City Public Transport Research Articles

Sustainability of Transport System of Large Russian City in the Period of COVID-19: Methods and Results of Assessment

In spring 2020 the whole world went through the “black swan”—COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare systems of all countries and the world economy, in general, became very stressed. The extraordinary decline of activity in all spheres, except healthcare, led to a drop in the demand for transport services, including city public transport. It was important for city management to support the sustainability of the local transport system. The article presents fundamental approaches to assessing the sustainability of a transport service, particularly city passenger public transport (CPPT), for the example of the large Russian city Tyumen (size of population—nearly 807 thousand people). Methods of analysis of the sustainability of the transport process in conditions of negative environmental impact (COVID-19 pandemic) are considered. During the period from 30.03.2020 to 31.05.2020 (nine weeks—the acute phase of COVID-19 pandemic) structural sustainability of the CPPT system in Tyumen kept a high level. By changing the parameters of the planned characteristics of the CPPT system state, an attempt to adapt the transport service supply to a sharp decrease in transport demand was made. In the period of “self-isolation”, the demand for the CPPT transport service reduced more than the transport service supply. Sustainability of CPPT functioning was evaluated by calculating the elasticity of the transport supply (number of trips) in relation to the actual demand (actual volume of transportations). Calculation of the elasticity index of the CPPT system of Tyumen during nine weeks of April–May 2020 (duration of “self-isolation“) is provided. A conclusion was made from the results of the research. In particular, it was found that the foreground target function of city management was the maintenance of a high level of transportation processes to the detriment of the transportations’ effectiveness. Such a policy led to contradictory results—the additional financial expenses at the rate of 135–150 million rubles and quite a high level of contentment of the Tyumen population with the quality of the CPPT work (sociological research established that 80–85% of respondents were satisfied with the quality of the transport service in April–May 2020).

Why do paratransit operators resist participation in bus rapid transit? Case evidence from Bogota, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Lagos

ABSTRACT Public transport in cities of the Global South is mainly provided by paratransit operators who self-regulate their services in the absence of adequate formal transport supply and due to weak or no formal regulatory framework and enforcement. Paratransit operators compete with each other for passengers as every passenger translates into profit. Governments in the Global South have sought to reform public transport services through Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to regulate and ensure efficiency, address the problems of drivers competition and negative externalities associated with paratransit operations. Paratransit operators have been considered as one of the barriers to public transport reforms such as BRT without much consideration for their style of operations. This neglect has contributed to their resistance and low interest in participating in BRT and has even led to opposition. Consequently, non-consideration of incumbent operators in the implementation of transit reforms has been one important reason for delay or failure in their introduction. In this study, we identify reasons why paratransit operators resist and show low interest in BRT even in situations where public institutions have opted not to replace them but rather invite them to participate in the reforms. The basis is a case study analysis of four cities with different characteristics and different BRT implementation strategies where paratransit operators showed resistance and low interest to participate. We identify (1) loss of autonomy, flexibility and established practices/routines, (2) financial and economic risk avoidance and (3) lack of trust in governments who initiate reforms as a basis for their resistance and low interest. These findings are theoretically substantiated by organisational management and social psychology concepts that explain resistance to change. Understanding and recognising these reasons may help planners in designing more appropriate strategies for paratransit reforms.

Reinforcement Learning Based Passengers Assistance System for Crowded Public Transportation in Fog Enabled Smart City

Crowding in city public transportation systems is a primary issue that causes delay in the mobility of passengers. Moreover, scheduled and unscheduled events in a city lead to excess crowding situations at the metro or bus stations. The Internet of Things (IoT) devices could be used for data collection, which are related to crowding situations in a smart city. The fog computing data centers located in different zones of a smart city can process and analyze the collected data to assist the passengers how to commute smoothly with minimum waiting time in the crowded situation. In this paper, Q-learning based passengers assistance system is designed to assist the commuters in finding less crowded bus and metro stations to avoid long queues of waiting. The traffic congestion and crowded situation data are processed in the fog computing data centers. From our experimental results, it is found that our proposed method can achieve higher reward values, which can be used to minimize the passengers’ waiting time with minimum computational delay as compared to the cloud computing platform.

Access to mass rapid transit in OECD urban areas

As mitigating car traffic in cities has become paramount to abate climate change effects, fostering public transport in cities appears ever-more appealing. A key ingredient in that purpose is easy access to mass rapid transit (MRT) systems. So far, we have however few empirical estimates of the coverage of MRT in urban areas, computed as the share of people living in MRT catchment areas, say for instance within walking distance. In this work, we clarify a universal definition of such a metrics - People Near Transit (PNT) - and present measures of this quantity for 85 urban areas in OECD countries – the largest dataset of such a quantity so far. By suggesting a standardized protocol, we make our dataset sound and expandable to other countries and cities in the world, which grounds our work into solid basis for multiple reuses in transport, environmental or economic studies.

Bisnis Transportasi dalam Pusaran Globalisasi

<p><em>This study aims to examine the differences between conventional taxis and online taxis and whether the existing legal regulations are sufficient to regulate the two modes of transportation. The author's curiosity comes from seeing the past when taxis were considered a luxury means of transportation that people rarely use except for emergencies, so city buses and public transportation become the choice of citizens. The choice that was "forced" to be taken considering the low cost and far coverage. Now, when online taxis offer low costs and easy access, the means of transportation that have become "gods" have fallen. The drivers gasped, the transportation entrepreneurs were distracted to finance their business empire and the passengers were no longer greeted by buses and public transportation. This research is a sociological legal research which makes a phenomenon that exists in society and its influence on existing legal rules. The research results show that the difference between conventional taxis and online taxis lies in the amount of tariff, standardization of services, determination of routes and special features and legal protection. The government needs to be firm in regulating the existence of online transportation, given the potential for conflict over disparity in tariff differences and the importance of legal protection for drivers and passengers in driving safety.</em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong></p><p><em><em>Online Taxi; Conventional Taxi; Legal.</em><br /></em></p>

Environmental Sustainability of the Vehicle Fleet Change in Public City Transport of Selected City in Central Europe

Diesel is the most used fuel for buses and other urban transport vehicles in European countries. This paper deals with impacts on emissions production from the operation of the urban public transport fleet after its renewal. To what extent can the renewal of the urban public transport fleet in the city of Žilina contribute to increasing environmental sustainability in the way of reducing air pollution? The vehicle fleet change has partially consisted of vehicle traction system transition-diesel buses were substituted by hybrid driven (HEV) and electric driven buses (BEV). How can the direct and indirect emissions from the operation of vehicles be calculated? These were the posed research questions. The research aimed to propose a methodology for the calculation of direct and indirect emissions. Indirect emissions values (WtT—Well-to-Tank) for different types of fuels and tractions were obtained based on regression functions. These WtT emission factors together with the existing TtW (Tank-to-Wheels) emission factors (direct emissions) can be used for the assessment of environmental impacts of specific types of vehicles concerning energy source, fuel, or powertrain and type of operation. Direct pollutants such as CO, NOx and PM were calculated with the use of simulation methodology of HBEFA (Handbook of Emission Factors for Road Transport) software. The calculated CO2 savings for the period 2019–2023 about fleet renewal in absolute terms are EUR 1.3 million tons compared to the operation of the original fleet while maintaining the same driving performance. The renewal of the vehicle fleet secured by vehicle traction transition can be a way to reduce the energy intensity and environmental impacts of public transport in Žilina.

Selection of sustainable transport system: a case study

PurposeSustainable mobility will be the key to the survival of mankind in the 21st century. Cities with debt-ridden and poorly managed transport systems have to change to the ever-growing demands of the public transport system. The low cost of transport has been a key factor in sustainable development for any city. This study is trying to propose a framework for the selection of sustainable transport in context to an Indian case of NCR Delhi, India.Design/methodology/approachThe present study has identified eight criteria for the selection of a sustainable transport system. Criteria for selection of sustainable transport are CO2 emissions, cost of fuel, energy efficiency, cost of maintenance, number of accidents, congestion, number of injuries and road noise. Three alternatives of transport considered for this study are state-run bus, pooled car and Shuttl (App-based buses). The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to prioritize the criteria. The study has further illustrated a framework for the selection of sustainable transport based on these criteria.FindingsIt is observed that CO2 emissions are the most important criterion for a sustainable transport system. It is followed by a reduction in congestion and the number of injuries. Three alternatives of transport considered for this study are state-run bus, pooled car and Shuttl (a service provider). Shuttl has been found to be the most sustainable transport system.Research limitations/implicationsAHP is not able to capture the vagueness in decision-making. Therefore, fuzzy AHP can be considered for further detailed analysis as future scope of study in a different context of a sustainable transportation system. Major implications for policymakers and stakeholders are that development of public transport in cities should be done after considering different dimensions of sustainable operations.Originality/valueThe study has proposed a unique framework for the selection of a sustainable transport system by the public based on sustainability criteria. Findings will help policymakers in formulating strategies for developing sustainable transport system.

Assessing the impact of cornering losses on the energy consumption of electric city buses

In view of the increasing electrification of public city transport, an accurate energy consumption prediction for Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) is essential. Conventional prediction algorithms do not consider energy losses that occur during turning of the vehicle. This is especially relevant for electric city buses, which have a limited battery capacity and often drive curvy routes.In this paper, the additional energy consumption during steering of a BEB is modeled, measured, and assessed. A nonlinear steady-state cornering model is developed to establish the additional energy losses during cornering. The model includes large steer angles, load transfer, and a Magic Formula tire model. Model results show that both cornering resistance and tire scrub of the rear tires cause additional energy losses during cornering, depending on the corner radius and vehicle velocity.The energy consumption model is validated with full scale vehicle tests and shows an average deviation of 0.8kW compared to the measurements. Analysis of recorded real-world bus routes reveals that on average these effects constitute 3.1% of the total powertrain energy. The effect is even more significant for routes crossing city centers, reaching values up to 5.8%. In these cases, cornering losses can be significant and should not be neglected in an accurate energy consumption prediction.

Mapping grid based online taxi anomalous trajectory detection

This paper proposes an online taxi driving anomalous trajectory detection framework for maintaining the city public transport civilisation. The framework consists of two parts: an offline detector building and an online trajectory detection. The former employs a popular route concept to process massive trajectory data and adapts the mapping grid-based anomaly detection method by taking into account spatial and temporal characteristics of the trajectory dataset. The latter maps ongoing trajectory points and detects whether the ongoing driving route is anomalous or reliable. The proposed trajectory anomaly detection method is faster than the existing methods as it involves only simple activities of trajectory point mapping and retrieval procedure, without requiring extra distance or density calculation. In addition, the proposed method has detection accuracy comparable to that of the existing high-performance methods. The application and efficiency of the proposed method are demonstrated using extensive experiments on real datasets.

ON THE BASIC DIRECTIONS OF IMPROVING STATE AND MUNICIPAL POLICIES IN THE FIELD OF MANAGEMENT OF THE TRANSPORT COMPLEX OF THE TERRITORY (ON MATERIALS OF THE ALTAI REGION)

The state of the transport complex of the municipality is one of the significant indicators of the level of socio­economic development of the territory. Important criteria for the effectiveness of managing this sector were the degree of development of public passenger transport, problems and prospects for improving this industry.The authors analyzed some elements of the city public transport management system in a number of municipalities of the Altai Territory, including as part of inter-municipal cooperation, and studied the opinion of residents on the issue under study.The relevance of the topic is emphasized by the ongoing national project, its federal and regional components, programs aimed at improving the industry and considered as instruments of regional and municipal policies in the field of managing the transport complex of territories.

PERSEPSI KENYAMANAN DAN HARGA TERHADAP MINAT PENGGUNAAN JASA TRANSPORTASI ANGKUTAN UMUM KOTA DI KABUPATEN PURWAKARTA

Reduced interest in the use of city public transport services because there are still many public transport facilities that do not attach importance to the convenience of service users and the absence of alternative tariff options for long distance or short distance, so service users choose to use other transportation services that can answer their needs, such as transportation online that already exists in Purwakarta today. In this case the author is very interested in conducting research, with the title "The Influence of Perceptions of Comfort and Price Against Interest in the Use of City Public Transportation Transportation Services in Purwakarta District". The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of perceived comfort and price on the interest in using the City Public Transport Service in Purwakarta Regency. In this study respondents were users of public transportation services in Purwakarta using sampling techniques called Non-Probability Sampling. The research method used is descriptive qualitative method, which is a method that is done by collecting, presenting and analyzing data that gives a clear enough picture of the object under study. This study uses a multiple linear regression analysis model with the help of IBM SPSS 21 program. Hypothesis This study shows that the variables of perceived comfort and price have a positive and significant effect on the interest in using public transportation services in the city of Purwakarta.

Designing Human Mistake-Free Machine: a Mexico City Public Transport Commuters’ Approach

Human mistakes are the principal cause of most failures in industry. Designers and engineers have been working on decreasing the difficulties of the machines that have a role in human daily activities. Human centered design allows to focus on diminishing those mistakes through improving the interaction and cooperation between the user and the machine, process or service. Therefore, the next paper defines a preliminary study of a human centered design process developed in Mexico City after a noticeable need of an effective measure to improve the functioning of transport system. The contextual research showed that the first attempt to design and put in operation a machine free of human mistake is considering the users. Therefore, by improving the experience of interaction between the users and the machines it is possible to strengthen commuters’ assertive decision taking. In this study that consideration was developed in three stages, the first one was oriented in getting to know the stakeholders or user, the second stage focused on showing the users patterns, colors and sequences based on their first insights. This stage facilitates the designers and engineers create a prototype that includes the first and second stages results. Once the prototype was built, it was located and proved in its expected position. From this interaction user – prototype was possible to conclude that user satisfactions are close related to the consideration of their desires and needs, as guidance, color, and lights. Also that the TVM does not require distracting elements and finally, that Implementing new technologies such as new payment options are now feasible and a preference of the users.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMIC OF INNOVATION IN CITY PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

In this study, a mathematical model is formulated and studied from the perspective of adaptive dynamics (evolutionary processes), in order to describe the interaction dynamics between two city public transport systems: one of which is established and one of which is innovative. Each system is to be influenced by a characteristic attribute; in this case, the number of assumed passengers per unit it that can transport. The model considers the proportion of users in each transport system, as well as the proportion of the budget destined for their expansion among new users, to be state variables. Model analysis allows for the determination of the conditions under which an innovative transportation system can expand and establish itself in a market which is initially dominated by an established transport system. Through use of the adaptive dynamics framework, the expected long-term behavior of the characteristic attribute which defines transport systems is examined. This long-term study allows for the establishment of the conditions under which certain values of the characteristic attribute configure coexistence, divergence, or both kinds of scenarios. The latter case is reported as the occurrence of evolutionary ramifications, conditions that guarantee the viability of an innovative transport system. Consequently, this phenomenon is referred to as the origin of diversity.

Co-Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation for Public Transport in Different Cities of Vietnam

Potentiality of co-benefits for public transport at cities of different grades in Vietnam namely Ho Chi Minh city (special city), Da Nang (centrally-run grade I city) and Vinh (grade I city under the province) in 2013 was studied. Taxis in Da Nang and Vinh, and buses in Ho Chi Minh City were selected for the study. A same methodology was used for all cities. In each city, three areas and nine routes in inner city were selected for conducting this study. Information on the technical conditions of vehicles was collected by questionnaires. Traffic volume was determined by vehicle counting. The real–world driving data of vehicles were recorded by GPS technology. All collected data were processed to generate input files to run IVE model associated with base state and three proposed scenarios of climate change mitigation. Emission factors (EF) of air pollutants for these transport means were determined. Co-benefits of climate, air quality and health for the scenarios in three cities were assessed. The obtained results in this study can be used as a scientific basis for integrated air quality management in the cities in general and for air pollution control of public transport in particular.
 co-benefits, public transport, emission factor, IVE model, Vietnam.

The Analysis of Available Data on Energy Efficiency of Electric Vehicles to be Used for Eco-Driving Project Development

The goal of this paper is to analyse the collected data on energy efficiency of electric vehicles from researches done by other authors and also to summarise all the factors affecting it. The majority of data available are obtained through simulations – therefore the emphasis in this paper will be placed on experimentally acquired data. The results of the analysis will be used for the planned e-bus eco-driving project for the purpose of Belgrade’s public transportation system. Currently there are only 5 (ultracapacitor type) e-buses operating in Belgrade city public transport, which makes only 0.2 % of all vehicles in rolling stock (making 16 % together with other electric-powered vehicles – trams and trolleybuses), but there are plans to acquire new 80 electric buses. With the rise of the number of electric vehicles, appropriate training of drivers is gaining more and more importance, and the results of the presented analysis make the basis for such training. This will hopefully increase the range of the buses used and help save the energy spent by public transportation, thus giving a little contribution to global fight for cleaner planet.

Effectiveness of urban passenger transportation depending on the bus capacity

Problem.In the recent years, there has been a sharp decline in the key indicators of automobile transport infrastructure of Ukraine, with respect to the transport infrastructure of the developed countries. The level of quality and safety of civil passenger traffic have declined substantially. The capacity of a passenger compartment reaches the number of 6 persons per square metre which is practically twice the worldwide average; the transport runs with the intervals of 20 minutes; the average speed of public transport in cities is 18-21 km/h. Goal. The aim of this paper is justification of the technical and economic expediency of the use of buses with the corresponding capacity depending on the passenger volume. Methodology. Experimental studies of the fuel consumption by buses with different (seating and standing) capacity. Theoretical processing of statistical data on the fuel consumption and labour intensity of maintenance of buses. Results. The analysis has been carried out on the influence of bus capacity on the efficiency of urban transportation. It has been proven that with the heavy ridership when high and extra high capacity buses are used, the cost of transportation is declining substantially in comparison to the buses of lower capacity. The mathematical models have been developed which help estimate the efficiency of the use of buses with different capacity on the same route. In the cities with heavy passenger traffic when the same number of passengers are on board the cost of maintenance, operating repair and fuel of buses are lower when the bus capacity is higher. It is proven, for instance, that when transporting the same number of passengers on the same route, with the use of buses of extra high passenger capacity the comparative fuel consumption can potentially be twice less, and with the high passenger capacity 1.6 times less than when using lower capacity passenger buses. To provide the high efficacy of urban bus transportation the transport infrastructure needs radical organizational modernization and should be supervised by the single urban transport logistic centre. Practical value. One of the effective ways of reducing the cost of urban passenger transportation has been determined.

India’s shift from mass transit to MaaS transit: Insights from Kochi

Abstract Kochi is the first Indian city to take concrete action on multimodal integration. The city is shifting from the recently hyped mass transit-based mobility to Mobility as a Service (MaaS), by weaving traditionally dominant transport modes – water ferry, auto-rickshaw and city bus along with the newly operational Kochi Metro Rail into one service fabric. This paper explores the case of Kochi based on the core characteristics of MaaS and attempts to understand how the new system is different from the traditional system post the multimodal integration anchored by Kochi Metro Rail Limited. The case reveals that Kochi’s ‘MaaS’ model has fostered several systemic and functional changes in the city public transport. Institutional rearrangement, inclusion of actors, recognition to informal transport service, upgradation and re-organisation of resources for operational efficiency, solution of territorial conflicts - these are a few of the positive changes. The paper highlights MaaS’s ability to augment mobility governance and service provision specific to developing nations’ context. It also projects a learning curve for other Indian cities to prioritise a MaaS strategy over construction of mass transit in isolation.

The reduction of the fuel consumption and of the pollution through the city public transport

The public transportation represents the ideal solution that can be offered with the purpose of satisfying the mobility request through an urban area. A highly organized and efficient public transportation system which offers adequate movement possibilities, in a short time and through high safety and comfort conditions, forms the basis of an urban transportation system that improves the sustainable development of a urban area. Over this paperwork it is going to be estimated the optimization effects of the Pitesti urban transportation system, and even more, it is going to be established the „translation” way of the different improvements for the public transportation system as input data into the urban transport model. In this way it will be shown how the renewal of the vehicles and the modernization of the bus stations could get to the increasing of the urban transport share, thus succeeding the decrease of the own vehicles transport. As a consequence, through the private vehicles movements decrease it is get, in the end, a fuel consumption and gas emissions reduction, in the same time resulting a high traffic performance both for the public transportation and for the own private vehicle transportation

Walking Access to Public Transportation Stops for City Residents. A Comparison of Methods

Public transportation in cities is crucial for their sustainable development. The attractiveness of public transport for city residents depends largely on whether they are able to access the nearest stop on foot. The actual time of walking to the nearest stop and the distance covered can be measured using the band method or the circular buffer method. The accuracy of the two methods was compared for the city of Szczecin and one of its residential areas, Pomorzany (ca. 20,000 inhabitants, ca. 7 km2 area). The city provides public tram and bus transportation and has 90 km of streets and pedestrian paths. As shown by the results, the band method proved more accurate in measuring public transport stop accessibility. It showed 53.8% of the stops to be highly accessible, whereas 37.8%, 7.8%, and 0.5% were classified as moderately accessible, poorly accessible, and inaccessible, respectively; the latter would be hardly expected to be used by pedestrians in the Pomorzany neighborhood. The band method allowed also to indicate potential location of a new bus stop which would significantly improve accessibility of public transportation to residents of a housing estate (3000 inhabitants) in the area.

Public Transportation Improvement in PNG - A Case Study of Lae City

The issues surrounding public transportation is one that has been a growing concern in Papua New Guinea (PNG) over the years. Especially for the city of Lae, which is the country's largest industrial hub and cargo port and the second biggest city has been experiencing increased rates of urban drifting. The population influx has created an increased demand in public transportation services. Despite the rising demands, very little attention and effort have been given towards improving public transportation services and facilities. Based on observations and firsthand experience gained from the current transportation system, this paper brings forward problems and issues accompanying Lae City public transport system. Key variables related to public transport such as efficiency, safety, reliability and affordability are evaluated by implying a revealed preference survey. Final evidence based recommendation is suggested for the improvement of the situation.