Executive Summary
According to a recent survey the city of Manchester has some of the most congested roads in the U.K. The survey found that on Fridays from 17.00-18.00 it takes an average of 56% longer on Manchester roads than driving the same distance in uncongested conditions. This was rated as the worst time and place to be on the U.K. Based on Automatic counts an average of 29,035 cars cross the Manchester regional centre inbound between 7.30 and 9.30 am and rises to 64,784 cars between 7.00 and 10.00 am. These statistics attest to the fact that road traffic congestion in Manchester has grown tremendously, with some sources indicating a growth of up to 12% in the last decade.
It is vital to consider the implications of the congestions and the viable mitigating strategies. It is clear from the discussions above that private cars contribute 89% percent of the congestion leading to the conclusion that mitigation of the congestion problems should be more focused on reducing the number of private cars on the roads. The congestion on the roads has had a great negative impact on the economic and environmental fronts. Each vehicle in the car sharing systems will take up to 15 cars off the road which would in turn reduce the cost on fuel, the carbon emissions and the amount of money wasted in man hours spent in traffic. Given that the operational costs will be shared among members the cost of operation will be lowered and therefore the system will be both cost effective and sustainable. The car sharing project will be useful in the attainment of the government’s target of reducing carbon emission by 30% by 2020 and by 60% by 2050.
This paper is a critical reflection of the aspect of the cars sharing system as a mitigation strategy for the congestion in Manchester city and the associated problems. As such the paper shall reflect first on the impact of the traffic congestion on the business and the environment. The paper will also review the government targets and how car sharing will help in the attainment of these targets. The paper will also deal with the operational costs vis-à-vis the sustainability of the system. Finally the paper will discuss the use of performance measures in managing sustainability.
1.0 Introduction
According to a recent survey the city of Manchester has some of the most congested roads in the U.K. The survey found that on Fridays from 17.00-18.00 it takes an average of 56% longer on Manchester roads than driving the same distance in uncongested conditions. This was rated as the worst time and place to be on the U.K. Based on Automatic counts an average of 29,035 cars cross the Manchester regional centre inbound between 7.30 and 9.30 am and rises to 64,784 cars between 7.00 and 10.00 am. These statistics attest to the fact that road traffic congestion in Manchester has grown tremendously, with some sources indicating a growth of up to 12% in the last decade.
Contrary to the popular belief that the rise in traffic congestion is mainly attributed to trucks some sources indicate that up to 89% of the congestion is attributable to cars. This is not surprising since the car ownership in Manchester has steadily increased by roughly 25% every ten years. In addition Manchester has been rated one of the top ten congested cities in Europe raising the need to decongest the city. Decongestion of the city particularly becomes vital when one considers the economic and environmental impacts of the congestion. With car occupancy weekday surveys indicating a single occupancy in 83% of the cars between 8.00 and 9.00 am on 25 A road sites there is need to consider increasing car occupancy as a means of reducing congestion.
Car sharing is a viable option that can be used to reduce the traffic congestion as well as carbon emission by reducing reliance on single occupancy automobiles thereby reducing the number of cars on the Manchester roads. There is however a need to reflect on the operational aspects of the car sharing system as a means of reducing the congestion and the carbon emission. Of critical value is to assess the impacts of the congestion on the economy as well as the environment of Manchester. The government targets and their attainment through the system must also be considered as well as the balance between the costs of operation vis-à-vis sustainability of the operation. Finally monitoring and of the sustainability of the operation via performance measurement is key.
2.0 The effects of Congestion on Business and local environment
Traffic congestion has been proved to have major short term and long term effects on both the economic and environmental front. Congestion is indeed a millstone around the neck of U.K industry costing billions of pounds every year. On the environmental front the increased traffic congestion is a major contributor to air and noise pollution not to mention the phenomenon of global warming.
A study by the Department of transport concluded that congestion is a major economic cost and failure to take adequate mitigating measures the economic impact of traffic congestion will be paralysing. The major means by which traffic congestion negatively affects the economy is by loss of man hours. Statistics of the amount of time wasted on traffic are numbing to say the least. One source indicates that drivers and passengers waste up to seventy two hours every year in Manchester on traffic. This wasted hours could be put to economic used and contribute to the growth of the Economy. Worse still is the fact that by the time employees get to work they are already exhausted from the long hours of sitting in traffic. More often employees are forced to wake up very early to beat the traffic, in which case employees do not get enough rest. In addition some employees also have to leave work early for the same reason. These factors combine to reduce the productivity of the employees.
Traffic congestion also leads to delayed and unreliable movement of goods as well as people. These delays increase the cost of doing business which is not only passed down to the consumers but also make the city of Manchester unattractive to investors. These delays become particularly important when the transportation of perishable goods is considered. For the transportation of perishable goods the delays make it necessary to spend more on refrigerated trucks.
Finally, on the economic front, traffic congestion essentially means that businesses and families have to spend more on fuel. With the petrol cost sky rocketing to surpass the 100 pounds per litre a family with two cars is forced to spend £ 35.99 more every month and this cost is compounded by traffic congestion. This cost is significant to businesses that have to ferry their goods in and/or out of Manchester thus affecting the pricing of the goods. It is estimated that if the situation is unchecked the ever rising cost of congestion will waste £22 billions more on time in England by 2025 by which time 13% of traffic will be subjected to stop-start conditions.
On the environmental front traffic congestion obviously raises concerns of green house. Computation of the contribution of cars to green house gases is rather complex especially in a specific location given that gases are dynamic; however as the graph below demonstrates the contribution of road transportation to global green house gases is significant.
In the U.K. alone the transport sector contributes up to 25% of the carbon dioxide emissions and unless the issue of traffic congestion is addressed there will be definite long-term economic effects. Cars have also contributed majorly to low air quality due to the exhaust fumes which have been blamed for a myriad of respiratory disorders.
3.0 Attainment of Government targets through effective car sharing
The British Government is signatory to the Kyoto protocol that required the developed countries to reduce their green house gas emissions. More specifically, in response to a review of the economics of the Climate change the government set a new target for the European Emissions Trading Scheme to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2020 and by 60% by 2050. A bill was passed to enshrine the carbon reduction targets and an independent body was established to monitor the progress.
Given that the majority of CO2 emissions from the transport sector are from the road, which contributed 33 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2005, there is a need to focus on this sector. The government on its part has tried to reduce the number of cars on the road by introducing congestion charges in various cities. Car sharing is a feasible system that would reduce the carbon emissions.
On the economic front car sharing will reduce fuel expenses with the Environment Agency estimating that sharing an average commute (12 miles a day), saves around about 170 liters of petrol per year. The more people you share with (assuming they were driving before), the more beneficial it will be. This would not only benefit the ordinary citizens but also the government and organizations. By encouraging car sharing organizations and the government would reduce their fleet of cars on the road. Car sharing would therefore help in the achievement of cost cutting goals especially in the current hard economic times. Finally it is the aim of the government to attract as many investors as possible and to that end car sharing would help in reducing the city’s congestion.
4.0 Cost of operational output vis-à-vis sustainability of the system
It is vital to note that any transport system has to be cost effective as well as sustainable, the car sharing is cost effective in the sense that it works on the basis of cost sharing.
With more people opting to join car sharing due to the increasing cost of living, car sharing system is by and large self sustaining. The initial cost my appear high but in the long run the cost of operation are much lower compared to each individual member using their own car. The car sharing project will reduce the congestion and thereby the economic and environmental implications. The demand on paring would be reduced since each car sharing vehicle would take up to 15 private cars off the roads.
5.0 Performance measurement
Several criteria can be used to measure the performance of the car sharing system thereby manage the sustainability. The first measure would be reduction of the fuel cost by individual members. As earlier indicated car sharing has the potential to save up to 170 liters of petrol per year. The reduction is particularly important in families with two or more cars which may opt to sell the extra car (s). Some of the money saved could be used in improving the services offered by the car sharing operation. On the environmental aspects the reduction in the amount of fuel translates into less carbon emission therefore reduction of carbon emission could be used as a performance measurement. With each car sharing vehicle taking up to 15 private cars off the roads the reduction of carbon emissions by the car sharing system is very significant. The other important performance measure is the reduction of congestion which would in turn reduce the number of man hours wasted in traffic.
6.0 Conclusions
With the city of Manchester being rated as one of the top ten congested cities it is vital to consider the implications of the congestions and the viable mitigating strategies. It is clear from the discussions above that private cars contribute 89% percent of the congestion leading to the conclusion that mitigation of the congestion problems should be more focused on reducing the number of private cars on the roads. The congestion on the roads has had a great negative impact on the economic and environmental fronts. Each vehicle in the car sharing systems will take up to 15 cars off the road which would in turn reduce the cost on fuel, the carbon emissions and the amount of money wasted in man hours spent in traffic. Given that the operational costs will be shared among members the cost of operation will be lowered and therefore the system will be both cost effective and sustainable. The car sharing project will be useful in the attainment of the government’s target of reducing carbon emission by 30% by 2020 and by 60% by 2050.
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