Mobility in Bucharest in the context of the development of office areas

Bucharest is a pole of development in the areas of office buildings, many major corporations investing in dedicated spaces, but many developers choosing capital due to multiple administrative and economic facilities. However, although the development of this type of space has experienced impressive growth in the last 10 years, investments in transport infrastructure needed, whether we speak of Metro, public transport or road, were almost non-existent, larger investments being made all of those who have developed business areas. In this analysis, we present the evolution of these zones in the context of the number of employees but also transport services offered by City Hall and Logistics.

The current situation of the number of employees in the office buildings in Bucharest
Corporatist in Bucharest has currently more than 216,000 people, representing an important source of mobility. As density of employees, most developed areas are Pipera (53.500), Northern areas, Baneasa, Aviators, Dorobanti (53,800) and West with Winnipeg, military areas, and the Cotroceni (30.200). Per statistics made by the companies, although nowadays the northern part of the town lies in the office areas, rapid expansion can be found in the western area of the city where the number of office buildings is growing, the newest being opened in the Cotroceni and Lujerului. Growing is an important new building in the area, as well as the Boulevard a large project consisting of 3 buildings in the Grozavesti, where there is some credence to bread factory.

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The largest concentration of office buildings is located on the axis starts from Baneasa and Pipera, areas in the North of the city, the North being the favorite developers because of the large boulevards and the proximity of the airport. However, during the crisis, had won areas West and Northwest, where cheaper land has opened new prospects for business centers. Thus, began the development of office buildings in Cotroceni, the area of Grozavesti Iuliu Maniu and Timisoara, where including today there are ongoing projects, but also in the peripheral area of the Militari. Pipera area develops further, advancing toward the area of the city, on the Ba V, where he built the famous Sky Tower. 2014 year estimates showed a total of 193.000 employees who work in office buildings in Bucharest, the number reaching 204.000 in 2015 at an estimated 238.000 and till the end of the year 2016.

Public transport offer for business areas
Although they represent areas with increased mobility demand, local authorities treated areas with many office buildings like the rest of the city areas, this being valid for the network. As for surface transportation, reporting everything exclusively to working days, offer the best is in areas with modernized tram network, as well as that of the main ring and West of the city where he held an extensive modernization project of horses running. Although East area has the highest density of employees here by public transport only a few surface tram lines non-attractive (routes 5, 16, 36; with intervals of 10-20 minutes, and large old rolling path) and bus station, just as ineffective because of the lack of a dedicated lanes and correlations with peak times of employees.

The situation is at least as complicated for Office buildings in the North of the city, where there is no surface transportation than buses staying more blocked in traffic due to a lack of dedicated lanes. Thus, the entire Baneasa-Aerogarii-DN1 is busy by road traffic, without rapid transportation alternatives exist. In the central area office buildings advantage is given by the density of vehicles coming from all the boroughs, there are few buildings that do not have access to at least one route. In Eastern and southern areas, the density of the number of employees is reduced, at least in the present and do not require extensive measures for increasing the efficiency of the transportation network for high flows. In the western part of the city, most of the Office buildings stood on the existence of transport or in its vicinity, problems starting to appear with proximity to the exit of the town of these areas, due to the existing bus lines to.

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From the point of view of the metro network, theoretically all areas are covered, however, from the point of view of capacity, at least for the area of Pipera-Barbu Vacarescu, flows of passengers topped the transport capacity of the subway, even if the range has been significantly reduced. 2 line which serves the area of Pipera, transiting South-North axis of the city, being the main central line, with an interval of 3-5 minutes during peak hours, but the ability being topped by a daily average of 185.000 travelers (statistics for 2015).

The area west of the city is also served by lines 1 and 3, which are effective areas, military Polytechnic-Cotroceni, Iuliu Maniu, Grozavesti-Splaiul Independentei. However, towards the exit of Metro City is not entirely effective due to a last, Precision workstations, office buildings at the exit of the city.

The lack of an efficient public transport system and fast for certain locations forced companies to redirect, or towards smaller cities times towards the more expensive locations, close to the Centre of the transport network. However, there are many companies who have turned to conventional transport voyages that take employees from certain areas transporting them towards the offices, and in the evening, back to the city. This creates sometimes discomfort in traffic, especially due to the irregular or stoppages of parking spaces need these vehicles, minibuses.

Plans of the authorities come to help office employees
The Mayor of the capital, the RATB and Metrorex works projects and strategies, mostly included in the optimization and PMUD, development of the transportation network, part of these projects come as a chance for efficient corporate mobility. Still, at least for the area of Pipera there’s massive growth solutions, Metro capacity reaching physical limit, while projects to modernize and rationalize the tram lines are for the duration of projects which will not be implemented soon for 5 years.

At present, the most positive signals coming to the North and Northwest, where at the end of the year 2016 will be put into operation of the mill and Straulesti stations bus 4, opening an efficient solution of mobility for employees in the North. Development of a multimodal terminal in the area will give opportunity companies Straulesti to raise employees directly from the tube, without requiring daily racing until certain points near the city center. Two extensive projects in the next five years may lead to an optimization of mobility in the North are metro line 6, which will go up in the area, and the fast train line between Gare du Nord and Otopeni Airport, with the possibility to be used by employees in the airport area.

Going to the solutions mentioned by the authorities and even put on paper, the future of rail ring would be an efficient means of transportation between boroughs and areas of offices on the outskirts of the city, without having to require transit through the city center, this system being effective, especially for those who go from different areas towards the East and the military. Development of the network of suburban rail train on the ring of the city will go and the development of new areas of offices near the line, releasing such a central area of tall buildings and crowds caused by them.

For shorter distances and intramodality of transport towards the offices, implementing bike lanes and bike-sharing systems near the Metro stations represent an efficient solution, this solution being implemented through PMUD, currently in Bucharest and there are only a few rental stations in the central area of the City Hall and a plan to develop a bike-sharing system throughout the city.

Prospect for the future and the need to earnestly the rapid development of office buildings
Investments in the development of office buildings with centers are in full progress and planning, with several employees is estimated to get closer to 240.000 by the end of 2016, the trend continues to be growth. The level of investment in mobility solutions you need to grow at least as fast in coming years, both to meet new demands for mobility, but also to recover the gaps in previous years. Long-term dynamics of mobility in the city will change how the application is currently in rapid growth in the West, in the future, this application will move towards the Southwest, where there is also a project to build a second airport in the capital, which would require solid links with the rest of the city and that would open the prospect for the development of centers with Office buildings.