More specifically, ECLAC called on Cerema to develop a Latin American frame of reference for selecting high quality public transport systems for urban areas.
Accordingly, Cerema drafted an initial report for ECLAC, presenting French best practices in mode of transport selection. The report provided a summary of Cerema’s projects, and was intended to provide a multi-criteria method for selecting modes of transport.
Indeed, selecting a mode or transport is an iterative process that is based partly on a long-term vision of the conurbation and its transport network, and partly on an assessment of the area’s potential and any constraints.
These development objectives for both the network and the region mean that some selection criteria take precedence over others (the project’s image, to the detriment of the cost, for example). The aim is to obtain an objective view of these decisions, along with an awareness of their consequences for both the transport network and the urban environment.
The frame of reference contains:
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The concept of public transport systems and its three components: infrastructure, operating procedures, and the rolling stock used
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What makes a high quality public transport system
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The various criteria that are commonly analysed, in France, in the selection process for effective modes of public transport
These efforts will continue in 2019 with an update of the analysis criteria, and their adaptation to the Latin American context. Some modes which have not been developed in France but which are widespread in Latin America, like Bus Rapid Transit, will be included in the analysis.