Surface transport

The issue: A good transport network is vital to the economic success of Heathrow and the broader region of which the airport is an integral part.

The transport network secures important links between the airport and nearby towns and cities where people live and work. In the broadest sense the network provides the first and last step in the passenger’s experience. It links people to jobs; facilitates the delivery of a range of products to markets; underpins supply chains and logistics; and supports domestic and international trade.

The quality of infrastructure, and how comprehensive the transport network is, will influence the role transport plays and its contribution to the functioning of a successful airport.

Congestion on the roads feeding Heathrow adds inconvenience for passengers and has negative effects on air quality. Limiting car usage for airport journeys is therefore vital. 
  
Our approach: Our objectives for the year 2006/7 were:

• To finalise the development and launch public transport for Terminal 5
• To develop a rail link strategy which incorporates AirTrack, CrossRail and RailAir coach services
• Managing demand
• Travel planning.

We have made significant progress in our strategy this year. With around 70,000 staff working at Heathrow it is essential we continue to encourage them to find alternatives to driving to work and again this has been a main focus this year.

Local stakeholders, including transport users, providers and local authorities, play a key role in developing, promoting and operating public transport services around each airport. At Heathrow we work with these stakeholders through the Heathrow Airport Transport Forum, and the associated Working Groups, to agree strategies and targets.

We are currently in the process of revising the ‘within existing limits strategy up to 2015’, which will include a full review of our surface access targets. The document will be published later in 2007 following full consultation with the members of the Transport Forum.

Our performance:
Target 2006/07: To increase the number of air passengers using public transport from 37% to 38% .
Performance against target: no progress made (see below for commentary)

The latest data in December 2006 demonstrated that the number of passengers travelling to Heathrow by public transport decreased from 36.9% (2005/06) to 35.3%. One reason we believe for this is that the Terminal 4 underground station was closed for a 20 month period ending in September 06. The unavailability of the station had an impact upon the usage of the underground which we believe was reflected in the Public Transport mode share.

We have continued to invest and improve public transport this year. This includes:

Heathrow Connect
The Paddington-Heathrow stopping service, Heathrow Connect, is well established and now carries over 23,500 passengers between Heathrow and Hayes every month. The service is a joint venture between BAA Heathrow and First and provides two trains per hour to and from the airport. The Heathrow Express team won the award for Customer Service at the National Customer Service Awards in September 2006.

Extension of rail links to Terminal 5
Work to extend the Piccadilly Line and Heathrow Express was completed in 2006 and the extension will be ready to commence passenger operations in March 2008.

AirTrack
Last year we announced that we will develop a Transport Works Act order to permit the development of the AirTrack scheme. This project will create a rail link between Heathrow and Staines which will permit access to the broader rail network in the south-east.

Terminal 5 public transport interchange
The construction of the public transport interchange at Terminal 5 has been completed and discussions have taken place with operators, through the Interchange group of the Heathrow Transport Forum, to understand their current views on likely service patterns and these discussions will continue as work progresses.

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT)
Perhaps one of the most exciting developments this year has been the decision to invest in a Personal Rapid Transit system at Heathrow. Called ULTra, the PRT system, is an electricity powered, driverless system that will move passengers ‘on demand’ on a lightweight guide way. In 2007 BAA gained planning permission to build a PRT system connecting Terminal 5 to a business car park on the Northern Perimeter Road. This is expected to open to the public in 2008.

The PRT system has several benefits for the local environment; the electrically powered, energy-efficient design provides a reduction in local CO2 and NOx emissions; there is a low noise impact and minimal visual impact due to the lightweight infrastructure; there would be a reduction in traffic on local roads as PRT would replace the traditional method of bussing passengers between car parks and the terminals.

Improving bus and coach services
We now have three quality partnerships for routes serving Heathrow (routes 724, 441 and 77) and we have seen improvements to infrastructure, vehicle standards, reliability and service information.

Airport Travel Plan
There are now 20 airport companies signed up to the airport travel plan. This means around 61% of airport employees now work for an organisation actively supporting a reduction in employee car use. Heathrow increased the number of registered car sharers from 5,784 to 6,301 with 62.64% regularly sharing.

Airport Travelcard
Airport Travelcard offers discounted travel for all employees on certain bus, coach and train routes to the airport. The introduction of Heathrow Connect and improvements to bus services have seen an average increase of sales from 350 to 410 per month.

Car parking
Heathrow’s car parking strategy for the period up to 2016, in agreement with London Borough of Hillingdon, remains unchanged in the last year.

Construction Workers’ Public Transport Strategy
The percentage of Terminal 5 construction workers using cars has risen this year from 29.5% to 37%. This is within the boundary set as part of the Terminal 5 approval condition.

Bus and coach strategy
Heathrow’s bus and coach strategy was issued in June 2006. The strategy aims to identify main strategic corridors for BAA’s future investment.

West London Freight Quality Partnership
The partnership continues to work with BAA, Transport for London, the West London Boroughs and other members to deliver initiatives to improve freight operation and management, to raise the profile of the importance of efficient transportation of goods and to address problems that the freight industry faces.

Our plans: This year our objectives are:

• To achieve a 1% reduction in single car occupancy
• To achieve a public transport mode share of 36%
• To open the Terminal 5 public transport interchange, Piccadilly Line and Heathrow Express extensions to Terminal 5 in March 2008. Operational Readiness Trials will be completed in 2007
• To continue to work with bus and coach operators to develop the service patterns to support Terminal 5
• To ensure ‘lessons learned’ from Terminal 5 are transferred to Heathrow East
• To continue with the development of AirTrack and Personal Rapid Transit
• To continue to develop the Airport Travel Plan.