Curbing congestion and air pollution in Chinese cities with light rail transit

Today, Chinese metropolises face critical environmental and urban challenges due to their fast demographic and economic development. Regional and local road networks are often congested, causing major pollution issues and long, unreliable travel times: urban mobility therefore needs to shift to more sustainable behaviours. In Shanghai's metropolis, which is already endowed with major transport infrastructure, the political context is now optimal for the implementation of public transport systems optimising urban mobility. The implementation of tramway Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects can be an opportunity to both optimise transit capacity and generate value to the living environment. Drawing on data from French State and Public Transport Agencies 10 years after the opening of various tramway networks in major conurbations in France, this paper demonstrates the shift of private vehicle modal share towards public transport, walking and cycling. It focuses on how perception and use of public transport networks can be enhanced with policies and complementary measures on road traffic, physical accessibility and multimodality.