Share
of private car transport
UP-4
Urban
Environmental Problems
Pressure/Driving
Force
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
km travelled by private car per year as % of total km travelled by passengers
in urban areas.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
4: Selected target sectors, section 4.3: Transport, identifies the transport
sector as a target sector and indicates a strategy to achieve a sustainable
mobility through improved land use planning and infrastructure charging,
improvement of the competitive position of environmentally-friendly modes,
development of public transportation systems, technical improvement of
vehicles, and promotion of a more rational use of the private car.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
7: Promoting sustainable human settlement development, section E, refers to
promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements through
energy planning and management, promotion of renewable and alternative energy
sources, and evaluation of the costs of current systems.
Chapter
9: Protecting the atmosphere under section B: Promoting Sustainable
Development, addresses the range of actions to be taken to reduce CO
2
emissions
in the energy, transportation, industrial and land use sectors.
International
conventions and agreements:
None.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
4
(49%)
Policy
Relevance:
7
(3.0)
Analytical
Soundness:
7
(2.9)
Responsiveness:
16
(2.4)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Photochemical
smog and Traffic congestion.
3 Significance
Purpose:
The
share of km travelled by car in urban areas is a major source of pressure for
the local and global atmosphere. Traffic-generated pollutants such as
particles, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide are an increasing problem as
cities sprawl. The purpose of this indicator is to monitor the pressure of
urban transportation trends on the local and global environment.
Relevance:
Transportation
accounts for almost one third of the CO
2
emissions
attributed to the energy sector and more than half of total NO
x
emissions.
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
The
share of private car transport in urban areas is linked to other indicators of
pressure including CC-1: CO
2
emissions,
AP-1:
Emissions of NO
x,
AP-3:
Emissions of SO
2,
AP-4:
Emissions of particles and
UP-1:
Energy consumption in urban areas.
Targets:
None.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
share of private car transport in urban areas is directly related to urban
patterns and trends. Compact urban settlements, for example, are generally more
transportation efficient than dispersed ones. The increased share in km
travelled by car in urban areas is correlated with decentralisation of the
urban structure in the majority of cities.
Measurement
methods:
Data
on transportation mode in urban areas are not available in the majority of
cities. A survey was developed by the OECD/ECMT in 1995 in OECD cities.
Limitations
of the indicator:
Major
problems are due to the lack of data. Other problems are due to the difficulty
in distinguishing between urban and non-urban areas and to the different
definitions of urban areas across countries.
Alternative
definitions:
A
possible alternative is number of trips by transportation mode per capita.
