Traffic pplanningg andPublic Transport inFreiburgg
31st May,
Tsukuba 3E ForumTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Part 1:• General statements about mobility• Historical political decisions in Freiburg concerning
mobility
ypplanninggTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Mobility in the city …
… is a political task
… needs (rare) space: Car traffic in average needs ten times
more space per person than public transport!
… generates noise… causes air pollution: About 20 percent of CO²-emissions
in Germany are generated by car – passengers of public
transport in average are causing only 1/3 of CO² emission
like car drivers

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Experiment: Need of space ► car versus bus

Traffic jam ona four lanestreet

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Experiment: Need of space ► car versus bus

Drivers
without theircars

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Experiment: Need of space ► car versus bus

Same number ofdrivers taking
the busTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg

1901: Start of the electric Streetcar
Even the first lines
went through thecity
it center.
t “Into“I t thethheart of the city.”This hasn’t changed
until nowadays.
yTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Reconstruction
In the second World War
downtown of Freiburg wasdestroyed by 80 %.
e municipalu c pa cou
councilc
The
decided to rebuild the city
center in the medieval
ground plan
Consequence:
Not much space for massmobility in the city centerTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Introduction of the pedestrian zoneD
Downtowntuntiltil 1972
1972:
In the narrow downtown streetsthe increasing number of cars led
to a decrease of quality
y of live inthe city center.

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Introduction of the pedestrian zone
Downtown since 1973:
The introduction of a pedestrianarea raised the quality of the city
ce tecenter► Now it was necessary toguarantee that everybody is able
to reach the city center without acar by other means of mobility

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
1989: Cybernetics mobility concept►Town-,
life- andenvironmentalquality
impro edimproved

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Part 2:•Public transport in Freiburg•Fare system•Qualityy of ppublic transportp•

Planning of new streetcar lines•

CConnecting
ti different
difft kinds
ki d off mobility
bilitTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg

Mio.

Development
pof the number of customers of publicp
transport in Freiburg

70

65,9 64,8 64,9

Fahrgäste
60

60

69,6 68,6 69,43

71,2 70,764,2 65,4 64,960,255,7

Introduction of the„Environmental
pass“
p50

40
33,83027,328,5 28,1 27,749,243
35,9 36,6

Introduktion of the„regional
environmental pass“

29

7,38,69,4 10,3 9,911,3 12,345

38,6

20

10 6,1

68,1 66,8

13

12,714,3 15,4

14

14

16,3 16,2

14,3

12,4 12,4

13,7
9,4

9,2

11,8 12,4 11,5 10,7

8,1

6,2

D e f i z i t in Mio.
Mio €
01980
19801981
19811982
19821983
19831984
19841985
19851986
19861987
19871988
1988 1989
1989 1990
1990 1991
1991 1992
1992 1993
1993 1994
1994 1995
1995 1996
1996 1997
1997 1998
1998 1999
1999 2000
2000 2001
2001 2002
2002 2003
2003 2004
2004 2005
2005 2006
2006 2007
2007

Until 1984 the number of customers was constant ~ 28 Million Customers/Year – while
the deficit was rising an rising
By changes of the image, the fare system and a better offer of public transport, thenumber of customers and the productivity increased

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
1984: Freiburger Umweltschutzkarte(„Environmental ticket“)Freiburg has been the first city in Germany that introducedan „Environmental Ticket“ (October 1984). This has been thefirst important step for the enormous increase in thenumber of customers.
• Introduction
I t d ti
off a very simple
i l –easy understandable – fare system• Reduction of the ticket prices
up to 30 %• transferable monthly ticketTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
1991 Regio(Umwelt)Karte(„Regional Environmental Ticket“)

In September 1991 the „Environmental
Environmental Ticket“Ticket – which wasvalid only in the busses and streetcars in Freiburg- wasabolished and replaced by the „Regional EnvironmentalTicket”.
ValidVlid without
ith t any „farefzones““ ini• 3 Counties• 17 transportation companies• 90 lines (railway; suburban train,streetcar, bus)

Traffic planning and Public Transport in FreiburgTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
1991 Regio(Umwelt)Karte(„Regional Environmental Ticket“)

Immediate effects of the introduction of the „Regional
Environmental Ticket“:• Every day 28.500 commuters changed from the car to publictransport• Increasing offer of public transport• The city of Freiburg was relieved from a part of the car trafficTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Development of the offer of public transport
Even if the fare system is cheep and easily understandable
you only buy a ticket,
ticket when the offer of public transport isuseful and attractive for you.
But how has public transport to look like to be „attractive“?
• It has to be fast• It has to be available by time (good frequencies)• It has to be close to you (distance to the nextstation/bus stop)Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Acceleration oft the streetcars by…

• priority at city lights• lowfloorl flvehicles
hi l• separate track for the streetcars(independent from the car traffic)

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Frequency• Streetcar lines are
running every 7,5minutes• Main bus lines are
running every 15
minutes• More dense
frequencies
in the rush-hourTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Planning of streetcar lines close to the customers!
(New) Streetcar lines have to be planned in the center of theurban developments
developments.
ey havea e to be pplanneda ed
Theywhere many inhabitants …
… are living… are working… are spending
their leisure timeTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Planning of streetcar lines►

Example: “Rieselfeld”
Rieselfeld

New residential area (75 hectare) built under strict social andecological points of view.
viewe ttrackac ofo thet e streetcarst eetca
The
is the central axis ofmobility.
The new line was opened
in 1997 when only 1000
inhabitants lived thereTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Planning of streetcar lines►• Streetcar planned as central
axis of mobility• No apartment more than 400
meters away from the nextstreetcar-stop• Streetcar rruns
ns e
every
er 7
7,5
5
minutes• Maximum speed for cars:
30 km/hExample: “Rieselfeld”
Rieselfeld

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg

Other factors for a successful traffic planning
Beside the speed and the availability (frequency anddistance to the stations) there are other important factors
for the success of public transport:• Good connections to the city center by public transport• Close connection of all modes of mobilit
mobility• Extraordinary offers of public transport for extraordinary
eventsTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg

Example main station: Connecting different kinds of mobility• Long distance and regional traffic of German Railway• Three streetcar lines
Centralt a bus statstationo foro• Cebusses from the environs• Parking house forbicycles• Three parking levels forcars under main station

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg
Ticket for an event =Ticket for public transport• Concerts• Sport events• Fairs• Big congresses

Traffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg

Thank you so much for the big honor to be invited and toparticipate in this ForumTraffic planning and Public Transport in Freiburg