Study Tools
(All the) Exam-style Questions
UK Transport Policy and Planning
1.
Outline the history of transport policy in the UK over the last 50 years.
[hints]
2.
Is the size of the Roads Programme a good indicator of what the government's transport policy is?
[hints]
Sustainability
1.
Why do many people regard current transport trends as unsustainable?
[hints]
2.
Describe the sorts of measures that might be introduced to make transport more sustainable in future. Why is it difficult to develop a transport scheme appraisal method that takes into account many criteria and sub-criteria of varying nature?
[hints]
3.
Define what 'sustainability' is, and outline its relevance to transport systems.
[hints]
4.
With reference to examples, describe how modern transport schemes interact with their surrounding environment.
[hints]
Transport Scheme Appraisal Methods
1.
Given that the UK Government's [forthcoming] multi-modal approach to transport scheme appraisal is expected to be a development of the new approach to appraisal of road scheme proposals, state the five main criteria for the appraisal of road schemes and use them as headings to present logically collated criteria for the evaluation of alternative route options for a Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
[hints]
2.
Describe the possible impact that construction of CTRL will have on travel patterns, and explain why changes may occur.
[hints]
3.
Outline the New Approach to Appraisal and describe what effects it has had on the government's transport policy.
[hints]
4.
Using examples, describe how the use of NATA and GOMMS has changed the impact that a road scheme would have otherwise had on the environment and local economy.
[hints]
Measures to Reduce Congestion and the Demand to Travel
1.
What is 'road-user charging' and, conceptually, how does it relate drivers to various costs generated by their use of cars?
[hints]
2.
Describe the sorts of issues that need to be addressed in order for a road pricing scheme to operate successfully, including being acceptable to the general public.
[hints]
Technology and Transport
1.
Using examples of systems and their functions, explain what intelligent transport systems are.
[hints]
2.
Explain why very precise satellite navigation may be used as a fundamental component of many transport management and information systems of the future.
[hints]
Light Rail and other Mass Rapid Transit Systems
1.
Is light rail a viable alternative to buses and established overland railways in cities and large towns. Consider all aspects of the project from design to maintenance.
[hints]
2.
Nottingham Express Transit (NET) started running in March 2004. Is expansion of the NET network the solution to Nottingham's transport problems?
[hints]
The Other Option... Road Building
1.
Is road building an essential feature of any transport policy?
[hints]
2.
With reference to example(s), describe how construction of a road has benefited some part of the community.
[hints]
3.
What factors would you consider when planning a road improvement of any sort, be it a new motorway or a small junction improvement?
[hints]
Hints to help you develop your answers
to the Exam-style Questions
UK Transport Policy and Planning
1.
- Growth of motorised transport
- Idea of re-building after WW2
- Predict and Provide
- Environmental backlash
- 1980s-dramatic rise in use of car
- Sustainability Issues and concern for the Environment
- Role of public transport
- 1990s-integrated transport, shifting government attitudes
- New Approach to Appraisal
- [back to the question]
2.
- Large proportion of population use/rely on car
- Therefore, keep the electorate happy?
- Do cars integrate with other transport modes well?
- Environmental policies
- Does a 'rail' or 'bus' programme exist similarly?
- Have cars really taken over society?
- [back to the question]
Sustainability
1.
- Can transport ever be 'kind' to the environment?
- Role of new road construction
- Does government need to re-educate people?
- Transport creates pollution
- Changing lifestyles
- Is government addressing the problems long term?
- [back to the question]
2.
- Reducing need to travel
- Changing travel behaviour
- Integrating different modes of transport
- Providing transport by new forms of energy
- Giving people more choice and accessibility
- Appraisal is largely subjective
- Can't assign monetary value to some criteria
- Often the criteria are in totally different contexts
- Relative importance of each criteria
- Individual criteria regarded differently by different stakeholders
- [back to the question]
3.
- Capacity for continuance
- Not taking out more than you put in to environment.
- Transport interacts with environment usually adversely
- Transport requires energy usually - where does this come from?
- Is the environment being irreplaceably damaged?
- [back to the question]
4.
- Landscaping
- Interchanges
- Public transport versus parking spaces
- Severance
- Pollution:visual/aural/atmospheric
- Destruction of habitats
- Cost/benefits to surrounding community
- etc
- [back to the question]
Transport Scheme Appraisal Methods
1.
- Integration - with other modes
- Safety - of traveller, of public
- Economy - journey times, cost, reliability, job creation, regeneration
- Environment - noise, air, landscape, biodiversity, heritage, water
- Accessibility - public transport, severance, pedestrians/cyclists
- [back to the question]
2.
- Reduction in journey times
- Increased access to continent
- Shift of traffic onto/off surrounding road/rail network
- More frequent journeys
- [back to the question]
3.
- List NATA criteria
- Reduction in road-building
- More public transport?
- Changing need/demand for travel?
- Modal Shift?
- Increased time to deliver necessary improvements?
- Will road schemes still be approved?
- [back to the question]
4.
- Compare a pre-NATA transport scheme with a post-NATA scheme.
- Does the environment get considered more?
- Definition of 'environment'
- Landscaping/biodiversity/ecological issues
- Economic issues
- Shift in government policies over time
- [back to the question]
Measures to Reduce Congestion and the Demand to Travel
1.
- Form of charging for use of road
- Congestion/Distance/time/cordon based
- Internalising external costs of congestion
- Further/longer/more often travel - more cost to environment
- Driver pays for cost of 'damage' to environment
- [back to the question]
2.
Technology and Transport
1.
- Using technology to influence a journey
- Through congestion/diversion
- Real-time travel information
- Architecture/framework of ITS - made up of several components
- etc
- [back to the question]
2.
- Description of satellite positioning techniques
- Accuracy level
- Real-time
- In-vehicle information provision, rather than ever more street furniture
- Many useful applications of detailed, dynamic positioning data
- To inform travellers well, need to track progress
- Possibilities with mobile phone tracking
- [back to the question]
Light Rail and other Mass Rapid Transit Systems
1.
- Identifying the need for the project
- Appraisal Method
- Type of user
- Where is it going to be routed?
- Competition with existing sectors
- Cost/attractiveness and accessibility
- Maintenance requirement
- [back to the question]
2.
- Route of Line One - why this one?
- Nottingham Transport Plan
- Can sufficient modal shift be achieved?
- Will NET be able to compete with car?
- What about benefits versus road/bus
- Disadvantages?
- Integration with other modes
- [back to the question]
The Other Option... Road Building
1.
2.
- Bypass/relief road
- Improved environment
- Reduced severance
- Improved safety
- Better journey times
- etc
- [back to the question]
3.
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last modified: 13-Oct-2004
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