INTRODUCTION

The mission of the APEC Intermodal Task Force (ITF) is to "contribute to and facilitate the implementation of an efficient, integrated intermodal transportation system in the Asia-Pacific region". It is also committed to facilitating trade, economic growth and development. With this in mind, the Transportation Working Group, and the ITF have undertaken projects to further develop intermodal transportation within the APEC region. However, it has been noted that much of this work focused on intermodal freight transportation and more information was needed on intermodal passenger transportation. To this end, Canada, on behalf of the ITF, has developed the attached questionnaire in an effort to gain further information on the impediments to the flow of passenger travel within the Asia-Pacific region.

In an effort to focus the discussion on barriers to passenger travel, the attached questionnaire is divided into three parts to correspond to those major areas covered in the Congestion Points Study i.e. physical, institutional, and regulatory impediments. Each of these three parts includes a section covering: impediments, obstacles, or barriers to the seamless flow of passenger travel; the impact of these barriers; reasons why these impediments exist; and, suggested solutions to overcome these obstacles.

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

A description for information requirements for each of the above sections follows:

Impediments, Obstacles, or Barriers

In this section, ITF members are asked to identify any major barriers to passenger travel in their economy. The questionnaire is designed to describe passenger travel in the economy as a whole. Consequently, if there is an obstacle to passenger travel in some parts of the economy and not in others, the impediment should still be included.

Impacts

When considering the impacts of the impediments to passenger travel, economies should take into account: costs incurred, time lost, impact on the environment, and contribution to congestion (among other factors). Members are requested to place an "x" to identify where on the scale of minimum to maximum they would describe the impact, 1 being the lowest to 10 being the highest. The maximum impact would be those areas where, if solutions were implemented, would contribute the most to resolving congestion in the intermodal passenger transportation system..

Key Reasons

This section asks for some of the key overriding reasons member believe the barriers to seamless passenger travel have not been resolved. Some examples of these reasons could include, but are not limited to: lack of funding, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient information, competing priorities for resources, or lack of skilled labour.

Suggested Solutions

In this section, members are asked to suggest some possible solutions to the obstacles identified in the questionnaire. These may, or may not, be solutions which are within the purview of the ITF, however, it remains important to have them identified. These suggestions will be discussed at the ITF meeting when the completed questionnaire is considered.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Also, if there are any questions or comments regarding the questionnaire, please feel free to contact myself, Kevin Kavanaugh, by phone at 604-666-9824 or by e-mail at kavanak@tc.gc.ca.

CONCLUSIONS

We are confident that the information on seamless passenger transportation gained from this questionnaire will assist the ITF in furthering its goal of developing intermodal transportation within APEC. The information on seamless passenger travel will be used to complement that on intermodal freight transportation leading to a more complete picture of intermodal transportation within the APEC region.

In conclusion, the ITF recognizes the time and effort required to complete this questionnaire and would like to thank its members in advance for their support of this important project.

Seamless Passenger Flow Questionnaire (Word - Download)

This page was last updated on 10 Aug, 2006