Private Bus Research Articles

Prevalence and Predictors of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Bus Drivers Engaged in Long- Distance Transportation in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background An increasing number of occupational injuries occur due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) in both developing and industrialized countries. These disorders have an impact on workers' health as well as society at large, posing medical, occupational, and economic challenges.  Objectives This research assessed work-related musculoskeletal disorders and its risk factors among Bus drivers for private long-distance Transport Companies in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.  Materials and Methods This study employed a cross-sectional study design. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample 338 long-distance bus drivers in the city of Port Harcourt. Participants' demographic data and information regarding work related musculoskeletal disorders were collected using a modified version of the Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Survey questionnaire. Descriptive statistics determined prevalence and inferential statistics was used to determine associated risk factors of WRMSD. The p-value of the test of statistical significance was set at ≤0.05. The participants were all male.  Result 58.6% of the research sample had WRMSDs, according to the findings. After logistic regression analysis, only marital status (AOR=5.714, 95% CI for AOR=3.046- 10.721; p=0.001), prolonged sitting of ≥8 hours, (AOR=0.350; 95% CI for AOR=0.166-0.741; p=0.006) and previous history of pain in a previous occupation (AOR=5.714, 95% CI for AOR=3.046-10.721; p=0.001), were significantly associated with the prevalence of WRMSD.  Conclusion WRMSDs are prevalent in private long-distance bus drivers and are strongly correlated with marrital status, prolonged sitting times (more than eight hours), and a history of muscle or joint discomfort in a prior job.

High-speed railway in developing countries: mind the gap -lessons from Morocco-

ABSTRACT Conducted prior to the launch of the High-Speed Railway (HSR) in Morocco, this study aims to be the first research to assess the HSR project through the estimation of the value of travel time savings. We focused on inter-urban routes to assess the HSR project impact. We conducted a Discrete Choice Experiment in the cities impacted (directly or indirectly) by the HSR project, which are Tangier, Kenitra, Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakesh. Our results show that at the sample average points of each mode of transport, the values of travel time savings are approximately 94MAD/h for car users, 27MAD/h for train users and 25MAD/h for bus users. We performed a simulation for the Tangier-Casablanca route and obtained satisfactory results (93MAD/h, 26MAD/h and 24MAD/h, for private car, train, and bus journeys respectively). Finally, our results show that the pricing strategies of the national railway operator (Office National des Chemins de Fer) present a potential risk of eviction, which could counterbalance the positive impact of the time savings.

Collective transportation system management in Algiers area: a game theoretic Approach

In Algiers area several collective transportation means such as: public buses, private buses, tramway, metro, train, etc are available; nevertheless the lack of coordination among them arises some relevant questions concerning the profitability of these means, as well as the satisfaction of travellers. In order to answer these questions, a statistical survey is conducted by the urban dynamics team of our research centre. Furthermore, the present work aims to figure out optimal strategies of both public authority and the private transport union, taking into account the travellers’ reactions. In this direction, a three steps game is considered. To compute a solution to the game under consideration, an ABC algorithm combined to TOPSIS method are used. The whole methodology is applied to Algiers area and bring solutions that motivate the private operators to cooperate with the authorities’ plans. In addition, the developed algorithm has the advantage to be flexible, since it allows multiple optimal solutions.

Association between mental health, fear of COVID-19, and job insecurity among bus service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between mental health, fear of COVID-19, and job insecurity among bus service workers during the second wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan. In September 2020, 1,889 employees of three private railway bus companies in the Tokai region were administered an anonymous self-questionnaire to be filled out at their workplace. The survey items were depression, anxiety, fear of COVID-19, job insecurity, demographics, and work characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Overall, 1,316 valid responses, excluding those from workers with a history of mental illness and others, were included in the analysis (valid response rate: 69.7%). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the prevalence of depression and anxiety were significantly higher in groups with medium and high levels of fear of COVID-19 or job insecurity than in the group with a low level of fear of COVID-19 or job insecurity. Fear of COVID-19 and job insecurity were found to be risk factors for depression and anxiety among bus service workers during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the latter being the stronger risk factor. Hence, comprehensive COVID-19 prevention measures as well as mental health-related measures to reduce job insecurity should be implemented in the bus service industry.

A Study on Bus Passengers Behaviour with Special Reference to Bangalore City

The transport system provides the basic infrastructure and it affects the economic activities of the country. The transport sector in India is divided into passenger and freight. The passenger services are available in both government private of bus category. At present private sector owns majority of the buses compared to government. In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka also the private transport players dominating the passenger’s transportation market, especially if the travelling distance is more than 250 KM. Initially consumers (passengers) have been attracted with the facilities and service given by private bus operators. With the increasing competition and other policy issues, the private bus operators are implementing peak load pricing strategy. This pricing strategy is unexpected and unjustifiable to any passenger and even unbearable to them. And the facilities and service are same. Therefore a study has been made by the researcher to bring out the passengers behavior with peak load pricing by private operators with reference to Bangalore city in the state of Karnataka . By using judgment random sampling technique, 110 respondents were selected as sample size and information gathered through interview method. The outcome of the research has shown very interesting results such as customers’ dissatisfaction on Government failure to control the Private Bus operators and the price exploitation, in connection with their no alternative to avoid the services

Analysis of Travel Choice Behaviours of Commuters in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

This study modelled the travel choice behaviour among commuters in a few selected coastal capital cities in the Niger Delta, reference to road and inland waterways. Multinomial-logit model was used in explaining discrete choiceswhile multiple Regressions was used for the model equation. The following factors that influence the behaviour of commuters such as travel time, cost, and socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics were investigated. A simple severity index was also used to ascertain the safety level of both ferries and automobiles which could influence commuters' mode choice behaviours. The alternative transport modes available to users were considered and include –private cars, walking, bus service and ferry (boat). From the findings, the use of private cars will be reduced considerably if the public transport sector is given attention in terms of infrastructure/facilities so they can compete. The greater percent that refused to change from private cars to public monorail show that private car users are attached to their cars not just for convenience but for prestige, flexibility, and privacy and finally, it was gathered from the model equation that variables like employment status, distance to work and driver's license had zero effect on the behaviour of people per their choice of transport mode.

Moderating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between job demand and its effects: an empirical study on private bus drivers in India

Moderating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between job demand and its effects: an empirical study on private bus drivers in India

“The girl conductor has come to stay”: Gender and labour on the buses in interwar Australia

In the early 1920s, “Lady Bus Conductors” were recruited for the first time in Melbourne, Australia. They were employed by private companies, who entered into competition with the public-funded urban transport sector. Combining labour and cultural history approaches, this article draws on newspapers, photographs and union archives to develop an original gendered analysis of the interwar motorbus industry. It argues that women's labour underpinned the creation of feminised traits of service, safety and aesthetics on this new mode of transport. Such traits were successfully commercialised by private operators at the same time as they benefitted from “traditions” of women's lower wages. When the public sector reasserted control over metropolitan transport, they defined the buses as “men's work”, with long-lasting implications. Yet as this article reveals, some women continued to seek employment on private buses, claiming access to elements of the economic, social and cultural status of uniformed transport work.

Changes in Transport Service for the Kartuzy Poviat in Poland in the Years 1990–2023

In many areas of Poland, areas of transport exclusion related to the lack of public transport service or insufficient offer are identified. After 1989, when Poland underwent political transformation and consequent economic transformation, funding for bus and rail transport collapsed. While rail transport experienced a significant regression in connections, regional bus transport can be said to have been completely eliminated. On the map of the whole of Poland, Kartuzy poviat is an exception, where the role of the carrier has been taken over by a private company which offers transport services at a level corresponding to demand, thus positively influencing the transport habits of the inhabitants. The article examines the change in the offer in bus and rail transport in Kartuzy poviat in the years 1990-2023 and shows that the private bus carrier performs tasks that should de facto rest with the state authorities.

Cross-sectoral analysis on the implication of ASEAN road transport electrification policies on energy security and climate

Road fleet electrification is one of the key strategies of the ASEAN region in decarbonizing the transportation sector. Electric vehicles (EVs) are seen to be more efficient compared to their conventional counterpart. Moreover, reduce pollution and emission which results in negative externalities like respiratory deceases and global warming. This study aims to perform a cross-sectoral analysis of the implication of ASEAN road transport electrification policies on energy security, climate, and societal welfare. Results show that ASEAN could reach 641 million passenger vehicles by 2050, and the implementation of ASEAN countries’ EV targets increases the penetration of technologies up to 9% penetration in both private cars and buses, 13% in motorcycles, and 4% in taxicabs. Significant petroleum savings can be expected with the deployment of e-vehicles but would increase end-user electricity demand. As the region could remain highly dependent on fossil-based power generation considering the historical trend in electricity dispatch, it was found that EV deployment could rather result in GHG being emitted than mitigated. However, the technology use could still result in significant pollutants reduction improving urban health and welfare. Thus, social cost savings could be expected with the implementation of ASEAN road transport electrification policies.

Film music and the mediation of everyday aurality in private buses: Field notes from Kannur, Kerala

This is a field note from my research project that aims to study the practice of playing film music on the commuter buses operated by private owners in Kannur district of Kerala. The practice became prevalent during the early 2000s with the advent of compact discs and portable music libraries of film songs in MP3 format, despite the prohibiting passenger buses from playing music or videos during daily commutes. This field note proposes that the practice of playing the songs becomes part of an aural network that places itself through its (mere) presence as something not to be consciously attentive to and be affected by.

Grid Peak Load Shaving Method Considering EV Charging Uncertainty Based on Interval Optimization

With the rapid development of electric vehicles, more and more electric vehicles are entering people’s lives. However, the large-scale access of electric vehicles to the grid brings harm to the stability of grid operation, and the problem of how to guide the staggered charging of electric vehicles needs to be solved. In this paper, we consider the travel characteristics and charging characteristics of three different types of EVs: private cars, buses, and cabs, and set up a time-of-use tariff to guide EV users to charge reasonably, thus reducing the impact of charging load on the grid by cutting peaks and filling valleys. Since the charging load of EVs is an interval value, this paper introduces interval optimization theory, establishes an optimistic model and a pessimistic model, calculates the upper and lower bound of the interval respectively, and finds out the interval value of grid load after peak and valley reduction.

On the utilization of dedicated bus lanes for pooled ride-hailing services

Ride-sourcing platforms, among other solution services, offer convenience and flexibility when it comes to pick-up/drop-off time and location. Similarly, ride-splitting renders itself as an extension of ride-sourcing where platform users agree to share their rides in return for a reduced fare yet possibly a longer travel time. Despite the numerous advantages that sharing introduced to the platform operator by reducing the fleet size necessary to serve demand levels, e-hailing is still overall negatively impacting traffic performance in urban spaces. This is partially due to the current tendency of users to favor solo over shared rides. This paper aims to use aggregate traffic flow models to put forward a network space redistribution policy that has the potential to reduce total delays of the different mode users in the network. Accordingly, we investigate the solo-pool demand split that minimizes the total Passenger Hours Traveled for all network commuters in the event where shared rides are allowed to use underutilized bus lanes. As a result, the choice to share is associated with an inevitable additional detour distance but with a lower-than-expected trip time compared to standard scenarios where the whole fleet utilizes the same network space. In this paper, we present an analytical macroscopic modeling approach to evaluate equilibrium solutions between network supply and multi-modal demand. By resorting to a numerical example of the model, we show that the optimal strategy that minimizes delays for multi-modal transport users occurs when only a fraction of the pooling vehicles uses the dedicated bus lanes. This fraction is dependent on the distribution of space and the value of demand for private vehicles, buses, and ride-hailing services.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Determinants of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Among Professional Drivers in the Perambalur Municipality Area of Tamil Nadu, India.

Background Professional drivers have a powerful impact on public safety. They are also at a higher risk of obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because of their lifestyle. Diabetes and its complications can affect driving and cause increased road traffic accidents. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of T2DM and determine the risk factors contributing to the development of T2DM among professional drivers in the Perambalur Municipality of Tamil Nadu, India. Methodology This cross-sectional study was carried out between September 2022 and December 2022 among 118 private bus drivers and full-time, professional, three-wheeler drivers in the Perambalur Municipality. A pre-tested semi-structured proforma was used to collect information on the driver's socio-demographic profile and to inquire about their diabetes history, which was verified with their records.We elicited the risk factors of T2DM among those drivers.We recorded the anthropometric measurements and blood pressure. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0 (Released 2012; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Results Out of 118 study participants, the majority were in the age group of 51-65 (37.3%). Seventy-seven of the participants have completed their secondary education, and 38 of them belong to the class 2 socioeconomic class. Three-fourths of the sample (83.1%) belonged to nuclear families. Around one-third were current smokers, one-fourth had the habit of chewing tobacco, and more than half of the participants consumed alcohol. Nearly 83.7% had moderate physical activity, followed by 11.9% who had heavy activity, and 5.1% who did not do any physical activity. The prevalence of T2DM among professional drivers was 11.9%. The risk factors that contributed to the development of T2DM among professional drivers were age, education, smoking, tobacco chewing, hypertension, elevated BMI, and elevated WC, which are statistically significant (p˂0.05). Conclusion We found the proportion of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes to be higher among professional drivers than among the general population. This demands an urgent need for preventive and health-promotive interventions to address these chronic diseases.

Bullying Behavior, Mediating Role of Employee Silence and their Effects on Organisational Citizenship Behavior: Evidence from Seven Iranian Metropolises

Depending on dominant organisational conditions, various factors may affect the service quality and employees' willingness to behave positively. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of bullying behaviour on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) through employee silence. This is an applied-descriptive survey consisting of drivers (1820 in total) of private bus companies in seven Iranian metropolises. The statistical population was selected through simple random sampling. After that, questionnaires were distributed, and the collected data were analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM) in SPSS and AMOS. The results revealed the effect of bullying behaviour on employee silence and OCB. Moreover, bullying behaviour had a negative effect on OCB with the mediating role of employee silence. The analysis of employee silence can provide opportunities to prevent negative behaviours in the workplace. Since there is scant research literature on the role of employee silence in the relationship between bullying behaviour and OCB, addressing this issue can help to fill the existing research gap.

Transport reforms and its missing publics: Insights from marshrutka abolishment and transport ‘modernisation’ policies prior to FIFA World Cup 2018 in Volgograd, Russian Federation

Public transport modernisation policies in relation to mega events are increasingly prone to ready-made planning solutions and the application of globally recognised best practices. Locally, the implementation of global transport solutions is usually promoted as a unique window of opportunity, which should finally contribute to the greater good of city societies through smooth traffic flows and better service quality. In contrast to this frictionless narrative, the article refers to the empirical case of transport reforms in Volgograd, Russia, prior to the FIFA World Soccer Championship in 2018 and shows how poorly conceived transport modernisation policies can have a detrimental impact on local citizens. Concretely, it builds on the local attempt to replace a commercial minibus system with an insufficient public–private partnership-based bus network and develops an argument that the public transport reform was doomed to fail as local stakeholders remained excluded from decision making. Deriving from the empirical case, a pragmatist perspective on transport modernisation policies as urban issues of concern is introduced to examine how hegemonic governance tactics are effectively silencing crucial publics at stake, rendering voices of contestation marginalised. Lastly, it will be argued that public transport reforms in Volgograd, although contested and subversively undermined, challenge idealistic notions of public space, while they provide scope for experimental practice based on implicit local knowledge and cooperation in mobile space.

An optimal coordinated planning strategy for distributed energy station based on characteristics of electric vehicle charging behavior under carbon trading mechanism

Under the dual-carbon goal, the number of electric vehicle (EV) has surged, and the uncertainty of the temporal and spatial characteristics of the load has become prominent, which brings the challenge for higher requirements to the equipment composition of distributed energy station (DES) and performance of station-network. This paper proposes a collaborative planning method for low-carbon DES with networks, which is focusing on the characteristics of EV charging behavior. First of all, based on the quantitative analysis of the temporal and spatial distribution of charging load of four typical types of EV, including private vehicle, public vehicle, taxi and bus, the Monte Carlo method is used to construct the charging load modeling of EV in the region area. In addition, the low-carbon DES is modeled equipped with photovoltaic (PV) and power to gas (P2G) devices, and the Prim algorithm is adopted to search for the optimal network layout of energy transmission pipelines in the region area. Under carbon trading mechanism, aiming at the lowest annualized total cost of the regional station-network, a station-network collaborative planning modeling strategy for the capacity allocation of low-carbon DES with networks is established. Finally, the case study for a project in Beijing China is implemented on MATLAB, to prove the effectiveness of the method proposed in the paper. The time-of-use electricity price scheme changes the temporal and spatial characteristics of EV load. For example, more than 2 MW the EV load can be brought into the valley price range, which reduces the carbon transaction cost and energy purchase cost of DES by 50 thousand yuan almost when peak-valley electricity price difference is close to 1.2 yuan. At the same time, the growth of EV charging load(the penetration rate of EV can reach up to 20%) in the planning area has not increased the investment and operation-maintenance costs of DES equipment.

Impact of human mobility and networking on spread of COVID-19 at the time of the 1st and 2nd epidemic waves in Japan: An effective distance approach.

The influence of human mobility to the domestic spread of COVID-19 in Japan using the approach of effective distance has not yet been assessed. We calculated the effective distance between prefectures using the data on laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 from January 16 to August 23, 2020, that were times in the 1st and the 2nd epidemic waves in Japan. We also used the aggregated data on passenger volume by transportation mode for the 47 prefectures, as well as those in the private railway, bus, ship, and aviation categories. The starting location (prefecture) was defined as Kanagawa and as Tokyo for the 1st and the 2nd waves, respectively. The accuracy of the spread models was evaluated using the correlation between time of arrival and effective distance, calculated according to the different starting locations. The number of cases in the analysis was 16,226 and 50,539 in the 1st and 2nd epidemic waves, respectively. The relationship between arrival time and geographical distance shows that the coefficient of determination was R2 = 0.0523 if geographical distance Dgeo and time of arrival Ta set to zero at Kanagawa and was R2 = 0.0109 if Dgeo and Ta set to zero at Tokyo. The relationship between arrival time and effective distance shows that the coefficient of determination was R2 = 0.3227 if effective distance Deff and Ta set to zero at Kanagawa and was R2 = 0.415 if Deff and time of arrival Ta set to zero at Tokyo. In other words, the effective distance taking into account the mobility network shows the spatiotemporal characteristics of the spread of infection better than geographical distance. The correlation of arrival time to effective distance showed the possibility of spreading from multiple areas in the 1st epidemic wave. On the other hand, the correlation of arrival time to effective distance showed the possibility of spreading from a specific area in the 2nd epidemic wave. The spread of COVID-19 in Japan was affected by the mobility network and the 2nd epidemic wave is more affected than those of the 1st epidemic. The effective distance approach has the impact to estimate the domestic spreading COVID-19.

An evaluation of optimal scale and jurisdiction size to improve efficiency in metropolitan bus systems

Urban bus services operate under concession regime in many cities around the world. Their area boundaries are usually an institutional or administrative legacy, which do not necessarily meet the criteria of optimal jurisdictions. This means that some concessions suffer from a sub-optimal size, either because they are too small, and so fail to exploit economies of scale and/or density, or too big, and so operate in diseconomies of them. This study, by estimating the values of the economies of scale and density for the regulated concessions, identifies the dimensions for optimal exploitation in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) for public and private bus providers. Our data cover the period 2012–2018 and we apply a stochastic frontier model for panel data to estimate both economies of scale and density. We found that the optimal size for a passenger bus service concession in terms of economies of scale in the AMB is between 0.5 and 1 million net km per annum. In the case of density economies, the size is considerably lower, at somewhere between 430,000 and 1,000,000 net km per year. We recommend ensuring that the size of the service provision area is optimal before the tendering process.

Integrating public transit signal priority into max-pressure signal control: Methodology and simulation study on a downtown network

Max-pressure signal control has been analytically proven to maximize the network throughput and stabilize queue lengths whenever possible. Since there are many transit lines operating in the metropolis, the max-pressure signal control should be extended to multi-modal transportation systems to achieve more widespread usage. The standard max-pressure controller is more likely to actuate phases during high-demand approaches, which may end up ignoring the arrival of buses, especially in bus rapid transit. In this paper, we propose a novel max-pressure signal control that considers transit signal priority of bus rapid transit systems to achieve both maximum stability for private vehicles and reliable transit service. This study revises the original max-pressure control to include constraints that provide priority for buses. Furthermore, this policy is decentralized which means it only relies on it relies only on the local conditions of each intersection. We set the simulation on the real-world road network with bus rapid transit systems. Numerical results show that the max-pressure signal control which considers transit signal priority can still achieve maximum stability compared with other signal control integrated with transit signal priority. Furthermore, the max-pressure control reduces private vehicle travel time and bus travel time compared to the current signal control.