools that current exist, to broaden their vision on public transport planning, and also integrate this with urban and spatial planning,” says Uravić.
The transport networks in these six cities vary in terms of length, scope and the dominant modes. The Italian city of Modena has a fairly large network, with trolley buses and buses, while Uravić says the five other cities – in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary – have a different profile. “Pécs is also a fairly big system, with just buses. Osijek is a medium-sized system, with trams and buses. Then Grosuplje, Paks and Český Krumlov are smaller, and they have only buses in their public transport systems,” he outlines. There is a relative
lack of organised, regular data collection and analysis in these cities. While various types of data, such as socio-demographic statistics, spatial development plans, transport demand patterns, and information from city, national, and EU-level databases, may be available, they are rarely integrated or used effectively.
“This data is often overlooked and not systematically applied in transport planning,” Uravic explains. “Decisions and plans around transport networks are often driven by political concerns, rather than looked at from above with a holistic perspective. They are not data-driven.”
their partners in each of the six cities to strengthen their capabilities in this area, taking local circumstances and the nature of the public transport network into account.
The current status of transport modelling in each of the areas will be assessed, with researchers working on local plans and strategies, which will then provide a solid foundation for the development of smart tools. “We will develop tools and look to see which have the biggest impact and which can be built within the scope of the OPTI-UP project,” outlines Uravić. Ensuring these tools are accessible and easy to use
“We want to highlight the importance of data-driven methodologies and explore how modern analytical tools and modelling techniques can support effective planning and decision-making .”
Public transport planning
This is something that Uravić and his colleagues in the project, which brings together nine partners across six countries, aim to change.
A key step here is to first gather relevant data on public transport usage patterns. “First of all you need data on the population size, and of course certain groups of customers tend to use a network at different times and with varying frequency. They also have varying points of origin and different destinations,” points out Uravić. “It’s also important to collect data on car usage patterns and other private modes of transport, and to consider the plans for land use in an area.”
This data is not easy to collect and use, and the project team are working with
is a major priority in the project. “We want to develop tools that can simplify the transport planning process, or at least strengthen stakeholders’ understanding of its importance,” says Uravić. “We want to enhance their transport modelling capabilities, and to teach stakeholders about the data they need to collect and how to interpret the results of modelling.”
The wider backdrop to this work is the goal of reducing the environmental impact of transport networks, while at the same time keeping people moving around to where they want to go. Cities need to prepare their public transport networks and fleets to shift towards alternative fuels in line with emissions reductions targets,
another topic of interest to Uravić and his colleagues. “Cities, operators and public transport agencies need to prepare and think about how they will plan their public transport networks with new rolling stock, as they start to use electric and hydrogenpowered vehicles. These vehicles will be very different to conventional buses and trams,” he acknowledges. Pilot actions are planned in two cities – Český Krumlov and Pécs – around electrifying the public transport system, which involves significant modification. “It’s necessary to make changes to the actual vehicles themselves, as well as to install charging points and optimise the public transport network with respect to the capabilities of electric vehicles,” continues Uravić.
Pilot activities
A number of other pilot activities are also planned in the project with preparatory work currently ongoing, such as evaluating the overall financial picture, as well as checking technical capabilities and rolling stock. The project team are also developing local plans for each of the six cities, which can help guide the ongoing development
of their public transport networks. “We plan to develop detailed, local plans that will help cities to further develop their public transport service in the future, regarding all the external impacts that are now happening,” says Uravić. These impacts include the green transition, the intense focus on sustainability, as well as demographic and technological changes that Uravić says will also need to be considered in transport planning. “Public transport jobs will be very different in future, while the emergence of new artificial intelligence tools is already having an impact,” he says. The long-term aim is to help improve the public transport networks in each of the six cities participating in the project, which will encourage more people to use buses and trams and reduce the number of cars on the road. The tools could also be applied in other urban areas facing similar challenges in future, with Uravić and his team looking at the broader picture. “We want to develop a single comprehensive strategy for all small and medium-sized cities, focusing on how they can develop specific local plans for themselves,” he outlines.” Improving public transport systems leads to significant benefits.”
