WHICH MANAGEMENT MODEL FOR HIGH CAPACITY ROADS FOR WHAT IMPACT AT THE ACCESS TO THE CITY OF BARCELONA?

Impact study on mobility & health indicators of new management scenarios of high capacity roads accessing Barcelona

CONTEXT

Cities throughout the world are faced with the challenge of reducing traffic due to its considerable impact on environment and public health.

- 21%

use of private vehicles in the city by 2024 [1]

At the same time, some of the main toll-roads concessions in Catalonia will come to an end by 2021 and debate is opened regarding the new management model to opt for.

PROBLEM

What would be the impact of the two management models implemented throughout Europe?

Time-based payment model or “vignette”: toll roads are substituted by a mandatory annual tax paid by all cars using high-capacity roads in Catalunya registered in the territory or coming from outside the territory (including foreign vehicles).

Distance-based payment model or “pay per use”: commuter pays a fee per trip which evolves depending on the distance travelled on the high capacity road.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The aim of DataCity is to open new models of collaboration between the public and private sectors to solve existing urban challenges using data as a central tool.

The present study is the result of a preliminary work, where data from various sources were gathered and used as the engine to assess the impact of new management scenarios on:

Travel conditions on high capacity roads accessing Barcelona City
Travellers' behaviour commuting from municipalities of the Metropolitan Area to Barcelona City
Pollution and public health levels at the access to Barcelona City

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Vignette Model

The results of this study show that the implementation of an annual tax would imply an increase in congestion, emissions and accident rate indicators. Traffic in high-capacity roads would likely increase by 18% and consequently increase delays by up to 35%, accidents by 31% and emissions by around 17%.

Pay per use model

The implementation of price per distance travelled on the high capacity road would on the other hand have a positive impact on the preservation of the environment and the health of the area’s residents. Traffic would decrease by 27% and consequently decrease emissions by 17% and accident rate by 16%.

This scenario would require an action plan to counteract the negative impact on mobility and health indicators for residents living at the access to the city.

The increase in public transport would require a joint action by the Metropolitan Area and the City to strengthen the current public transport network connecting municipalities to Barcelona.

OUTCOMES

Complex urban challenges drive a new model of collaboration in the field of data science between public administrations and the private sector, where data Is a central tool to improve quality of life in our cities. As a result of this project, led by the Data Office of Barcelona City Council, the Deputy Office of Mobility received valuable and structured information that will allow them to make data-driven decisions in order to provide citizen with more efficient and sustainable mobility services.

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