How persuasive is ‘free’ public transport?: A survey among commuters in the Brussels Capital Region

In Belgium, several cities have been experimenting with ‘free’ public transport based on the concept of a third payer system. This study explores the modal shift potential of this measure for commuters by means of a large-scale survey. The results indicate that there is still a margin for a further modal shift, but in order to make public transport more attractive to car users, the price paid by the commuter should be lowered, the quality and capacity of the public services should be improved and the mobility policy of the companies should be adjusted in favour of public transport.     

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.     

Seamless,accessible travel: users’ views of the public transport journey and interchange

Emphasis on the need to reduce the deterrence effects and costs associated with interchange, so that increasingly seamless public transport journeys can be provided, is now a key policy goal. This paper reports the findings from a series of focus groups and in-depth interviews of both public transport users and car users that were undertaken for a Scottish Executive funded study on interchange and travel choice. It explores how interchange is perceived and how this perception deters public transport use amongst car users or limits public transport use amongst public transport users. The paper also provides insights into lifestyles, the decision-making processes and types of considerations that are made at key stages in the journeys of both car users and public transport passengers.     

Understanding the urban travel attitudes and behavior of Tbilisi residents

In recent decades the public transport network in Tbilisi, Georgia has decayed, while the number of private automobiles has increased dramatically. This study seeks to expand our understanding of the Tbilisi population’s urban transport attitudes and behavior. It elaborates on the perceived strengths, weaknesses, and potentials of the public transport system, and seeks to understand the reasons for the increased use of private automobiles. A questionnaire survey was conducted among Tbilisi car drivers (n=159) and public transport users (n=163). The results show that most of the survey respondents preferred to use a private car and avoid using public transport. Particularly important factors include time issues such as schedules and frequency, plus comfort and safety issues. Tbilisi residents value their time and want to use it efficiently. Changing residents’ travel behavior will require making the public transport options competitive with the perceived advantages of the car. The study offers recommendations for more effective urban transport policy, including incentives to encourage greater use of public transport in Tbilisi.     

De-marketing the car

Governments in many countries are experimenting with alternative methods for reducing car use, including congestion charges, increased fuel taxation, and improved public transport. This paper raises another possibility. Not only could public transport be marketed as an alternative to the private car, but through targeted propaganda, the automobile could be de-marketed as a status symbol and a convenient accessory of modern life. In contrast with other public information campaigns, de-marketing would focus on people's self-image rather than their sense of public duty.The authors draw on established theory in putting forward alternative themes aimed at particular categories of user and particular categories of journey, and briefly consider the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Peer group pressure could be an important factor in helping to change attitudes among potential car users at the opinion-forming stage during their life cycle. The agencies best positioned to deliver an effective national campaign are public transport corporations, local authorities, health organisations, and environmental lobby groups; a co-ordinated approach could bring about a modest contribution towards travel reduction at a relatively low cost.     

The transformation of urban transport in the Czech Republic, 1988–1998

Similar to virtually all formerly socialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic has been experiencing a transport revolution since the shift from socialism to capitalism a decade ago. From 1988 to 1998, per-capita car ownership rose by 63% in the country as a whole, and by 93% in the capital city of Prague. Vehicle km of motor vehicle use have more than doubled. Conversely, public transport usage has fallen considerably, by 26% in the country as a whole, and by 19% in Prague. This modal shift from public transport to the private car has resulted from increased incomes, access to Western markets, declining real prices of cars and petrol, removal of restrictions on manufacturing and importing cars, and the car's attraction as a symbol of freedom, affluence, and status. The sharp reduction of subsidies for public transport has forced increases in fares and service cutbacks, which have also encouraged the shift toward the private car. Although the private car is very popular, the sudden surge in car ownership and use has caused significant social and environmental problems: roadway congestion, parking shortages, increased traffic accidents, air pollution, and noise. Given their severe financial limitations, Czech cities are struggling to preserve their public transport systems while accommodating the immensely popular private car.     

Survey of E-scooter users in Vienna: Who they are and how they ride

In many cities around the world, electric (e-)scooters have emerged as a new means of transportation. They are often advertised as supporting modal shift towards more sustainable transportation and as a tool for enabling more equity in mobility. However, the environmental impact depends on how they are used and what kinds of trips they replace. Integration of e-scooters into urban transport systems also implicates discussions on fair road space allocation. In our study, we assess the socio-economic profiles and usage patterns of e-scooter users in Vienna, Austria. We differentiate between two basic groups of e-scooter users (renters and owners) and apply two different methods. Firstly, based on an online survey, we examine the age, gender and education of e-scooter users and we look into which kinds of trips (commuting, shopping or leisure) and which other means of transportation are replaced by e-scooter trips. Secondly, we analyse data from field observations at cycle paths in Vienna in order to determine the share of e-scooter riders and their gender distribution. We find that e-scooter users are more likely to be young, male, highly educated and residents of Vienna. According to the survey, there are considerable differences in usage between owners of private scooters and users of sharing schemes. Whereas in both groups, e-scooter trips mostly replace walking and public transport as a mode, e-scooter owners also show a considerable mode-shift from private car trips. These results implicate that e-scooter riders are additional users of cycling infrastructure. This puts further pressure on the current allocation of road space, which provides little space for active modes of transport. We conclude that city policies should address this competitive relationship adequately by allocating more space to safe and convenient cycling infrastructure and traffic-calmed zones. This could not only help ease the current challenges due to e-scooters but also provide better conditions for walking and cycling and thereby at the same time contribute to a more sustainable and equitable urban transport system.     

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.     

Modelling the joint access mode and railway station choice

This study models the choices of Dutch railway users. We find a steeper negative distance effect on the utility of departure stations accessed by the non-motorized modes of walking and bicycle as compared to the motorized modes of car and public transport. Availability of parking places and bicycle standing areas have a positive effect on the choice of departure railway stations accessed by car and bicycle, respectively. Public transport frequency has a positive whereas travel time has a negative effect on the choice of departure stations accessed by public transport. The derived rail service quality index (RSQI), which provides a measure of rail accessibility to all other stations, has a significant and positive effect on the choice of departure stations accessed by all modes. The outcome of this paper can be used to develop a comprehensive railway accessibility indicator for neighbourhoods, for hedonic pricing studies.     

The quality of service desired by public transport users

This article describes the methodology used to study the quality of service desired by users of a public transport system. The desired quality is different from the perceived quality because it does not represent the daily experiences of the users, but rather what they desire, hope for or expect from their public transport system. This is why it is important to study the desired quality, knowledge of which gives local authorities the background information for personalised marketing policies based on the user’s requirements rather than their daily perceptions. The methodology goes through several stages, such as the use of focus groups to choose the most important variables for the users, the design and use of unlabelled stated preferences surveys and the calibration of discrete choice models. All of these help determine the weight of the most relevant variables. The analysis is carried out with different categories of users and potential users (those people not currently using public transport).Waiting time, cleanliness and comfort are shown to be the public transport variables that users most valued, but the degree to which they are valued varies according to the category of user. Variables such as driver kindness, bus occupancy and journey time are generally given less weight. The first two vary little by user category, but some variability appears for journey time.For potential users the more important variables when defining expected quality from public transport are waiting time, journey time and above all, level of occupancy. They consider the other variables to be of little importance when defining an efficient public transport service.In order to improve service quality and attract more passengers to public transport in general, the application of this methodology provides the authorities and operating companies with useful information to plan personalised marketing policies specifically directed at different categories of users and potential users of public transport.     

Reducing car-use for leisure: Can organised walking groups switch from car travel to bus and train walks?

This paper deals with the significant leisure travel sector, focusing on the attitudes of organised walking groups towards public transport use. A series of interviews with walking group leaders explored the design of organised walks, and factors affecting journeys to and from start points. The themes presented suggest an overlying group culture involving mainly circular walks, reached by car. The research indicates an underlying engrained dependency on cars to reach walks and a degree of opposition to using public transport, which generally contradicts widely-held attitudes towards protecting the environment. Future research should focus more in depth on the long-term removal of psychological barriers to using public transport for leisure, and persuasive measures aimed at groups.     

Attitudes towards traffic problems and public transport in the Dartmoor and Lake District National Parks

Problems associated with traffic demand have received only scant attention in the rural context and, although accepted as a viable approach to ameliorating urban traffic problems, traffic demand management has only recently been adopted by rural policy makers. In the national parks, where traffic-related problems are particularly acute, most traffic management measures are of the ‘carrot’ varity where attempts are made to persuabe private car passengers to use public transport transpon mobes, their success depends on tne attitudes of private car users towards public transport alternatives and their perceptions of the presence scale and impact of traffic-related problems. By analysing surveys of 768 drivers hr the Entamoor and Lake District National Parks, the potential success of ‘carrot’ measures is assessed and the implications for future policy addressed.     

Social exclusion, location and transport disadvantage amongst non-driving seniors in a Melbourne municipality, Australia

Over the past decade, researchers have refocused their attention upon the interconnection between locationally disadvantaged communities and poor transport services in order to better understand social exclusion. Limited access to private and public transport has often been identified as a major contributing factor to social isolation and economic poverty that certain groups in the community experience. To date, an insufficient amount of research attention has focused on the elderly or seniors, who are often identified as being subject to social exclusion because of difficulties associated with travelling outside their homes to access services and facilities especially for non-car drivers. Moreover, a disproportionate amount of research undertaken on transport related forms of social exclusion in Australia has understandably looked towards the outskirts of its major urban centres, where services and facilities are sparsely located and generally only accessible by car. This paper provides a different insight by analysing a middle distant municipality where large spatial concentrations of seniors are to be found, some of whom do not have ready access to a car or have difficulty accessing the public bus service. Using a variety of data sources for a municipality in Melbourne, this case study reveals that social exclusion of non-car driving seniors is reinforced by a regional public transport system that cannot adequately service the entire municipality. For now, the incidence of locational and transport related disadvantage is restricted to small pockets of the municipality, but as seniors age and surrender their car driving licences this problem could become more serious. The study concludes by calling for more analyses to be undertaken into transport engendered social exclusion if this problem is to be contained as the post-war baby-boomers generation ages across most of the middle suburbs of Australian cities.     

Smartphones,travel time-use,and attitudes to public transport services. Insights from an explorative study of urban dwellers in two Norwegian cities

The uptake of mobile media with internet connection has increased rapidly in almost every part of the world, and this has significantly changed how public transport passengers use their travel time. Studies have documented that use of mobile information and communication technologies (ICT) while traveling has the potential to enrich use of travel time and in some cases, strengthen positive attitudes towards public transport. The alternative hypothesis—that mobile communication technologies make travelers more critical and demanding, e.g., due to the risk of interference—has so far hardly been explored through empirical studies. Based on a web-based survey of travelers in two of the largest cities in Norway (Oslo and Trondheim), this paper investigates how use of smart devices are related to general attitudes toward public transportation services. A segmentation of travelers in three clusters based on their mobile use habits, shows that the most active group of mobile media users—a group of younger and middle-aged urban dwellers—were those who bore the most critical attitudes to the public transport services. In contrast, the groups that used their mobile phones rarely, or less actively, on their public transport trips were more satisfied. The findings suggests that a new generation of “equipped travelers” has developed expectations regarding their public transport journeys that service providers might have problems to fulfill in current times. Thus, there is a risk of the most active smartphone users developing negative attitudes to public transport if (or when) their experiences are not improved.     

The impact of car ownership and public transport usage on cancer screening coverage: Empirical evidence using a spatial analysis in England

A spatial analysis has been conducted in England, with the aim to examine the impact of car ownership and public transport usage on breast and cervical cancer screening coverage. District-level cancer screening coverage data (in proportions) and UK census data have been collected and linked. Their effects on cancer screening coverage were modelled by using both non-spatial and spatial models to control for spatial correlation.Significant spatial correlation has been observed and thus spatial model is preferred. It is found that increased car ownership is significantly associated with improved breast and cervical cancer screening coverage. Public transport usage is inversely associated with breast cancer screening coverage; but positively associated with cervical cancer screening. An area with higher median age is associated with higher screening coverage. The effects of other socio-economic factors such as deprivation and economic activity have also been explored with expected results. Some regional differences have been observed, possibly due to unobserved factors.Relevant transport and public health policies are thus required for improved coverage. While restricting access to cars may lead to various benefits in public health, it may also result in worse cancer screening uptake. It is thus recommended that careful consideration should be taken before implementing policy interventions.     

Helping drivers out of their cars Integrating transport policy and social psychology for sustainable change

Which motorists are ready to reduce their car use and how should they be helped to change? Results are reported from a postal questionnaire survey study of English car drivers (N=791). One third (33%) of car drivers indicated they would like to reduce their car use ‘over the next 12 months’, but only 7% thought they were likely to. One third (34%) of car drivers would like to use public transport (PT) more, but only 5% thought they were likely to. While over one third anticipated changes in their transport mode usage, and 1 in 5 (19%) would like to both decrease car use and increase PT use, only 3% thought this combination likely. Effectiveness ratings of pull and push policy measures showed motorists would rather be pulled than pushed from their cars; that the old, the poor and urban dwellers would be more susceptible to push measures; and that those residing out-of-town, driving medium and large cars, driving high annual mileage and required to drive as part of their work are less likely to be persuaded to reduce their car use by either type of measure. Other social psychological research suggests that sustainable changes by individuals that can be integrated into individual patterns of life will be more readily achieved by facilitation and support than by coercion.     

Dependence between travel distance,individual socioeconomic and health-related characteristics,and the choice of the travel mode: a cross-sectional study for Kaunas,Lithuania

The aim of this study was to analyse the associations between individual socioeconomic and health-related characteristics, travel distance, and the choice of different travel modes in urban population. A cross-sectional study included 932 adults of Kaunas city, Lithuania. The choice of the travel mode and individual characteristics were self-reported by the participants, and their travel routes were calculated using the geographic information system. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the most significant factors determining the choice of a car, cycling, walking, or public transport. In total, 529 participants reported using a car, of whom 65.8% had medium or high education levels. These participants were more likely to be younger, male, married, and employed. Among bicycle users, statistically significant differences between the employment status, body mass index, and travel distance were observed. Walkers were significantly more likely to be older, those with lower incomes, unemployed, and travelling the shortest distances. The analysis of the travel distance on the choice of the travel mode revealed that men travelled longer distances with a car compared to women. The employment status was significantly associated with travel distance by car or public transport. Employed individuals travelled longer distances by public transport or by car, compared to unemployed individuals. Among bicycle users, we found that people with higher levels of education and overweight individuals cycled the longest distances. Our study emphasizes the importance of considering different individual characteristics when analysing the choice of transport modes. It provides evidence that is relevant for all urban populations on the choice of the transport mode, particularly considering active versus passive transport.     

Exploring tertiary students' travel mode choices in Auckland: Insights and policy implications

It is crucial that policymakers and public transport operators comprehend tertiary students' travel mode choices and understand the factors that inform these choices in order to manage travel demands effectively and to optimise the use of public transport and improve its quality of service, particularly during the peak hours. This study aims to examine tertiary students' travel mode choices in Auckland, which is recognised as one of the most car-dependent cities in the world. The city is struggling with traffic congestion, particularly around its Central Business District (CBD) during peak hours. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, with a population of 1.4 million residents. The main campuses of two major public universities, The University of Auckland (UoA) and Auckland University of Technology (AUT), are located in the CBD, attracting a large number of daily trips by both staff and students, particularly during the teaching semesters. However, there is a limited understanding of tertiary students' travel mode choices, particularly the factors that inform these choices when they travel to the universities' city campuses. A mixed methodology approach was used to comprehend the travel mode choices of students attending The University of Auckland and to identify the key factors that are drivers of these choices. The data collection included a questionnaire-based survey, which received 249 responses, and 10 semi-structured interviews with students. Thematic analysis was utilised to codify and then analyse the interviews. Despite the significant car dependency in Auckland, the survey demonstrated that most respondents utilised public transport and active modes when commuting to the university's city campus. Seven factors were identified that inform tertiary students' travel mode choices: cost, parking availability and cost, access to a car, travel time, physical environment, reliability, and attitudinal variables. The interviewees mostly argued that travel cost and lack of or limited access to a private car were the primary drivers of their travel mode choices. The study suggests that different stakeholders, such as Auckland Transport (AT) and The University of Auckland, should work collaboratively to provide an inclusive travel demand management policy. The university could rearrange classes for off-peak hours, and AT could offer tertiary students further discounts during these hours. These actions would result in the optimisation of public transport efficiency, improvement of the quality of the public transport service, and mitigation of traffic congestion around Auckland's Central Business District (CBD).