Local Public Transport Research Articles

Facilitators for travelling with local public transport among people with mild cognitive limitations after stroke

Introduction: Previous research of how people with stroke manage public transport has mainly focused on barriers due to physical limitations whereas the influence of cognitive limitations is scarce. There is also a lack of knowledge of facilitators that can help to overcome these barriers. The aim of this study was to describe facilitators for travelling with public transport, e.g. local buses, among people with mild cognitive limitations after stroke.Methods: A multiple case study research design was used, where quantitative and qualitative data were utilized, and analysed according to a mixed methods design.Findings: The case descriptions reveal how people with mild cognitive limitations after stroke manage their trips but constantly have to be prepared to solve problems to unexpected events. Personal characteristics and other individual strategies together with support and solutions from society were important facilitators for travelling with bus.Discussion: This study takes a new approach by specifically describing facilitators for travelling with public transport among people with mild cognitive limitations after stroke. To facilitate participation in society for this particular traveller group, occupational therapists have an important role when new technology and interventions that target bus travels, and other modes of transport are developed.

Temporary restoration project of BRT instead of restoring railways on Tsunami-hit regions by the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract BRT(Bus Rapid Transit) has been provided as a temporary transport restoration project in the wake of the damage by tsunami accompanying the Great East Japan Earthquake, as much time would be required to restore lines to their original state. Issues included safe transport and integration with post-tsunami community planning. Existing bus service could not provide the same level of transportation services as railway in these regions and the assumption was that if this situation lasted long, it would have bad effects on reconstruction. This paper discusses the approach that JR East, with the purpose of contributing to the reconstruction by providing safe and convenient regional transportation services at early stages in those regions, has introduced BRT as a temporary restoration; operating on dedicated busways which had been rail lines before the tsunami. Furthermore, this paper discusses an enhanced level of convenience over previous railway operation, as well as JR East’s efforts to contribute to revitalization and reconstruction in those regions making good use of BRT. Also, based on JR East’s experience with BRT, this paper discusses what will be required of local public transportation in the future under the existing conditions.

A Study of Actual Status of Taxi Usage from Digital Trip Record Data and Application for Local Public Transport Measure of Taxi

A Study of Actual Status of Taxi Usage from Digital Trip Record Data and Application for Local Public Transport Measure of Taxi

Evaluation of public transport: regional policies and planning practices in Sweden

This paper analyses regional public transport planning in Sweden. The aim is to provide an insight into how policy objectives are translated into action and to investigate how public transport measures are evaluated. The analysis is based on interviews with civil servants in five Swedish regions. Cost-benefit analysis is sparsely used (if ever) and the results further indicate that planning and evaluation of public transport is to a large extent centred around monitoring on-going trends, e.g. patronage and market share. Such information seems policy-relevant, i.e. is commonly asked for by the political level. The informants do ask for more knowledge regarding various effects (mainly social). However, it is less certain whether or not this knowledge would be used for economic evaluation. Regional and local public transport systems are complex, and intrinsically linked to land use and long-term regional ambitions. Instead of asking how public transport planning should be carried out, following CBA analyses, we should perhaps ask how the economic analysis could be tuned so that it becomes relevant for public transport planning. We foresee that the broader role of the public transport system will increase goal conflicts between, and within, authorities.

Regulatory design and technical efficiency: public transport in France

The provision of local public transport in France involves private and public firms and the use of incentive contracts to regulate them. We study the effect of these institutional features on the sector’s efficiency using a long panel data of firms, with a two-stage estimation procedure. First, we use nonparametric data envelopment analysis techniques to estimate input usage efficiency, following a conditional approach that controls for differences in the environments in which the firms operate. Second, we estimate semiparametric censored regressions, using fixed effects to control for unobserved sources of heterogeneity. Our results point to a differential effect of private and mixed public-private companies. In particular, having the performance of public operators as the benchmark, efficiency is relatively higher for private firms, but lower when the service is delegated to a mixed public-private firm. In the latter case, the effects diverge by contract type: when the contract is of the cost reimbursement type, performance is lower than the public firm benchmark, while for other contract types, there are no statistically significant differences.

FLUCTUATIONS OF SOLID SUBGRADE

For the English abstract and full text of the article please see the attached PDF-File (English version follows Russian version). ABSTRACT The results of measurements of the characteristics of vertical oscillations of the base of the main site of a stable embankment of subgrade of a railway track under the influence of an electric locomotive VL-80 with different speeds of movement are given. Experimental studies were carried out in Kazakhstan on the section of the enlarged Almaty maintenance section. The dependencies of the parameters of the oscillatory process on the speed of locomotive motion that can be used as evaluation criteria in the development of railway embankment monitoring systems are revealed. The expediency of further experimental studies in the zones of problem embankments with soils prone to thixotropy was noted. Keywords: railway track, subgrade, main platform, vibration speed, vibration displacement, vibration acceleration, vibrogram, accelerogram, amplitude-frequency characteristics. REFERENCES 1.GOST R ISO 14837-1-2007 Vibration.Noise and vibration caused by rail vehicles.Part 1.General guidelines [GOST R ISO 14837-1-2007 Vibracija. Shum i vibracija, sozdavaemye rel’sovym transportom. Chast’ 1. Obshhee rukovodstvo]. 2.Konshin, G. G. Vibrational method of diagnosing embankments [Vibracionnyj metod diagnostiki nasypej].Put’ i putevoe hozjajstvo, 2007, Iss.10, pp.22-25. 3.Kamensky, V. B. Directions for improving the system of track maintenance [Napravlenija sovershenstvovanija sistemy vedenija putevogo hozjajstva].Moscow, NIITKD, 2009, 392 p. 4.EN13481-6:2002 Railway applications - Track - Performance requirements for fastening systems - Part 6: Special fastening systems for attenuation of vibration.[Electronic resource]: http://pandia.ru/text/78/013/2526-6.php.Last accessed 25.04.2016. 5.VDI 3837:2006 Ground-borne vibration in the vicinity of local public transport railways.[Electronic resource]: http://www.complexdoc.ru/text/%D0%93%D0%9E%D0% A1%D0%A2%20%D0%A0%20%D0%98%D0%A1 %D0%9E%2014837-1-2007/88.Last accessed 25.04.2016. 6.DIN45672 Vibration measurement associated with railway traffic systems.[Electronic resource]: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_ics_browse? ICS1=17&ICS2=160.Last accessed 25.04.2016. 7.ISO 2017-2:2007 Mechanical vibration and shock - Resilient mounting systems - Part 2: Technical information to be exchanged for the application of isolation vibration associated with railways systems.[Electronic resource]: http://files.stroyinf.ru/Data2/1/4293792/ 4293792717.htm.Last accessed 25.04.2016. 8.Jonsson, J. O. On ground and structural vibrations related to related to railway traffic // PhD Thesis, Chalmers University of Technology. - Sweden, 2000.[Electronic resource]: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:9046/ fulltext01.pdf.Last accessed 25.04.2016. 9.Krylov, V. V. Noise and vibration from high speed trains // Thomas Telford, 2001.[Electronic resource]: https://books.google.ru/books?id=7QqkAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA507&lpg.Last accessed 25.04.2016. 10.Madshus, C., Bessason, B., Harvik, L. Prediction model for low frequency vibration from high speed railways on soft ground.Journal of Sound and Vibration,1996, Iss.193(1), pp.195-203. 11.Talbot, J. P. On the performance of base-isolated buildings: A generic model // DPhil, Cambridge University. - 2001.[Electronic resource]: http://www.skonline.ru/ digest/52553.html?page=10.Last accessed 25.04.2016. 12.Sharif, A. K. Dynamic performance investigation of base isolated structures // PhD, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, 1999.

Strategic partnerships in local public transport

We present a rationale for the delegation of regulatory functions in public transport to a partnership that rebalances social and commercial interests according to an agreed and predetermined objective function. This allows for the improvement of economic efficiency providing a constructive commitment to tariff and subsidy policies. Using a simple model, we determine the optimal corporate structure for such a partnership between the local government and any regulated monopoly. The government's strategic option of using its stake in the partnership to generate budget revenue from sale proceeds and/or dividends encourages the relevant authorities to increase the commercial attractiveness of the joint enterprise by setting appropriate tariffs. We show that such a strategic partnership can lead to improvements in welfare if the local cost of public funds is relatively high. These theoretical findings are then examined through the prism of suburban railway transport reform in Russia.

Marginal cost-pricing in the Swedish transport sector – An efficient and sustainable way of funding local and regional public transport in the future?

Traffic results in negative external effects such as emissions, noise, congestion and infrastructural wear and tear. Public transport on the other hand, generates in many cases substantially larger positive system- and scale effects compared to its vehicle external marginal costs. This paper investigates actual external marginal costs of transport in Sweden for all modes of passenger transport in urban and rural areas and compare it to the level of positive system- and scale effects in local and regional public transport. The study is based on marginal costs of traffic in Sweden as reported in Transport Analysis yearly report to the government and on research on optimal public transport pricing. The numerical examples exemplify the situation in Sweden for a rural area (Jämtland County) and a larger urban area (Stockholm County). It is highlighted that taxes and fees in level with marginal costs can cover the existing financial deficit for public transport and an optimal subsidy in both the urban county and the rural county. However, among other things it is necessary to handle the legal aspects of such a funding of public transport before it could be used in the reality. Public transport are financed at county level, while the taxes and charges from traffic are an income on a national level.

Assessing standard costs in local public bus transport: Evidence from Italy

We present a regression model for estimating unit standard costs for the Italian local public bus transport services. We account for quantitative and qualitative characteristics, which contribute to explain the variability of the cost structure. Economic and transport data have been collected from companies producing more than 500 million of bus-kilometers. We find that commercial speed is the most important cost driver, while economies of scale are low and only present in small size services. Results prove a positive correlation between investments in bus fleet and the cost incurred in service provision. Finally, we show how the regression model can be augmented with policy targets in order to fairly allocate among Italian Regions the public funds yearly earmarked to the local public transport sector.

Urban transport social needs in China: Quantification with central government transit grant

Social inclusion requires suitable measures to improve public transport, thus satisfying the needs of socially disadvantaged groups (SDGs). Although numerous measures are available in principle, in practice, however, financial problems hinder the implementation of these measures. This study addresses an important issue in China—how to finance a socially inclusive public transport system given the incomplete nature of fiscal reforms at local government level. Central government grants are required to achieve a more equitable distribution of public transport resources. To calculate the demand for central government grants, an approach was developed to quantify transport social needs (TSNs). A primary component regression model was established to identify the factors that affect the SDGs using public transport. Further, a need-based method is proposed for the allocation of central government grants. The allocation procedure was designed with the categorization of cities to avoid distorted incentives, and a two-step formula was used to address the funding allocation equity problems. The data obtained from 252 municipal cities in China in 2010 show that the TSNs were 37.63 billion trip-kilometers. The corresponding central government grant was ¥18.82 billion. The results of the proposed allocation show that more funding was provided to small and low-density cities had unfavorable situations due to local public transport investment. This investigation would help in a more equitable distribution of public transport funding.

Gradual change towards re-integration: Insights from local public transport in Norway

Organisational arrangements with increased autonomy from politicians have become common in public service provision in Western countries. Agency deficiencies have been related to accountability and lack of trust, and a debate on re-municipalisation or re-integration of public services is emerging. In this article, we explore what caused the displacement of a local public transport agency in Norway by re-integrating agency tasks in to the public administration. We find two points are particularly especially important in explaining the displacement of the agency. First, powerful veto players that benefit from change, such as new political coalitions and local bus companies, are one driver for change. Second, weak administrative capacity and lack of competence in the county administration open opportunities for change agents who oppose to existing rules. The study also reflects the importance of seeing trust in an institutional context when studying public administration.

Technical and environmental effects of biodiesel use in local public transport

Biodiesel use in local public transport could be especially significant in improving air quality in cities. The purpose of the experiments described in this paper was to evaluate the various (10, 20 and 50%) blends of biodiesel with diesel in the context of the engine and pollution aspects. As regards the experimental use of these findings on municipal buses, these experiments were the first reference in Hungary. The ages (15–20years) and types of buses (Ikarus-280, Ikarus-260) used in the experiments are still common vehicles in Hungarian public transport. During our measurements, there was a significant difference between the change in fuel consumption of articulated and solo buses in traffic when compared to test bench measurements. The proportion of the engine performance reduction is nearly the same as that for biodiesel share in the blends. Most pollutants were decreasing (both at idle and full rpm), but this reduction is not directly proportional to the increase of the blending percentage. However, as for CO2, emission increase was observed in the case of idle rpm in comparison to normal diesel operation, even though this phenomenon was not due to biodiesel use, but the catalytic converter and the fact that biodiesel was used for the first time in the engine concerned.

METHOD FOR ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION OF DWELL TIMES AT STOPS IN LOCAL BUS TRANSPORTATION

The punctuality of local public bus transportation contributes to the service quality and has impact on mode choice. Appropriate planning and control measures as well as adequate passenger information require efficient analysis and prediction methods. Advanced fleet tracking systems provide enough data for these research purposes. The main factors that cause schedule deviation has been identified through the analysis of the data. As important time elements of the journey time are dwell times at stops, the research focused on it; however, the elaborated database structure is adequate also for analysis of the other time elements, which coincides with our further research intentions too. Innovative methods based on the historical data have been elaborated for the prediction of dwell times. The essence of the method: multi-variate analysis of the dwell times by exploration of the significant influencing factors, and then prediction of times based on the factors describing the certain situations. Soundness of the methods has been verified with examples, and the results well approximated the real values.

Commuting and wellbeing in London: The roles of commute mode and local public transport connectivity

ObjectivesTo explore the relationships between commute mode, neighbourhood public transport connectivity and subjective wellbeing. MethodThe study used data on 3630 commuters in London from wave two of Understanding Society (2010/11). Multivariate linear regressions were used to investigate how commute mode and neighbourhood public transport connectivity were associated with subjective wellbeing for all London commuters and for public transport commuters only. Subjective wellbeing was operationalized in terms of both a positive expression (life satisfaction measured by a global single-item question) and a more negative expression (mental distress measured by the General Health Questionnaire). Logistic regression was also used to explore the predictors of public transport over non-public transport commutes. ResultsAfter accounting for potentially-confounding area-level and individual-level socioeconomic and commute-related variables, only walking commutes (but not other modes) were associated with significantly higher life satisfaction than car use but not with lower mental distress, compared to driving. While better public transport connectivity was associated with significantly lower mental distress in general, train users with better connectivity had higher levels of mental distress. Moreover, connectivity was unrelated to likelihood of using public transport for commuting. Instead, public transport commutes were more likely amongst younger commuters who made longer distance commutes and had comparatively fewer children and cars within the household. ConclusionThe findings highlight the heterogeneity of relationships between commute mode, public transport connectivity and subjective wellbeing and have implications for intervention strategies and policies designed to promote commuting behaviour change.

Social capital and local public transportation in Japan

Local public transportation except in metropolitan areas in Japan faces operating difficulties due to business deficits. In recent years, central and local governments have taken social benefits into account to support local public transportation, but social benefits calculated in their cost-benefit analyses seem to be insufficient to evaluate them. Especially since the great earthquake in 2011, Japanese people have begun to rethink the importance of network and trust in neighborhoods, which can be called as ‘social capital,’ based on mobility. Therefore, focusing on ‘social capital,’ this paper tries to find the role of local public transportation beyond social benefits. Specifically, it makes an empirical analysis on the relationship between the indexes of ‘social capital’ and local bus services using cross section data. As a result, network and participation indexes standing for ‘social capital’ in each prefecture positively correlate with the level of local bus services. Also, according to our survey research in Toyama, introduction of a new LRT line is likely to have considerably changed the activities of residents along the line and has tended to promote more opportunities to come into contact with others than before. Those studies shed light on the role of public transportation from the standpoint of ‘social capital.’

Design and Control of Public-Service Contracts and an Application to Public Transportation Systems

Until the end of the 20th century it was common that cities organized, financed, and managed their own public transportation systems. More recently (in Italy mainly during the last decade), many countries liberalized the service provision of public transportation. Although offering local public transportation is a political and financial duty of governments, the service provision is outsourced to a private operator, while the government retains a control position, given to a regulatory agency. This is a common scheme not only in transportation. In close collaboration with the public transportation agency of the city of Bologna, Italy, we designed a methodology to optimize some aspects of the contractual relationship between that agency and the bus operator. We focus on the fines specified by the contract when the operator fails to comply with the service level it has agreed to provide, and on a procedure to measure that service level. Our approach has the advantage that it aligns the incentives of both parties to the benefit of bus riders. We model the agency–operator relationship as a multistage game and find its equilibrium to establish the best operating regime. The game-theoretical approach provides expressions for the fines that the operator should be charged if it does not satisfy the contracted services, and for the optimal agency’s budget to devote to control activities. Second, to check the compliance of the operator with the schedule specified by the contract in a resource-efficient way, we compute how to position the agency’s employees to verify if buses are running according to the specifications of the contract. This is achieved by counting bus services and by checking other quality indicators. We formulate this NP-hard problem as a mixed integer linear program and propose an algorithm to solve it that is effective in providing itineraries for the controllers working for the agency. This paper was accepted by Dimitris Bertsimas, optimization.

Physical activity, healthy lifestyle behaviors, neighborhood environment characteristics and social support among Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adults

Physical inactivity is the third leading cause of the burden of disease for Australian Aboriginal adults. The neighborhood environment and social support are known to influence physical activity (PA) participation. This study examined these factors in relation to achieving PA recommendations in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Cross-sectional data from the 2010 Social, Economic, and Environmental Factor (SEEF) Study in New South Wales, Australia were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) for Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal participants for PA-related attributes, including achieving PA recommendations. ORs for achieving PA recommendations were estimated in both groups. Overall, 63.1% of Aboriginal (n = 314) and 65.4% of non-Aboriginal (n = 59,175) participants met PA recommendations. Odds of healthy sleep duration were lower, and receiving GP advice to be active was higher, among Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal participants. Aboriginal respondents had higher odds of reporting that the crime rate made it unsafe to walk and that local public transport was inaccessible. They had higher odds of disagreeing they have local shops, footpaths or free/low cost recreation facilities. PA correlates were similar in both groups. The factors relating to PA were similar in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Neighborhood and social features were less PA-favorable for Aboriginal participants suggesting multiple possible avenues for increasing PA in this older population group.

Visions about a Renewable Future

Visions about a Renewable Future

Economic Conditions to Introduce the Battery Drive to Busses in the Urban Public Transport

For a few years attempts have been made to introduce electric-powered buses to public transportation system. In order to solve this problem rationally, in dependence of local public transport system conditions, models of technical, organizational, economic and ecological links enabling optimal choice of type of propulsion for particular bus line is developed. Technical solutions to enable fully electric busses should be evaluated whether they reflect the prerequisites and requirements of the participating public transport companies. The paper presents a method for evaluating transport system in accordance with the principles of cost-benefit analysis that allows to answer the questions related to the cost-effectiveness of the use of electric drive buses in urban public transport. The model can be used to analyse and design the services of urban public transport in terms of costs generated by the bus fleet equipped with various types of drive. The article presents procedures used to determine the costs used in the method of evaluation of the proposed solutions. The ultimate goal is to find the best technical solution for local public transport companies depending on their real input data (timetable, vehicle operation plan, etc.), which in most cases may mean minimising economic effects, like investment and operational costs.

Local-Level Site-Selection Model for Integrated Carsharing Services

Round-trip carsharing services, particularly when integrated with other transport options, have been proven to represent a viable means to mitigate the negative impacts of individual motorized traffic in dense urban areas. An increasing number of cities, therefore, aim to integrate carsharing with local public transport as an additional mobility option which promotes sustainable transport patterns. However, selecting appropriate sites for carsharing pods remains a difficult task for decision-makers since both integration with public transport as well as maximization of coverage of potential customers/market share have to be achieved. In this context, we present a GIS-based site-selection model that includes criteria from both the demand and the supply sides at the local level. On the demand side, the spatial distribution of demand is addressed by incorporating the spatial accessibility of local amenities and transport options, as well as socio-demographic and behavioural criteria. On the supply side, the key aspect is the integration of carsharing pods with public transport. Potential sites were assessed at the level of individual buildings, based on their proximity to public transport infrastructure, their centrality, and the residential locations of regular public transport users.