Comparison of Conventional and Modern Urban Public Transport Systems

Mohsen Moradi ,Amiruddin Ismail ,Riza Atiq Abdullah O.k Rahmat

doi:10.19026/rjaset.7.318

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare the conventional and modern public transport systems for urban areas. Conventional public transport systems have been implemented in many metropolises and the cities with substantially large population but there are remarkable complications and disadvantages related to such systems which lead to lower level of efficiency and eventually lower capability to attract the citizens. Modern world can offer an advanced technology based public transport system which can be competitive with conventional systems. Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a public transport system which could be among the several systems proposed for a particular urban area in planning and decision making process. An analytical tool is required to compare the characteristics of the conventional systems and the modern system in order to make the most suitable decision in selection of a public transport system for the area under consideration. A model considering social, technical and economical aspects of public transport based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is given that describes the necessary factors which must be checked and considered in planning process of public transport in highly populated cities.

Highlights

Unlimited use of private car and automobile dependency in urban areas especially cities with large number of population have created a lot of difficulties for the citizens living in such areas
Congestion, air and noise pollution, high energy consumption and adverse environmental impacts are some of the disadvantages of private cars
For many years construction of public transport systems and encouraging the citizens to shift from private car to provided public transport system has been a major strategy to reduce and control the adverse impacts of automobile dependency but it is observed that the conventional public transport systems are not so efficient to attract the citizens since there are some complications which discourage the private car users to choose public transport for their movements

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Unlimited use of private car and automobile dependency in urban areas especially cities with large number of population have created a lot of difficulties for the citizens living in such areas. There are some disadvantages associated with these systems, waiting time for passengers in the stations is long, travel time is long, energy consumption is high due to large vehicles, land requirement is high since the guide ways should be large for the large vehicles, usually the trains are crowded which is not comfortable for users especially old and handicapped passengers during pick hours, there is limited accessibility for passengers because of linear form of tracks which is due to large size of infrastructures, these systems create air and noise pollution and have adverse impacts on communities, construction cost is high and there are many complications related to construction and expansion of such facilities, usually there is no adequate integration between different systems for transferring passengers, operation and maintenance cost is high, in case of accident it can be a disaster due to the large number of people involved and serious consequences of the accident As it is observed there are a lot of negative characteristics associated with conventional public transport systems, as a result these systems are not Corresponding Author: M. It provides a private trip for its passengers including family members or a group of passengers who want to travel together for example friends, it is very comfortable for old passengers and disables, it is an Automated Guide way Transit (AGT) with highest level of safety (Irving et al, 1978), every passenger would have a seat and even enough space for bicycle, baby carriage and wheelchair, the vehicles are either heated or air conditioned, the trip is very smooth and there is very little noise, it is easy to construct and expand the facilities since the guide ways are small which is due to small vehicles, it provides more accessibility for passengers due to network form of tracks and land requirement is significantly low due to small guide ways (Fig. 2)

METHODOLOGY

Design and construction cost

CONCLUSION