Public Mass Transit Research Articles

Core Indicators for Monitoring the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan: A Case Study

The primary objective of this paper is to validate core indicators for monitoring Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), focusing on the Functional Urban Area in Southern Poland. Given the high concentration of the population in urban areas within the European Union (EU)—currently at 70.9% and expected to rise to 83.7% by 2050—there is an urgent need to address associated challenges such as congestion and the significant contribution of cities to transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Effective urban mobility planning is, therefore, more critical than ever. This study aims to provide a methodological framework for determining baseline values for four essential monitoring indicators: road safety, accessibility to public mass transit, greenhouse gas emissions, and air quality. These indicators are crucial for the European Commission’s evaluation of SUMPs. By focusing on these aspects, the research aims to enhance the effectiveness of urban mobility plans, ensuring they contribute meaningfully to the EU’s transport, climate, health, and social goals as outlined in the European Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.

Problems of financing urban mobility resilience in Poland

Motivation: The efficient functioning of transportation systems is subject to various types of disruptions and risks. Transportation systems are strongly affected by all kinds of local, regional, national, or global crises. The European Union’s transport policy indicates the need to build sustainable, intelligent, and resilient urban mobility systems based on public mass transit. The paradigm of resilience has gained particular importance in the context of the global crises of the last five years. Resilient urban mobility systems are intended to provide the ability to respond quickly to disruptions that occur, allowing urban organisms to achieve operational stability.Aim: The purpose of the study is to identify the main problems with financing the resilience of public mass transit systems in Polish cities. The specific aims are the identification of the factors determining the resilience of urban mobility systems and tools supporting it, measures of resilience and ways of financing it. The study sought to verify whether the mobility systems of Polish regional cities can be considered resilient from a financial point of view.Results: Financing urban public mass transport in Poland is based on two key sources of income: fees from ticket sales and payments (compensations) made by local governments. The economic and energy crisis contributed to a significant increase in the operating costs of public mass transportation providers. In this context, the key to building resilient public mass transport systems in urban areas is to make changes to existing models to ensure a stable PTA financing system.

ASSESSMENT OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN YENAGOA, NIGERIA

he aim of this paper is to assess vehicular traffic congestion in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Traffic congestion is akin to major cities of developed and developing countries, the bane of urban life. The gravity model provided the theoretical foundation for this study, while a survey design involving volumetric count of vehicles and administration of questionnaire to 400 road users along major roads in Yenagoa was also used. The immediate causes of vehicular traffic congestion along major roads and conflict points in Yenagoa are: poor state of the roads, road side trading/market, inadequate public mass transit vehicles, road capacity, and poor traffic signalization. Generally, the effects of vehicular traffic congestion on road users include road traffic crashes and accidents, exposure of commuters and pedestrians to ambient pollutants with attendant health implications, parking problems, effects on aesthetics of buildings and the environment and encouragement of street trading. The result of the regression model revealed that the extracted components explained 0.614 (61.4%) of influence on vehicular traffic congestion in Yenagoa at 0.05 significance level. This study recommends an efficient transport planning system, the pull and push measures of traffic management such as introduction of mass transit and encouragement of off-street parking at affordable price

Cluster Analysis of the Routes of the New Management Model for Surface Urban Passenger Mass Transit

The city of Moscow has implemented a new management model for surface urban passenger transportation (NMM). To consistently monitor the quality of transportation services it is suggested to introduce a methodology of its assessment. The methodology for assessing quality of public transport services is supposed to be tested on routes serviced by commercial enterprises under state contracts for provision of public transportation services by public transport on the routes of regular passenger and baggage transportation by road in urban traffic. The objective of the research was to select objects in order to test the methodology for assessing quality of public transportation services provided by surface urban public mass transit (SUPMT) on routes serviced in the framework of NMM. A scientifically substantiated partition of a given sample of routes has been performed. The routes have been classified using the classical method of hierarchical cluster analysis, where the Euclidean distance with a single rule of cluster joining was used as a measure of proximity. The clustering procedure was performed using the Ward method. Based on the results of the cluster analysis, ten routes were selected that are subject to further analysis.

Interoperable smart card data management in public mass transit

Due to a lack of shared practices of deployment, installation and application, the first commercial smart ticketing projects were built on proprietary specifications limiting their scope of integration and compatibility between them. As a result, a move towards global standards and specifications can be observed in current research as well as in practical applications. Therefore, interoperability in public mass transit has become a central aspect of e-ticketing. In this paper, we develop a standardised process on how to handle the emerging smart card data in an interoperable environment. The goal is to present a unified approach where data mining tools and model applications can be tested and implemented in every region embedded in the integrated network. The Interoperable Smart Card Data Chain (ISCDC), which is presented in this paper, provides a continuous procedure for standardised data handling and management. Using insights from expert interviews with German public transit entities, we deduce best practices on how to implement the ISCDC effectively.

Gender, kitchen resources and students’ academic performance and retention in thermochemistry in Cross River State, Nigeria

This paper studies the destination information marketing as an aid to the Cross River Tourism bid. A questionnaire was designed to elicit responses from the stakeholders in the tourism industry. Out of 69 questionnaire copies administered on tourist and workers in three popular hotels in Calabar (University of Calabar Hotel, Marian hotel and the Transcorp, Calabar) 50 unusable copies were retrieved and used in the analyses. The findings showed a predominance of domestic tourists in Cross River State. The sites/events most frequently visited included Christmas Festival, Obudu Mountain Race, Tinapa Holiday/Business Resort, Obudu Mountain Resort, Marina Resort (Water Front) and Leboku New Yam Festival. The single bedroom accommodation and double rooms are the most preferred accommodations. The most preferred tourist means of transportation included public mass transit, chartered taxis and car hire services. The most popular sources of tourism information in Cross River State were tourist guide books, internet and the Tourism Bureau. The most preferred souvenirs on Cross River State included indigenous art works and utilities. The most frequent complaint of tourists was the bad state of the roads. The most frequent complementary remarks were: “the state is very clean and beautiful”, “the people are very friendly”; “the state is very, very peaceful”. Suggestions were given for improvement. Keywords: Marketing, Destination Information, Tourism Driven Economy, Cross River State

Transport Policy Optimization with Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs), here self-driving and driverless vehicles, SAE levels 4 and 5 are becoming more clearly a reality. Potential services based on AVs and their consequences for the transport system are of increasing importance. This paper investigates policy combinations for a world with such services. The policy measures investigated are pricing of public transport (through subsidies), pricing of private motorized transport (through taxation or mobility pricing), and the organization of AV services (monopoly vs. oligopoly, with or without ride-sharing). Further, the perception of travel times for autonomous private cars is considered. All combinations of policies (respectively two to four levels each) were implemented in a simulation to determine their synergies. The applied model was the agent-based transportation simulation MATSim. The scenario employed for the tests was the agglomeration of Zug, Switzerland. The results suggest that, given the current spatial distribution of the demand and the current transport system, AV systems are only able to reduce travel times at the cost of substantial mode shifts and additional vehicle kilometers driven. Of the tested policy measures, although all showed the expected causality, only the organizational form of the AV service had a statistically significant effect. Therefore, this paper suggests that policy makers should be cautious when confronted with the promises of future transport services. To invest the benefits of automation into an improvement of the existing transport system (e.g., automation of public mass transit or complementing public mass transit with ride-sharing AVs in low-demand areas) might be a good alternative.

The impact of urban sprawl on journey to work times for mass transit and all other commuters in the United States: A research note

As government budgets get tighter, there has been considerable public outcry about the continued investment in public mass transit systems and their financial viability. Amid this outcry, a number of studies have been conducted to determine which factors influence the use and efficiency of publiclyfunded mass transit systems. These factors include population density and less sprawl (or greater urban compactness). However, their impact on mass transit usage is somewhat contradictory in that the heavy concentration of populations in the urban area and greater compactness is believed to increase mass transit usage due to a bigger number of potential passengers. In fact, greater compactness and greater transit ridership have played a role in lengthening the journey to work for most commuters and thus discouraged the use of mass transit systems. Thus, some questioned the wisdom of mass transit subsidies and “smart growth” policies. To attempt to answer this question and avoid any further confusion, this paper examines how urban sprawl affects the journey to work commute time of mass transit riders and other commuters throughout the United States after controlling for variables such as the volume of ridership, local per capita income, the presence of a local rail transit system, and local weather. The findings for this research note defy some conventional wisdom and point to several public policy recommendations on how to improve public mass transit at the local level. For instance, we find that greater urban compactness can be turned into a mass transit advantage if mass transit riders can use a commuter rail option.

Diseño de un sistema cctv para el monitoreo de los buses articulados de transmilenio usando una red wimax

The Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system provides an effective tool to increase security within the public bus mass transit system of Bogota’s, Transmilenio; because it provides accessibility to monitor the articulated buses through a combined architecture video surveillance between analog and network, using rolling out a WiMAX network dedicated to this service. This proposal called TmTV, is based on the client-server architecture, mainstay of distributed systems; since all computers and devices on this system operate and deployed transparently in the Central Monitoring Station.

Body injury in the elderly victims of fall in public transportation.

Introduction: Bodily injury from fall can happen in all subjects, but this risk increases in the elderly due to the inherent changes of aging itself moreover, the public mass transit system is not adapted to the needs of this population on the rise. Objective: The objective of this research was to describe and analyze injuries by body segment in the elderly fall victims of the mass transport of Maringa. Method: This research is cross-sectional, descriptive, retrospective and quantitatively through analysis of patient records of the occurrence of falls in the elderly aged over 60 years in the collective transport of Maringa between the period 2005 to 2012, where we analyzed the following variables: gender, age and injured segment. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Kruskal - Wallis test. Results: The results showed an increase in the number of falls in transport in the city and in 2012 (60 %) of these events were elderly, most cases of falls is in females (69 % of cases) and body segments more were injured members. Conclusion: We conclude that this research in Maringa women are the most frequent victims of falling in public transport in the city and that the most significantly injured segment are the upper and lower limbs.

A spatial Difference-in-Differences estimator to evaluate the effect of change in public mass transit systems on house prices

Evaluating the impact of public mass transit systems on real-estate values is an important application of the hedonic price model (HPM). Recently, a mathematical transformation of this approach has been proposed to account for the potential omission of latent spatial variables that may overestimate the impact of accessibility to mass transit systems on values. The development of a Difference-in-Differences (DID) estimator, based on the repeat-sales approach, is a move in the right direction. However, such an estimator neglects the possibility that specification of the price equation may follow a spatial autoregressive process with respect to the dependent variable. The objective of this paper is to propose a spatial Difference-in-Differences (SDID) estimator accounting for possible spatial spillover effects. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of a suitable weights matrix accounting for spatial links between observations. Finally, an empirical application of the SDID estimator based on the development of a new commuter rail transit system for the suburban agglomeration of Montréal (Canada) is presented and compared to the usual DID estimator.

PM2.5 co-benefits of climate change legislation part 2: California governor’s executive order S-3-05 applied to the transportation sector

California Governor’s Executive Order (CGEO) S-3-05 requires that California greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions be reduced to 80 % below 1990 levels by the year 2050. Meeting this target will require drastic changes in transportation technology, fuel, and behavior which will reduce criteria pollutant emissions as well as GHG emissions. The improvement to local air quality caused by the reduced criteria pollutant emissions must be calculated to fully evaluate the overall benefits and costs of CGEO S-3-05. In the present study, seven different transportation scenarios that move towards the goals of CGEO S-3-05 in the transportation sector were examined to determine how they would affect future airborne particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in California: (1) hydrogen fuel cells, (2) electric vehicles, (3) high efficiency vehicles, (4) public mass transit, (5) biofuels, (6) biofuels + hybrid electric vehicles, and (7) hydrogen fuel cells + electric vehicles. The air quality implications of each scenario were evaluated using a chemical transport model applied during a wintertime stagnation episode representing future climate in California. Scenarios (6) and (7) reduced population-weighted PM2.5 mass concentrations by ~9 % and PM2.5 elemental carbon (EC) concentrations by ~30 % relative to base-case predictions.

Erroneous mass transit system and its tended relationship with motor vehicular air pollution (An integrated approach for reduction of urban air pollution in Lahore)

Air pollution is threat to the lives of people living in big cities of Pakistan. In Lahore 1,250 people die annually because of air pollution. Mass transit system that can be put forth as solution to urban air pollution is contingent with right choice of system and its affiliation with motorized vehicles and nature of urban air pollution. Existing mass transit system in Lahore due to untrue operation causes surfeit discharge of motor vehicular carbon monoxide. Tended relationships of mass transit system with motorized vehicles and urban air pollution are quite noteworthy. The growing motor vehicles (a consequence of flawed public mass transit system) are potential source of urban air pollution. This paper attempts to highlight correlations and regression curves of existing mass transit system. Further it recommends a two facet approach for reduction of motor vehicular air pollution in Lahore.

A multicriteria approach for optimizing bus schedules and school starting times

In many rural counties pupils on their way to school are a large, if not the largest group of customers for public mass transit. Hence an effective optimization of public mass transit in these regions must include the traffic caused by pupils. Besides a change in the schedules of the buses and the starting times of the trips, the school starting time may become an integral part of the planning process. We discuss the legal framework for this optimization problem in German states and counties and present a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming formulation for the simultaneous specification of school and trip starting times. For its solution, we develop a two-stage decomposition heuristic and apply it to practical data sets from three different rural German counties.

Vehicle Scheduling in Public Transit and Lagrangean Pricing

This paper investigates the solution of the linear programming (LP) relaxation of the multi-commodity flow formulation of the multiple-depot vehicle scheduling problems arising in public mass transit. We develop a column generation technique that makes it possible to solve the huge linear programs that come up there. The technique, which we call Lagrangean pricing, is based on two different Lagrangean relaxations. We describe in detail the basic ingredients of our approach and give computational results for large-scale test data (with up to 70 million variables) from three German public transportation companies. Because of these results, we propose Lagrangean pricing as one of the basic ingredients of an effective method to solve multiple-depot vehicle scheduling problems to proven optimality.

The Impact of Public Mass Transit on the Operating Income of Professional Sports Franchises in the United States: A Preliminary Analysis for the NFL, MLB, and NBA

This study finds that, due to the timing of games and excess capacity considerations regarding public mass transit, a more functional/usable mass transit system may benefit NFL franchise-operating income but may be nonbeneficial to NBA and MLB franchise incomes. The empirical results were obtained using ordinary least squares estimates for 1993 and allow for a variety of factors, including ticket prices, population size, win/loss records, and stadium/ arena size.

Fire safety analysis for public mass transit trains

AbstractWith increasing use of electric trains carrying very high passenger loads it is important to assess the risks involved in using combustible materials. An approach using decision tree methods to analyse the resulting fire growth and passenger action combinations has been developed. Clear statement of objectives, mainly preservation of life and property, is essential. Systems analysis models can then be used to define the nature of quantitative information needed to assess probabilities of the lines of action shown by the decision tree. The current situation is not fully defined since there isdifficulty in using test report and behavioural information in the on‐off mode needed for Boolean logic which is required by decision tree methods. Some preliminary probabilities are given for state transitions, such as ignition to flame spread, based on reported data. A basis for a possible approach to human behaviour variables and the effect of combustion products is given.

The rational voter: an analysis of two Atlanta referenda on rapid transit

In this paper we have analyzed voting behavior in two rapid transit referenda with the objectives of testing the rational voter hypothesis and providing insights into voter preferences for public mass transit. A framework was formulated based upon previous voter behavior models but applied to referenda on public transit proposals. The framework focused on three different variables — quantity of transport, tax/price of transport and the quality of transportation services. From this fairly simple framework, several testable hypotheses were drawn.

Common Bus Lines

In large cities operating an important public mass transit network, we are faced with the problem of ‘common bus lines’: some routes share common sections and the passenger must select the buses he will probably use. While most computer packages code the section as a unique link and disregard the precise assignment of passengers on the distinct routes, we give a solution to this operational assignment based on the “perceived” travel time. Formulated as an optimization problem within a probabilistic context, the optimal subset of routes “to be selected” is obtained. A more detailed treatment on uniform and exponential cases for the time of the first vehicle to arrive on a route concludes the paper.