Planning for confronting transport demand due to special events: the case of the world exposition in the Thessaloniki Greater Area

摘要

The transportation system in an urban area is usually designed to serve certain number of trips. In order to confront the demand arising from special events which last for a certain time period (e.g., Olympic Games, World Exposition -EXPO etc.) certain actions must be taken by the relevant authorities. These actions are necessary in order to adjust the supply of the transportation system to the extra demand due to visitors of the special event. This is the case of the Thessaloniki Greater Area (T.G.A.) where such an event (EXPO 2008) is under consideration. Experience from other cities which organized EXPO in the past indicate that such events impose the need for a significant increase in the capacity of the transport system. In the framework of this paper the methodological approach for the examination of the potentiality of the T.G.A. transportation system versus the trip needs of the EXPO is presented.