The Pound-4-Pound Public Transport Champions are located in…
…Scandinavia
Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki to be precise.
Why I hear you thinking… metro systems in Beijing and New York service more people and networks like those in London and Tokyo are significantly larger in scale. So what makes these Scandinavian cities the pound-4-pound public transport champions I hear you thinking…
Well I contend it is because they have high public transport use as a proportion of all mode share whilst having low population densities.
Cities with low population densities require their transport systems to travel further in order to service their dispersed residents. Making it difficult and expensive for cities and service operators to provide enough infrastructure and services to support easy and frequent use by the public.
Low population density urban areas are typically characterised as having high levels of car dependency resulting in high private vehicle mode share rates. Leading to low levels of public transportation utilisation (the US cities below reflect this trend).
Between 30-32% of all journeys in the urban areas of Stockholm, Helsinski and Oslo are taken by public transport despite having population densities (people/square kilometer) of 2230/km2, 2460/km2 and 3277/km2 respectively.
These Scandinavian city residents utilise public transport for their daily journeys with similar rates to those living in London, Beijing and Seoul, which have 2-3 times the population density and 10-20 times the population.
How has it been achieved…
Key factors facilitating and promoting public transport use in Scandinavian cities:
Multiple public transport options within each city
All have train, subway, tram, bus and ferie services.
‘Smart’ networks that keep users informed of service location and delays
Web based ticketing that removes physical barriers
Linear rail, metro and tram networks are supported by cross connecting bus routes
Frequent and reliable services that connect into other public transport services.
Investment in new and accessible infrastructure.
These factors have offset the barriers to utilisation presented by relatively high monthly and daily costs of public transport and accessibility challenges presented by cold and snowy winters.
Not convinced?
Come over to Oslo, grab a ticket on the Ruter app and start exploring.
Data Sourced from:Transport Mode Data: Deloitte Urban Mobility Index (2020 and 2018 datasets)Population Data: Oliver Wyman and University of California Berkeley Urban Mobility Readiness Index 2022 Report
