Travel Demand Management for Sustainable Urban Transport in Kuala Lumpur: Operation and Energy Consumption Issues

Abstract

A number of South-East Asian cities are experiencing rapid growth in car ownership and overall transportation demand in the context of relatively low fuel and road tax along with land use patterns that encourage private automobile trips. To address these challenges, sustainable transport initiatives, which often include travel demand management (TDM), are increasingly being promoted at the city level. This paper examines the effectiveness of TDM on reducing road traffic congestion and energy consumption in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In this and similar cities that experience periods of severe traffic congestion, predicting the impacts of TDM can be complicated by the unstable nature of existing traffic flows. A new approach and tool are presented here that enable planners and decision makers to analyze a single or combinations of TDM options such as carpooling, bus/BRT lane, road pricing and increased transit ridership along a specific road corridor to arrive at a plan that satisfies specified limits on congestion. The model can also estimate energy consumption under the planned scenario and thus helps to implement sustainable energy initiatives for the transport sector. The paper will focus on the implications of TDM options for congestion and energy consumption in Kuala Lumpur.