Basel: Traffic management by transport that suits the city

Abstract:

The transport policy in the City of Basle and the wider conurbation across the national borders underlines how public transport can be attractively organised for a densely built-up city, as well as for a large catchment area. Furthermore, the traffic policy aims to calm traffic in city areas and to promote the use of the bicycle. In the 1980s and the early 1990s the Basle traffic policy implemented a variety of environmentally compatible measures in different areas of transport. This multi-level policy can serve as a model for the urban development in other cities for the following reasons:

• the implementation of a traffic policy with an effective combination of green transport mode measures;
• the successful testing of traffic calming measures in residential districts;
• the safe-guarding of high standards for bicycle use;
• the diversification of modernised bus, tram, and rail systems;
• the introduction of a customer-friendly pricing policy in public transport systems;
• the passing of legal regulations in favour of green modes of transport.

Concept and aims

At the beginning of the 1970s the Canton of Basle City started to take the lead in the diversification of its transport policy. Against the background of increased motorisation in the 1950s and 1960s, the goals of a "city suited to transport" was replaced by one with the motto "transport suited to the city". Consequently, public transport was given priority over individual motor vehicle transport and a local public transport network was set up as a primary system. The idea was to improve the network to the surrounding areas substantially, to increase the density of through traffic in the Basle inner city, and to reduce individual motor vehicle transport in the city. Therefore, the transport policy is mainly concerned with three areas of action:

1. Calming of traffic,

2. Bicycle use promotion,

3. Improvement of public transport.

1. Calming of traffic

The calming of traffic basically aims to reduce the potential dangers of car-driving in residential areas and the urban development of the transport infrastructure in underprivileged areas. The planning is mainly intending to implement the following measures:

• the opening of a by-pass project in the northern part of the city which is mainly affected by the commuting traffic from France and Germany,
• the reduction of car parking space,
• the introduction of speed-reducing 30 kph zones.

2. Promotion of bicycle use

Bicycle use promotion developed from a citizen action issue into a major municipal responsibility in the field of environmental protection. It has been a continuous theme of traffic policy in Basle since the 1970s. It is not a topic of a major project, but a rather permanent fight for an equal stance in questions of road use. Since 1985 the environmental pressure group "Veloinitiative" proposed an extension of measures for bicycle use. In particular, the policy aimed to make progress in the following fields:

• the provision of financial funds,
• the building of bicycle routes along main roads,
• the redevelopment of dangerous roads and cross-roads;
• the creation of separate routes for bicycle and low-powered mopeds;
• building of additional bicycle parking places.

3. Optimisation of public transport

As the public transport sector already proved to have a strong position in the city of Basle, it is obvious that the future traffic policy is mainly directed towards investments in the optimisation of the network of routes and the integration of public transport in overall transport planning. Since 1987 the traffic planning has included the following elements:

• investment in new routes (since 1990 called "Liniennetz 1990") ;
• optimisation of city-wide networks for bus and tram;
• building of a central station as a crossing point for all modes of transport ("Masterplan Bahnhof SBB");
• a planning concept for a regio-metro link (Regio-S-Bahn),
• a circle line (Kabinen-Ringbahn),
• an integrated fares network in Northeast Switzerland (Tarifverbund Nordwestschweiz);
• measures to connect the public transport in the city of Basle with the region of Basle (Kanton Basel-Land).

Such a far-reaching policy could not be implemented without legislative backing. In 1991 the first Environmental Protection Act of the City of Basle had been passed. The act was based on the 1985 National Environmental Act and was amended by special statute law for regional environmental measures. Some statutes are concerned with the promotion of environmentally friendly means of transport (13), the reduction of through-traffic in residential areas (14), the commitment to implement technical measures for traffic reduction and participation rights for the population concerned (15), and the reduction of public car-parking, a non-subsidy policy for multi-storey car park facilities, the building of bicycle parking facilities near public buildings and main access points to public transport (16-19).

Implementation

The Basle traffic policy is well-known for its efforts to promote an environmentally compatible transportation system. In particular due to the political willingness, the participation of interest groups, the large-scale public spending, and the effective arrangements at complex planning procedure there has been substantial progress in each area.

1. Calming of traffic

The reduction of car-parking has been on the agenda for the 1980s. In 1987 a test project in Quartier Gundeldingen was carried out. The test case covered an area with 23,000 inhabitants, 12,200 workplaces, 5,000 commuters from outside the area, 200 commuters from inside the area, 5,400 private cars, 1,400 delivery vans or company cars, 6,900 private car-park places, 1,000 public car- park places in multi-storey car parks, and 2.100 public car-parking facilities (Allmendplätze). Within a year construction measures costing a total of 620,000 Swiss francs (SF) were implemented, and acceptance by the local population had been mainly positive. 75% of the inhabitants and 53% of the business community welcomed the effects. The volume of traffic remained on the same level although there had been a 5% rise in the overall volume of traffic in Basle. Approximately 700 commuters changed to alternative means of transport. The results had been encouraging enough to have a great deal of influence on the rethinking of the local parking space policy. In 1989 the city parliament approved grants of 2,625,000 SF. In December 1993 the Canton of Basle took a major step towards a city-wide 30 kph policy as it approved another grant of 2,180,000 SF for building project in four northern city areas. In 1993 the estimated costs for city-wide introduction of 30 kph zones have been calculated for a total of 8,100,000 SF. Measures include new signals and re-paving.

2. Promotion of bicycle use

In the area of pro-bicycle policy, public attention was raised by a petition of more than 15,000 citizens and finally, the City Parliament (Rat) committed itself to such a policy. Nevertheless, public pressure, especially by the campaign group for bicycle use ("Velo-Initiative"), proved to be vital factor in the decision-making process. Originally, the parliamentary working group proposed to investing only 3,750,000 SF into bicycle infrastructure as part of a 50 million package for public transport whereas 200 million SF were planned for the northern by-pass and 300 million SF should be directed to the new transport masterplan (including construction measures). However, the final outcome of the financial bargaining process was influenced by a number of other factors:

• The initiative for the promotion of bicycle use had been put on the political agenda at a time when the debate on "Waldstreben" reached its climax and the implementation of green issues had become politically acceptable;
• At the same time national environmental legislation had been tightened up, especially in the sectors of clean air and noise abatement. Therefore, the regional and city authorities had also to act in the foreseeable future.
• All political parties had increasingly shown interest in environmental issues. Due to professional lobbying by the environmental campaign group the topic of a bicycle-friendly policy got the backing of political decision-makers.
• From the political actorspoint of view an extended bicycle programme could act as a bargaining counter for other large projects in the transport sector.

In consequence, the city council (Kanton Basel-Stadt) approved grants of 25 million SF to implement measures for the promotion of bicycle use within seven years. In 1989 a project group "Veloverkehr" was set up which should form a consultation forum for the administration decision-makers and interest groups. This organisational framework was regarded to be a necessity as the lesson from the modernisation of Zürich public transport had been that, without a project group, the authorities had only managed to spend 6 million SF within four years. From 1989 onward there have been two directions in pro-bicycle policies which aim to create favourable conditions for bicycle use. Firstly, the opening of one-way streets for oncoming bicycle traffic, and secondly, the building of separate bicycle paths.

In May 1989 the relevant statute on road signals had been amended. The implementation had started in November 1989 as a step-by-step process. At the regular meetings of the project group, package deals (each with 25 proposals) are suggested which have to be approved by the policy and by the transport authorities. The 308 one-way streets in Basle have been divided into 644 sections to be opened. Until 1993 42% (268 parts of one-way streets) had been checked and 214 authorised for oncoming traffic use.

The overall target is 143 km bicycle network of which by 1993 90 km (65%) had been completed and another 29 km (21%) was under construction. However, as the building of separate bicycle paths turned out to be too costly, the policy has been changed into a instead of building approach (statt Granit). In order to save money the priority for the planning period 1993-96 has been on new signals and marking instead on building separate paths, as well as on the ban on on-street parking instead of widening of roads.

3. Optimisation of public transport

In the public transport sector it was expected that the number of public transport passengers will increase between 20-50% in the 1990s if relief for local traffic can be achieved at inner-city bottlenecks. At the same time modernisation of the vehicle pool was regarded as an important element to attract new customers. However, in contrast to the other planning areas the authorities did not set up a special project group for the co-ordination of measures concerning the network of routes. Under the overall control of the municipal transport services and the construction department, isolated city- wide measures have been implemented. In addition, there has been no overall financial budget, and planning of financial capacities has often conflicted with other major projects, especially the northern by-pass. Due to the lack of an institutionalised network the participation of environmental interest groups has been marginal. Nevertheless, the necessity of an intensification of the public transport policy had been widely accepted, and the 1990 Basle plebiscite resulted in a 52.8% vote in favour of further projects in the 1990s.

The positive outcome was not a surprise as the Basle public transport system had already been a major success in the 1980s. The introduction of an "environment season ticket" (Umweltschutz- Abonnement) in 1984 substantially contributed to the success of local public transport policy in Basle. This ticket was introduced as a temporary experiment in 1984 when Basle authorities were alarmed by a 5% reduction in public transport passenger numbers. As this ticket proved to be successful, an integrated fares network in Northeast Switzerland was established in mid-1987. It involved federal and regional railway lines, and tram and bus routes, over an area of approximately 30 x 60 km and incorporated approximately 530,000 inhabitants. An undogmatic approach was adopted in order to solve many of the apparently insoluble detailed issues. The final outcome was the transferability of tickets on the bus route linking Lörrach in Germany with Basle. As a result of the introduction of the environment season ticket and the restructuring of the Northwest Swiss Tariff Area, passengers numbers increased by 35% and sales of the tickets almost tripled. Today the integrated fares network covers 6 cantons, 150 municipalities and a population of 600,000. Currently 400 out of every 1,000 inhabitants make use of this ticket.

The year 1993 marked a turning point as passenger figures dropped by 5% within twelve months. The transport services reacted quickly and the marketing department devised a high-profile campaign revolving around the yawning cleft between the growing environmental awareness of the public at large and its choice of means of transport. A cost-effective, transferable monthly ticket scheme was worked out in January 1994 and the new Monday ticket was introduced on 1 March 1994. This policy could only be implemented if the environmental season ticket is heavily subsidised by the city treasury. Since 1987 the integrated fares network got the following subsidies from the state:

In addition, measures like the density of the network and timetable, the quality and cleanliness of vehicles, and granting priority at traffic lights were put into practice. Such a policy should not only increase the speed but also ensure greater punctuality and, therefore, create a positive image of public transport.

A suburban railway service is currently being prepared on lines operated by the Swiss, French and German railways, SBB, SNCF and DB (regio-metro-link and circle line). The first route, an urban and suburban line providing a link with St. Louis and Mulhouse in France, will be opened in the period 1995/97. There are also plans to extend the tram network across the border to Weil am Rhein in Germany.

Results and Impacts

In Basle some 41% of the population use public transport to get to work, while the number of private cars has now steadied at the extraordinarily low level of 310 per 1,000 inhabitants. This is despite the fact that the Basle City Canton has the highest per-capita income in Switzerland. Within a decade the individual motor vehicle transport share of motorised journeys to work fell from 35% in 1980 to 30% in 1990. The public transport policy was just as successful in the whole conurbation as the share of local public transport versus individual motor vehicle transport rose by 7% from 39% to 46%. About 666 local transportation trips per inhabitant per year makes Basle rank first in the world.

The number of tram and bus (BVB) passengers in the city increased from 99,7 million in 1982 to approximately 130 million in 1993.

In retrospect the Basle environmental season ticket could be regarded as the model for other cities as it began to spread quickly, finally conquering every city in Switzerland. It operates under a variety of different names: "Regenbogenabo" (Rainbow Season Ticket) in Zürich, "Umwelt Pass" (Green Pass) in Berne, "Passpartout" in Lucerne, "Abo Bleu-Blanc" (Blue-and-White Season Ticket) in Lausanne, "Flex Tax" (i.e. "Frechdachs" or "Cheeky Monkey") in Schaffhausen, etc. In Germany, the model was taken up by Freiburg.

In 1988 an environmental co-ordination office within the building department of the city of Basle has been set up in order to work as a co-operation agent with town planning authorities, engineering departments, policy authorities, the transport company, the clean air authority and the building and environment departments of the region of Basle. In 1991 the first environmental report of the city of Basle was published. In future, the report will be updated every five years.

Finance

Source of Information

Apel, Dieter / Pauen-Höppner, Ursula 1992: Neue Verkehrskonzepte großer Städte, Arbeitshefte Umweltverträglicher Stadtverkehr:, Nr. 3, Berlin

Zeller, Christian 1992: Mobilität für alle! Umrisse einer Verkehrswende zu einem autofreien Basel, Basel

Whitelegg, John 1993: Transport for a sustainable future: the case for Europe, London

Isenmann, Thomas 1994: Marktwirtschaftliche Verkehrspolitik: Wirtschaftsverträglichkeit und Raumwirksamkeit, Zürich

Schmerbach, Torsten 1994: Der schweizerische Umweltschutz im Konflikt zwischen Verkehrsplanung und städtischer Wohnqualität, in: Raumforschung und Raumordnung, 5. Jg., Nr.3, S. 222-228

Hüsler, Willi 1994: The effects of expanding mobility, in: EA.UE, (ed.): Environmentally Compatible Urban Transport and Traffic, Berlin, pp. 30-32

Schenkel, Walter 1995: Die Luftreinhalte- und Verkehrspolitik im Kanton Basel-Stadt. Politiknetzwerk-Analyse von Verkehrsberuhigungsmaßnahmen, Cahiers de Lde Hautes Etudues en Administration Publique No. 150, Lausanne

Hüsler, Willi 1996: Success of the Basle traffic policy in: EA.UE, (ed.), Facing the Challenge. Successful Climate Policies in European Cities, Berlin, pp. 169-172

Klemm, Martin 1996: Welche Mobilität wollen wir? Unser kollektiver Umgang mit dem Problem des städtischen Personenverkehrs. Eine Untersuchung am Beispiel der Stadt Basel, Basel

Contact:

Cities:

Basel:

The City of Basle has approximately 200,000 inhabitants and 171,000 workplaces. The city is located next to the German and French border and it is the core area of a much larger conurbation with another 320,000 inhabitants in Switzerland, 125,000 in Germany and 33,000 in France.

Basel, situated in northern Switzerland, is the capital of the half-canton Basel-Stadt (City of Basel), on the Rhine River. In 1833 the two independent half-cantons, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Land, were created from the former Basel Canton. Basel-Stadt, covering 37 sq. km and with a population (1994) of 197,100, comprises the City of Basel and two adjoining communities. Basel-Land, covering 428 sq. km and with a population (1994) of 251,300, has its capital at Liestal.

The City of Basel is surrounded by a rich agricultural region where fruit trees and grapevines are cultivated and cattle are raised. The city is a major industrial centre in which pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, printed materials, and textiles are produced. It is also the site of an annual industrial fair. Most of the inhabitants of the region speak German.

Population:

Project was added at 21.06.1996
Project was changed at 17.08.2001

• SURBAN home
• Search cases
• See a list of all the cases
• Order the SURBAN database
• Back to the EA.UE homepage