Travel Demand Management Policy Analysis for the Metropolitan Region of Abu Dhabi

Abstract

The emirate of Abu Dhabi is planning to implement a full public transit network across the emirate, to successfully meet the travel demand expected to be generated by its five million inhabitants in the year 2030, of which three million will occupy the Metropolitan Area of Abu Dhabi. Travel Demand Management (TDM) policies can regulate travel behavior in terms of travel frequency, mode choice, and other travel characteristics. TDM policies are usually specifically designed to reduce urban-peak car traffic, and encourage the use of non-vehicle transport modes. A TDM strategy to achieving this is through pricing reforms to transportation option schemes that would make certain travel options (e.g. public transit) more economically attractive to others. This study examines five TDM policies: Fuel Price, Cordon Tolls, Parking Charge, Parking Capacity, and Vehicle Ownership that could encourage Abu Dhabi vehicle users to shift to using public transit modes, proposed to be available in the year 2030. The study performs a sensitivity analysis on a multi-modal travel demand model of the transportation network in Abu Dhabi for the year 2030, to understand how the transportation model reacts to the five TDM policies, in terms of its effect on travel behavior. The results indicate that travel behavior in Abu Dhabi is more sensitive towards the TDM policies of car ownership, parking charges, and cordon tolls, and that changes in fuel prices will have little impact on how people travel in Abu Dhabi.

Date of Award	May 2017
Original language	American English