On the Way to an Intermodal Transportation System - Improving the Cooperation in the Public Transport Sector of the Stadsregio Amsterdam/The Netherlands and the Hovedstaden Region/Denmark

Abstract

A transportation system based on private car ownership and the car as a mean of mass-transportation puts a high burden on public finances, the environment and the society. In order to make the transportation system more sustainable the current system has to be replaced by an intermodal system with public transportation as a backbone. In this system travelers use different modes of transport for a single trip; in order to be attractive the exchanges between those modes have to be easy, reliable and quick. In many cases, this is not yet the case. In this research project it was assumed that this is due to a lack of cooperation between the actors in public transportation. In order to gain insights about the level of cooperation, the network structures of two public transportation sectors – the Capital Region of Amsterdam and Copenhagen, respectively – have been investigated by making use of methods derived from social network analysis and grounded theory. For the data collection 23 interviews and two workshops with transport professionals were conducted. With the information from the interviews the network structure was investigated in terms of betweenness centrality in and the power relations. By doing so, actors have been detected who might have the ability to enhance cooperation due to their central and powerful position within the network. Furthermore, the interviews were coded in order to extract the main barriers to cooperation. The results from this analysis show that the environment within the transport sector of both regions is highly competitive. The main reasons for poor cooperation are in this regard the wrong mind-set of actors who only focus on their own business in order to maximize profit but do not consider other actors in order to increase the number of travelers in the public transport system. Due to this individualistic focus, it is also difficult for new forms of mobility to be incorporated into the existing public transport system. This mind-set is partly supported by the network structure which is based on a quasi-market. As a recommendation it is proposed to focus first on the enhancement of cooperation between the most central actors, which are in both regions the national railway operator, the transport authority, the capital municipality as well as the consumer council. Additionally, it is proposed to set up one central transport authority which is responsible to buy all forms of transport in the region. Lastly, it is important to set up one central goal that all actors have to follow which might induce a mind-set change from competition to cooperation.