CHAPTER 8 Development of an integrated transportation

CHAPTER 8

Development of an integrated transportation system in Thessaloniki: current situation and future prospects

S. Basbas, G. Mintsis & C. Taxiltaris Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Technology, Faculty of Rural & Surveying Engineering, Dept. of Transportation & Hydraulic Engineering, Greece. Abstract The city of Thessaloniki is characterized by severe traffic problems especially in the central area. Two major transportation studies concerning the Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area (T.M.A.) have been conducted during the last fifteen years while at the same time there was also a number of short-term traffic management studies in the various Municipalities of T.M.A. The results from the studies show that the use of Public Transport is steadily decreasing while there is a parallel increase in the use of passenger cars. Car ownership will continue to grow during the next ten years, up to the level of many other countries in the EU. In order to have an integrated transportation system, various transport infrastructure scenarios were examined including, among others, the construction of a metro and of a submerged tunnel. Road transport telematics applications were also tested in the city but there is still a lot to be done in this sector. Concerning the air pollution due to traffic, CO and Pb concentrations are reduced, NO2 concentration is stabilized while O3 concentration shows an increasing trend at the city boundaries. PM10 and TSP concentrations seem to be significantly reduced and the same applies to SO2 concentration. 1 Introduction Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and is located in the northern part of the country. The Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area (T.M.A) includes 32 Municipalities, among which the biggest one is the Municipality of Thessaloniki. Demographic data concerning the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the T.M.A., the

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160 Advances in City Transport: Case Studies Region of Central Macedonia (where T.M.A. belongs) and Greece is presented in table 1.

As shown in this table, the Municipality of Thessaloniki has 36.3% of the T.M.A. population and is characterized by high population density. Traffic problems in Thessaloniki first appeared in the early 1980s. At present the road network during peak periods is congested although there are a number of measures implemented in order to relieve traffic problems and to promote Public Transport (e.g. central control of all traffic lights in the city by the Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works-MEPPW, implementation of bus lanes along main roads etc.).

The first effort to conduct a general transportation study [1] was initiated by the Organization for the Master Plan and Environmental Protection of Thessaloniki (OMPEPT) which is an organization of the MEPPW. As a result a comprehensive database with the T.M.A. trip characteristics was made available. A second effort included the General Transportation Study of Thessaloniki [2], made during the period 1997–1999 again under the supervision of OMPEPT. The update of the trip characteristics database together with the examination of alternative scenarios for the development of the city transportation system is included in this latter study. In the meantime many Municipalities in T.M.A. tried to solve their traffic and associated environmental problems through short-term traffic management studies. 2 Trip and vehicle characteristics in T.M.A. In this section trip and vehicle characteristics in T.M.A. are presented based on the findings of the two major transportation studies mentioned above [1, 2]. The total number of trips made daily in T.M.A. by all transport modes is around 1,600,000 (year 1998) while the respective figure for the year 1988 was around 1,350,000.

The temporal evolution of trip distribution per transport mode in T.M.A. (1988–1998) is presented in fig.1. From the data presented in this figure it is concluded that there is a substantial increase in the number of trips made on foot – as much as 25%.

Table 1: Demographic data.

Number of

Municipalities

Area

Population 1991 & 2001

(National Census)

Change

(%)

Density 2001

Municipality of Thessaloniki

-

1,780 Ha

406,413 (1991) 355,953 (2001)

–12.42 199.97 people/Ha

T.M.A. 32 166,240 Ha

814,857 (1991) 979,855 (2001)

20.25 5.89 (people/Ha

Region of Central Macedonia

126

19,146

km2

1,710,513 (1991) 1,861,917 (2001)

8.8

97.25

people/km2 Greece 900 131,957

km2 10,259,900 (1991) 10,964,020 (2001)

6.8 80.09 people/km2

Source: [3]


Advances in City Transport: Case Studies 161

1.90%

14.54%

3.06%

25.09%

8.86%

4.04%

36.39%

6.12%

18.30%

4.60%

30.50%

10.10%

3.20%

27.50%

4.20%1.60%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

On

foot

Mot

obik

es-

Mot

ocyc

les

Pas

seng

erca

r (a

s a

driv

er)

Pas

seng

erca

r (as

apa

ssen

ger)

Spe

cial

bus

Pub

licT

rans

port

bus

Tax

i

Oth

er

1988 1998

Figure 1: Temporal evolution of trip distribution per transport mode. Source: [1, 2]

This can be partially attributed to the expansion of the streets designated for

pedestrian only use, especially in the city center. It is also important to notice the significant increase by 20% in the use of passenger cars (both as a driver and as a passenger) for the same time period.

The use of Public Transport has decreased by 25%, showing that there must be a hard effort in order to change modal split in the city and to convince people to use Public Transport.

Figure 2 presents the temporal evolution of trip distribution per trip purpose in T.M.A. (1988–1998). It appears that there is a decrease in the percentage of trips made for a purpose: social activities, recreation, personal affairs and for a particular transfer. On the other hand, there is an increase in the percentage of trips made having as a purpose: return home, work and education.

Figure 3 presents the temporal evolution of trip average time per trip purpose in T.M.A. (1988–1998). It appears that, for basic trip purposes, there is a slight decrease in the average trip time.

Another important parameter of the transportation system is the trip average time per transport mode. Figure 4 presents the temporal evolution of trip average time per transport mode in T.M.A. (1988–1998).

It appears that, within the 10-year period, the average trip time remains almost the same for passenger cars and public transport buses. For passenger cars this can be partially explained by the fact that the development of local business districts outside the city center attracts new trips but of relatively small trip duration.

The increase for trucks can be partially attributed to the use of the inner ring road, which imposes larger distances.


162 Advances in City Transport: Case Studies

0.80%

4.60%

2.10%

4.00%

8.40%

1.00%

3.60%

7.80%

23.60%

44.10%

0.70%

6.03%

2.13%

5.50%

9.88%

1.15%

3.50%

7.25%

22.03%

41.83%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Other

Transfer

Accompany persons

Personal affairs

Social activities, recreation

Health

Shopping

Education

Work

Return home

1988

1998

Figure 2: Temporal evolution of trip distribution per trip purpose. Source: [1, 2]

22

25

28

21

27

26

20

25

28

28

26

18

27

26

25

22

24

23

24

24

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Other

Transfer

Accompany persons

Personal affairs

Social activities, recreation

Health

Shopping

Education

Work

Return home

(min)

19881998

Figure 3: Temporal evolution of trip average time per trip purpose.

Source: [1, 2]



25

27

22

25

30

44

2317

26

15

37

29

21

22

77

25

16

48

0 20 40 60 80 100

Truck

Semi-truck

Bicycle

Taxi

Public Transport bus

Special bus

Passenger car

Motobikes-Motocycles

On foot

(min)

19881998

Figure 4: Temporal evolution of trip average time per transport mode. Source: [1, 2]

The number of trips with passenger cars, as a driver and as passenger, per departure time (year 1998) is presented in fig. 5.

The first peak appears to be in the period 07:00–09:00 a.m. (morning peak) while the second appears to be in the period 14:00–16:00 p.m. (afternoon peak).

This means that 20.8% (101,192 passenger cars) of the total passenger car trips concerns the morning peak and 16.4% (79,849 passenger cars) the afternoon peak.

The number of kilometers driven in 1998 by passenger cars, is presented in fig. 6. It is clear that the majority of passenger cars traveled a distance of 5000

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

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Departure time

Trip

s

Figure 5: Trips made with passenger cars per departure time (year 1998). Source: [2]


164 Advances in City Transport: Case Studies to 20,000km per year. Taking into account the split between new and old technology passenger cars, it can be assumed that more than 50% of the total kilometers presented in fig. 6 were made by cars equipped with three-way catalytic converters.

Vehicle fleet composition is an important element in the transportation system strongly connected to the environmental impacts from traffic. More specifically in table 2 the temporal evolution in the number of various vehicle categories is presented for the period 1988–98. As shown in this table the percentage of private cars remains constant while a significant reduction is observed in the percentage of taxies.

It must be mentioned at this point that 137,623 passenger cars (53.8% of all passenger cars in 1998) were equipped with catalytic converters. In the early 1990s

up to5000

5001-10000

10001-15000

15001-20000

20001-25000

25001-30000

>300000

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

Numberof

passengercars

up to5000

5001-10000

10001-15000

15001-20000

20001-25000

25001-30000

>30000

Kilometers per year Figure 6: Kilometers made by passenger cars (year 1998).

Source: [2]

Table 2: Temporal evolution of vehicle categories.

Year Transport mode

1988 % 1998 %

Bicycles 5,857 3.40 10,794 3.30 Motorbikes (2-cycles) 11,622 6.70 25,077 7.70 Motorbikes (4-cycles) 3,318 1.80 14,651 4.50 Passenger cars 137,592 78.60 255,955 78.70 Semi-trucks 6,757 3.90 11,273 3.50 Trucks < 3.5 tn 4,212 2.40 3,408 1.00 Trucks > 3.5 tn 2,441 1.40 2,019 0.60 Taxies 2,716 1.60 1,818 0.60 Buses 160 0.10 298 0.10 Total 174,675 100 325,293 100

Source: [1, 2]



there was an effort by the state to give economic incentives to owners of passenger cars in order to replace their cars of old technology with cars equipped with catalytic converters.

The car ownership (number of passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants) in T.M.A. varies between 220 and 305. The average value was 253 (year 1998) while ten years before the respective value was 177. This means that there was a rapid increase in the number of passenger cars (almost 43%) during the period 1988–98. Higher values of car ownership (over 300) were recorded in suburban low-density residential areas with high-income population.

It is well known that due to the economic development during the recent years, the vehicles’ fleet characteristics in Greece have changed (newer and more powerful cars are now in circulation). Among these characteristics, engine power is one of the most important.

Concerning the case of T.M.A., the distribution of vehicle’s engine power over the period 1988–98 is presented in fig. 7 (all categories of vehicles included, not only private cars).

It appears there is a significant increase in the percentage of vehicles with engine capacity in the area of 1200–1400cc, while, at the same time, the percentage of vehicles with engine power in the area of 1000–1200cc appear to have decreased. Comparing the total of these two vehicle classes (1000–1200cc and 1200–1400cc), it arises that there is a slight decrease during the period 1988–98 (53.8% in 1988 compared to 48.6% in 1998).

Another important factor affecting air pollution in T.M.A. is the vehicle age. The situation in 1988 and 1998 is presented in fig. 8 (concerning all vehicle categories). As shown in this figure, the percentage of vehicles up to 5 years old is 45% in 1998 compared to 34.3% 10 years ago. Considering vehicles up to 10 years old, the situation has changed (73.5% in 1998 and 71% in 1988).

0.00%

13.20%

37.30%

7.80%13.40%

16.50%11.80%

3.30%

9.70%

17.40%

30.10%

18.50%

7.10%

13.80%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

<800

cc

800-

1000

cc 1000

-12

00 c

c

1200

-14

00 c

c

1400

-16

00 c

c

>160

0 cc

No

data

1988 1998

Figure 7: Temporal evolution of engine power (in cc) of all vehicles.

Source: [1, 2]



19.30%

9.70%

26.70%

10.00%7.70%6.90%6.70%6.80%6.20%

13.70%13.10%12.80%

15.40%

9.80%

6.40%6.70%

9.50%12.60%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Up

to 1

year

Up

to 2

year

s

Up

to 3

year

s

Up

to 4

year

s

Up

to 5

year

s

6-7

year

s

8-10

year

s

11-1

5ye

ars

>15

year

s

1988 1998

Figure 8: Temporal evolution of the age of all vehicles. Source: [1, 2]

Concerning the evolution in the number of kilometers/year (mileage) that all vehicles made during the period 1988–98, the respective data are presented in fig. 9.

Based on the data presented in this figure, it seems that the overall situation in the number of kilometers made by all categories of vehicles per year, during the period 1988–98, has not been dramatically changed.

2.90%

28.60%

9.80%

29.90%

15.20%

6.50% 7.10%

13.00%

25.10%

28.80%

15.70%

6.60%4.20% 6.50%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

<500

0 km

5000

-10

,000

km

10,0

00-

15,0

00 k

m

15,0

00-

20,0

00 k

m

20,0

00-

25,0

00 k

m

25,0

00-

30,0

00 k

m

>30,

000

km

1988 1998

Figure 9: Temporal evolution of kilometers/year made by all vehicles. Source: [1, 2]



3 Presentation of the existing transportation system 3.1 Public Transport system Public Transport system in Thessaloniki includes the Public Transport Organization of Thessaloniki (OASTh), which is the only bus operator for urban transport. OASTh daily operates 56 bus lines in its network carrying around 132,600,000 passengers per year. This means 11,050,000 passengers per month or 368,000 passengers per day.

There are 1700 bus stops in the network. The average bus occupancy for the first six months of 2002 was 34.58%. Fares are normally at the price of €0.45 within the urban area and €0.60–1.00 in the suburbs.

The fare collection system includes the use of printed-in-advance tickets and also the use of special cards (monthly cards within the urban area at a price of €22, 6-month cards at a price of €121 and 12-month cards at a price of €231).

At present, OASTh possesses a fleet of 488 buses, which will be increased by the end of year 2004 to 536 buses as presented in table 3. It must be mentioned that 203 buses are articulated vehicles with a capacity of 150 passengers, and the remaining 285 buses are common buses with a capacity of 80–100 passengers.

On a typical weekday (Monday to Friday) OASTh has 440 buses in operation while during Saturdays and Sundays the respective figures are 394 and 340.

The 85 SCANIA L 113CLL buses are low floor while the 45 VOLVO B10 M (year of operation 1997–98) are equipped with ramps for passengers with special needs. It must be mentioned at this point that the Municipality of Thessaloniki runs a minibus service for people with special needs.

There are two depots, one in the eastern (serving 16 bus lines) and one in the western part (serving 40 lines) of the city with an area of 25,000m2 and 45,000m2, respectively.

The majority of bus lines in the past went through the city center. After the recent reformation of the bus line network, terminals have been removed from the city center and transfer stations have been constructed in the eastern and western part (by the Railway Station) of the city.

Both stations, at their present form, are in operation since the year 2002. Thus, fewer buses are now entering the city center. The removal of terminals from the city center led to the improvement of traffic and associated environmental conditions in the area and also to the improvement of the reliability of Public Transport.

In order to promote the use of Public Transport and to improve the quality of services provided to the passengers, the authorities decided to construct bus lanes, mainly in the city center, which actually faces the most important traffic and associated environmental problems.

The authorities recently (May 2004) installed traffic cameras along the bus lanes for enforcement purposes. The geometric and functional characteristics of bus lanes in operation today in the city of Thessaloniki are presented in table 4.



Table 3: Bus fleet characteristics (December 2004).

Vehicle type Engine type Number Power engine Year of

circulation Capacity

IRISBUS EUROPOLIS (mini buses)

NEF TECTOR F4AEO 482 22 125 KW

2003 100

VOLVO B7L D7 C275 54 275 ΗP

(199 ΚW) 2003–2004 100

VOLVO B7RLE D7 C275 40 275 HP

(199 ΚW) 2003 105 VOLVO B10 M THD 102 KF 12 245 1993 85

MAN SS500 D 2866 UH 50 240 1993 100 VOLVO B10 M

(articulated) THD 102 KB 66 286 1993–1994 143 VOLVO B10 M

(articulated) THD 102 KB 17 286 1994–1995 143 VOLVO B10 M

(articulated) DHD 102 KB 60 286 1995 150 SCANIA L

113CLL DSC 1171 40 234 1995 100 VOLVO B10 M

(articulated) DHD 102 KB 15 286 1995 150 VOLVO B10 M

(articulated) DH 10 45 286 1997–1998 162 SCANIA L

113CLL DSC 1124 45 260 1997–1999 100 Buses scheduled for the expansion

of the network (common type) 48 - 2004 85 New articulated 22 - 2004 -

Total number of buses 536 - - -

Source: [4] The average speed of buses in a central city avenue after the implementation

of designated bus lanes increased from 7.8km/h to 11.8km/h, while on a suburban major avenue an increase as much as 15% was noted [6]. The network of bus lines crossing the central area is presented in fig. 10.



Table 4: Geometric and functional characteristics of bus lanes in Thessaloniki.

Road

Length (m)

Lanes left for the rest of the traffic

Buses during peak hour

Operation (day/time)

Servicing hours for shops (lorries &

trucks)

Mitropoleos

980

1

60

Monday–Friday

10:00–22:00

08:00–10:00 & 16:00–18:00

Vas.Olgas 3,200 3 30–40 12:30–15:30

Tsimiski 1,300 3 40–50 12:30–15:30

Egnatia 1,750 2 per direction

115–185 per

direction

Monday–Friday

06:30–20:30 09:30–12:30 &

16:00–17:00

Source: [5]

Figure 10: Thessaloniki central bus network. Source: [7]

Traffic and environmental impacts of the bus lane along one of the main arterials (Egnatia road) in the city center through the use of the traffic simulation model Simulation and Assignment of Traffic to Urban Road Networks (SATURN) include the following [7]:



Travel time of buses has been reduced by 21.2% during the morning peak period and by 26.1% during the afternoon peak period. Fuel consumption has been reduced by 24.22% during the morning peak period and by 28.32% during the afternoon peak period. The average speed of buses has been increased by 4.35% during the morning peak period and by 11.57% during the afternoon peak period. When considering traffic in all types of vehicles then the average speed is reduced both in the morning and afternoon peak period by 0.82% and 0.59%, respectively. Delays of vehicles have also increased both in the morning and afternoon peak period by 1.71% and 0.06%, respectively.

Changes in the emission level of CO, CO2, NOx, HC and Pb cannot be easily identified when considering the total area of the city center. On the contrary, results have shown that there is a substantial decrease of CO and CO2 emissions in the area near the bus lane examined, for both morning and afternoon peak periods. NOx and HC emissions have been reduced only during the afternoon peak period.

The results from the examination of designated bus lanes constructed in the future show that they will produce an average reduction of 11% in CO emissions, 5% in NOx emissions and 9% in HC emissions in the streets, where they will be implemented [8].

The use of telematics is also introduced in OASTh and there is an ongoing project for the use of an Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system together with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology.

The implementation of a pilot project concerning 71 buses at three main bus lines and four secondary bus lines was recently finished with success (June 2004). OASTh will extend the system to all buses of its fleet.

It must also be mentioned that a passenger information system was designed for OASTh within the framework of the research project EUROBUS/POPINS in order to improve the attractiveness of the Public Transport system. The EUROBUS/POPINS project was a research project within the Advanced Transport Telematics (ATT) Research Programme.

In the framework of this project the design and development of an interactive passenger information terminal for OASTh was made. The system was called Thessaloniki Passenger Information System (THEPIS) having as its main objective the provision of information in an interactive way to bus passengers [9, 10]

The information provided, refers to the bus network and schedules as well as to various places of public interest in the city. The THEPIS had the following functions: (a) provided basic information, (b) allows for trip optimization and, (c) provided customized user information.

There are two ways for the provision of information: (a) by a hostess in OASTh who could provide information to passenger requests either directly or through telephone lines and, (b) direct terminal usage by the passengers themselves. THEPIS would initially provide ‘off-line’ information (e.g. bus schedules) but it could be converted to a real time information system when the appropriate infrastructure would be available.

The THEPIS comprised a central processing unit, a Geographical data base containing information about the city, a number of external data bases retaining



information about the bus network, and one (or more) terminals – with or without keyboards – displaying the information.

A Stated Preference (SP) based evaluation of THEPIS was conducted in the city prior to the test implementation of the system [11]. A number of 170 potential THEPIS users were interviewed. After processing the collected data 148 valid questionnaires were retained for further analysis.

Two target groups were interviewed including public transport users and non-public transport users (passenger cars and taxi users). In terms of mode choice and assuming that there will be no difference in journey time between car/taxi and bus for the same trip and no change in bus fare, it is estimated that 3% of the existing car and taxi users would switch to the bus if THEPIS was available.

For a 5-min advantage of the bus trip against the equivalent car/taxi journey time, the proportion of existing car/taxi users that will switch to the bus (with THEPIS) is estimated at 21%.

Another important step concerning the development of Public Transport was the recent expansion of the bus service area, which thereinafter covers a buffer zone of 50km around the city of Thessaloniki. The operational characteristics of the expansion system include 48 buses with 9 bus lines of a total length of 319km connecting the city with various municipalities and communities in the suburban area. A number of 354 services are made on a daily basis with a total number of 21,363 vehicle-kilometers.

Concerning monitoring and control of the public transport system in the city, a new authority was introduced in 2001. It should be mentioned that such an authority was introduced for the first time in the country.

More specifically, the Urban Transport Council of Thessaloniki (SASTh) is established including representatives from the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace, the Region of Central Macedonia, the Thessaloniki Prefecture, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the association of the local Municipalities and Communities, the School of Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the OMPEPT, the Police and the Union of Workers [12].

A team of transportation engineers and planners supports this council. During the first 3 years of its operation a number of very important studies were made including the study for the expansion of the bus lanes network, the expansion of the service area, the energy conservation in buses, and the operation of two transfer stations.

Finally, the Urban Transport Council of Thessaloniki was involved in the implementation process of a metro and tramway system in the city.

It is important to consider the opinion of the city residents about the level of service offered by the Public Transport system during the period 1988–98 as presented in table 5.

As shown in this table, during the reference period there is an increase in the number of people who believe that the level of service of the Public Transport system is satisfactory or quite satisfactory.

Apart from this, it must be noticed that during the same period the percentage of people using Public Transport is decreasing. As a consequence, the modal


172 Advances in City Transport: Case Studies split was not changed in favor of Public Transport and traffic and environmental problems continue to increase.

Table 5: Level of service as perceived by the users.

Level of service Year 1988 Year 1998 Satisfactory 7.2 % 20.4 % Need for small improvements 19.3 % 18.2 % Need for substantial improvements 49.2 % 34.1 % Unacceptable 24.3 % 27.3 %

Source: [5]

The interurban Public Transport in the area also plays an important role for the connection of the city with the rest of the country. Almost all the prefectures of the mainland (34 out of 38) are connected to Thessaloniki by interurban buses on a daily basis. There are also connections with the islands of Corfu, Lefkada and Crete (prefecture of Iraklion).

A modern terminal for the majority of the interurban bus lines was recently constructed near the western exit of the city. During the winter period a total of 2285 buses carrying around 111,000 passengers enter the city during each week.

3.2 Taxi system A total of 1873 taxies are registered (year 1998) in T.M.A. of which 120 taxies, on average, are out of operation every day due to various reasons (e.g. maintenance) [13]. The variation of the taxi services system characteristics in T.M.A. for the period 1988–98 is presented in table 6.

As a general remark, it must be mentioned that the percentage participation of the taxi traffic in the overall traffic in the central area of the city remains almost unchanged (from 16.6% to 16.8%) during the period 1988–1998.

In order to overcome the problems related to traffic congestion and also to improve the level of service offered to the public by the taxi in the city, a Management Information System (MIS) is considered to be essential. Such a system is proposed in the framework of a study [14] in the year 2002.

The proposed MIS aims at the optimization of the taxi system and it concerns taxis belonging to cooperatives/companies only. This means that for these taxies there is an administration and monitoring center in which it has already established a communication network with their members.

The MIS will be compounded with a GIS incorporating all the relative geographical information about the T.M.A.

The proposed MIS should facilitate a number of functions such as data analysis, model-based analysis and powerful visual representation. With the support of object-oriented programming and system integration techniques integrated system infrastructure can be developed.

This system will incorporate essential functions of Geographic Information



Table 6: Characteristics of the taxi system.

Year 1988 Year 1998

Total number of taxies 1,700 taxies 1,873 taxies Number of taxies in daily operation (on

average) 1,300 taxies 1,753 taxies

Average number of trips per taxi for 12 h of daily operation

33 trips 21 trips

Estimated total number of trips per day 42,170 trips 36,813 trips Average trip distance (in kms) 4.6kms 3.4kms

Estimated total vehicle-kilometers per day (approx.)

193,982 veh-kms

125,164 veh-kms

Average number of trips (with passengers) per taxi for 12 h of daily

operation

72.3% * 33 = 23.9 trips

86.7% * 21 = 18.2 trips

Total number of trips (with passengers) per taxi for 12 h of daily operation

24 * 1,300 = 31,200 trips

18 * 1,753 = 31,554 trips

Estimated number of passengers served for 12 h of daily operation

31,200 * 1.5 = 46,800

passengers

31,554 * 1.5 = 47,331

passengers Percentage of taxies in the trip

distribution per mode 6.12% 4.20%

Percentage of taxi trips having at least one of the trip ends in the city center

56% 57.1%

Source : [13]

Systems (GIS), database systems and model management techniques to support overall routing, scheduling and decision-making processes. 3.3 Characteristics of parking policy The city center is characterized by severe parking problems. For this reason the Municipality of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the OMPEPT, assigned a study in 1996 [15] aiming at the design of parking policy in the five districts of the Municipality.

Within the framework of this study, extensive research was made in order to identify parking characteristics on-street and off-street. Parking places offered for the year 1996 in the 1st municipal district (which actually is the city center) are presented per category in table 7.

As shown in table 7 the demand was so high in the city center that almost 11,000 drivers park their cars at places (on-street) where parking is prohibited. This means that 45% of the cars in the city center were illegally parked. On-street places with parking fees were around 1000, representing a very small percentage (only 15.8%) of the total number of places legally offered on-street.



Table 7: Parking places offered in the city center (year 1996).

Categories of parking places Number of parking places

On-street parking Places where parking is free 4,375 Places where parking is permitted alternately during odd and even months (without charge)

847

Places with time restriction (with charge–use of cards) 828 Places need special permission from the authorities 546 Parking meters 256 Places where parking is prohibited 10,987 Total number of places (on-street) 17,839

Off-street parking Parking stations 4,999 Open parking stations 1,619 Total number of places (off-street) 6,618 Grand total 24,457

Source: [15]

As a result the proposed parking policy (see fig. 11) included a significant increase in the number of on-street places where a parking fee is imposed. Another important parameter in the proposed parking policy is the provision of 1842 on-street parking places for the exclusive use of the residents of the city center.

The parking system as it has been implemented by the municipal authorities and as it is in operation today (year 2004) includes 360 places for short-term parking (up to 2h) at a fee of €1.2/h. The driver enters the plate number of the car to the system and he/she can only park for 2h maximum. There are also 1050 places for long-term parking where a driver can park his/her car for the whole duration of the operation of the system (08:00–20:00) again at a fee of €1.2/h.

In addition, there are 130 places offered for long-term parking at two open stations, operated by the municipality in the city center. Short-term places serve 5–6 cars during the 12h period of the system. The respective figure for the year 1996 was 4.0–4.6 cars/13h of daily operation of the system while at the same time the respective figure at place of free parking was 2.5.

Concerning the off-street parking, the plans of the MEPPW included the construction of 28 underground parking stations (either under the responsibility of the Ministry or the Municipalities). There is a subsidy to the private sector and also to the Municipalities, of around €4100 place from the MEPPW to promote the construction of parking stations.

The construction of 7660 places is foreseen at 13 Municipalities (of which 50% concern the Municipality of Thessaloniki). Figure 12 represents the proposed parking stations in T.M.A.



Figure 11: Existing and proposed situation in the city center (year 1996). Source: [15]

Figure 12: Proposed parking stations. Source: [16]

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Before After


176 Advances in City Transport: Case Studies 3.4 Policy measures for city center access control Policy measures for access control and traffic restrictions is not an easy task to deal with, especially due to the political cost such measures imply.

Access to the city center is free at the present time for all drivers, although from time to time there is a discussion in the city about the need to implement some kind of measures for access control in order to face the excessive demand for trips.

The size of the problem can be realized by the fact that around 25% (400,000) of all trips made daily in T.M.A. have at least one end in the city center.

Another important parameter of the problem is that the average load factor of passenger cars is 1.2.

It must be mentioned at this point that in the center of the city of Athens, there is a certain area where drivers have access depending on whether the last digit of the car's plate number is odd or even.

In the framework of the last major home-based questionnaire survey in the city of Thessaloniki [2] interviewees are asked to state their opinion about various demand management measures including car pooling.

As shown in fig.13 people seem to be very much in favor of car pooling but no safe conclusion can be made from this result due to the fact that people will possibly react in a totally different way if such a measure will be implemented.

In any case further research is needed in order to investigate people's intentions on this subject.

Interviewees were also very positive (81.6% agree, 9.9% disagree) in the idea to go to their work with a special bus, together with their colleagues, if their employers subsidize the cost.

No 19%

No ans w er8%

Y es 73%

Figure 13: Citizens’ response to the introduction of car-pooling.

Source: [2]



Demand management measures also include High Occupancy Vehicle

(HOV) lanes. Such a measure does not exist at present in the city but some scenarios including the implementation of HOV lanes in the city road network are examined through the use of the traffic simulation model SATURN in the framework of the E.U. project ICARO [17].

The model results show that drivers using the HOV lane experience time savings in the area of 18% of their total travel time. Based on a stated preference survey results, only 5% of the drivers are ready to change their daily trip practices in order to achieve cost reduction by 50% and time savings by 25%.

3.5 Road connections The road connection of T.M.A. with the rest of the country and other countries is mainly based on two motorway projects. The first one is the Patras-Athens-Thessaloniki-Evzonoi (PATHE) motorway and deals with the improvement of the existing motorway connecting the southern with the northern part of the country and also the three largest urban agglomerations in the country, namely Patras, Athens and Thessaloniki (from South to the North). The total length of the motorway is 770km with 2–3 lanes per direction, design speed of 120km/h and a complete network of service roads.

The second project deals with the construction of the Egnatia motorway which is a modern motorway connecting the western with the eastern part of the country, having a total length of 680km [18]. Egnatia motorway is also connected to Albania, F.Y.R.O.M., Bulgaria and Turkey via the construction of 9 vertical axes.

The motorway has three lanes per direction with a total width of 24.5m and is served by four ports and six airports. Travel time from the port of Igoumenitsa (an important country gate towards Italy via the Adriatic Sea) to Thessaloniki will be reduced by 3h (from 6h and 30min to 3h and 30min). In addition, the travel time from Thessaloniki to the city of Alexandroupoli (near the borders with Turkey) will be reduced by 1h and 50min (from 4h and 35min to 2h and 45min). The Egnatia motorway main axis is co-funded (50%) by the EU. 3.6 Terminal stations (Airport, Railway Station, Port) Concerning air transport it must be mentioned at this point that the Macedonia international airport of the city of Thessaloniki, located in the eastern part of the city, plays an important role in the national economy while serving 17% of the total passenger traffic of all airports in the country and 76.6% of the total passenger traffic of all airports in Northern Greece. Today the annual passenger traffic is in the area of three million passengers. The airport serves domestic and international flights (with the exception of trans Atlantic flights) and quite recently there was a modernization and upgrade of its installations. Today access to the airport is through passenger cars, taxies and buses but there are proposals to improve the airport accessibility via the construction of a light rail line [2].



Concerning railways it must be mentioned here that the city of Thessaloniki is at a strategic point since its Railway Station is a nodal point of all major railway axes of the country, connecting south and central Greece with northern Greece, the Balkans, and central Europe. The main part of the network consists of the Piraeus-Athens-Thessaloniki-Eidomeni axis, with a length of 594km. Another important axis is the Thessaloniki-Strimonas-Promahonas-Alexan-droupoli-Ormenio axis with a length of 632km.

This axis crosses the northern part of the country connecting Thessaloniki with Bulgaria and Turkey. The number of passengers passing through the Railway Station of Thessaloniki in 1996 was 1,452,430. It must be mentioned at this point that the journey from Athens to Thessaloniki with the InterCity Express can be now made in 4h 30min with two stops and in 4h 49min with four stops [19], something which actually improves the standards of rail connection between Thessaloniki and Athens and thus offers an important alternative to road transport.

Concerning maritime transport, the Port of Thessaloniki plays a very important role as the main European sea gate in the Balkan region. Its facilities include free zone operating under the customs code of the E.U., container terminal operating 24h with flat rates, conventional port operating in two shifts, with flat rates, top quality equipment for handling bulk and heavy cargos, cargo security, excellent links to road and rail networks and competitive rates for goods in transit [20].

Statistics about the port include the following: (a) seaborne containers throughput at the port were 269,554 TEUs for the year 2003 (of which 207,599 were loaded); (b) ships arrivals were 3424 for the year 2000 (of which 1090 were domestic and 2334 were international) [21].

4 Planned major transport infrastructure projects Future plans for the improvement of the Public Transport system in the city include the construction of a metro system. Concerning the metro system in Thessaloniki it should be mentioned at this point that, according to the original plans, there was one line of a length of around 9.4km having 14 stations and 15 trains. The alignment of that line is presented in fig. 14 but it must be mentioned at this point that changes are likely to be made to this alignment on the eastern part of the city.

The concession agreement with the French company Bouygues was signed in February 2001 and the special works like geotechnical, archaeological etc. were concluded in mid 2001. The concession agreement became a law since 2001. Then, for a period of about 2 years, a number of issues like financial issues were examined. In September 2003 the State decided to proceed with this project as a public project. Attiko S.A. was appointed as the responsible organization for the construction of the project due to the fact that it has the know-how from its experience with the construction of the metro in Athens. The indicative budget for this project is €800 million (2003 prices).



Figure 14: Metro alignment according to the previous concession agreement. Source: [22]

Recently (autumn 2003) the French company SYSTRA was appointed to develop a new scenario for this project having 2020 as the target year [22]. The proposal included 12 instead of 14 stations with a basic line of 7.7km instead of 9.4km. The number of passengers according to the model used for the year 2020 is estimated to be 15,100–17,800 per direction, in the central part of the line. Alternative solutions including tram links are also examined outside the city center (western and eastern part of the city).

Another important project is the Thessaloniki submerged tunnel which aims at enabling through traffic to bypass Thessaloniki city center. The project will function in complement to the existing inner ring road of Thessaloniki that bypasses the city from the mountainous side. The proposed design according to the preliminary design study connects the western main entrance of the city with the eastern part of the city as shown in the project’s horizontal alignment (fig. 15) [23]. Both traffic directions are served by two separated links which are at the same horizontal level all the way. The main body of the arterial has a total length of approximately 3950m. It consists of three lanes per direction and has one entrance/exit from the east and two entrances/exits from the west. An additional entrance will be available from the north-east. According to the design studies the Thessaloniki submerged tunnel is proposed to be used only by passenger vehicles, buses and trucks of gross weight up to 4.0 tons [23].

During May and June of 2003 a Stated Preference Survey (SPS) was conducted on behalf of Special Service of Public Works/Concession Road Arterials, General Secretariat of Public Works, MEPPW, in order to capture the preferences and intentions of the potential users of the Thessaloniki submerged tunnel [23]. In total 1132 questionnaires were collected of which 946 were considered valid and usable.

As derived for the SPS, the majority of potential users (50.6%) declare willingness to use the Arterial and be charged, while 38.3% state that they will



Figure 15: Thessaloniki submerged tunnel alignment. Source: [23]

use the alternative surface route. The percentage of those who were undecided was 11.1%. The interviewees’ perceived value of time per trip purpose that resulted for the survey is shown in table 8.

The Thessaloniki submerged tunnel will have both positive traffic and environmental effect on the city. According to the results from the use of SATURN, an average increase in the speed of cars by 35% is foreseen during peak hours for the basic road network.

It is also estimated that car emissions will be reduced by 35–40% in the city center after the construction of the project while at the same time there will be a reduction in fuel consumption by 12–13% (around 10 million liters per year) [24].

Other projects include the construction of the outer ring-road of the city (part of the Egnatia Road) together with the construction of multilevel junctions along the inner ring-road.

These projects are of great importance for the city since there will be a complete network for bypassing the city area from its mountainous side. The construction of the western entrance of the city which was recently opened to traffic led to the improvement of the accessibility level from this specific part of the city.

Table 8: Perceived value of time per trip purpose.

Trip purpose Value of time (€/h)

Value of time (€/min)

From/to work or school 3.18 0.053 Business 2.88 0.048 Other purpose (recreation, shopping etc.)

2.44 0.041

Source: [23]



The plans for the airport infrastructure (2000–2006) include – among others

– an extension of the existing runway 10–28 by 1000m. After this extension, the length of this specific runway will be 3440m and will be capable of serving trans Atlantic flights. Another runway, parallel to the above mentioned one, for taxiing purposes will also be constructed (3440m).

These constructions were proposed in the framework of the airport Master Plan Study [25] where the overall mid long-term target was to have an airport (category E according to ICAO regulations) in the year 2010 capable of annually serving 8 million passengers (instead of the existing 3 million) and also serving 35 aircraft per hour.

Greek Railways initiated a major project, for the period 2000–2006, aiming at the improvement of the infrastructure and the services provided. The constructions which have to do with the improvement of the accessibility level of the T.M.A. include the completion of the dual track and electrified Athens-Thessaloniki axis in order to achieve a maximum speed of 160–200km/h.

In this case the travel time between the two cities by train will be 3h and 50min. Plans also include the construction of an electrified single track line with modern signaling and telecommunication systems, capable of serving trains of maximum speed 160km/h, connecting the city of Thessaloniki with the border stations of Eidomeni and Promahonas. Finally, other plans include a number of improvements in the Thessaloniki-Alexandroupoli axis.

Plans of the Port Authority for the period up to year 2005 included, among others, the following [20]: Water wagon 300m2, two derrick bridge containers 50 tons, with a size of a Post Panamax, three skid units 18 tons, five freighters 3–5m2, 15 cereal 150 tons per hour capacity, four cereal hydraulic movers 150–200 tons per hour capacity and three straddle Carriers.

Sea transport linking adjacent coastal areas has also been proposed in order to bypass the congested arterials connecting the city center with the eastern suburbs. The OMPEPT launched a call for proposals in 1995 for those who are, in principal, interested in operating such a service.

Services would be provided by 7–8 catamarans, which can carry up to 250 seated passengers each [26]. The travel time will be reduced by 50% when compared to the existing travel time by bus and by 30% when compared to the existing travel time by private car (for the same origin–destination route).

With this project a reduction of average travel time by 50% would be achieved compared to respective time for buses and by 30% compared to the respective time of passenger cars.

One scenario concerning the proposed stops and connections is presented in fig. 16.

The results of a recent (year 2003) Stated Preference Survey [27], including systematic Public Transport (PT) users (85%) and non-systematic PT users (15%) show that sea transport would attract 62% of the non-systematic PT users and 77% of the systematic PT users, mainly for the trip purpose ‘work’.

Traffic model forecasts show that the annual number of passengers will be in the area of 5,100,000 to 10,800,000 depending on the number of stops and the frequency.



Figure 16: A scenario for the Thessaloniki urban sea transport. Source: [2]

5 Evaluation of transport infrastructure scenarios through the

use of modelling In order to consider the development of transport infrastructure in T.M.A., various scenarios were formulated and examined in the framework of the General Transport Study of Thessaloniki [2].



Finally, one scenario was selected as the most appropriate one, which

includes – among others – the construction of the metro and also the construction of the submerged tunnel.

This specific scenario was examined in respect to three different time horizons as follows: year 2004 (2004 scenario), year 2014 (2014 scenario), period after year 2014 (2014+ scenario). The tool used was the EMME/2 model. The general principles of the selected scenario included the following [2]: – All projects and policies tested were compatible with the future construction

and operation of the high priority transportation projects in T.M.A. (e.g. metro and submerged tunnel), which are decided by the MEPPW.

– All projects and policies tested were in accordance with the plans and decisions of the OMPEPT.

– All projects and policies to be tested clearly belong to one of the following two alternative strategies: (a) development or road infrastructure and facilitation of passenger car traffic but without affecting the use of Public Transport (Combined Transport Modes Strategy) and, (b) promotion of Public Transport (Public Transport Strategy).

In addition to the above-mentioned general principles, the following

objectives, as defined by the OMPEPT are met: – Promotion of the use and priority of all Public Transport modes in T.M.A. – Traffic restraint of passenger cars in the city center – Confrontation of parking demand but without abolishing the previous

objective as far as the city center is concerned – Promotion of traffic calming measures – Promotion of measures for people with special needs – Promotion of polycentrism in T.M.A. – Overall environmental improvement – Implementation of ‘The polluter pays’ principle

Estimations concerning the evolution of car ownership in T.M.A. for the 2004,

2014 and 2014+ scenarios (of the selected scenario) are presented in table 9.

Table 9: Evolution of car ownership.

1998 Base Year

2004 Scenario

2014 Scenario

2014+ Scenario

Car ownership (passenger cars/1000 inhabitants

253 314–330

428–440

478–524

Source: [2]

The number of daily person trips made in T.M.A. for the three scenarios as produced by the model is presented below:

– 1998 (base year): 1,589,000 person trips – 2004 scenario: 1,680,000–1,735,000 person trips (+6% up to +9%)



– 2014 scenario: 2,040,000–2,111,000 person trips (+28% up to +33%) – 2014 scenario: 2,228,000–2,367,000 person trips (+40% up to +49%) Modal split in the three scenarios, for the morning peak period, is presented

in table 10. Modal split as presented in this table is based on a specific Public Transport pricing policy.

More specifically the ratio of metro fares to bus fares was 2:1.5 for the 2004 scenario, 3:2.5 for the 2014 and 2014+ scenarios. 6 Transport telematics applications The city of Thessaloniki is active in transport telematics applications mainly through its participation to EU research projects.

These EU projects include, among others, CONCERT (Cooperation for Novel City Electronic Regulating Tools), ADEPT (Automatic Debiting and Electronic Payment for Transport), QUARTET PLUS (Validation of a European urban and regional integrated road transport environment based on open system architecture), DISTINCT (Deployment and Integration of Smartcard Technology and Information Networks for Cross-sector Telematics) and IN-RESPONSE (Incident Response with On-line innovative Sensing).

Hereinafter results, concerning the Thessaloniki site, from the projects DISTINCT and CONCERT are presented.

Within the DISTINCT project, the city introduced the multi-service and multi-function smart card.

The card is being developed for transport services such as tolling, parking and Public Transport payments and being extended to city card.

The underlying idea is to encourage the use of smart cards in transport and also to increase the number of users of Public Transport. Survey results revealed that the number of smart card users would increase if further functions were added to the card.

For these reasons, the city smart card is being developed in order to cover other functions (in addition to payment). The architecture of the integration of the telematics systems is presented in fig. 17.

The expected impact on the air quality is estimated through the respective impact on the travel behavior of the public. Extensive surveys (sample size of 1500 vehicle drivers) were carried out before and after the implementation of

Table 10: Modal split in the 3 scenarios.

1998 Base Year

2004 Scenario

2014 Scenario

2014+ Scenario

Passenger cars + taxies 60.4% 55.6% 55.5% 57.0% Buses + sea transport 39.6% 37.6% 31.5% 29.2% Metro + trams n.a. 6.8% 13.0% 13.8%

n.a.: not applicable. Source: [2]



Figure 17: Architecture of the telematic system integration. Source: [28] the information systems [29]. The ‘before’ survey included home-based interviews in the city of Thessaloniki. The ‘after’ survey included roadside survey (RSS), directed to drivers heading to the city center, as well as home-based interviews. Survey analysis results showed that a high percentage of drivers are expected to choose a park & ride option (up to 80%) and change transport mode from passenger cars to Public Transport (up to 70%) for the following trip purposes: work, shopping and leisure. Results also showed that the higher percentage (almost 80%) of public’s interest for the DISTINCT smart card services concerns the electronic payment for Public Transport.

In the framework of the CONCERT project the city of Thessaloniki has implemented a comprehensive driver’s information system mainly directed to drivers heading to the city center. In addition, another objective was to assess the abilities to establish a car-free area in the city center from both the technical and practical point of view. Information is provided via three Variable Message Sign (VMS) installations at selected sites of main street-gateways to the city center. This information mainly includes environmental pollution levels, available parking places at major parking stations, congestion level and incidents affecting traffic flow [30, 31]. The Municipality of Thessaloniki operates the central unit. This information is processed and transmitted through leased line communication to the roadside terminals. The objective is to inform the driver about various traffic situations during a predetermined trip to the city center and, possibly, influence his/her decision to use the city road network. The system can support drivers’ decisions to avoid congested areas by using alternative routes or to park their cars and then use Public Transport.

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The roadside information system has been implemented in 1997 and since then it has been improved concerning the type and sources of information. Several surveys and roadside interviews have been carried out in order to test and analyze the impact of this measure. Drivers were asked whether they would avoid entering the city center, change the route of their trip, use park & ride or change transport mode in case information showing congestion would be given to them prior and during their trip. The results show that the best possible choice is to use alternative route(s) for all trip purposes. Analyzing the role of trip purpose and the corresponding drivers’ behavior, results basically showed that when dealing with the category of shopping, a change of a route, transport mode or use of park & ride facilities are actions very likely to happen.

In order to evaluate the effect of urban road pricing, through the use of telematics, several blocks in the commercial city center were selected as a restricted zone for passenger cars (Zone Access Control – ZAC) [30, 31]. All the entrances and exits of ZAC were controlled by microwave communication instruments to detect the entrance and exit as well as the waiting time of each vehicle in the area. This is being achieved through the use of an in-vehicle and respective roadside equipment. Drivers were charged when entering the restricted zone during the peak period. In addition, a link was established to activate the urban road-pricing scheme in case of high levels of pollution and thus introduce the concept of green and environmental friendly zones.

Another important application had to do with the provision of environmental information. More specifically, in the framework of the European research project APNEE-TU (2002–04) [32] the pilot application in Thessaloniki aimed at the in time and reliable provision of information to citizens about air quality. The provision of information is made available through the use of mobile phones and the web. Citizens are in the position to receive daily information about suspended particulates and discomfort indices, in their mobile phones and at the same time can access various environmental information (both in Greek and English) on a web site. 7 Traffic and air pollution The temporal increase of the use of passenger cars and the corresponding decrease of the use of Public Transport are common trends in urban areas. These trends have important impacts on urban air pollution levels. The city of Thessaloniki is a typical European urban area and for this reason, it is an interesting example for the study and planning of the urban air pollution abatement [33, 34].

The evolution of the Thessaloniki pollution sources is dominated by the continuous increase of the vehicles fleet (mainly the new technology passenger cars equipped with three-way catalytic converters) and the important contribution to the air pollution by a small percentage of non-maintained cars [35–38].

The annual average concentrations of CO (carbon monoxide) and Pb (lead) exhibit a very important decreasing trend in Thessaloniki, for the period 1988–



99. This decreasing trend is attributed mainly to the recent considerable renewal of the vehicle fleet: increase of the unleaded gasoline engine passenger cars equipped with three-way catalytic converters and decrease of old technology passenger cars, which are the main emission sources of CO and Pb (actually, more than 50% of the fleet is constituted by new technology vehicles). The CO and Pb levels are below the new EU air quality standards [39–41].

The annual average concentrations of NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) present a temporal stabilization. The improvement of fuel quality and the renewal of the vehicle fleet have contributed significantly to the decreasing trend of some primary air pollutants, but they have not influenced similarly the trend of the secondary pollutant NO2. The NO2 temporal evolution at the areas with high traffic shows that the increasing vehicle fleet (mainly the fleet of the new technology passenger cars) is a determinant factor for the levels of NO2, which are considerably above the new EU standards [39, 40, 42, 43].

The annual average concentration of O3 (ozone) shows an increasing trend at the borders of the city. The above mentioned technologies have not contributed to the decrease of the secondary pollutant O3. This photochemical pollutant is strongly affected by the temporal increase of the vehicle fleet. This could be correlated to the temporal increasing trend of O3 at the periphery of the city (with daily levels exceeding sometimes the EU standards) taking into account the known physicochemical behavior of O3 (transport from the center to the borders of the city, where lower concentrations of the primary pollutants are observed) [39, 40, 42, 43].

The annual average concentration of PM10 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter lower than 10µm) and TSP (total suspended particulates) shows a considerable decreasing trend. The decreasing trend of particulates is mainly attributed to the recent considerable renewal of the vehicle fleet (buses and taxies with new technology diesel engines, which are the main mobile sources of particulates). The improvement of fuel quality and control programmes of emission sources also influences this trend. However, their levels are still above the present and the new air quality EU standards [39–41, 44].

The annual average concentration of SO2 (sulphur dioxide) presents a very important decreasing trend. The SO2 decreasing trend is mainly attributed to the improvement of fuel quality (decrease of sulphur content) used in vehicles, heating and industry. Technological innovations in industry (decrease of oil refinery sulphur emissions), the control programmes of emission sources and the recent considerable renewal of the vehicle fleet (buses and taxies with new technology diesel engines, which are the main mobile sources of SO2) influence this trend as well. This trend leads to daily levels below the new EU standards [39–41].

As it is shown in various studies, bus and taxi traffic did not change considerably in the city center of Thessaloniki. On the contrary, the HGVs traffic has been decreased considerably. Consequently, the observed decreasing temporal trend of SO2 and TSP, which are mainly emitted by diesel engine vehicles, are not due to a temporal change of bus and taxi traffic, but mainly to other reasons such as the HGVs traffic reduction in the city center [45–47].



The results of traffic and air quality measurements during 1988–98 in Thessaloniki point out the significant contribution of the ring road to the temporal urban air pollution reduction due to the traffic decrease of HGVs in the city center. Slight temporal changes have been observed for the bus and taxi traffic. Also, the improvement of the diesel fuel quality and the renewal of the diesel vehicle fleet are considered important factors for the observed decreasing trend of the air pollutants with diesel oil origin [13, 45–47].

Based on the evaluation results of traffic scenarios, the particulate emissions will present a very important decrease in the urban area study during 2014 and later. This happens due to the temporal amelioration of the traffic volume and the improvement of vehicle speed caused by various measures. Also, the SO2 emissions are likely to present a considerable decrease only after the year 2014. This evolution is related to the improvement of vehicle speed and hence, further improvement of fuel quality is needed [48]. 8 Conclusions Congestion and delays characterize the city transportation system, especially during peak hours. This results, as expected, to have an impact on traffic flow, environment and quality of life. In order to confront these problems, the authorities have decided to proceed with the construction of a significant number of transport infrastructure projects, like the submerged tunnel and the metro. The scope of the submerged tunnel is to offer a bypass of the city center from the sea side and at the same time to offer the chance for the rehabilitation of the city center. Metro aims at the improvement of the Public Transport system and also to the change of modal shift, especially when not only the basic metro line but also the extensions towards east and west will be constructed (either surface or underground). Sea transportation will also provide a reliable alternative to the use of passenger cars.

The results from trip characteristics surveys show that Public Transport use is steadily decreasing (25% during 1988–98) while there is a parallel increase in the use of passenger cars (20% during 1988–98). Trips in the city increased by 18.5% during 1988–98 while car ownership has increased by 43% during the same period. Car ownership will continue to grow during the next 10 years up to the level of 478–524 (instead of 253 in 1998 and 314–330 in 2004).

Various demand management measures have been studied for the city center but only a few of them have been implemented so far. Existing bus lanes contributed to the improvement of the reliability of buses and this is the reason why the authorities have decided to extent the bus lane network outside the city center. Traffic cameras which have recently been introduced improve the performance of bus lanes. The reformation of bus lines and the construction of transfer stations in the perimeter and outside the city center have also helped to relieve congestion problems.

On-street parking control mainly exists in the city center and also in the central areas of neighboring municipalities. There are still open issues like the parking pricing policy for short-term parking and also the ways so that the residents’ needs will be met. Parking stations will primarily be constructed in the



perimeter and outside the city center in order to discourage drivers from entering the city center.

A new authority (Urban Transport Council of Thessaloniki) significantly contributed to the monitoring and improvement of the Public Transport system. Therefore it is clear that there is need to establish an authority which will have the overall responsibility for the land-use/transportation system in the city, something which does not exist at present.

Plans for the upgrade of the terminals (airport, port and railway station) aim to improve the city accessibility level and allow the city to play its role as a metropolitan center of the greater geographical area. Aiming at the same objective, the national road network (Egnatia motorway & PATHE motorway) connecting the city with the rest of the country, has steadily been improved during the last years.

The use of telematics in the city road sector (Public Transport, area control, parking, incident management etc.) was restricted until the present time mainly within the framework of EU research projects applications. As a result, there is a lot to be done in the future for the exploitation of modern technologies (informatics and telecommunications) in the Thessaloniki transport sector.

Concerning the air pollution as a result of traffic, CO and Pb concentrations are reduced mainly due to the renewal of vehicles. NO2 concentration is stabilized over time while O3 concentration shows an increasing trend at the city boundaries. PM10 and TSP concentrations seem to be significantly reduced due to the improvement of fuel quality and vehicle renewal. Finally, SO2 concentration is reduced due to the improvement of fuel quality. The inner ring road plays an important role to the improvement of air quality in the city center since HGVs and a large percentage of through traffic do not use the congested central road network. References [1] Laboratory of Transport Engineering, Civil Engineering Department of

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CHAPTER 8 Development of an integrated transportation