Travelers’ exposure to vibrations and noise depending on the type of transport – the results of pilot research

Abstract

For some time residents of big cities have been encouraged to change their means of transport, that is, to swap passenger cars for public transport vehicles. This is meant to help to reduce the problems associated with heavy traffic and air pollution. The authors of the article decided to check if such a change is also beneficial from the point of view of comfort and health of a person who uses public transport. For this purpose values of vibration acceleration and sound pressure level to which Cracow’s commuters are exposed to have been analyzed, depending on the type of vehicle they choose. In this respect measurements have been carried out for passenger cars, buses and trams. Two vehicle models of each type, significantly different from each other (old and new) have been selected for the tests. The measurements during a few trips in each type of vehicle on a predetermined route have been conducted. This article presents a comparison of measured values of vibroacoustic parameters in the time domain. It attempts to assess vibration and noise parameters, taking into account their impact on the health and comfort of the traveler.