Zurich model
Template:Use dmy dates The Zurich model is the approach by the city of Zurich, Switzerland, which permits its public transportation system to achieve and maintain a high market share. Many other cities have emulated elements of it, especially when new tram or light rail systems were introduced.[1][2]
History
In the 1970s, Zurich was planning to move many of the tram lines in its central area into tunnels. This project was rejected in a referendum. In the 1970s, a project to create an underground railway was similarly rejected.[3][4][5]
Despite the failures of these attempts to provide Zurich with a different kind of transportation system, public transportation in Zurich has maintained a high modal split, with 65% of people commuting within the city doing so by public transport and only 17% using cars.[3][5] In his book Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton has suggested why the model is so effective: Template:Quote
Elements of the model
The model has the following characteristics:[1][2]
- A dense network providing many direct connections and short headways.
- High priorities at intersections.
- Low impact of road congestion on operations.
- Parking maximums (introduced in 1989), followed by parking limits in the downtown (1996).[6]
Public transport entities
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The public transportation system in the city of Zurich consists of the following elements, which are part of the Zurich transportation network (Zürcher Verkehrsverbund, ZVV):
- Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ)
- Motor buses of VBZ, VBG, PostAuto, AVA and AZZK
- Zurich S-Bahn, a commuter rail and rapid transit hybrid system serving all 28 railway stations in the city (and linking them with other stations within the Zurich Metropolitan Area)
- Lake Zurich navigation company (ZSG), operating on Lake Zurich and the river Limmat
See also
- Health impact of light rail systems
- Finnish models of public transport
- Karlsruhe model
- Melbourne Principles