A sustainable and equitable society requires a public transport system that is reliable and attractive. However, developments within the transport sector in the past have been such that it is uncertain if today’s public transport system can live up to these requirements. Nevertheless, there are examples of positive results that have been reached through customer-oriented transport and marketing measures.

These successful examples comprise the basis of the new EU project PROCEED (Principles of successful high quality public transport operation and development).

The main aim of PROCEED is to design a planning tool that can be used to develop successful public transport - mainly by bus - in small and medium-sized European cities with a population of up to 250,000 inhabitants.

“The project will give a better understanding of the key factors that influence public transport, as well as how the position of public transport in the transport system can be strengthened so its market share can increase,” says Lena Fredriksson, consultant at Trivector Traffic and project manager for PROCEED.

But PROCEED goes one step further.

“The goal is to facilitate the implementation, that is to say, the practical usage of the research results.” The planning tool’s usability and quality will therefore be controlled carefully during the course of the project. The public transport authorities and operators that are linked to PROCEED shoulder the responsibility for this work. They will test the planning tool in real life situations. PROCEED is thus a project that builds a bridge between researchers and users.

This quality check by the future users under realistic conditions is something that is seldom included in other research projects; it is brought forward as one of the most essential parts of PROCEED.

Consequently, the project is structured in the following main phases:
· The researchers go through the past few years’ research results within the field of public transport and extract useful information.
· The researchers collect experiences from public transport operations, especially those who have been successful public transport initiatives.
· The researchers compile the results into a planning tool
· The planners and operators test the planning tool
· The planners and operators give feedback to the researchers, who then revise the planning tool

The results will be presented in both written and electronic form. Moreover, educational material will be produced that can be used by future transport planners at universities and colleges.

The project will run for three years. Participants come from twelve different EU countries and from Switzerland.

Those who are interested in following the project’s progress can do so at www.proceedproject.net or may subscribe to receive our Newsletters and Handbook.

PG Andersson, Trivector Traffic, coordinator for PROCEED