The influence of collective transport on the development of business parks

Summary When cities build new business parks they have to make decisions with regard to collective transport. Is collective transport necessary and what mode has to be used? These decisions also have to be made for business park Schieveen, the case study of this thesis. Increasing congestion, the rising attention for clean air together with the interest in sustainable mobility solutions, leads to growing interest in collective transport. That brings up the question how collective transport will influence the development of business parks. Does it lead to a different spatial economic structure i.e. changes in the location of business activities and changes in related travel patterns? This leads to the following research question: What is the influence of the early realization of high grade collective transport on the development of business parks? With an application to the airport linked Business Park Schieveen. The methodology used in this study consists of a theoretical exploration, leading to a conceptual framework which is used to analyse the chosen benchmarks. The benchmarks are the business parks Norra Älvstranden at Göteborg , Flight Forum at Eindhoven Airport and Amstelwijck at Dordrecht. The framework and the results from the benchmark study are used to analyse the planned development of business park Schieveen at Rotterdam. Schieveen is a former polder that Rotterdam wants to redevelop into a business park (90 ha.) combined with a nature reserve (200 ha.) and 28 new dwellings. It is a unique location as it good accessible by car, is in close proximity of Rotterdam Airport and very close to a nature reserve. The aim of the development is to strengthen the knowledge base of Rotterdam. Creating collective transport to business parks that are only good accessible by car can turn these locations into a junction location which can make the area more interesting for companies. Although providing accessibility by collective transport makes the location more attractive, it does not appear as a decisive factor. Literature shows that availability of qualified staff, accessibility by car, amount of parking places and the quality of the environment are more important. Those factors are also most relevant when looking to airport linked business parks as the airport image makes the location more attractive but it is not a decisive factor. The creation of new collective transport infrastructure can change the relative accessibility of an area or a business park and with that change the travel behaviour of people and influence their GTC . Whether the GTC really changes depends on the quality of the new system which can be determined by looking at the reliability, frequency, total travel time, comfort, real time information, availability and the cost. If the system is fast, reliable, has a high frequency, uses separate infrastructure and offers comfort it can be qualified as high grade and can compete with private car which is necessary to convince the choice rider. Although for most people the private car is steadfast favourite, there are developments which increase the importance of collective transport for business parks. These are: rising congestion, environmental concerns, the attention for sustainability and the rising parking cost. When the choice must be made for creating a new collective transport it is important to take into account the (expected) travel demand to and from the business park by employees, visitors and customers and how this demand is spread during the day and over the different modes. Based on this information and on the cost and the time a bus seems the most logical mode, at least for the first years. The benchmark research brings about the following factors as most relevant for the success of collective transport to business parks: • To make collective transport feasible it is necessary to have a critical mass. When travel demand at the business park is small this critical mass can be reached by connecting the collective transport line with other areas (airport/residential area) or by locating education facilities or public services at the business park. • Making collective transport available from the start is important otherwise people get used to other ways of travelling. • Collective transport is more attractive when it offers a fast and comfortable journey and drives with a high frequency. • To increase the use of collective transport it must be combined with measures to discourage the use of the private car. The literature study and the benchmark research provided suggestions with regard to Schieveen. Besides the above mentioned factors from the benchmark research the following suggestions can be made: • In the Rotterdam region there is a rising demand for junction locations. That is why creating a collective transport connection to Schieveen can make the location more attractive as it already is connected by a highway. • Do not only look at total travel time when choosing a collective transport system but take into account the GTC. • Choose the bus as collective transport mode as it can serves the expected travel demand, is the most flexible and cheapest system and can be realised fast. • Turn the bus into a high grade collective transport system by taking measures with regard to the frequency, total travel time, comfort, real time information and the capacity of the system. • Include a part of the collective transport cost in the land price as it also provides a form of certainty for the developers. As companies already paid a part of the costs, governments have an obligation to actually realize the bus (or other collective transport) system. To conclude, there is no evidence that the development of business parks that offer a high grade collective transport connection will be more successful. Although it does make the location more attractive, other factors are seen as decisive in the location decisions of companies. There is also no prove that collective transport makes the location more attractive for a certain kind of companies although offices and government institutions make more use of collective transport then for instance distribution centres. This thesis shows that if a collective transport connection is offered to a business park it can be a successful connection when travellers consider it as high grade and the above mentioned factors are taken into account.