A flexible approach for demand-responsive public transport in rural areas

Abstract

Rural mobility research has been left aside in favor of urban transportation. Rural areas? low demand, the distance among settlements, and an older population on average make conventional public transportation inefficient and costly. This paper assesses the contribution that on-demand mobility has the potential to make to rural areas. First, demand-responsive transportation is described, and the related literature is reviewed to gather existing system configurations. Next, we describe and implement a proposal and test it on a simulation basis. The results show a clear potential of the demand-responsive mobility paradigm to serve rural demand at an acceptable quality of service. Finally, the results are discussed, and the issues of adoption rate and input data scarcity are addressed.