Skip to main content

NODES toolbox ‘offers keys to better transport interchanges’

The three-year NODES (New Tools for the Design and Operation of Urban Transport Interchanges) project has came to a close and the project findings are said to offer transport practitioners practical steps to build better interchanges. Co-funded by the Seventh Framework Programme and co-ordinated by International Association of Public Transport (UITP), NODES brings together 17 partners representing local government administrations, public transport operators, as well as research centres and European assoc
September 24, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The three-year NODES (New Tools for the Design and Operation of Urban Transport Interchanges) project has came to a close and the project findings are said to offer transport practitioners practical steps to build better interchanges.

Co-funded by the Seventh Framework Programme and co-ordinated by 3833 International Association of Public Transport (UITP), NODES brings together 17 partners representing local government administrations, public transport operators, as well as research centres and European associations.

Interchanges play a key role in the integration of urban mobility systems and allowing smooth connections between different transport modes. The key achievements of the NODES project were the development of a toolbox to help practitioners assess and benchmark the performance of their interchange as well as to take practical steps to increase performance. The Toolbox focuses on five key areas: land use and infrastructure; design; intermodality and ICT; management and business models; and energy and environment.           

In practical terms, practitioners can more easily identify the design needs and facility requirements in an interchange thanks to the Typology Diagrammatic Representation tool. Another tool includes practical steps that can be taken to improve the experience of users in an interchange (the ‘station experience monitor), developed by Nederlandse Spoorwegen and tested in nine NODES test sites.

The aim of the research project was to help European cities in the design or operation of new or upgraded interchanges in order to boost user satisfaction. The Toolbox was tested in real conditions in nine European sites, all of which were undergoing substantial development and upgrading: Reading, Birmingham, Rouen, Toulouse, Osnabrück, Budapest, Rome, Thessaloniki, and Rotterdam, Utrecht and ‘s-Hertogenbosch (as one site).
   
UITP Secretary General Alain Flausch said: “By providing practical steps to improve stations, the NODES project makes an essential contribution towards a more enjoyable public transport experience”.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Airborne traffic monitoring - the future?
    March 1, 2013
    A new frontier in the quest to monitor road traffic is opening up… but using airborne drones to reduce the jams comes with some thorny issues. Chris Tindall reports. Imagine if you could rely on a system that provided all the data you needed to regulate traffic flow, route vehicles and respond swiftly to emergencies for a fraction of the cost of piloting a helicopter. That system exists, but as engineers and traffic managers start to explore the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – more commonly k
  • Why do consumers buy electric cars?
    April 25, 2012
    The International Transport Forum at the OECD, an intergovernmental organisation for the transport sector that comprises 52 countries, has announced the winner of its 2011 Young Researcher of the Year Award. The Award, which is open to researchers under 35 years of age and carries a prize of US$ 7,000, goes to Canadian national Dr. Jonn Axsen of the University of California at Davis, USA.
  • Making transportation systems safer and more sustainable with connectivity
    August 6, 2021
    Connectivity will make transportation systems safer and more sustainable as Anne-Lise Thieblemont of Qualcomm outlines
  • IRF World Congress 2024: road user charging is the future
    October 16, 2024
    Environmental emergency has put transport at the heart of policymakers’ agendas