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.     

Estimating the influence of crowding and travel time variability on accessibility to jobs in a large public transport network using smart card big data

Accessibility metrics are gaining momentum in public transportation planning and policy-making. However, critical user experience issues such as crowding discomfort and travel time unreliability are still not considered in those accessibility indicators. This paper aims to apply a methodology to build spatiotemporal crowding data and estimate travel time variability in a congested public transport network to improve accessibility calculations. It relies on using multiple big data sources available in most transit systems such as smart card and automatic vehicle location (AVL) data. São Paulo, Brazil, is used as a case study to show the impact of crowding and travel time variability on accessibility to jobs. Our results evidence a population-weighted average reduction of 56.8% in accessibility to jobs in a regular workday morning peak due to crowding discomfort, as well as reductions of 6.2% due to travel time unreliability and 59.2% when both are combined. The findings of this study can be of invaluable help to public transport planners and policymakers, as they show the importance of including both aspects in accessibility indicators for better decision making. Despite some limitations due to data quality and consistency throughout the study period, the proposed approach offers a new way to leverage big data in public transport to enhance policy decisions.     

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.     

Public transport accessibility accounting for level of service and competition for urban opportunities: An equity analysis for education in Santiago de Chile

Several cities around the world have changed their transportation planning paradigm, understanding that the prime goal is to provide access to opportunities for everyone. To address this goal, public transport plays a fundamental role and, therefore, it is key for developing a sustainable and equitable city.This paper proposes a methodology to analyze access to opportunities through public transport incorporating the user's valuation of attributes that impact the level of service on his/her trip and the competitiveness for urban opportunities. Using data from Santiago, Chile, we applied the proposed methodology to analyze accessibility to higher-quality public primary schools. We compare total travel time (TTT) with a proposed measure of total generalized travel time (TGTT) using simple potential and competitive accessibility indicators, accounting for the subjective valuation of walking time, travel time, waiting time, comfort and transfers, and translating them into in-vehicle time units.We find that the inclusion of competition has a more substantial impact than including the subjective valuation of the level of service in the accessibility to educational opportunities. Using competitive measures with TGTT, we found that around 20% of the zones in Santiago have at least a 50% deficit of higher-quality public education, and 71% of them are in peripheral areas. Furthermore, these zones, where medium and low-income population usually lives, can experience, on average, 1–2 transfers, 4–5 passengers per square meter, and 15-min waiting. We conclude that the proposed methodology provides a more comprehensive way to understand accessibility by incorporating the traveling experience, allowing to determine how and where to intervene to effectively improve accessibility, with a focus on urban equity.     

Transport and tourism: roadmap to integrated planning developing and assessing integrated travel chains

The article reviews planning strategies in tourism and transport based on experiences from a German project on event travel. Firstly, the concept of ‘travel chains’ is introduced as a way to create sustainable tourism products. These ‘travel chains’ combine travel and tourism activities, with particular attention to the ‘transit region’. Secondly, an assessment tool has been developed which aims to offer a practical approach to assessing the sustainability of transport services and packages. The concept of the measurement tool and the selection of indicators are presented and illustrated by the assessment of a ‘travel chain’ tested in the summer of 2003.     

Access to the city: Mobility patterns,transport and accessibility in peripheral settlements of Dar es Salaam

This paper is concerned with access to the city for urban residents living in the periphery of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The paper presents an analysis of the mobility practices of residents and investigates the mobility constraints they experience in relation to the limited accessibility provided by the urban transport system. The paper draws upon qualitative interviews with residents in the periphery as well as recently collected travel speed data and offers a unique combination of testimony with GIS-based modelling of overall accessibility. A central finding is the overall importance of regular mobility and access to the city for residents in the periphery. Regular mobility is an ingrained part of residents' livelihood strategies. The majority of households rely on one or more members regularly travelling to central parts of the city in relation to their livelihood activities. The analysis reveals a widespread, near-to-universal, dependence on motorized transportation, with the vast majority depending on public transport. Raster-based modelling of overall accessibility provides an indication of the very high travel times endured by residents in the periphery. The analysis identifies and distinguishes between three overall mode types: 1) Private car, 2) public transport and 3) motorcycle/car combined with public transport. While private cars appear marginally faster, differences in travel times are actually limited. This suggests that travel times are less influenced by mode of transport than by road and traffic conditions and highlights how accessibility problems of peripheral settlements are not easily understood separately from the general dysfunctions of the overall mobility system of city.     

The effects of travel time and cost savings on commuters’ decision to travel on public transport routes involving transfers

Urban cities are struggling with congested networks, noise and air pollution. Government agencies respond by investing in infrastructures to create integrated public transport systems. Transfers are a key element for the success of network integration. This study explores commuters’ perception of transfers by adopting Weber’s Law “Just Noticeable Difference”. Two trip attributes, travel time and cost, are investigated. Two stated-preference surveys are conducted at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Results show that, on average, users’ desire at least a 33% reduction in their current travel time and at least a 16% reduction in their current travel cost given basic comfort amenities at the interchange. For an interchange with more comfort, on average, users’ desire at least a 25% reduction in their current travel time and at least a 10% reduction in their current travel cost. The findings are expected to be used as a guideline by planners when developing integrated public transport networks. Recommendations have been made to the Auckland Regional Public Transport Plan.     

‘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.     

Accessibility modelling: predicting the impact of planned transport infrastructure on accessibility patterns in Edinburgh,UK

The achievement of good spatial accessibility and equity in the distribution of urban services is one of the supreme goals for urban planners. With Scottish Government backing, the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has started to construct a tram network to cater for the future needs of Scotland’s capital city by providing an integrated transport solution using trams and buses. Spatial Network Analysis of Public Transport Accessibility (SNAPTA) which is a GIS-based accessibility model has been developed to measure the accessibility by public transport to different urban services and activities. The model responds to several limitations in other existing accessibility models in planning practice. It offers an alternative and practical tool to help planners and decision makers in examining the strengths and weaknesses of land use – transport integration. SNAPTA has been applied to a pilot study in Edinburgh city to identify the contribution of the infrastructure improvements of the tram system and Edinburgh South Suburban Railway (ESSR) to improved accessibility by public transport to six types of activity opportunities. This paper outlines the concept and methodology of the SNAPTA model, and presents the findings related to this pilot study with a focus on changes in potential accessibility to jobs between four different public transport network scenarios. The accessibility values so obtained help to identify the gaps in the coverage of the public transport network and the efficiency in the spatial distribution of urban services and activities. The findings focus on whether the planned transport infrastructures for Edinburgh will lead to better accessibility and reduced inequity (in terms of accessibility) across the city.     

Exploring public transport as an element of older persons' mobility: A Capability Approach perspective

This study employs Amartya Sen's Capability Approach as a guiding conceptual framework in the exploration of public transport as an element of mobility among the young-old living in Stockholm, Sweden. The aim is to shed light on the variation in mobility resources of those who perceive they can use public transport as their primary mode of transport and of those who perceive they cannot (‘mobility capability element’), as well as that of those using public transport and of those not using it (‘mobility functioning element’). Increasing residential density, being female and having a higher functional capacity were among the mobility resources which produced a positive increase in the likelihood of considering it possible to use, and the use of, public transport. The higher the ratio of cars to household member, the lower the likelihood of including public transport as a mobility capability element or as a mobility functioning element. Most of those who included public transport use as both a mobility capability element and a mobility functioning element were also users of the private car. There was also a tendency towards car use rather than towards no travel if the individual was not a user of public transport. Through the application of the Capability Approach, this paper facilitates further insight into the variation in mobility resources, corresponding mobility capability and mobility functioning elements of this group, with respect to public transport. It also opens up questions for the future employment of this conceptual framework within transport research.     

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.     

Developing a TOD typology for Beijing metro station areas

Across the world, Transit Oriented Development (TOD) offers a strategy to integrate land use and transport systems by clustering urban developments around public transport nodes in functionally dense and diverse, pedestrian- and cycling-friendly areas. Even though the basic philosophy of TOD seems to be the same in all contexts, its specific applications greatly differ in form, function and impacts, calling for context-based TOD typologies that can help map these local specificities and better focus policy interventions. In recent years, TOD has also been widely advocated and applied in China; however, so far no study has systematically developed a TOD typology in a Chinese context. This paper fills this gap for the case of the Beijing metropolitan area. The approach is based on the node-place model, introduced by Bertolini (1996, 1999) to chart ‘Transit’ and ‘Development’ components, expanding it with a third, ‘Oriented’, dimension to quantify the degree of orientation of transit and development components towards each other. The paper reviewed the main TOD indicators in the international literature, selected those appropriate for the Beijing context, and classified the metro station areas into TOD types through a cluster analysis. The six identified types of metro station areas in Beijing demonstrate how the context-specific typology can support local urban and transport planners, designers and policymakers when considering future interventions.     

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.     

Distributional effects of public transport policies in the Paris Region

This paper examines the distributional effects of alternative scenarios of urban public transport policies in the Paris Region using disaggregated data from the Global Transport Survey 2001–2002. We study two types of scenarios: fare adjustments, as in previous work, but also speed increase scenarios. We find that reducing public transport fares is progressive. Increasing the speed of public transport is also progressive whatever the mode. The most progressive option is to increase the speed of buses in the suburbs, while targeting the metro or the suburban rail are the least progressive alternatives. More generally, low-income individuals benefit more from fare reductions than from increases in public transport speed.     

Disentangling the behavioural side of the first and last mile problem: the role of modality style and the built environment

The first and last mile (FLM) problem, namely the poor connection between trip origins or destination and public transport stations, is a significant obstacle to sustainable transportation as it is likely to encourage the use of cars for FLM travel, if not for the entire trip. This study examines the role of modality style and built environment in FLM mode choice behaviour, in order to identify the key features that might invoke a travel mode shift from cars to more sustainable travel options for both mandatory and discretionary trips. More specifically, this study draws on disaggregate data from the South East Queensland household travel survey and presents a latent class choice model to unravel modality style groups. Results reveal two distinct individual-level modality style groups: (1) driving and walking oriented; (2) multimodal travellers. Individuals in the second modality style group were found to be relatively inelastic to FLM travel time for mandatory trips, while individuals in the first group were largely unaffected by built environment characteristics and highly habitual in their mode choice behaviour for both mandatory and discretionary trips. Home residence environments with high road intersection density and public transport accessibility, and home residence environments with diverse land use mix, respectively encourage individuals within the second modality style to walk for mandatory trips, and discretionary trips. To this end, when place-based policies seek to change certain built environment features, individuals in the second modality style are more likely to shift their preference from cars to more sustainable modes. Finally, our findings have practical planning implications in targeting mode shift through highlighting the importance of considering the intersection of individual modality style in a given locale and mode choice behaviour. More specifically, our findings advocate for place-based policies that seek to target particular locales with the certain modality style deemed to be more predisposed to adopting a mode shift.     

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.     

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.     

Analysis of job accessibility promoted by ride hailing services: A proposed method

The concept of accessibility as an element of the interaction between land use and transportation is widely applied in studies of urban mobility. The idea that the accessibility of a place can be measured by the variety and quantity of opportunities available at the destination has led to the creation and adaptation of various indicators. The new mode of transport known as ride hailing (RH) has grown in recent years throughout the world, making it necessary to evaluate its impact on modern society, mainly its interaction with other modes. Therefore, this article presents a method to calculate the accessibility of formal jobs generated by public transportation (PT) and RH, to compare the results. For this purpose, we made adaptations to two indicators commonly used in the literature: the Gini index combined with the Lorenz curve; and the location quotient (LQ). The integrated structure is demonstrated in the context of a case study conducted in four districts of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By applying the proposed method, we found that in regions with high commercial concentration and number of jobs, with the fares charged in the city, the accessibility to formal jobs generated by RH is greater than that associated with PT when more than two passengers travel together. This information on the competition or complementarity of the two modes can be useful to make decisions for regulation of the transport sector in general, and ride hailing in particular.