This chapter uses the concept of collaboration to discuss the conditions for transport governance when planning and decision-making capacity is formally divided between organizations. Public transport is used as an empirical example. The chapter provides a conceptual understanding of collaboration and gives lessons that can guide collaboration attempts regarding the nature of the relationship between and the behaviour of participating organizations. Collaboration is described as a gradual trust-building process in which organizations build a joint problem formulation that channels their individual actions in a joint direction whilst still providing space for the individual organization to fulfil its objectives. The chapter ends with a discussion of how collaboration has become a tool to fulfil a coordination need that has arisen because of reforms in the transport sector. It concludes that collaboration as a mode of steering fits well into the dominant transport policy paradigm of deregulation and competition

Contentious transport measures (CTM) are defined in this paper as those which reduce the amount of road space available for, or the cost of using, the private car. These measures have been shown to be necessary if a transition to a more sustainable transport system is to take place. Although they are the key decision makers as to whether such measures should be implemented at city level, there is a dearth of research on local politicians’ views on mobility issues in general, and to CTM specifically. This paper addresses this gap by presenting and analysing interviews with local politicians in Sweden, Norway and Spain. It finds that local politicians can be categorised broadly into three groups: those who do not support CTM as they see them as being incompatible with their ideology; those who will support a gradual implementation of such measures; and those for whom there is an urgent need for CTM and that their task is to respond to their voters and lead society towards the transition by implementing CTM even if they are unpopular with some sectors of the electorate. These findings align with earlier work identifying some politicians as radical and some as incremental in their approach to policy change; and the self-definition of politicians as ‘trustees’, leading change as elected representatives, compared to those who see themselves more as ‘delegates’, representing the views of their voters.

This article analyses actor relationships in Transit Oriented Development (TOD) planning in order to better understand the preconditions necessary for planning processes to result in TOD in lower density contexts, in suburbs, or small cities. Empirically, the analysis builds on a comparative case study of TOD planning projects. The focus in the analytical work is on understanding how market conditions in lower density contexts influence the conditions for TOD planning projects, and how this feeds through to planning processes. The overall conclusion is that we should not expect that planning processes in small cities with low to medium densities of populations and activities differ much from those in more ‘classic’ highly urban TOD locations. Market conditions had an impact on planning processes, but once in the planning stage conditions for implementation depended more on the ability to handle competing interests and less on market conditions. In terms of policy recommendations, it is important for actors to develop a joint vision of the built environment of the site in question that channels organizations’ individual actions in a joint direction. The ability to achieve such a joint vision for the design of the site in question may be more important in small towns than in more ‘typical’ TOD contexts in denser urban areas. This is because all enablers need to work together in a positive way in such location – which may be marginal from a market point of view – for the development to be able to go ahead.

This paper analyses the integration of social considerations into public transport planning. It addresses the challenge of balancing social benefits against objectives such as efficiency and cost minimization. Through a literature review, this paper examines methods for assessing public transport accessibility for potentially disadvantaged groups and identifies knowledge gaps in existing research. The analysis reveals a predominant focus on post-implementation (ex-post) accessibility assessments and a lack of research examining potential impacts (ex-ante) during planning stages. Furthermore, the paper identifies a lack of research on how to weigh social benefits against other more conventional objectives such as efficiency and cost minimization and also against environmental considerations. Research usually proposes changes ex-post based solely on a desire to improve accessibility for potentially disadvantaged groups. Therefore, there is a need for more research on how to manage conflicting interests in planning, for example through composite methods. The paper also highlights the tendency of research to overlook the practical usability of methods developed. The relevance of methods to policy makers and planners responsible for planning public transport systems remains largely unexplored. To develop practically useful methods, research needs a better understanding of the norms governing planning practices. It is common to discuss how the mobility needs of potentially disadvantaged passenger groups should be met in isolation from policy contexts. More research is needed about how the potential tensions between social, economic, and environmental considerations play out in public transport planning practices. All of this leads to a risk of a theory-practice gap, marked by a disconnect between research and the practical needs of the public transport providers. By proposing a more nuanced research approach that better reflects the complexity of real-world planning and the different needs of user groups, research can enable public transport planning for what we term 'sustainable accessibility'.

The aim of this paper is to improve the knowledge of collaborative challenges when planning and implementing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Collaborative challenges are here understood as the barriers that may arise in BRT planning and implementation as a consequence of several formally independent actors, occasionally with different interests, participating in the planning. The results are based on an analysis of actor interactions in Swedish BRT projects. These projects are analysed in relation to the state of the art in the research field of collaborative approaches. The results show two main and interrelated collaborative challenges. The first category of challenges concerns difficulties for actors in creating a common understanding of what a BRT system is, the second category concerns details of bus priority measures, e.g. busways, priority at intersections, and how to handle and deal with conflicting interests when removing speed bumps or pedestrian and cycle crossings. In terms of policy is in the early stages of the planning processes. This can be generated by working practices and tools that facilitate agreements on how to handle different interests and trade-offs. BRT guidelines adapted to national transport policy, legal and organisational conditions could function as tools in assisting actor dialogue.

This paper analyzes strategies that can be successfully pursued to implement measures to reduce car traffic in what has traditionally been a very car-centric planning praxis. Analytically, the paper use path dependency theory to provide an understanding of why certain types of measure are not implemented in cities on as widespread a basis as policy objectives may require, and to understand how transport planning path dependence in urban authorities might be changed. Empirically, the analysis builds on a comparative case study of transport and land use planning in Swedish cities. The most effective strategies do not appear to be radical policies leading to fast implementation of goals about sustainable transport, for example by implementing very car restrictive measures, even in the face of resistance from the public and from within the city administration. The results support an approach that from a strategy making perspective can be understood as an institutionalizing process by which internal organizational and external public support for car restrictive and potentially controversial measures are built. Implementation may be achieved by building new institutions within city administrations, where routines and norms gradually change so that car restraint measures gradually become part of the normal way of doing transport planning. This then starts to lock-in certain patterns of travel and make further car restraint measures more feasible and institutionalized as part of a standard menu of measures that cities use, and not something out of the order.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is key to the success of public transport and for sustainable urbanand regional development. Previous research has often focused on delivering TOD in urban areas with high population and building densities. This highlights the need to broaden the scope of TOD approaches to also include less densely populated areas located outside the immediate urban cores as a key concern for policy. The aim of this paper is to increase the knowledge of how to deliver TOD in such low-density contexts. Three case studies of attempts at delivering TOD in sparsely populated areas in three Swedish city-regions are made. The data for the case studies consist of planning documents and 13 interviews with key stakeholders involved in the planning processes of the three cases. The results show that many of the barriers and enablers are rather similar to those identifed in research onTOD in much more urban contexts in other parts of the world, but the relationships between them are diferently nuanced in low-density contexts. The lack of clear quantifed defnitions of what TOD is (or is not) allows a more fexible, site-specifc understanding of TOD to emerge in this context. It is important that a shared vision of TOD in each location is developed by the organizations involved—and such a shared vision appears to be crucial for the development to have a good chance of being delivered. Informal defnitions, and individual perceptions (including those of the public) are important; and in locations that are quite “marginal” for TOD, all enablers must interact together positively for the development to have the maximum likelihoodof going ahead as planned

För att få fler människor att välja kollektivtrafiken behöver ny bebyggelse lokaliseras till platser med god kollektivtrafik, till exempel, till stationsnära lägen och genom att förtäta och blanda bostäder, service och grönområden för att ge invånarna närhet till olika aktiviteter. En kollektivtrafikorienterad bebyggelseplanering (KOB) – innebär att man skapar en tätare och mer stadsmässig bebyggelse kring kollektivtrafikens noder och stråk. I mindre tätorter och på landsbygden är förutsättningarna för det annorlunda än i större städer, och KOB måste därför anpassas till dessa förutsättningar. Planeringen av KOBpåverkas därtill av flera offentliga och privata organisationer, och deras samverkan är av central betydelse för att KOB ska kunna förverkligas i mindre tätorter och på landsbygden. I denna rapport beskrivs hur man kan främja KOB i mindre tätorter och på landsbygden i Sverige. Följande fem övergripande rekommendationer syftar till att stimulera KOB på platser med lägre täthet men möjligheter till god kollektivtrafikförsörjning:

a) Utveckla en regional KOB-strategi och en regionalt anpassad KOB-typologi

b) Ta fram strategier för kollektivtrafikorienterad fastighetsutveckling i samarbetemellan myndigheter och marknadsaktörer

c) Utveckla kommunala förtätningsstrategier för kollektivtrafikorienteradbebyggelsed) Utveckla kommunala kollektivtrafikstrategier

e) Utveckla en väl fungerande samverkan kring KOB