Impact analysis of urban structure and the economic sustainability of public transport in the city of Murcia (Spain)

One of the fundamentals of an efficient public transport system is economic sustainability. The poorly structured growth of cities sometimes leads to the difficulty to maintain urban transport systems for public administrations. An interesting example of this territorial problem in urban and intercity transportation is the city of Murcia, the capital of a municipality of nearly 900 km2 equipped with various multi-modal public transport networks. This city of over 400,000 inhabitants has a historically dispersed urban structure where the population spread has been aggravated in recent years by a strong urban growth. The accelerated development of the city, coupled with the current crisis and budgetary consolidation, has made some public systems of urban and intercity transport economically unsustainable. This article analyzes the impact that the urban development of the city of Murcia has had on the various systems of urban and intercity transportation: car, bus, tram, suburban, etc. A diagnosis of the current problems and possible solutions for the future will be presented in order to stimulate an economically sustainable public transport strategy. © 2014 WIT Press.