Policy Analysis using PLUTO

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Policy Analysis using PLUTO

• 2007-09-10

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PLUTO Exercise

• Todays ObjectiveGive you experience
  formulating objectives, proposing policies, and
  evaluating those policies relative to the
  objectives.
• MethodUse the PLUTO City Model to Simulate
  Outcomes of Policy Decisions

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Your Tasks

• Set the following
• Vision
• Goals (three)
• Objectives (at least 2 for each goal)
• Decide on Indicators Targets (based on PLUTO)
• Devise a Strategy (choose from PLUTO options)
• Test the Strategy
• Evaluate the Strategy using your Indicators
  Targets
• Report and Discuss the Results
• How closely did your strategy meet your
  objectives?
• What other effects do you notice

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PLUTO

• Planning Land Use and Transport Options
• Created by Peter Bonsall, University of Leeds,
  UK
• Purpose
• Easily explore a variety of kinds of transport
  policies
• Interact using a graphical user interface
• Represent the city in an abstract way
• Primarily used as an educational tool, but widely
  regarded as realistic

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City of Plutopia

• Conditions
• Population is 500,000
• 80 of households own at least one car
• Unemployment is 5
• Land Use Patterns
• Population denser at the center
• Employment shops mostly at the center

• Trends
• Population 2/year
• Car Ownership3-points/year
• Economy 1.5/year, but slowing
• Recent growth in jobs in the suburbs

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Geography of Plutopia
10 IdenticalSectors
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Geography of Plutopia(One Sector)
CentralBusinessDistrict
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Other Assumptions

• Plutopia is an island to itself
• No Freight Traffic
• No Through-Traffic
• Modes only Car, Bus, and Walk

• Parking
• Short-Term
• Long-Term
• 44,000 Regular Spaces
• 52,000 Park-and-Ride Spaces

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Current Traffic Patterns

• Morning Peak Hour Mode Split
• 70 Car
• 20 Bus
• 10 Walk
• Traffic Increasing by 4/year
• Bus Patronage Decreasing by 2/year

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Policy Options

• Types of Policies
• Construction Projects
• Bus Lanes
• Bus Fare Subsidies
• Parking Management
• Traffic Calming
• Traffic Management and Constraint
• Land Development Controls
• Maintenance Expenditures
• Tax Policies

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1. Major Construction

• Highway Construction
• Lane additions on radial roads (LINK)
• Lane additions on ring roads (RR)
• Interchange addition at ring road 1
• Parking expansions

Passenger-Car Equiv. per Lane per Hour
Radial Link Road
Ring Road
Long-Term Spaces
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2. Bus Lanes

• Bus-Only Highway Lanes, by Radial Link Segment
• Can Specify
• Peak-Hour Only
• All Day

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3. Bus Services

• Subsidies for Commercial Bus Service
• Fares are
• Per Trip
• Per Kilometer
• Differentiated by Peak-Hour/Off-Peak

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4. Parking Management

• PNR Park-and-Ride
• Reallocations between Short- and Long-Term Spaces
• Adjustment to Parking Fees
• Reductions in Number of Spaces
• Note Increases in Parking are done using Major
  Construction Projects (Option 1)

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5. Traffic Calming Safety

• City-Wide Traffic Calming for Local Streets
• City-Wide Educational Campaign
• Remedial Safety Measures for Specific Roadway
  Links

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6. Traffic Management Restraint

• Cell System
• Restrict movement of cars within CBD

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6. Traffic Management Restraint

• Cordon Charge
• Charge vehicles entering the City Center
• Choose how far out to place the cordon (using
  link )
• Choose amount of the charge

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6. Traffic Management Restraint

• Road Pricing
• Charge vehicles on specific radial link and ring
  road segments

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6. Traffic Management Restraint

• Park and Ride Shuttles
• Choose number of buses (in batches of 10)
• Choose fee for use

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6. Traffic Management Restraint

• TRANSYT
• Traffic signal coordination
• SCOOT
• Dynamic traffic signal optimization
• Benefits are not additive

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6. Traffic Management Restraint

• Traffic Information System
• Congestion monitoring
• Traffic information center
• Variable message signs
• Messages to radio stations
• Regular traffic bulletins

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7. Development Control

• May cap new development as a percentage of total
  applications, by Zone and by Land Use
• Does not affect existing development

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8. Maintenance Expenditures

• The transport system will deteriorate if you do
  not allocate money to maintenance

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9. Financial Decisions

• Domestic Taxes
• Flat Tax per Person
• Commercial Taxes
• Flat Tax per Floor Area of Business
• Transfer Funds from Current Account to Capital
  Account
• Negative numbers transfer the other way

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Indicators

• Average Zonal Accessibility
• Average General Cost
• Average Fare
• Bus Frequency
• Financial
• Casualties
• Public Opinion

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Indicators

• Land Use
• Trips
• Environment
• Traffic Flow
• Mode Split
• Public Parking Spaces
• Resources
• Speeds

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Setting Indicator Targets

• Bases for Comparison
• Year Zero Inherited City
• E.g. City-wide Peak-Hour CO Emissions 2.4
• Year Five Do Minimum
• E.g. City-wide Peak-Hour CO Emissions 2.5
• Potential Target for Year Five
• Peak-Hour CO Emissions 2.2

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Using PLUTO for Policy Evaluation

• Start a new series give it a name.
• Inspect current conditions.
• Choose suitable indicators and set a target value
  for each (use the online help and the Inherited
  values as a guide).
• Choose a strategy for the coming year by clicking
  on the numbered buttons.
• Run one year of the simulation.
• Choose whether to revise or continue, and repeat
  Steps 4-6 through Year 5.
• Print your indicators.

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Your Tasks (for now)

• Set the following
• Vision (one sentence)
• Goals (three)
• Objectives (at least 2 for each goal)
• Decide on Indicators Targets (based on PLUTO)
• If you have time Devise a Strategy (choose from
  PLUTO options)