Urban passenger transport, depending on the capacity of vehicles, is divided into:
- mass, characterized by the capacity of vehicles more than 5 people and performs the bulk of transportation (subway, urban railroads, streetcar, bus, trolley bus, etc.);
- individual, capacity up to 5 people (cars, motorcycles, scooters).
Depending on the organization of the movement of urban passenger transport can be a route, moving on a given route with fixed stops and the characteristics of the transport from door to door (private vehicles, cabs, departmental cars).
Depending on the speed of passenger transportation, transport is divided into super high-speed, high-speed, express and ordinary.
The first group includes ordinary types of transport with low carrying capacity.
The bus is the most common, simple and maneuverable mode of transport – it uses the street and road network for its movement.
In larger cities with high-speed modes of transport, the bus serves as a vehicle that brings passengers to subway and railroad stops, as well as provides inter- and intra-district transportation.
A rolling stock with a capacity of 10-120 passengers is used on bus routes.
The main performance indicators of the bus depends on its movement. When moving in the general flow of the throughput capacity of the bus line is up to 60 units / hour. Accordingly, the carrying capacity, depending on the rolling stock used, reaches 8 thousand passengers per hour.
At a distance between stops of 300-400 m communication speed does not exceed 18 km / h. To increase the speed of conjunction and to increase the capacity of lines on city streets, special lanes are allocated for the movement of buses only. In this case the capacity can reach 200 units, and the speed of conjugation – 25 km / h. The carrying capacity of bus lines grows up to 25 thousand passengers per hour.
The trolleybus is less maneuverable than the bus, as it requires electricity, which is transmitted through the contact line.
The main advantage of trolleybus transport is absence of harmful emissions during engine operation. The trolleybus usually works in cooperation with other modes of transport. Currently, trolleybus routes operate in many cities. It accounts for 17% of passenger traffic.
Currently, trolleybus lines have a capacity of 65-80 passengers. The annual capacity of trolleybus lines is 80 units. Carrying capacity is 5-10 thousand passengers a year. Communication speed is 18-20 km/h with a distance between stops of 400-500 m. The approximate cost of 1 km of trolleybus line is 0.9 mln.
The streetcar is the most complex of street ground modes of transport, as in addition to the contact network it requires the development of tracks and there is no possibility to manoeuvre.
Streetcar routes are used on major routes in combination with other modes of transport.
Streetcar lines can be served either by a single car or by a train of two or three cars with a capacity range of 70-250 passengers.
With a streetcar line capacity of 60-70 streetcars per hour, a capacity of 4-18 thousand passengers per year is achieved. Speed on streetcar lines is low, up to 20 km/h.
Streetcars have the highest construction cost among street modes of transport, but the lowest among rail modes. 1 km of tramway costs 2,4 mln.hrn.
The disadvantages of streetcar transport are the increased noise level and the fact that the streetcar creates significant obstacles to street traffic. In this regard, it is advisable to separate streetcar lines from other modes of street transport.
“Group transportation” systems are the simplest off-street mode of transportation. Tracks for its movement can be laid on the surface of the ground, on overpasses and tunnels. Communication speed is up to 25 km/h. The rolling stock is driven by electric motors, pneumatic wheels, which makes this environmentally friendly mode of transport especially attractive in urban areas.
The main difference between the “group transport” is the laying of an independent track. Small dimensions of the rolling stock (carriage width – 2-2,5 m, height – 2,5-3 m) allow reducing construction costs significantly.
The carriages are designed to carry 40-100 passengers, with the standing ones included. The line may be carried by one carriage as well as by trains of 2-3 cars. Carrying capacity of the lines is 5-15 thousand passengers a year.
The first system was built in France (1973), later in USA (1974) and Japan.