Walking to a public transport station

Rumana Islam Sarker,Sujit Kumar Sikder,Markus Mailer

doi:10.1108/sasbe-07-2017-0031

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the actual walking distance to public transport (PuT) stations and to report passenger perceptions on route choice.Design/methodology/approachA systematic case study has been conducted after administrating a tailor-made paper-based intercept survey in a German city (Munich). It can determine the interrelation between the accessibility of the transit service and evaluation on walking distance acceptance. Statistical analysis and geo-spatial approach were completed for obtaining major findings.FindingsStatistical and geo-spatial analysis shows that respondents living in low-density areas walk longer than residents living in nearby inner city areas. In terms of PuT modes, residents walk longer for suburban train and subway/metro (U-Bahn) than for bus/tram services. Transit users accept a longer walking distance to reach a train station than other PuT modes and they choose the most direct and quickest route to reach PuT stations.Research limitations/implicationsFindings of this study would help to formulate future strategies and standards for the sustainable planning of public transportation systems in the context of Munich and many other cities around the globe with similar conditions. However, future research should be conducted using a large-scale survey for evaluating the comprehensive picture of walking patterns to PuT stations. Accessibility to PuT stations can also be modeled and evaluated by adopting open data and voluntary social media information. Unfortunately, this study only presents a partial evaluation of walking focused on accessibility at selected PuT stations in different settings of the urban fabric.Social implicationsThis empirical study can be considered as an initial finding in the favor of the city transport authority to provide a design scale for improved accessibility of transit users; however, further investigation should be conducted using a large-scale survey for evaluating the comprehensive walking patterns.Originality/valueA systematic case study has been conducted after administrating a tailor-made paper-based intercept survey in a German city (Munich). Findings of this study would help to formulate future strategies and standard for the sustainable planning of the public transportation system in the context of Munich and many other cities in the globe with similar conditions.

Highlights

Walking is one of the common modes of accessing urban services including public transport and it can largely influence the dynamics of public transport (PuT) infrastructure (Tolley, 2016)
The results showed that more than half of the respondents took the same route to the station almost every day and nearly three quarters of the respondents indicated “direct connection” and “shortest distance” as “very important” in terms of route selection. The ratings for these two factors are strongly related in terms of trip purpose and occupation. These findings suggest transit user preference for direct connections which should be convenient for their trip purpose, and considered the route to the public transport station which takes less walking time
Discussed factors are better accessibility, connectivity and safety in order to encourage the use of public transport

Summary

Introduction

Walking is one of the common modes of accessing urban services including public transport and it can largely influence the dynamics of public transport (PuT) infrastructure (Tolley, 2016). For a European city context, a uniform walking distance to a PuT station (i.e. 5 min or 477 meters to a bus or tram) can be assumed for measuring accessibility; this threshold may vary depending on the dynamic urban density structure (Poelman and Dijkstra, 2015). There is a demand to explore whether transit users’ walking patterns confirm the assumed threshold during planning, including their willingness to walk to access public transport facilities within dynamic urban fabrics

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