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Clean Transport in the City
Introduction
Aberdeen City is currently involved in the CARE North (Carbon Responsible Transport for the North Sea Region) Project and part of the European Interreg IVB Programme. This has enabled the Council to take advantage of European funding to investigate a number of carbon responsible transport projects for Aberdeen City.
CARE North
While the North Sea Region (NSR) deals with the effects of climate change, transport-related CO2 emissions continue to increase. We face an urgent need to develop and implement carbon reduction strategies and to secure an ongoing energy supply for transport. CARE North has developed and proposes to implement innovative carbon reduction strategies for urban and regional transport to maintain and improve accessibility in a more carbon responsible way, and to make the NSR a leader in carbon-efficient accessibility.
Low Emission Zone
| "A Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is a geographically defined area where the most polluting vehicles are restricted, deterred or discouraged from access and use" |
Examples are found in Greenwich, Oxford, Bath and London. Other cities looking into LEZs include Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leeds.
Although schemes generated within the CARE North study would impact the whole City, the main focus is on the city centre as it forms the hub of all trips. Here, both hourly and daily concentrations of NO2 and PM10 are regularly exceeded, and transport and traffic are the main contributors. An Air Quality Management Area has been declared for the City Centre and Aberdeen City has produced an Air Quality Action Plan (2010) to address the air quality problems. In terms of the problem freight and buses cause 80% of the air quality issues, but only represent 20% of the traffic within the city centre. Whilst the larger vehicles are more polluting it is the other vehicles on the road that result in our main providers of public transport and our primary means of moving goods polluting even more as they get caught up in traffic.
A Consultant is undertaking the work on a feasibility study for the LEZ and the Scoping Assessment is now complete and the Detailed Assessment is underway. The options being considered in detail are:
- A Bus LEZ covering the city centre AQMA or all routes within the City
- And an HGV LEZ covering Market Street and Virginia Street – ie routes to/ from the harbour area
A range of complementary measures to support the LEZ with the aim of making the LEZ work more effectively, and more acceptable to those most affected include route signage, signage to discourage vehicle idling, management of loading and waiting restrictions and traffic management measures. ACC is also determining possible alternatives to full LEZ including reassessment of road hierarchy and traffic management measures.
We will also look to adopt a freight and bus friendly strategy for enabling movements as quickly and efficiently as possible, whilst allowing for upgrades to newer, cleaner technologies.
Off-Bus Ticketing
One project being looked into by ACC to complement the LEZ is to determine whether the installation of on-street bus ticket machines, where passengers can purchase a ticket before boarding a bus, could help speed up bus boarding times, thereby reducing the amount of time that buses spend idling (and therefore polluting) at bus stops. This study will also seek to identify where the best locations for such machines would be.
Car Club
ACC has also commissioned a study into the feasibility of launching a Car Club in Aberdeen. A Car Club is an organisation that owns a number of cars which are shared amongst its members. Members simply have to book a car, via the phone or the internet, when they need it and are charged on a pay-as-you-drive basis.
Members of the club benefit in that they do not have to own a car themselves, therefore saving them money and removing the need to find a parking space which can be difficult in City Centre locations. The local authority sets aside dedicated parking spaces for Car Club vehicles in key locations throughout the area.
There are also a number of environmental benefits to having a Car Club operating in the City. Members of a Car Club typically reduce their car use after joining the Club, and more than half of members choose to give up their own car or decide not to buy a second car, opting to join the Car Club instead. It has been reported that, for every Car Club vehicle added to the fleet, between six and eight private cars are removed from the road. The Car Club fleet is also typically made of newer vehicles, which are usually more fuel-efficient and produce less harmful emissions than the average vehicle.
Accredited Car Club operators in Europe and the United Kingdom were contacted and asked if they would consider operating a Car Club in Aberdeen. Three Car Club operators expressed an interest and were invited to carry out a short presentation to officers from ACC and partners regarding the benefits of Car Clubs and how they operate.
A number of locations have been identified for Car Club parking spaces throughout the City Centre and these are currently out for initial statutory consultation. If no substantial objections are forthcoming then the scheme will go to public advert, with the Car Club bays being installed by April 2011. A tender document for the operation of the Car Club in Aberdeen is nearing completion and is expected to be sent to accredited Car Club operators in the New Year to allow operators to tender for the contract.
Idling Strategy
As part of the CARE North project Aberdeen City Council has also investigated the possibility of implementing "no idling" areas within the City Centre. As well as achieving the goals of the LEZ the implementation of a no idling scheme in the City Centre would complement the wider policy aims of Aberdeen City Council. A study commissioned by the Council determined that Aberdeen City Council should primarily pursue a programme of education to raise public awareness of the issues surrounding vehicle engine idling. The full report will be available shortly.
In the meantime a link to the awareness raising campaign leaflet and poster are below:
Other initiatives
Other projects being looked at by ACC include:
- On-street bicycle rental - a study will be undertaken to identify the feasibility of such a scheme within Aberdeen. If implemented, this could help to reduce the number of short journeys undertaken by car to, from and within the City Centre
- Emissions based parking charges - a number of Cities currently operate such a system, a study will be undertaken to determine whether this could apply in Aberdeen
- Purchasing of electric vehicles by the Council, with an associated increase in electric vehicle infrastructure throughout the City
CARE North Conference - October 2010
Aberdeen City Council and Robert Gordon University hosted a one day conference with CARE North Partners in October 2010 to demonstrate best practice in addressing carbon emissions from transport. The event was chaired by Dr David Gray from Robert Gordon University and covered issues like Low Emission Zones, Car Clubs, electric car infrastructure and provision, freight distribution and public transport. It also highlighted Scottish Government policy and public buy in to carbon reduction transport strategies. The presentations are listed below and are in .pdf file format. They may take time to download due to the file sizes:
Contacts
- Transport Strategy Team
Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure
Aberdeen City Council
Business Hub 4
Marischal College
Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB
Phone: 01224 523327
Fax: 01224 523180
Email: transportstrategy@aberdeencity.gov.uk