Measuring cycling accessibility in metropolitan areas

Different measures of cycling accessibility have been widely introduced in transportation planning. However, those measurements are mainly restricted by the availability of travel behavior data. In addition, there has been limited comprehensive research on the importance of cycling accessibility to destinations based on the travel time or distance. In this paper, a new index for measuring bikeability in metropolitan areas is introduced. A Cycling Accessibility Index (CAI) is developed for quantifying cycling accessibility within local areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. CAI is defined according to gravity-based measures of accessibility. This index measures cycling accessibility levels in terms of diversity of different land uses, number of activities in statistical areas, and the travel impedance between origins and destinations. The Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity (VISTA) dataset was used to evaluate the index and investigate the association between the cycling accessibility levels and the number of bicycle trips in local areas. The index is assessed by investigating the association between levels of cycling accessibility and the number of bicycle trips in statistical areas. Key findings indicate that there is a significant positive association between bike trips and the CAI.     

Accessibility measurements in São Paulo,Rio de Janeiro,Curitiba and Recife,Brazil

Increasing attention is given to public transport services in cities of the Global South as a tool to enhance social inclusion and support economic development. Against this background, developing and evaluating indicators that quantify the distribution of public transport services from a social equity perspective is essential. The aim of the study is, therefore, to assess the equity of public transport services in four metropolitan regions in Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Recife) with two commonly used indicators of public transport provision. The first indicator measures proximity to rapid transit infrastructure (bus rapid transit, light rail and heavy rail stops with high frequency throughout the day), and the second measures accessibility to jobs by public transport. While simple indicators of proximity to public transport stops are most commonly used given their ease of operationalization and communication, accessibility to job indicators are more representative of the benefits provided to individuals by the public transport network. Combining these two indicators in one study provides a quantitative assessment of the socio-spatial distribution of public transport services in four large metropolitan areas in Brazil and the results demonstrate that lower-income households are disadvantaged in terms of public transport services in all four metropolitan areas. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of quantifying accessibility by public transport, in addition to proximity to rapid transit, and thereby sheds light on the importance of developing openly available public transport schedules and geographic data. This study is of relevance to planners and researchers wishing to measure and evaluate public transport equity in the Global South.     

Spatial and socio-economic analysis of public transport systems in large cities: A case study for Belo Horizonte,Brazil

The main goal of this article is to evaluate the relationship between the spatial distribution of the population of the city of Belo Horizonte, one of the largest cities in South America, and its public transport network, seeking to ascertain whether the current bus network is able to meet the needs of the population. The methodology was based on data processing and vector information from different sources through spatial analysis tools. As expected, the results revealed a greater concentration of routes and bus stops in the central region of Belo Horizonte, which is the main commercial center of the municipality and its metropolitan region. However, the results suggest evidences of a disadvantage for the population with lower income, especially those living on the periphery. A possible explanation for this disadvantage is the invisibility of these communities due to their high level of irregular occupation. Under the eyes of public transport planning, they are not recognized, and, theoretically, do not generate demand for lines and bus stops     

Land use and public transport integration in small cities and towns: Assessment methodology and application

It is widely accepted that land use and public transport planning should be harmonised in order to provide a viable alternative to car transport. Following the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) concept, many studies and plans aim to concentrate urban development in areas accessible by high-quality public transport. Encouraged by studies asserting the positive relation between urban density and public transport use, scholars and practitioners focused their attention on tools and strategies that increase urban density, thereby overlooking geographical contexts where these strategies cannot be applied. TOD might however be also a valuable strategy in low-density contexts, like lower density parts of metropolitan areas, or suburban areas and small towns. It seems therefore relevant and interesting to develop a methodology to explore the value of TOD strategies in such contexts. Our paper fills this analytical and application gap and proposes to extend the conceptualization and implementation of land use and public transport integration to areas where low-density urban development has already occurred (e.g., low-density suburbs, or areas where the protection of natural and cultural heritage precedes urban development). In such cases, where is not possible to increase urban density around transport nodes, the quality of the transport network plays a decisive role.The approach builds on the Node-Place Model by including evaluations of the quality of feeder networks. We applied the methodology to a case study in the Campania Region in southern Italy, indicating a possible way to evaluate land use and public transport integration while considering, at the same time, the quality of transport as network.The application of the methodology allowed to highlight imbalances between accessibility – by main and feeder transport – and land use intensity, and to sketch urban development strategies and priorities of intervention on the transport network.     

Identifying public transport gaps using time-dependent accessibility levels

One of the concerns that has aroused much scholarly attention in transport geography lately is the extent to which public transport provision enables the less privileged population segments, especially those without privately owned motorized vehicles, to participate in activities that are deemed normal within the society they live in. This study contributes to this line of inquiry by proposing a methodology for identifying public transit gaps, a mismatch between the socially driven demand for transit and the supply provided by transit agencies. The methodology draws on the latest accomplishments in the field of modeling time-continuous, schedule-based public transport accessibility. Accessibility levels to key destinations are calculated at regular time intervals, and synoptic metrics of these levels over various peak and off-peak time windows are computed for weekdays and weekends. As a result, a temporally reliable picture of accessibility by public transport is constructed. The obtained index of public transport provision is compared to a public transport needs index based on the spatial distribution of various socio-demographics, in order to highlight spatial mismatches between these two indices. The study area consists of Flanders, which is the northern, Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. The results indicate that mainly suburban areas are characterized by high public transport gaps. Due to the time-variability of public transport frequencies, these gaps differ over time.     

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.     

Using GIS to visualise and evaluate student travel behaviour

Using GIS to evaluate travel behaviour is an important technique to increase our understanding of the relationship between accessibility and transport demand. In this paper, the activity space concept was used to identify the nature of participation in activities (or lack of it) amongst a group of students using a 2 day travel-activity diary. Three different indicators such as the number of unique locations visited, average daily distance travelled, and average daily activity duration were used to measure the size of activity spaces. These indicators reflect levels of accessibility, personal mobility, and the extent of participation, respectively. Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the impacts of students socio-economic status and the spatial characteristics of home location. Although no differences were found in the levels of accessibility and the extent of participation measures, home location with respect to a demand responsive transport (DRT) service was found to be the most important determinant of their mobility patterns. Despite being able to travel longer distances, students who live outside of the DRT service area were found to be temporally excluded from some opportunities. Student activity spaces were also visualised within a GIS environment and a spatial analysis was conducted to underpin the evaluation of the performance of the DRT. This approach was also used to identify the activity spaces of individuals that are geographically excluded from the service. Evaluation of these results indicated that although the service currently covers areas of high demand, 90% of the activity spaces remained un-served by the DRT service. Using this data six new routes were designed to meet the coverage goal of public transport based on a measure of network impedance based on inverse activity density. Following assessment of public transport service coverage, the study was extended using a spatial multi criteria evaluation (SMCE) technique to assess the effect of service provision on patronage.     

Public transit accessibility approach to understand the equity for public healthcare services: A case study of Greater Mumbai

Urban public health is one of the most critical yet neglected aspects of urban planning in developing countries such as India. Inequity in access to government healthcare facilities affects the overall urban population and can substantially negatively impact the vulnerable population, who mostly rely on government healthcare services. In this paper, the accessibility measure for healthcare services by public transport is developed using travel time and the number of transit stops (accounting for transit connectivity) for Greater Mumbai. We also identified socially vulnerable wards (administrative units) using a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), developed based on 16 indicators using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Developed regression models showed that the proposed accessibility measure explains the coverage and usage of healthcare services better than the traditional accessibility measure, which is based on only aggregate level travel time impedances. South Mumbai has relatively better accessibility for public hospitals and dispensaries, whereas, lower level of accessibility is observed in the eastern part for public healthcare services. Assessment for the spatial inequity based on the Gini index, bivariate Moran's I, and mean access value reveals a higher degree of spatial inequity for accessing government hospitals for the slum population. The study developed a decision framework to suggest effective policy measures, which can be prioritised based on SVI to reduce the disparity in the spatial distribution of accessibility to government healthcare systems for vulnerable groups. Our findings can aid transportation and urban planners, health researchers, and policymakers to improve accessibility in under-served areas and give special attention to the needs of the vulnerable population.     

Determining intra-urban spatial accessibility disparities in multimodal public transport networks

Urban rail systems have been added to public transport systems, thereby changing distribution disparities in urban spatial accessibility. These disparities reflect both the ability of the public transport system to meet the needs of residents and the locational pros and cons of public service facilities. In this paper, integrated accessibility metrics are used to assess the disparities in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. This is achieved by dividing the urban space into a multilevel grid that can be easily combined with grid-based population data to facilitate accessibility modeling, calculation, and evaluation. Additionally, an acquisition method for more accurate travel time data in the multimodal public transportation network was developed on the basis of an Internet mapping service. This provides a realistic, multimodal, door-to-door modeling approach that avoids the requirement of building complex traffic networks through Geographic Information System (GIS) software and simplifies road network modeling efforts. The results show that this modeling method can be used to reflect the accessibility disparities in the Nanjing urban space objectively and accurately.     

Job accessibility through public transport and unemployment in Latin America: The case of Montevideo (Uruguay)

Accessibility to job opportunities is one of the factors that explains labor outcomes. For developing countries, public transport plays a key role in providing the population with access to employment opportunities. This paper aims to quantify accessibility by public transport to employment in Montevideo, Uruguay and to explore how accessibility to job opportunities via public transport relates to unemployment. To do so, we calculate a cumulative measure of accessibility to job opportunities for 1063 small zones—approximately 4–6 blocks each—within Montevideo. This measure yields accurate data on accessibility and can be assigned to individual households. Accessibility in Montevideo is unevenly distributed among social strata and is concentrated within the central (and wealthier) areas of the city. In addition, a multilevel logistic regression analysis indicates that greater accessibility to jobs via public transport is associated with a lower probability of being unemployed. This finding suggests that improving accessibility to job opportunities via public transit may enhance individual labor outcomes.     

Does high-speed rail accessibility influence residential property prices? Hedonic estimates from southern Taiwan

A new high-speed railway line (HSR) connects seven metropolitan areas in Taiwan. From Tainan, it is possible to reach Kaohsiung, Chiayi and Taichung in less than one hour, implying an enlarged spatial range of feasible commuting opportunities. The implicit price of HSR accessibility is estimated using hedonic price functions for the residential property market. The results of pre-specified and Box-Cox hedonic price functions are compared. The estimated functions show that HSR accessibility has at most a minor effect on house prices. High ticket prices and entrenched residential location patterns prevent otherwise feasible daily commuting opportunities between Tainan and other cities.     

The link between urban development and the modal split in commuting: the case of Biscay

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the links between different land use patterns and the modal split in commuting. The analysis is conducted at municipal level, based on data on land use and mobility characteristics of the de-urbanisation process in Biscay, a small European province, from 1991 to 2001. The links are assessed by means of multiple regression analysis, in which specific techniques of spatial econometrics are applied in order to avoid biased results and unreliable inferences due to spatial dependence. The findings reveal, at municipal level, the importance of gross population density, geographic concentration of the population and, to a lesser extent, the ratio of jobs to residents in explaining the modal split in commuting, and the influence of access to public transport. It is also shown that public transport services have spillover effects that extend beyond the limits of the municipality and encourage use in adjacent areas.     

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.     

Accessibility and the journey to work through the lens of equity

Inequality in transport provision is an area of growing concern among transport professionals, as it results in low-income individuals travelling at lower speeds while covering smaller distances. Accessibility, the ease of reaching destinations, may hold the key in correcting these inequalities through providing a means to evaluate land use and transport interventions. This article examines the relationship between accessibility and commute duration for low-income individuals compared to the higher-income, in three major Canadian metropolitan regions, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver using separate multilevel mixed effects statistical models for car and public transport commuters. Accessibility measures are generated for jobs and workers both at the origin (home) and the destination (place of work) to account for the impact of competing labor and firms. Our models show that the impacts of accessibility on commute duration are present and in many cases stronger for low-income individuals than for higher income groups. The results suggest that low-income individuals have more to gain (in terms of reduced commute time) from increased accessibility to low-income jobs at the origin and to workers at the destination. Similarly, they also have more to lose from increased accessibility to low-income workers at the origin and to low-income jobs at the destination, which are proxies for increased competition. Policies targeting improvements in accessibility to jobs, especially low-income ones, by car and public transport while managing the presence of competition can serve to bridge the inequality gap that exists in commuting behavior.     

A compact city for the wealthy? Employment accessibility inequalities between occupational classes in the London metropolitan region 2011

The prevalence of gentrification and housing marketisation processes in many cities points to increasingly wealthy inner-city areas and potentially greater population segregation by income. It is plausible that these trends are contributing to regional accessibility inequalities, though quantitative research testing this link is limited. This paper examines differences in employment accessibility between Standard Occupational Classification groups in the London Metropolitan Region for 2011 for car, transit, bus only and walking modes. Additionally, changes in occupational class populations 2006–2016 are considered, revealing continuing inner-city gentrification. Employment accessibility is calculated using cumulative measures, based on travel times from multi-modal network modelling. The results show that while car accessibility is relatively equal between occupational classes, public transport, bus and walk accessibility have significant inequalities favouring professional classes. Low income groups have lower accessibility for the most affordable bus and walk modes, and inequalities are greater for residents in the wider metropolitan region. Furthermore, professional groups combine accessibility advantages with the highest rates of owner occupation, maximising housing wealth benefits. Lower income groups are exposed to rent increases, though this is offset by social housing, which remains the most prevalent tenure in Inner London for low income classes.     

Examining spatial variations in minimum residential parking requirements in Melbourne

Minimum off-street residential parking requirements are used in many cities as a way to accommodate parking demand associated with new residential development. In some cases, variations to these requirements are used in the form of reduced (or eliminated) minimums and/or maximum parking requirements to more actively manage parking demand. This paper assesses how such variations affecting new residential apartment development in Melbourne, known locally as parking overlays, compare against residential parking demand. Using household car ownership data as a proxy for off-street residential parking demand, a case-control analysis was undertaken to compare car ownership within and immediately outside areas affected by the parking overlays, while controlling for a range of built environment, public transport, demand management and socio-demographic variables. Key findings indicate that car ownership is generally lower in areas affected by parking overlays, yet this was either roughly the same or well below the actual parking requirement. Through regression modelling, the results highlighted the importance of public transport service quality, car parking requirements and demographics in influencing car ownership within and immediately outside the parking overlay areas. These results were used to develop a parking overlay index to identify other areas that could benefit from more flexible residential parking requirements. Despite parking overlays considered as a form of parking management, the results imply that, in Melbourne, they represent little more than a conventional supply-side approach to parking policy. The results indicate that residential off-street parking requirements could be reduced further in Melbourne, both within and outside of areas affected by parking overlays, to more actively manage parking demand.     

Extreme weather,public transport ridership and moderating effect of bus stop shelters

This paper examines how extreme weather conditions influence urban public transport ridership with a particular focus on the role of bus stop shelters. Using bus ridership data from the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, we find that extreme weather such as very high and low temperatures, and heavy rainfall reduces public transport ridership, while bus stop shelters have a modest effect on mitigating ridership losses resulting from these adverse weather conditions. The moderating effect of shelters is more pronounced on weekdays, and for bus stops with lower service frequency and fewer transfers. Our research also shows that the installation of bus shelters correlates with a variety of factors including service frequency, land use types, and local socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Overall, our findings suggest that public transport amenities with weather-proof attributes have the potential to retain and attract more ridership on extreme weather days.     

Powered-two-wheelers for city commuting: Insight from Australia's three largest capital cities

The journey to work receives a great deal of research attention due to the peak demand on the transport system. Cities are increasingly concerned with managing traffic congestion and reducing pollution and most of the focus of this research has been on cars, public transport, walking and cycling. In contrast, the role of powered two-wheelers (PTWs), including motorcycles and scooters, in commuting has received little attention, particularly in the context of cities in the developed world. This paper provides new insight into commuting by PTW by drawing on census journey to work data from Australia's three largest cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) combined with an intercept survey of PTW commuters in Melbourne. It explores the extent of, and changes in, PTW commuting as well as the demographics of PTW commuters. While PTWs account for only a small percentage of urban commuting in Australian cities, their use is growing rapidly and there is a concentration of commuting by PTW into city centres. PTW commuters tend to be high-income males in skilled professional and technical professions. The implication of these findings for transport policy are discussed.     

Travel behaviour in Ghana: empirical observations from four metropolitan areas

The paper examines the travel behaviour of residents in four key metropolitan areas in Ghana with data from 926 respondents including 451 females obtained at intra-commuter vehicle terminals. The analysis of the data showed that the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) continues to dominate in the intra-urban commuter service. Also, in spite of persistent complaints from consumers about the high cost of transport fares, it is rather the cost of food, children’s education, clothing and to some extent personal entertainment which consume a disproportionate share of residents’ disposable incomes. Notwithstanding this finding, respondents’ expectation is to pay less than they are doing now for commuting within the study areas.