# Towards Sustainable Regional Planning: Potential of Commuter Rail in the Madrid Urban Region
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Urban Expansion and Mobility Patterns in the Madrid Urban Region
Regarding the relations between Madrid and its metropolitan and regional belts, there is a decrease in trips by public transport and an increase in trips by private vehicle. This reality collides with the positive attributes of the radial character of the commuter train; it is a mode of transport that facilitates mass mobility between the periphery and the centre, and vice versa. One of the reasons why the use of this mode of transport has decreased is linked to the lack of investment and thus the lack of trains and services. This situation leaves the commuter train in a less competitive and attractive position compared to the private vehicle. Another reason is a lack of integration between urban planning (municipal administration) and regional transport planning (regional and national administrations), unable to promote the integration of the most sustainable transportation modes in the city or the area closest to the station [48]. Regarding the relationships that occur between the metropolitan belt and the regional belt, it is worth noting the increase in trips by public transport but the even greater rise in trips by private motorized vehicle. Thus, despite improvements such as the creation of parking lots in commuter stations or the implementation of intercity tangential bus services, private transport still is the most used mode of transport, with the greatest expansion in recent decades [32; 48]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Year**} & **Trips in** & **Trips in** & **Trips in** & **Trips per** & **1988 = 100** & & **1988 = 100** & & **Trips per Day and** & **Vehicles** & **Jobs** & **1988 = 100** \\  & **Public** & **Private** & **Days** & **(Trip/Day)** & **Population** & **(Inhabitants)** & **per Capita** & **per Capita** & **per Capita** & **Jobs** & **(Jobs)** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{1988} & 2578 & 2270 & 4848 & \multirow{2}{*}{100\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{3,758,000} & \multirow{2}{*}{100\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{1.29} & \multirow{2}{*}{0.39} & \multirow{2}{*}{1,420,400} & \multirow{2}{*}{100\%} \\  & (53.2\%) & (46.8\%) & (100\%) & & & & & & & \\ \multirow{2}{*}{1996} & 3311 & 2954 & 6266 & \multirow{2}{*}{129\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{4,783,000} & \multirow{2}{*}{127\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{1.31} & \multirow{2}{*}{0.55} & \multirow{2}{*}{1,683,100} & \multirow{2}{*}{118.4\%} \\  & (52.8\%) & (47.2\%) & (100\%) & & & & & & \\ \multirow{2}{*}{2004} & 4932 & 5068 & 10,000 & \multirow{2}{*}{206\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{5,714,000} & \multirow{2}{*}{152\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{1.75} & \multirow{2}{*}{0.64} & \multirow{2}{*}{2,669,500} & \multirow{2}{*}{187.9\%} \\  & (49.3\%) & (50.7\%) & (100\%) & & & & & & \\ \multirow{2}{*}{2014} & 4837 & 5180 & 10,017 & \multirow{2}{*}{207\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{6,495,000} & \multirow{2}{*}{172\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{1.54} & \multirow{2}{*}{0.66} & \multirow{2}{*}{2,776,600} & \multirow{2}{*}{195.4\%} \\  & (48.3\%) & (51.2\%) & (100\%) & & & & & & \\ \multirow{2}{*}{2018} & 2496 & 6240 & 10,400 & \multirow{2}{*}{213\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{6,507,000} & \multirow{2}{*}{173\%} & \multirow{2}{*}{1.61} & \multirow{2}{*}{0.74} & \multirow{2}{*}{2,841,800} & \multirow{2}{*}{200.1\%} \\  & (40.0\%) & (60.0\%) & (100\%) & & & & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Evolution of trips by public transport and private transport in the Community of Madrid. Source: Mobility Survey of 1988, 1996, 2004, 2014 and 2018 and Statistical Yearbook of the Community of Madrid. 1985–2020 Transport and communications. In short, the Madrid territorial model has moved from a monocentric-type structure based on compact and dense growth towards a more complex structure in which dispersion and polycentrism are intermingled in spatial areas increasingly distant from the centre and without meeting sustainable design criteria in the urban spaces that are produced. Consequently, this urban warp entails a progressive peripheralization and thus a more multidirectional nature of flows.