Sustainable public transport systems: Moving towards a value for money and network-based approach and away from blind commitment

Growing public transport patronage in the presence of a strong demand for car ownership and use remains a high agenda challenge for many developed and developing economies. While some countries are losing public transport modal share, other nations are gearing up for a loss, as the wealth profile makes the car a more affordable means of transport as well as conferring elements of status and imagery of “success”. Some countries however have begun successfully to reverse the decline in market share, primarily through infrastructure-based investment in bus systems, commonly referred to as bus rapid transit (BRT). BRT gives affordable public transport greater visibility and independence from other modes of transport, enabling it to deliver levels of service that compete sufficiently well with the car to attract and retain a market segmented clientele. BRT is growing in popularity throughout the world, notably in Asia, Europe and South America, in contrast to other forms of mass transit (such as light and heavy rail). This is in large measure due to its value for money, service capacity, affordability, relative flexibility, and network coverage. This paper takes stock of its performance and success as an attractive system supporting the ideals of sustainable transport.     

Examining commuting patterns using Floating Car Data and circular statistics: Exploring the use of new methods and visualizations to study travel times

In this paper, we focus on the spatial distribution of travel time differences between car and public transport during peak and off-peak hours using geospatial methods and circular statistics. To that end, we combine two origin-destination matrices: one contains the number of simulated commuting trips and the other contains accurate travel times measured using either Floating Car Data or transit data. The combination of both matrices reveals that differences in travel time during peak and off-peak hours are high for intra-city commuting and low for inter-city commuting.     

Exploring the effectiveness of bus rapid transit a prototype agent-based model of commuting behavior

The introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), typically involving the use of exclusive bus lanes and related bus priority measures, is increasingly advocated as a flexible and cost-effective way of improving the attractiveness of public transit in congested urban areas by reducing travel times and variability. These schemes typically involve the reallocation of road space for exclusive use by buses, presenting commuters with potentially competing incentives: buses on BRT routes can run faster and more efficiently than buses running in general traffic, potentially attracting commuters to public transit and reducing congestion through modal shift from cars. However, a secondary impact may also exist; remaining car users may be presented with less congested road space, improving their journey times and simultaneously acting as an incentive for some bus-users to revert to the car. To investigate the potential for these primary and secondary impacts, we develop a prototype agent-based model to investigate the nature of these interactions and how they play out into system-wide patterns of modal share and travel times. The model allows us to test the effects of multiple assumptions about the behaviors of individual agents as they respond to different incentives introduced by BRT policy changes, such as the implementation of exclusive bus lanes, increased bus frequency, pre-boarding ticket machines and express stops, separately and together. We find that, under our assumptions, these policies can result in significant improvements in terms of individual journey times, modal shift, and length of rush hour. We see that the addition of an exclusive bus lane results in significant improvements for both car users and bus riders. Informed with appropriate empirical data relating to the behavior of individual agents, the geography and the specific policy interventions, the model has the potential to aid policymakers in examining the effectiveness of different BRT schemes, applied to broader environments.     

Extending public transit accessibility models to recognise transfer location

A longstanding issue for public transit agencies has been how to assess the performance of transit service including spatial service coverage to meet the transport needs of the community. The conventional approach quantifies accessibility using door-to-door travel time in such a way that accessibility declines as the travel time to the opportunity increases. A new approach to modelling transit accessibility is proposed by incorporating the potential effect of transfer location. It builds on the premise that transit users may have a preference for a transfer location best located relative to the trip origin and destination points. The model is tested in Brisbane's bus network which has a radial form, where inner-city suburbs have relatively higher accessibility than outer-city suburbs, if only travel time is counted. Incorporating the transfer location refines the accessibility modelling so that some outer-city suburbs located along the major bus corridors have a relatively higher accessibility level. The new model also suggests that inner-city suburbs do not necessarily have better accessibility. Suburbs close to the city centre may have shorter transit travel time to reach other suburbs, but they do not have a well-connected transit network to other suburbs through service transfers.     

Immigrant settlement patterns,transit accessibility,and transit use

Public transit is immensely important among recent immigrants for enabling daily travel and activity participation. The objectives of this study are to examine whether immigrants settle in areas of high or low transit accessibility and how this affects transit mode share. This is analyzed via a novel comparison of two gateway cities: Sydney, Australia and Toronto, Canada. We find that in both cities, recent immigrants have greater levels of public transit accessibility to jobs, on average, than the overall population, but the geography of immigrant settlement is more suburbanized and less clustered around commuter rail in Toronto than in Sydney. Using logistic regression models with spatial filters, we find significant positive relationships between immigrant settlement patterns and transit mode share for commuting trips, after controlling for transit accessibility and other socio-economic factors, indicating an increased reliance on public transit by recent immigrants. Importantly, via a sensitivity analysis, we find that these effects are greatest in peripheral suburbs and rural areas, indicating that recent immigrants in these areas have more risks of transport-related social exclusion due to reliance on insufficient transit service.     

Can high quality public transport support reduced car parking requirements for new residential apartments?

This paper explores the extent to which high quality public transport can support reduced car parking requirements for new residential apartment buildings. Using a case study of Melbourne, the demand for car parking at residential apartment buildings in proximity to high frequency public transport is assessed, while controlling for a range of socio-demographic, urban design and demand management variables. Key findings indicate that while lower demand for car parking is associated with proximity to high quality public transport, this association is not significant when controlling for other factors that influence car ownership. Public transport service supply within 800 m of residential apartment buildings was instead found to be significant, rather than simple distance to transit. Modelling results suggest an inelastic relationship whereby a 10% increase in public transport service supply is associated with a 0.9–1.2% reduction in car parking demand as measured by levels of car ownership. Notwithstanding broader criticisms of residential off-street parking minimums, the findings have important implications for the development of residential car parking policies, suggesting that city-wide car parking requirements should appropriately reflect the spatial distribution and quality of public transport services.     

Circuity in urban transit networks

This paper investigates the circuity of transit networks and examines auto mode share as a function of circuity and accessibility to better understand the performance of urban transit systems. We first survey transit circuity in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota, region in detail, comparing auto and transit trips. This paper finds that circuity can help to explain mode choices of commuters. We then investigate thirty-five additional metropolitan areas in the United States. The results from these areas show that transit circuity exponentially declines as travel time increases. Moreover, we find that the circuity of transit networks is higher than that of road networks, illustrating how transit systems choose to expand their spatial coverage at the expense of directness and efficiency in public transportation networks. This paper performs a regression analysis that suggests the circuity of transportation networks can estimate transit accessibility, which helps to explain mode share.     

Exploring the impact of public transport strikes on travel behavior and traffic congestion

Public transport (PT) disruption can occur due to various factors such as malfunctions and breakdowns of vehicles, power outages, and personnel strikes. This paper explores the network-wide impacts of PT strikes (train, tram, and bus strikes) on traffic congestion in Melbourne, Australia using a network modeling approach. A primary survey aimed to investigate the mode shift of users when each public transport mode ceases was conducted with 648 public transport users in May 2016. Findings show that train withdrawal was expected to result in 43% of users shifting to car. Smaller yet significant shifts to car was also expected with bus withdrawal (34%) and tram withdrawal (17%). Based on the survey results and the use of a four-step transport model, train withdrawal was expected to increase the number of severely congested road links by 130% and reduce the average travel speed from 48 km/h to 39 km/h (20% decrease). Bus and tram withdrawal was also found to increase congestion although the result was less severe. Future research should investigate the switching behavior in actual withdrawal events and explore the long-term effects of public transport withdrawal.     

The desired quality of integrated multimodal travel information in public transport: Customer needs for time and effort savings

Travel information is one of the factors that contribute to the quality of public transport. In particular, integrated multimodal travel information (IMTI) is expected to affect customers’ modal choice. The objective of this research is to identify customers’ desired quality of IMTI provision in public transport. Customers’ desired IMTI quality can vary throughout the pre-trip, wayside and on-board stages of a journey. The main determinants are time savings (travel and search time) and effort savings (physical, cognitive, and affective effort). In a sample of Dutch travellers with a substantial share of young persons, the pre-trip stage turns out to be the favourite stage to collect IMTI when planning multimodal travel; desired IMTI types in this stage are used to plan the part of the journey that is made by public transport. Wayside IMTI is most desired when it helps the traveller to catch the right vehicle en route. On-board travellers are most concerned about timely arrival at interchanges in order to catch connecting modes. In the whole travel process, travel time is the most important saving. Apart from that, pre-trip search time savings are also desired, while en route affective effort is more important than cognitive effort.     

Travelling to work: will people move out of their cars

This paper examines employee's perceptions of their modal choice during the journey to work, and addresses what factors influence modal choice, and whether people can be moved out of their cars to other more sustainable forms of transport. The results of surveys of the commuting habits of employees at two UK companies are presented and compared with other relevant studies. Ninety-seven and 88% of staff at the respective companies travel to work by car. While only 2 and 7% of respondents cycled to work, real potential for cycling was identified, given improvements in the cycling infrastructure. Similarly, while only 0 and 3% currently use public transport for the journey to work, improved services could see a significant modal shift. Overall, there seemed to be genuine willingness to move out of the car for the journey to work, with one of the main barriers being a perception that the alternatives are not viable. Additionally, it appears many people live too far from the workplace to cycle or use public transport.     

Analysis of user satisfaction to promote public transportation: A pattern-recognition approach focusing on out-of-vehicle time

Public transportation has been regarded as one of the most sustainable forms of transport, because of which local governments have put efforts in increasing the mode share of public transportation. Recently, not only level of service but also user satisfaction has been focused on for the assessment of transport policy; however, several points have been overlooked in previous research, such as attribute-based satisfaction, the relationship between level of service and satisfaction, and user expectation. This paper deals with these issues while assuming the heterogeneity of satisfaction, which is an indicator of perception. Out-of-vehicle times, particularly headway and access time, were selected in the analysis because they can affect travel behavior of current and potential public transportation customers. In this analysis, pattern-recognition models were applied, and public transportation users were segmented in terms of perception. The results suggest several notable recommendations for public transport policies and investigations.     

Not minding the gap: Does ride-hailing serve transit deserts?

Transit has long connected people to opportunities but access to transit varies greatly across space. In some cases, unevenly distributed transit supply creates gaps in service that impede travelers' abilities to cross space and access jobs or other opportunities. With the advent of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, however, travelers now have a new potential to gain automobility without high car purchase costs and in the absence of reliable transit service. Research remains mixed on whether ride-hailing serves as a modal complement or substitute to transit or whether ride-hailing fills transit service needs gaps. This study measures transit supply in Chicago and compares it to ride-hailing origins and destinations to examine if ride-hailing fills existing transit service gaps. Findings reveal clustering of ride-hailing pickups and drop-offs across the City of Chicago, but that the number of ride-hailing pickups and drop-offs was most strongly associated with high neighborhood median household income rather than measures of transit supply. In bivariate analyses, transit service was not associated with ride-hailing trip ends. But after controlling for neighborhood socioeconomic status, transit dependency, population density, and employment density, we found fewer ride-hailing trips in neighborhoods where bus service dominated and significantly more ride-hailing trips where rail service was prevalent. Patterns were slightly different for overnight weekend ride-hailing pick-ups, where higher transit density predicted a greater number of trips in nearby tracts. Additional research and policy is needed to ensure that ride-hailing services provide travel options to those who need them the most and fill transit gaps in low-income communities when options to increase service are limited.     

Exploring the trip chaining behaviour of public transport users in Melbourne

This paper explores trip chaining behaviour of Melbourne residents using evidence from a household travel survey. The research literature has suggested that trip-making behaviour has grown increasingly complex as modern life has become busier and people grow time-poor. Complex trip chains have been said to require flexible travel modes, and for this reason some research has suggested that public transport is limited in this regard compared to the private car. Results of this study show that between 1994 and 1999 the complexity of trip chains was relatively stable and the complexity of chains was found to be larger for rail and tram than for car-based trips. Disaggregate analyses compare the complexity of chains based on work versus non-work chains, the purpose of stops on the chain, and whether the chain entered the central city of Melbourne or not. Overall these findings suggest a less bleak outlook for public transport ridership in a travel future which is said to be becoming more complex.     

The spatial characteristics and influencing factors of modal accessibility gaps: A case study for Guangzhou,China

This paper presents an analysis of the spatial characteristic of the modal accessibility gap (MAG) in Guangzhou based on travel times for public transport and cars to public centers calculated by the Travel O-D point Intelligent Query System (TIQS). Four spatial regression models are used to investigate the effect on the MAG of six factors of the built environment (distance to city public centers, residential density, landuse mix, bus stop density, metro station density and road network density). The results show that travel time for a given origin to destination (OD) trip is likely to be larger by public transport than by car, especially for a trip of longer travel time. The MAG values of all the communities are larger than 0, indicating that when compared with public transport, travelling by car takes less travel time for individuals. Residential density, land-use mix, bus stop density and metro rail station density have significant negative direct impacts and indirect impacts (spatial spillover effects) on MAG, which indicates that appropriate increase in community residential density, providing diversified service facilities within a community, and improving public transport supply are beneficial to promote modal shift. Specifically, the role of metro rail is greater than that of buses. However, the road network density has significant direct positive impacts on MAG, and its spillover effect is also significantly positive, which indicates that building more roads is not an effective way to narrow the accessibility gap between public transport and cars but may facilitate more car travel instead.     

‘Mobility work’: Older adults' experiences using public transportation

This paper contributes to research on public transport accessibility, disabling spaces, and older adult's mobility by highlighting the ‘mobility work’ older adults complete to meet their daily travel needs. Drawing on a systematic and inductive analysis of semi-structured interviews with older adult (65+ years of age) public transit users in Hamilton, Canada, we argue that older adults are faced with mobility work that younger and/or more able-bodied people do not routinely encounter as they meet (or attempt to meet) their daily travel needs using public transportation. Key components of older adults' trips that involve mobility work include walking to and from the bus stop, trip planning, stepping onto/ off of the bus, finding a seat, carrying items on the bus, calling a stop, and travelling in winter conditions. This mobility work can be categorized as physical (e.g., struggling to board the bus), emotional (e.g., worrying about getting a seat), or spatiotemporal (e.g., staying home when the weather is bad). Taken together, this paper puts forward a multidimensional concept of ‘mobility work’ to aid in considering accessibility at the scale of both the individual and the built environment. Further, by highlighting mobility work, this paper demonstrates the ways in which public transport spaces can be disabling for aging bodies and outlines concrete measures public transit agencies can take to make services more accessible to older adult riders.     

Examining circuity of urban transit networks from an equity perspective

Circuity of transit networks, defined as the ratio of network to Euclidean distance traveled from origin to destination stop, has been known to influence travel behavior. In addition to the longer time spent in travel, for networks where fare is based on distance traveled, higher circuity also means higher fare for the same Euclidean distance. This makes circuity relevant from an equity perspective. Using a case study of the urban transit network of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, this study explores the role of transit circuity on the disparity in distance traveled by travelers' income profile and its implications on travel times and costs for networks with distance-based fares. The analysis is based on travel patterns from smart card data for bus, tram, and metro modes, combined with neighborhood level income data. Results reveal that in Amsterdam, the higher the share of high income people living in proximity to a transit stop, the lower the circuity of journeys from the stop, when controlled for the Euclidean distance covered and spatial auto-correlation. The uneven distribution of circuity exacerbates the disparity in distance traveled, and hence fare paid between the income groups. However, the travel time per Euclidean distance favors the low income group, possibly due to the circuitous routes serving these areas being compensated by higher travel speeds. This study highlights the role of transit network design in determining its equity outcomes and emphasizes the importance of considering equity during route and fare planning. The process followed can be adapted to examine equity for other urban networks.     

The imbalance between car and public transport use in urban Australia: why does it exist?

Public transport in urban Australia is dominated by the automobile. As we approach the end of the 20th century, there is much renewed interest in revitalising urban public transport as one way of combating the increasing levels of traffic congestion, deterioration in air quality and global warming. This paper takes stock of the situation in Australia, identifying the challenges that the urban public transport sector faces in redressing the imbalance between car and public transport market share. Particular emphasis is given to the role of buses and busways in contrast to rail, and strategies to reduce the attractiveness of the car.     

Social inequalities of park accessibility in Shenzhen,China: The role of park quality,transport modes,and hierarchical socioeconomic characteristics

Identifying the geographic units with restricted access to intra-urban parks has become a hot issue in transport studies. Previous literature has examined the social inequalities of park accessibility under the Western context; however, the issue has seldomly investigated against the non-Western background, especially in China. Using a case of Shenzhen (China), this paper examines the accessibility to parks of three quality levels (official standard) under four transport modes (public transit, walking, bicycle, and private car). In particular, the daily travel time from each community (8117) to each park (625) was harvested from the Baidu Map during 18:30–20:30 in July 2016. We further, based on the travel time calculations, develop four baseline indicators (the weighted average, the minimum, the maximum, and the standard deviation travel time) and three tolerance indicators of park accessibility (weighted average travel time within visit tolerance thresholds, standard deviation travel time within visit tolerance thresholds, and number of parks within visit tolerance thresholds) to measure park accessibility for each community. Results show that the seven accessibility indicators generate different estimations and the quantified accessibility varies greatly with park quality levels and transport modes. Communities present greater variations in accessibility to the first quality level and second quality level parks via walking and public transit. In addition, hierarchical regression is utilized to quantify the relationships between park accessibility and sociodemographic characteristics at two geographic levels (community and district). It is found that the associations are subjected to park quality, transport modes, and geographic levels. In particular, we discover significant social inequalities in park accessibility under the mode of public transit, walking, and bicycle. Our study should provide some new insights into accessibility research and advance the understanding of unequal park provision in developing countries.     

Role of user's socio-economic and travel characteristics in mode choice between city bus and informal transit services: Lessons from household surveys in Visakhapatnam,India

Informally operated paratransit or Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) systems provide demand responsive transit in many developing countries, often competing with formal public transport systems. Literature on the relative user characteristics of the two modes and their choice behaviour between the systems is limited. This article addresses the gap by presenting a methodology to derive a comprehensive understanding of socio-economic and travel demand characteristics of all transit users in a city. The household survey based data collection and analysis framework is demonstrated for the case of Visakhapatnam, a medium sized Indian city. The variables impacting users' choice between the formal and informal modes were derived through binary logistic regression. It was observed that gender, income and travel time have a significant influence on users' choice between the modes, with waiting time having the maximum impact on mode choice. Therefore, the high frequency services offered by paratransit attract users making shorter trips.     

Grocery store accessibility: Different metrics – Different modal disparity results and spatial patterns

Most accessibility studies focus on within transport mode travel performance variations. However, modal accessibility disparity analysis adds value to the single-mode analysis by assessing the interaction between different transport modes and land use. A review of modal disparity studies shows that different accessibility metrics lead to different results, and so it is unclear how this impacts modal accessibility disparity variation. Moreover, the correspondence of the disparity spatial pattern between the different metrics is unclear. This research examines how three typical accessibility metrics (closest facility, cumulative opportunity, space-time constrained) impact modal disparity of grocery store accessibility in Warsaw, Poland. Further, local indicators of spatial association are used to identify areas of similarity and difference between the metrics. This study finds that cumulative opportunities during non-rush hours indicate the best car advantage for all travel times but indicate the best transit advantage during rush hours for 15 min. Generally, the space-time metric indicates better transit accessibility than the closest facility metric which in turn shows better transit accessibility than cumulative opportunities. The city center has significant spatial similarity while peripheral, especially dense, areas have significant spatial difference. Similarity areas have higher transit stop and population densities, while difference areas have average-to-low stop, population, road and store densities.