A spatial analysis of air transport access and the essential air service program in the United States

In the United States, the goal of essential air service (EAS) is to provide a minimum level of air transport service from smaller, often remote communities to the national network. While supporters of EAS tout the economic benefits of connecting rural and isolated communities, critics cite high costs, low use and antiquated eligibility requirements as factors which compromise the value of the program. In this paper, a comprehensive database of US airports is combined with network analysis techniques and a geographic information system to evaluate population access (at the census tract level) to EAS airports for 2006. Results suggest that redundant coverage of EAS market areas by alternative Federal Aviation Administration designated hub airports can contribute to EAS airport market leakage and that alternative definitions of EAS community eligibility have the potential to dramatically increase programmatic efficiency and reduce federal monies spent on EAS subsidies.     

A cointegration analysis of bilateral air travel flows: The case of international travel to and from the United States

Demand for international air travel has risen over the past decade causing international visitation to the US to reach a record high in 2012. This paper assesses the dynamic impacts of GDP, exchange rate, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks on bilateral air travel flows between the US and its 11 major travel and trading partners. An autoregressive distributed lag modeling approach is employed to estimate short- and long-run relationships between variables. Long-run results demonstrate foreign GDP as the major determinant of demand for inbound travel to the US and US GDP is a crucial factor affecting demand for outbound travel from the US. These findings support a strong linkage between economic growth and demand for international air travel. The real exchange rate has relatively little impact on the bilateral air travel flows. The US dollar appreciation against foreign currencies is found to reduce demand for inbound travel to the US, while having mixed effects on outbound travel from the US. In the short-run, economic growth tends to be a primary factor influencing international travel flows to and from the US. The 9/11 market shock has a detrimental short- and long-run effect on the bilateral air travel flows, implying that the impact of 9/11 is prolonged in international air travel markets.     

Accessibility and attractiveness of European airports: A simple small community perspective

This paper describes a simple method for comparing airports based on their accessibility to regional, continental or global air transport networks, using a variety of different measures of traffic. The method is applied to all Irish and UK airports for the years 2000, 2003 and 2005 and compares the performance of these airports in serving the UK/Ireland, Western European, Greater European, North American and global air transport markets. The method may be generalised to assess other regional groupings of airports in differing regional contexts, in situations where very limited demographic and socio-economic data are available.     

Long-term evolution of airport networks: Optimization model and its application to the United States

In this article, we introduce an optimization model aimed to assist aviation authorities in their strategic decisions regarding the long-term expansion of a network of airports. The objective is to maximize total system throughput for a given budget taking into account the capacity of the airports and the impact of travel costs upon demand. The results that can be obtained through the application of the model are first illustrated for a hypothetical small-size network and then in a study regarding the evolution of the network of the principal airports of the United States.     

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.     

The impact of the great recession on Irish air travel: An intermodal accessibility analysis

This paper quantifies the changes in accessibility at small area scale arising from the combined effects of dramatic air traffic declines and a greatly expanded motorway network in Ireland during the period of the great recession. The subsequent policy decisions by government are assessed in light of the intermodal accessibility changes identified. The Irish Government engaged in an extensive motorway construction programme throughout the 2000s, greatly increasing the overall length of the inter-urban motorway network. The essential air transport services programme put in place in the 1990s to guarantee a minimum level of air access to disadvantaged regions was significantly reduced at the end of the 2008–2011 period, with only two of the six regional airports continuing to have any form of subsidised public service obligation for the period 2011–2014. In this study, small area datasets are used to measure the net impact of these changes on air transport accessibility in Ireland and the potential spatial inequalities that arise as a result of these changes. An inter-modal accessibility approach is used where the physical characteristics of the road transport network to airports and the network structure characteristics of the air transport system are taken into account to evaluate the levels of air transport accessibility at the small-area district level. Results from the analysis show that the improved surface access to the larger Irish airports (Dublin and Belfast) has enhanced the range of European and global locations directly accessible by air for many communities in Ireland. The net effect of these changes has been to concentrate air traffic at the largest Irish airports.     

Using accessibility measures to integrate land use and transport policy in Edinburgh and the Lothians

To ensure more effective integration of development and transport planning, new national planning policy guidance in the UK requires greater consideration of accessibility issues. Although quantitative accessibility analysis is common in research, the practical application of these techniques in land use planning has been rare, and assessment has been restricted to qualitative considerations. The strong policy focus on accessibility increases the need for robustness, but practical quantitative techniques are still evolving. This paper describes a structured approach to accessibility analysis, as part of the development of a new structure plan for Edinburgh and the Lothians, and demonstrates how an ‘integration index’ can be developed from accessibility measures to help compare alternative approaches.     

Location of logistics companies: a stated preference study to disentangle the impact of accessibility

Due to the globalization and the fragmentation of industrial production processes, the logistics sector, organizing the linkages between different production plants and the market, is growing fast. This results in an increasing demand for suitable new business locations. Previous research has indicated that accessibility is a key factor in the location decision making process. Though the literature on this subject is extensive, little research has been done to quantify the impact of the different dimensions of accessibility on the location decision process of logistics companies. This paper aims to fill this void in the literature by means of a revealed preference study (using a Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis) and a stated preference study (using a designed discrete choice experiment) in Flanders (Belgium). The results of the revealed preference study served as input to the design of the choice situations in the stated preference study. In the stated preference study, the respondents were confronted with a series of choice situations described by means of accessibility variables as well as land rent information. An analysis of the resulting data by means of discrete choice modeling revealed that land rent is the most important factor in the location choice of logistics companies in Flanders. Access to a port is the second most important factor, followed by access to a motorway, the location in a business park and an inland navigation terminal, which are all about equally important. Access to a rail terminal plays no significant role in the location choice of logistics companies in Flanders.     

Spatial analysis of access to and accessibility surrounding train stations: a case study of accessibility for the elderly in Perth,Western Australia

Approximately one-fifth of Perth’s population is aged 60 or older. Projections suggest that this proportion will continue to increase as a result of the large number of children born after the World War II (1946–1964). Access to and accessibility around train stations for the aging population is and will become a more important issue as the elderly population continues to grow. The aim of the paper is to develop and apply a new measure of accessibility to train stations at a fine spatial scale, justified by the special circumstance of the elderly using a case study in Perth, Western Australia. Intercept surveys are used to collect data on factors affecting train station accessibility for patrons aged 60 years or older, at seven highly dispersed train stations. Overall accessibility is measured separately using a composite index based on three travel modes (walk-and-ride, park-and-ride and bus-and-ride). The results illustrate that key variables, such as distance from an origin to a station, walking or driving route directness, land-use diversity, service and facility quality, bus connection to train stations, all affect the accessibility to train stations for the elderly. This implies that improvements to these factors will improve accessibility for this population group.     

A spatio-temporal modelling approach for the study of the connectivity and accessibility of the Guangzhou metropolitan network

The urban growth of large cities in China is at a critical stage with the booming of the economy and impressive increase of the population and traffic demand. This paper studies and qualifies the growth and accessibility of a rapid rail transit network, and characterizes the relations with urban development using a spatio-temporal modelling approach. Several measures of the network topological structure, i.e., beta index (β), cyclomatic number (μ), alpha index (α) and gamma index (γ), are selected in order to examine and quantify the overall metro network growth of the city of Guangzhou in China. The results show that the current spatial connectivity of the Guangzhou’s metro network is relatively low, this stressing the need to augment the reliability of the connections between the network nodes, and to increase the number of circuits in the network. A travel-time matrix is modelled and evaluates the nodes accessibility and characterizes the spatio-temporal evolution of the metro network. The spatial interaction between the different nodes of the network, as well as nodes accessibility are analyzed and derived from a potential-based model. The extension of the metro network clearly shows a dramatic tendency of positive accessibility evolution but with regional differences. In particular, the core of the city is surrounded by areas with highest accessibility values and gradually expanding outward from the core, while the locations of transfer stations have significant influence on the variation of network time-based accessibility. Taking into account different network development scenarios, the approach reveals regional accessibility differences in the metropolitan area of the city of Guangzhou, this clearly illustrating the impact of network accessibility in urban development.     

Predicting the loss of commuter air service in the United States

This paper looks at the probability of loss of commuter air service in the United States. Logistic regression using a model consisting of geographic, economic, and social variables is constructed to examine those communities in the United States that are in danger of losing commercial air service. After modeling the loss of service, patterns are discovered as to the location of these communities. The paper concludes with analysis of those cities targeted for loss of service and solutions for what these communities can do to continue to be part of the commercial air system.     

Spatiotemporal accessibility to supermarkets using public transit: an interaction potential approach in Cincinnati,Ohio

Improving nutrition in urban regions involves understanding which neighborhoods and populations lack access to stores that sell healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables. To this end, recent work has focused on mapping regions without access to places like supermarkets, often terming them ‘food deserts’. Until recently, this work has not considered residents’ mobility as facilitated by transportation systems, and even among those that do, few have considered alternative forms of transportation, like public transit, opting for automobile-oriented travel assumptions. This paper analyzes people’s spatio-temporal constraints to accessing supermarkets, and focuses on the transit commuting population. Analysis of commute data from Cincinnati, Ohio shows there are a significant number of residents that have improved access to supermarkets when a grocery shopping trip is made on the way home from work, than if they were to depart from their home location. These results extend previous work showing relatively few automobile commuting residents have better access to supermarkets given their work locations.     

Impact of bus rapid transit on housing price and accessibility changes in Sydney: A repeat sales approach

ABSTRACT

New public transport infrastructure is expected to improve accessibility for local residents, and thus contribute to increased land value. The contribution that a bus rapid transit (BRT) system can make to increased land value is less certain than for rail-based systems, with the literature mostly containing bus-based examples from developing countries with extensive BRT networks. This article considers a BRT system named the Liverpool–Parramatta Transitway (LPT) that was implemented in southwestern Sydney in 2003 to improve public transport accessibility in the local area. A repeat sales model is constructed to investigate the impact of the LPT on residential housing prices and accessibility changes using repeat sales data from before and after the opening of the LPT. This identified little price difference between properties close to LPT stations and outside of the area that could be considered as affected by the LPT service coverage. This outcome is at variance with the theoretical underpinning of land value uplift and other empirical evidence relating to the LPT. Hedonic models using the same repeat sales data investigate the study area in more detail, stratifying the sample by housing type and by comparing separate before and after models. These research outcomes identify the extent to which the BRT system has an impact on local housing prices through accessibility improvements to the study area and provide a deeper understanding as to how the quantification of land value uplift from BRT represents one element of the wider economic benefits of a BRT system.     

Road accessibility and articulation of metropolitan spatial structures: the case of Madrid (Spain)

In the last few decades, rapid growth in mobility has facilitated the inclusion of distant places in metropolitan processes and the modification of traditional metropolitan areas into Polycentric Urban Regions. This paper aims to understand the articulation of metropolitan urban regions through a diachronic road network accessibility analysis with a focus on the Madrid Metropolitan Region (Spain) over a period of general increase in accessibility. The findings reveal that the metropolitan core has been reinforced and that its influence area has expanded. However, the main contribution of this work is the proposal of a methodological approach to identify city-profiles among the sub-centres organising the emerging polycentric urban structures.     

Location, economic potential and daily accessibility: an analysis of the accessibility impact of the high-speed line Madrid–Barcelona–French border

This paper evaluates the accessibility impact of the future Madrid–Barcelona–French border high-speed line. Accessibility impact of the new infrastructure is measured by means of three indicators: weighted average travel times, economic potential and daily accessibility. These indicators respond to different conceptualizations and offer complementary information about the issue accessibility. The results are quite different: very concentrated effects in the daily accessibility indicator, less concentrated in the economic potential one and more dispersal in the location indicator. The sign (polarizing/balancing) of these effects depend on the geographic scale: polarizing effects at the national level and balancing effects at both corridor and European levels are identified. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to carry out this study.     

The impacts of high-speed rail extensions on accessibility and spatial equity changes in South Korea from 2004 to 2018

The construction of South Korean High-Speed Rail (HSR) or Korea Train eXpress (KTX) has been evolving in phases since its first operation in 2004. This development raises concerns whether the benefits from the extended HSR network would again be limited to the initial HSR corridors and will deepen the inequalities in accessibility with the rising issue of uneven regional development of the country. This paper measures the accessibility of each stage of HSR network extension and evaluates its spatial distribution, variation, and changes using weighted averaged travel time and potential accessibility indicators. The results of this study find different accessibility impacts from each stage of HSR extension. Although travel-time reduction and increased attractions have been widened in more cities by each HSR extension, the spatial equity is degenerated by the extension in 2010/2011 as the improvement of accessibility has been concentrated in cities along the primary HSR corridor near the already-advantageous Seoul capital area. In contrast, the future HSR extension in 2018 will enhance equitable accessibility to the isolated regions such as the northeast and the southwest regions of the country. However, the relative degree of accessibility improvement will not be large enough for increasing the spatial equity of accessibility without more extended HSR networks between provinces.     

Limits to air travel growth: The case of infrequent flyers

Most air travel forecasts predict a long-term rise in demand, with limited consideration of any limits to growth. However for any given population there will be those who have not flown recently (‘infrequent flyers’), as well as non-flyers, and little is known about these and whether they are likely to fly in the future. The aim of this paper is to analyse the characteristics of these groups and the reasons for their travel habits, using the UK as a case study. The findings show that infrequent flyers make up a heterogeneous consumer group whose non-flying is influenced more by budget constraints and personal circumstances than specific aviation factors. Comparisons with Belgian, German and Dutch infrequent flyers indicate some similarities, although there are differences in the relative importance of the reasons for not flying. The findings have implications for the aviation industry and regulators, and policy areas related to consumers and climate change.     

A network-based analysis of the impact of structural damage on urban accessibility following a disaster: the case of the seismically damaged Port Au Prince and Carrefour urban road networks

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 led to an unprecedented effort in collecting and providing geographical information in support of humanitarian aid. Although most of the compiled datasets and generated maps were able to provide specific and detailed information regarding the location of damaged buildings and road interruptions, none or little information was available to describe the accessibility—or otherwise—of the urban space. Here we try to offer an alternative method to define the urban accessibility landscape in the aftermath of earthquake damage, by combining simple graph theory concepts and GIS-based spatial analysis to assess how the urban space accessibility decreases when the road network is damaged.     

Bicycle equity in Brazil: Access to safe cycling routes across neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba

In many Latin American cities, rapid motorization and population growth have resulted in unprecedented urban transportation challenges, with lower income populations disproportionately facing constraints to mobility as well as externalities like air pollution, traffic collisions, and the impacts of climate change. The construction of bicycle lane networks has been identified as an effective tool for increasing citizen's mobility and accessibility as well as combating the effects of motorization, but in cities where bicycle lane networks exist, it is not known if they have benefited different income groups equally. This paper assesses the extent to which bicycle lane provisioning has been equitable among neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba. Both cities were found to have more than twice the supply of bicycle lanes in the wealthiest quintile than the lowest income quintile relative to area and population. A network analysis using a Level of Traffic Stress classification to categorize roads found that wealthier areas have more commercial areas accessible along safer cycling routes. Implications for cycling policy and future research are discussed.