Public Transit Users Research Articles

End Users: Actors in the Industrial Relations System?

The paradigm elaborated by John T. Dunlop in his landmark 1958 volume, Industrial Relations Systems, described this system as consisting of three actors: unions, employers and the State. Over the past few years, the call to expand upon the notion of actors in the industrial relations environment has become more and more widespread, but no one has yet suggested how this integration might be implemented. The main objective of this paper is to propose an analytical model of the actor and to explore how the latter could be applied in the case of public urban transit users.

ROAD INVESTMENT EFFECTS WITH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC USERS AND THE DOWNS-THOMPSON PARADOX

Using a general equilibrium model, the paper evaluates the welfare effects and likelihood of occurrence of the Downs-Thompson paradox in a context where public and private transportation share the same infrastructure. Departing from a previously developed model, the paper assumes interdependent supply functions. The paper concludes that the likelihood of the Downs-Thompson paradox occurring is greater than it is usually thought as it is more likely that the disbenefits to the public transit users are greater than the benefits to private transportation users when there are road investments.

Meta-analysis for Explaining the Variance in Public Transport Demand Elasticities in Europe

Results from past studies on transportation demand elasticities show a large variance. This paper assesses key factors that influence the sensitivity of public transit users to transportation costs in Europe, by carrying out a comparative analysis of the different elasticity values of demand for transportation that are being used in some different member states. The empirical base is elasticity studies in Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The paper identifies a set of potential factors causing variances between results of different studies. An in depth rough set analysis of causes of variances between elasticity values across the four countries is presented. The analysis supports the literature, which indicates that the difference between aggregated, empirical-based research methods and the use of disaggregated choice models, as well as model assumptions, explain the variance in elasticity values accross studies. It also appears that the country involved, the number of competitive modes, and type of data are important factors for the size of elasticities.

Transportation impacts of office relocation: A case study from Oslo

The increase in car use in urban areas is to a large extent influenced by changes in land use. Surburban, low-density housing and the suburbanization of employment are therefore important factors behind changes in transportation demand. Integration of housing and job opportunities both in central parts of the city and in satellite-type developments which are well served by public transport is often considered to be a prerequisite if commuting by car is to be reduced. A case study from Oslo, Norway shows a significant change in travel behaviour when a firm moves out from the CBD. Interviews with employees before and after the relocation show that car use increased (from 25% to 41%) while the use of public transport was reduced from 61% in the inner-city location to 46% in the suburban location despite the new location being well served by public transport. However, the percentage of public transit users having to make one or more transfers on the journey to work increased from 8% to 28% and their average travel time increased by 7 minutes. Average travel time (all modes) remained unchanged. The employer's provision of ample free car parking in the new location has made the increased use of cars possible.