Alternative implementation strategies for radical transport schemes

Many transport systems worldwide are struggling to cope with current traffic levels. But, while many solutions have been mooted, none has really succeeded in addressing this ‘transport crisis’ on a regional or national scale. One major barrier preventing schemes being introduced is at the implementation stage, due to politicians being unwilling to antagonise ‘the car loving electorate’. Accordingly, this chapter will look at several existing radical transport schemes from across the world to determine how they overcame adverse public reaction. For example, it will note how the ‘Ring of Steel’ in London was introduced as a security measure, at how Electronic Road Pricing was sold to the public in Singapore, and at how motorists happily pay to enter Manhattan, New York because they are using bridges and tunnels. It will then suggest how these experiences could be shaped to form ‘alternative’ implementation strategies that frustrated transport policy makers might try in the future.