Content uploaded by Nikolaos Gavanas
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Nikolaos Gavanas
Content may be subject to copyright.
98
IS A NEW METRO LINE A MEAN FOR SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
AMONG COMMUTERS? THE CASE OF THESSALONIKI CITY
Nikolaos Gavanas1, Ioannis Politis2, Konstantinos Dovas3, Emmanouil Lianakis4
1, 2, 3, 4 Transport Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, School of Technology, Aristotle
University of essaloniki, 54124 essaloniki
Received 13 June 2011; accepted 26 March 2012
Abstract: No one can argue that x route transport systems, like metro, can signicantly
contribute to the target of sustainable mobility by shiing a large number of persons from
their current transport mode of choice – in most cases private cars. However, the individual
characteristics of the traveller (like the trip purpose and the socioeconomic background)
can aect the demand for such a transport mode. In this context, the paper aims to develop a
methodology for the investigation of the impact of these characteristics on the potential use
of the new Metro System of essaloniki by daily commuters. More specic, a questionnaire
survey based on stated preference techniques is developed and a pilot application is conducted
at the area of three future metro stations with dierent geographic location and economic
prole. e pilot application showed daily commuters of middle and high income are more
frequent users of private cars. Approximately the ¾ of commuters with destination to the city
centre are expected to shi to the metro, while the corresponding share for through trac
commuters is diminished due to the dependence on the private car for large distance work trips.
Keywords: urban transport, sustainable mobility, metro system, stated preference, questionnaire survey.
2 Corresponding author: pol@civil.auth.gr
International Journal for Trac and Transport Engineering, 2012, 2(2): 98 – 106
1. Introduction
Nowadays, almost 60% of the European
citizens are living in cities and approximately
85% of the European GDP is produced
within urban areas. Despite their specific
features, the European cities have to face
and overcome similar problems (congestion,
pollution, threats on public health, safety and
security issues), with road trac pertaining
to be one of the main contributors. The
delays and the greater negative impacts due
to traffic congestion cost over 1% of the
European GDP (Commission, 2001). In
addition, the ongoing urban sprawl causes
the following vicious cycle: e increase of
car dependency increases the demand for
new road infrastructure, which leads to the
growth of new activities and the increase of
the number and distance of trips, leading to
the increase of car dependency and so on.
The main objective of policy makers and
transport planners is to abolish this cycle, or
at least to delay it, by introducing initiatives
that can alter not only the supply side of the
transport system (e.g. new tram or metro line),
but also to aect the demand for travel (such
as decreasing the frequency of trips and the
mode selection).
e demand of urban transport is spatially
distributed and it is vital for the transport
planner to detect areas presenting common
travel, behavioural and socioeconomic
UDC: 625.42(495)
99
characteristics. e current paper aempts
to identify the factors of potential demand for
a new transport mode by taking into account
the above specic characteristics, which can
have an impact on travellers’ choice. In this
context, the paper aims at the development
of a methodological approach and a pilot
application for the estimation of the potential
use of the essaloniki’s Metro System.
2. The City of Thessaloniki and the New
Metro System
essaloniki is the largest city of Northern
Greece with a population of approximately
1,000,000 inhabitants. e road network of
the city centre is congested and delays are
presented during peak periods mainly due to
commuters’ trac. According to the General
Transportation Study of the Thessaloniki
metropolitan area, approximately 1,600,000
trips are made daily in the city. Almost 25% of
these trips use the city centre as their origin or
destination (or both) (O.M.P.e., 2000). As
a result, trac and associated environmental
problems related with delays, vehicle queues,
energy consumption and pollutants emissions
are observed.
e public transport system of essaloniki
comprises the urban bus system operated by
the Urban Transport Organisation (OASTH).
e number of passengers annually served by
this eet is 180,000,000 approximately with
a mean occupancy of 42% (Gavanas, 2005).
Currently, a metro system is under
construction in the city (its completion
date is foreseen for the year 2014), which is
expected to serve 250,000 passengers daily
(Aiko Metro, 2011). e main line of the
metro (Line 1) has a total length of 9.5 km
and is expected to cost approximately 1 billion
euros. In addition, public funds of 400 million
euros have been secured for the extension
of the metro system to Kalamaria (Line 2).
e master plan of the city betoken that an
extensive metro network will cover the city
sprawl for the next 20 years (Fig. 1). Table 1
presents the main technical and operational
characteristics for the two lines that are under
construction (Aiko Metro, 2011).
Gavanas N. et al. Is a New Metro Line a Mean for Sustainable Mobility Among Commuters? e Case of essaloniki City
Fig. 1.
Network Extension Plan of essaloniki Metro System
100
It is estimated that the new metro system
will have a positive impact in terms of
transportation and environmental benets.
Regarding the transportation indices, it
is calculated that due to the diversion of
preference from the bus to the new metro
Line 1, the net benets will be approximately
68.5 million euros (values 2004), derived
just from the rst year of operation. ese
benets were calculated to reach 188 million
euros until 2036 (Papaioannou, 2007). As far
as the environmental benets are concerned,
it is estimated that the operation of Line 1
within the period 2012-2041 will decrease the
CO2 emissions approximately by 1.25 million
tones and the CO emissions by 25 thousands
tones mainly due to the diminishment of road
trac volumes and congestion.
Taking all the above into account, it can be
argued that the new metro system can play
a key role towards the vision of sustainable
mobility. However, certain questions emerge
in respect to the fulllment of the target of
sustainability: How sure is it that all potential
users are aracted by the new metro system?
What are the individual characteristics that
can act as barriers to adopt sustainable
behaviour? In the context of this paper some
of these questions are examined through
the development of a stated preference
questionnaire survey for the examination of
the potential of ve modes (car, motorcycle,
taxi, bus, metro) for through and towards
the centre commuting and a pilot application
focused on three future metro station areas.
3. The Stated and Revealed Preference
Techniques
e stated and revealed preference surveys
are being used for decades in order to
value nonmarket public goods. Nonmarket
goods are those not exchanged in markets,
such as the environmental quality and the
improvement of transportation systems and
services. Most of the methods are specically
designed to estimate individuals’ “Willingness
to Pay” (WTP) for certain improvements and
services, or their “Willingness to Accept”
(WTA), where the accepted (or not accepted)
paying value for the improvement (or
respectively worsening) of a transportation
index (e.g. deaths related to road accidents)
is calculated (Politis et al., 2009).
In stated preference (SP) surveys responders
are asked to rate, rank or choose between
different hypothetical product/service
scenarios made up of different attribute
International Journal for Trac and Transport Engineering, 2012, 2(2): 98 – 106
Table 1
Technical and Operational Characteristics of Metro System
Characteristic Value
Vehicle Capacity 450pas/train
Density 5 pas/m2
Max Speed 80 km/h
Commercial Speed 30 km/h
Frequency 1min 30 sec (peak hours) - 2 min (o-peak hours)
Daily Passengers 250,000 (Line 1) - 300,000 (Line 1+2)
Max Hourly Capacity 18,000 pas
101
mixes. e choices made by the responders
can be used to infer how they value dierent
aributes (Abley, 2010). e methodological
framework of the SP analysis is based on
the random utility theory, which assumes
that each consumer (the user of a new road
facility or service for transport studies) is a
rational decision maker, aiming to maximize
his personal utility when making choices.
Two of the most spread methods that are
being used in SP analysis are the Contingent
Valuation Method and the Conjoint Analysis
Method (Sanko, 2002).
Revealed preference (RP) theory is a method
by which it is possible to discern consumer
behaviour on the basis of variable prices and
incomes (Samuelson, 1938). A consumer
with a given income will buy a mixture of
products, as his income changes the mixture
of goods and services will also change. It is
assumed that the consumer will never select
a combination which is more expensive than
that which was previously chosen. RP theory
deliberately ignores measures of utility and
indifference. RP data are gathered either
through direct observation or in surveys
asking about actual behaviour. The most
commonly used revealed preference method
is the Hedonic Price Method (HPM).
4. Methodological Approach
For the purposes of the study, a questionnaire
survey was conducted using SP techniques.
e rst part of the questionnaire comprises
four sections. At the rst section, a number
of questions regarding the way people are
moving from/to their work were asked. e
second section includes questions about the
household characteristics like the number of
persons and the income level as it is perceived
by the members of the household. e third
section aims at the identification of the
personal characteristics of the responder (e.g.
age and gender) and nally the last section
of the revealed part is aiming to identify the
current travel patterns of the interviewed
persons, such as the current travel mode
choice, the average travel time for commuting
trips etc.
At the second part of the survey, a stated
preference survey was conducted. At this
part, the responders were asked to state their
preference, between two (binary) preselected
travel modes (car, motorcycle, taxi, bus and
metro). e aributes of the choice based
SP game were two: the cost of travel and the
travel time. Table 2 presents an example of
the cards of the SP game.
Table 2
Example of the Choice Based Stated Preference
Game
Aribute Bus Metro
Travel Cost 0,50 euro Increase by
0.50 euro
Time Cost 30 min Decrease by
12.2 min
5. Pilot Application and Discussions of
Results
In order to test the applicability of the
proposed methodological approach, a pilot
application was conducted comprising:
the conduction of a questionnaire survey,
the collection of data, the management of
results and the extraction of conclusions
and proposals. The questionnaire survey
was conducted within a radius of 200 m
(walking distance) around the area of
three future metro stations for a sample of
105 commuters. Each of the station areas
is characterized by a different geographic
Gavanas N. et al. Is a New Metro Line a Mean for Sustainable Mobility Among Commuters? e Case of essaloniki City
102
location and income level (Gavanas, 2005):
Kalamaria (east end of the city/high income),
Fleming (east side of city center/medium
income) and Lagada (west side of the city
center/low income). In Fig. 1 it is illustrated
the station areas (orange circles) and the city
centre (green rectangular). e presentation
of results involves the development of a series
of thematic diagrams and tables for: a) each of
the three metro station areas, b) the synthetic
analysis, including total values for the pilot
application area, c) the comparative analysis
between the three areas in respect to their
location and income level.
The questionnaire survey showed that
the 75.2% of the responders come from
households of medium income level while
the percentage of both low and high income
level households was found equal to 12.4%.
In Fig. 2 it is presented the current mode
choice for commuting in relation to the
household income level, where it is evident the
dominance of the private car for commuters of
medium and high income. e percentage of
commuters using the public bus is high for the
groups of low and medium income while the
percentage of taxi is relatively high (15.3%)
only for the group of high income.
International Journal for Trac and Transport Engineering, 2012, 2(2): 98 – 106
Fig. 2.
Current Transport Mode Choice for Commuting in Relation to the Household Income Level
According to the pilot application results, 70
out of the total of 105 responders are expected
to shi from the current transport mode to the
metro for their daily work trips. e 84.3%
of these commuters are of the age groups of
18-35 (40%) and 35-55 (44.3%) while the
commuters of older age seem more reluctant
to change their current choice of mode.
Furthermore, according to the current mode
choice in relation to age and sex, the percentage
of male commuters of all age groups (18-35,
35-55 and over 55 years old) using private
cars for their daily work trips is approximately
60% while the corresponding percentage for
female commuters is less than 15%. On the
contrary, the 58.6% of women commuters
prefer the bus whereas the corresponding
percentage of male commuters varies from
103
15.8% (18-35 years old) to 22,2% (over 55
years old).
In Table 3 there is a presentation of the current
mode choice for commuting and the potential shi
to metro that is expected to take place aer
its operation. From the Table 3 it can be
observed for the Kalamaria metro station area
the relatively high percentage of commuters
that use private cars for their daily work trips.
is is due to their higher income level and
also to the comparatively larger distance
that they have to travel in order to reach
their destination (either towards or through
the city centre). For the whole of the pilot
application area, the percentage of commuters
that are expected to shift from the private
car to the metro aer its operation is 57%
with small variations among the three areas.
It should also be noticed that the majority
of motorcycle users in the areas which are
closer to the city centre are not expected to
shi from the motorcycle to the metro mainly
because of the low cost, the exibility and the
door to door service provided by the specic
transport mode.
Gavanas N. et al. Is a New Metro Line a Mean for Sustainable Mobility Among Commuters? e Case of essaloniki City
Table 3
Current Transport Mode Selection for Commuting and Potential Shi to Metro by Transport Mode
Metro station
area Transport mode
Before metro Aer metro
Current
selection (%)
Current
selection (%)
Shi to metro
(%)
Kalamaria
private car 51.4 22.8 28.6
motorcycle 20.0 5.7 14.3
Bus 20.0 2.9 17.1
pedestrian/bicycle 2.9 2.9 0.0
Ta x i 5.7 2.8 2.9
Tota l 100 37.1 62.9
Fleming
private car 34.3 14.3 20.0
motorcycle 8.6 8.6 0.0
Bus 45.7 0,0 45.7
pedestrian/bicycle 5.7 5.7 0,0
Ta x i 5.7 2.8 2.9
Tota l 100 31.4 68.6
Lagada
private car 34.3 14.3 20.0
motorcycle 14.3 11.4 2.9
Bus 45.7 5.7 40.0
pedestrian/bicycle 5.7 0.0 5.7
Ta x i 0.0 0.0 0.0
Tota l 100 31.4 68.6
104
International Journal for Trac and Transport Engineering, 2012, 2(2): 98 – 106
As far as the distribution of work trips according to
destination is concerned, the pilot application
showed that 51.4% of the commuters
originated from the Kalamaria metro station
area have to reach a destination within the
city centre and 40% conduct a through trac
work trip. e corresponding values for the
Fleming and Lagada metro station areas are
54.3% and 51.4% with destination to the city
centre and 28.5% and 25.7% for through trac
respectively.
In Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 it is illustrated the transport
mode choice for commuting towards and through the
city centre respectively. In these Figures, each
pair of bars represents the current transport
Fig. 4.
Current Transport Mode Choice and Potential Shi om Each Mode to the Metro as a Percentage of
Total Commuters with Destination rough the City Centre
Fig. 3.
Current Transport Mode Choice and Potential Shi om Each Mode to the Metro as a
Percentage of Total Commuters with Destination to the City Centre
105
mode choice and the potential shi om the specic
mode to the metro as percentage (%) of the
total number of commuters using all modes.
Fig. 3 shows that 47.3% of the commuters
towards the city centre chose the bus for their
daily work trips. Aer the operation of the
metro, the commuters that are expected to
shi from the bus to the new mode represent
the 40% of the total number of commuters
with destination to the city centre. e 74.5%
of the total number of commuters with
destination to the city centre are willing to
shi from their current mode choice to the
metro. In Fig. 4 it can be observed that 76.5%
of the commuters that conduct through trac
currently use private cars and only 30.7% of
them are willing to shi from this mode to
the metro. An overall of 41.2% of the through
trac commuters are expected to shi from
their current mode choice to the metro. In this
percentage it is included the combined use of
metro for the initial part of the trip and other
modes (bus and rail mainly) for the nal part.
6. Conclusive Remarks
In the current study it is presented a
methodological approach (based on a stated
preference questionnaire survey) for the ex
ante evaluation of potential demand for
the essaloniki Metro System. e study
aims at the investigation of the role of the
new transport mode for the promotion
of sustainable mobility in the city of
essaloniki. More specic, it is examined
how the new transport mode will aect the
mode choice of daily commuters towards
and through the city centre, thus alleviating
congestion from the road network during
peak periods. e proposed methodological
approach was tested by a pilot application
which led to a series of interesting ndings:
There is a strong dependency on private
car use at the current situation for daily
work trips and especially for trips through
the city centre. e survey showed that the
majority of through trac commuters will
use their cars even aer the operation of the
metro. Furthermore, the commuters that use
motorcycles to reach their work places in the
city centre appear satised with the level of
service provided by the specic mode and
are not willing to shi to the new transport
mode. e greatest share of the metro users
is expected to come from commuters that
currently use the Thessaloniki public bus
system. is is due to the fact that the main
routes of the public bus network today are
parallel to the under construction metro lines.
Finally, it was also observed that in the current
situation there is almost no use of combined
transport for commuting through the city
centre.
us, in order to further reduce the use of the
private car it is proposed the promotion of
the combined use of public transport modes
and more specic: the provision of vertical
connections to the main metro lines by the
public bus system and the complementary
use of the metro with other fixed route
systems (such as suburban railway) in order
to service long distance trips. At the same
time, the metro’s park & ride services is
expected to contribute towards this direction.
Furthermore, the operation of the metro
system should be combined with measures
for the restriction of the private car use and
the promotion and extensive use of bicycle
networks, bus lanes and pedestrian ways in the
wider area of the city centre and other areas.
us, the new transport mode will provide the
opportunity of radically change the prole of
the essaloniki transport system and upgrade
the quality of the urban environment.
Gavanas N. et al. Is a New Metro Line a Mean for Sustainable Mobility Among Commuters? e Case of essaloniki City
106
Acknowledgments
This paper was presented at REACT
Conference “e International Conference
on Climate Friendly Transport”, which was
held in Belgrade, Serbia, on May 16-17, 2011.
References
Abley, J. 2000. Stated preference techniques and consumer
decision making: New challenges to old assumptions,
Working Paper, School of Management website. Available
from Internet: < hp://hdl.handle.net/1826/664>.
Attiko Metro website. 2011. Available from Internet:
<hp://www.ametro.gr>.
Commission of the European Communities. 2001. White
Paper. European transport policy for 2010: Time to decide,
COM(2001) 370 nal, Brussels, 124 p.
Gavanas, N. 2005. The contribution of information and
communication technologies to the management of transport
in a metropolitan area, (in Greek), Paper conducted and
presented at the Department of Civil Engineering, School
of Technology, Aristotle University of essaloniki. 1-12.
Organization for the Master Plan and Environmental
Protection of essaloniki. 2000. General Transport Study (G.T.S)
of essaloniki Metropolitan Area, Denco, Trademco, Infodim,
Aggelidis, Truth, SDG, WS-Atkins, essaloniki. 45-60.
Papaioannou, P. 2007. e metro system of essaloniki,
Polimixano Magazine, Faculty of Engineering, Aristotle
University of essaloniki. 15-20.
Politis, I.; Basbas, S. 2009. Advanced techniques for
understanding and modeling travel behaviour in Greece,
In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Experiments/
Process/System Modeling/Simulation & Optimization, (3rd
EpsM so), Athens. 1-6.
Samuelson, P.A. 1938. A note on the pure theory of
consumers’ behavior, Econometrica NS, 5 (17): 61-71.
Sanko, N. 2002. Best practice in stated preference surveys,
In Proceedings of the European Transport Conference, Association
of European Transport, Cambridge. 1-17.
DA LI JE NOVA LINIJA METROA NAČIN ZA
POSTIZANJE ODRŽIVE MOBILNOSTI DNEVNE
MIGRACIJE PUTNIKA? SLUČAJ SOLUNA
Nikolaos Gavanas, Ioannis Politis,
Konstantinos Dovas, Emmanouil Lianakis
Sažetak: Ne može se osporiti da podsistemi
javnog masovnog linijskog transporta, poput
metroa, mogu značajno da doprinesu održivoj
mobilnosti, preusmeravajući veliki broj putnika
koje se trenutno, u većini slučajeva, opredeljuju
za privatne automobile, na drugi vid prevoza.
Međutim, i individualne odlike putnika (kao
što su svrha putovanja i socioekonomske
karakteristike) mogu da utiču na potražnju
za jednim takvim vidom transporta. Shodno
tome, cilj ovog rada je da razvije metodologiju
za istraživanje uticaja ovih karakteristika stalnih
korisnika na potrebu uvođenja podsistema
metroa u Solunu. Denisan je upitnik koji se
zasniva na tehnikama iskazane preferencije i
sprovedeno je pilot istraživanje u zonama tri
buduće stanice metroa sa različitim geografskim
lokacijama i ekonomskim prolom korisnika.
Pilot istraživanje je pokazalo da stalni putnici
sa srednjim i visokim primanjima češće koriste
privatne automobile. Očekuje se da bi oko ¾
stalnih putnika, čije je krajnje odredište centar
grada, trebalo da promeni vid kretanja i da svoje
putovanje realizuje metroom, dok se očekuje
da će udeo ovog vida transporta kod stalnih
putnika sa dijametralnim karakteristikama
putovanja biti znatno niži, usled korišćenja
privatnih automobila za duga dijametralna
putovanja do posla.
Ključne reči: javni gradski transport, održiva
mobilnost, sistem metroa, iskazane preferencije,
anketa.
International Journal for Trac and Transport Engineering, 2012, 2(2): 98 – 106
