Public Transport Companies Research Articles

Local revenue response to service quality: spatial effects in seasonal ticket revenue data

Purpose – This paper aims to consider spatial effects in the analysis of the relationship of revenue and service quality. When firms’ customers are located in spatially dispersed areas, it can be difficult to manage service quality on a geographically small scale because the relative importance of service quality might vary spatially. Moreover, standard approaches discussed so far in the marketing science literature usually neglect spatial effects, such as spatial dependencies (e.g. spatial autocorrelation) and spatial drift (spatial non-stationarity). Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose a comprehensive but intelligible approach based on spatial econometric methods that cover spatial dependencies and spatial drift simultaneously. In particular, they incorporate the spatial expansion method (spatial drift) into spatial econometric models (e.g. spatial lag model). Findings – Using real company data on seasonal ticket revenue (dependent variable) and service quality (independent variables) of a regional public transport service provider, the authors find that the elasticity for the length of the public transport network is between 0.2 and 0.5, whereas the elasticity for the headway is between −0.2 and 0.6, for example. The authors control for several socio-economic, socio-demographic and land-use variables. Practical implications – Based on the empirical findings, the authors show that addressing spatial effects of service data can improve management’s ability to implement programs aimed at enhancing seasonal ticket revenue. Therefore, they derive a spatial revenue response function that enables managers to identify small-scale areas that are most efficient in terms of increasing revenue by service improvement. Originality/value – The paper addresses the need to account for spatial effects in revenue response functions of public transport companies.

DeCoClu: Density consensus clustering approach for public transport data

Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) systems are exploited by public transport companies to manage and control their fleet of vehicles. However, these systems are usually based on the background knowledge of the transport network which can change during the time and in some cases can be missing or erroneous. GPS data and other information captured by the vehicles during their work can be exploited to update the network knowledge. This paper presents a novel approach, namely DeCoClu (Density Consensus Clustering), that aims at mining the topology of a public transport network by means of a consensus clustering density-based approach. In particular, the method exploits static information from time series of positioning signals (i.e., GPS data) to infer geographical locations of stops by means of a consensus clustering strategy based on a new distance function. Moreover, the logical pathway of a route (i.e., stops sequence) is defined by an Hamiltonian cycle. Experiments performed on real-data collections provided by a public transport company demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Collective public-transport tickets and anticipated majority choice: A model of student tickets

In Germany, many universities have student tickets that are bargained for between student representatives and public transport companies, approved by referendum, and mandatory for all students. They allow the use of public transport at no additional cost. I analyze such a scenario in a theoretical model as an example of a flat-rate ticket for public transport which is implemented by majority decision. The mandatory character of the ticket reduces transaction costs like marketing and ticket inspection, reducing the ticket price and thus the students’ commuting expenses. However, there is a countervailing effect. Students face and rationally expect zero marginal monetary commuting costs, so that new students choose a place of residence which is relatively far from the university. This in turn raises the equilibrium ticket price. It may even be the case that students would be better off if such a ticket had never existed. Nonetheless, they always vote for it in referenda, because accepting the high price is optimal given their place of residence. After laying out the model, I analyze an optimal policy, which consists, for example, of subsidizing student dorms at an efficient distance to the city center.

What are the determinants in making people free riders in proof-of-payment transit systems? Evidence from Italy

Nowadays, in proof-of-payment transit systems, fare evasion is provoking strong interest in public transport companies (PTCs) due to the relevant economic losses, social inequity and increased levels of violence affecting personal security. Therefore, there is the need to recognize possible fare evaders. By using 2177 on-board personal interviews, gathered from an Italian PTC, and logistic regression models, we isolate determinants of possible free-rider passengers and, hence, those whom it might be advisable to target in order to capitalize on the effect of the application of countermeasures on fare evasion put forward by the local PTC. We show that males, younger than 26years, with a low education level, unemployed and/or students and without an alternative mode of transport other than the bus are more probably fare evaders. Moreover, people who make trips of shorter than 15min, who are systematic users and are not satisfied with the service are possible fare evaders. Finally, we found that a low level of inspection, knowledge of fines and previous ticket violations are determinants which make people more prone to evade fares. These outcomes are very useful, because, to the best of our knowledge, they represent the first empirical contribution showing the determinants which help evaluate the propensity to be a fare evader, in probabilistic terms. Moreover, they could help PTCs understand who might be a fare evader, in order to anticipate suitable countermeasures.

Análisis de la divulgación de la información sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa en las empresas de transporte público urbano en España

The innovation of considering the social responsibility as part of the corporate strategy of the companies reveals the importance of being known by all stakeholders. Given the latest steps at government level on the transparency, an aspect strongly demanded by society, it is considered necessary to make the first approach by a study of this aspect in public urban transport companies, by the impact that their activity has in terms of GDP and sustainable development of cities where they operate. The aim of this paper is to determine whether urban public transport companies disclose information on CSR. For this, 17 publicly owned urban public transport companies were used as a sample. The methodology used was the analysis of contents. The investigation has revealed that the information on the websites is still too low, with environmental actions being the most contemplated. The level of implementation is low or none, given that only 23.53% of the companies contemplate from 14 to 27 of the analysed items.

Analysis of the technological features of regional public transport companies: the Tunisian case

The purpose of this paper is to assess the cost-structure of the public transport industry in Tunisia. Thus, we use a translog variable cost function to identify the firms’ technological features. In this analysis, we work on a sample of 12 Tunisian regional transport companies (RTC) over the 2000/2010 period. The main results show the critical productive situation of the urban public transport system in Tunisia. This can be exemplified by the presence of a short and long term diseconomy of scale, given that the overall factor productivity is low and almost zero.

Improving Mass Transit Operations by Using AVL-Based Systems: A Survey

Intelligent transportation systems based on automated data collection frameworks are widely used by the major transit companies around the globe. This paper describes the current state of the art on improving both planning and control on public road transportation companies using automatic vehicle location (AVL) data. By surveying this topic, the expectation is to help develop a better understanding of the nature, approaches, challenges, and opportunities with regard to these problems. This paper starts by presenting a brief review on improving the network definition based on historical location-based data. Second, it presents a comprehensive review on AVL-based evaluation techniques of the schedule plan (SP) reliability, discussing the existing metrics. Then, the different dimensions on improving the SP reliability are presented in detail, as well as the works addressing such problem. Finally, the automatic control strategies are also revised, along with the research employed over the location-based data. A comprehensive discussion on the techniques employed is provided to encourage those who are starting research on this topic. It is important to highlight that there are still gaps in AVL-based literature, such as the following: 1) long-term travel time prediction; 2) finding optimal slack time; or 3) choosing the best control strategy to apply in each situation in the event of schedule instability. Hence, this paper includes introductory model formulations, reference surveys, formal definitions, and an overview of a promising area, which is of interest to any researcher, regardless of the level of expertise.

Proposing a basic methodology for developing balanced scorecard by system dynamics approach

Purpose – Successful future has inspired organizations to measure long-term and non-financial measurements and key performance indicators (KPIs). Kaplan and Norton proposed balanced scorecard (BSC) for this issue and have extended it to one of the most preferred strategic management system’s tools. However, available planning tools like BSC have some limitations, like dependency to the developer, weakness in showing time delays, and also mathematical relationships between lead and lag indicators. In this paper, the authors would present a new methodology for developing BSCs, which would be able to overcome these limitations. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated framework for developing BSC with system dynamics approach (a dynamic BSC (DBSC)) which has lower limitation in compare with traditional BSC. The other purpose of this paper is developing a DBSC for an Iranian public transportation company. Design/methodology/approach – Based on this purpose, related literature was thoroughly reviewed and the proposed methodology designed using the system dynamics and BSC concepts. This methodology is a composition of original BSC development methodology and system dynamics principles. An assumed organization has been used for showing methodology’s capability and procedure. Furthermore, a case study has been accomplished in this paper. This case study is a DBSC which has been developed for an Iranian public transportation company. The purpose of this case study is to ensure about proposed methodology implication in action. Findings – The authors proposed a methodology which can be applied for developing BSCs. This methodology consists of six different steps which are: developing a system for organization, selecting stakeholders’ most important objectives and target, identifying organization’s objectives and their KPIs for different BSC aspects, developing strategy map, targeting, and selecting initiatives. In the proceeding of this paper, the proposed methodology and its steps would be explained in detail. Originality/value – The system dynamic approach has precedents in business studies; however, this research makes this approach operational in BSC designing and analysis. BSCs, which developed by this methodology can show time delays between an organization’s objectives, its KPIs’ relationship and also planning for it. Selecting achievable and rational vision and objectives’ targets, change management, scenario planning and policy analysis are other values which can be achieved by DBSC deployment which need further researches. In summary, this research has shown an integrated framework for developing DBSC and then applies it to an Iranian public transportation company. Therefore, another contribution of this paper is the application of this method for an Iranian public transportation company.

Customer-centered knowledge management: challenges and implications for knowledge-based innovation in the public transport sector

Purpose – This study aims to explore the role of knowledge management practices in supporting current and emerging passengers’ and customer needs, aiming to create value. Specifically, the research examines the importance of customer-centred knowledge management in the delivery of innovative services and practices in the public transport sector, promoting the role of interactions between mobility stakeholders and travellers. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is developed and supported by the background literature on customer-centric knowledge management approaches, business model innovation, as well as on inter-organisational and network co-operations. Findings – Results show that the development of sustainable innovation and technologies in the transport sector requires knowledge management practices, which enable the access to knowledge about users’ needs, the mapping and evaluation of innovative knowledge, the promotion of knowledge-based innovation through collective approaches, as well as the acquisition and integration of new knowledge. Research limitations/implications – The conceptual framework developed in the paper remains limited to a theoretical understanding. Further research should empirically examine knowledge issues related to the intangible character and intellectual capital intensiveness of innovation in the transport sector. Practical implications – Researchers, public transport companies and public transport authorities are expected to benefit from this research, by developing mechanisms for customer-centred knowledge management, which is found to lead to innovative services and practices in the public transport sector. Another practical implication regards the adoption of knowledge management practices, leading to technological innovations in public transport, and advancing the level of sustainability in transport systems. Originality/value – The originality of this study lies in the development of a customer-focussed knowledge management framework, which provides a novel perspective of value creation in an attempt to engage researchers and practitioners from the transport industry in the conceptualisation and development of innovative solutions.

Factors associated with low back pain in workers: the influence of anthropometric measures, abdominal endurance and hip flexibility

Summary Study aim: to compare the physical fitness of bus drivers and fare collectors (working hours per day in sitting position = 7h) with and without low back pain. The subjects consisted of sixty-six bus drivers and fare collectors working in a public transport company. Material and methods: the prevalence of low back pain, age and working time was determined for bus drivers and fare collectors using a questionnaire. All subjects underwent anthropometric assessment (weight, height and waist circumference), an abdominal endurance test and a hip flexibility test. Results: there was a significant difference between the low back pain group (n = 27) and the group without pain (n = 39) in body mass index (27.5 ± 3.9 kg · m–2 vs. 25.6 ± 4.0 kg · m–2), waist circumference (92.5 ± 10 cm vs. 85.9 ± 9 cm), the abdominal endurance test (28.9 ± 17.5 repetitions vs. 38.4 ± 19.2 repetitions) and the hip flexibility test (69.1 ± 14.4 degrees vs. 78.3 ± 16.9 degrees). There was no significant difference in age and working time. Conclusion: anthropometric measures, abdominal endurance and hip flexibility are deficient in bus drivers and fare collectors with low back pain. We suggest that workers with prevalent low back pain increase their physical fitness.

A decompose-and-fix heuristic based on multi-commodity flow models for driver rostering with days-off pattern

Facing severe budgetary constraints, public transport companies are forced to efficiently manage staff, one of the most expensive resources.The driver rostering problem in a public transit company consists of defining rosters, that is, assigning daily crew duties to the company's drivers for a pre-defined time horizon, ensuring transport demand in a specific area, at low operating costs, while complying with legal restrictions and agreements between the company and the driver unions.The objective of this paper is the study of mathematical models and optimization techniques that lead to new computational tools able to solve the bus driver rostering problem with days-off patterns by producing solutions that increase efficiency and reduce operating costs, while improving or maintaining the service quality and balancing the drivers’ workload.Three mixed integer linear programming formulations are presented and compared from a theoretical point of view: an assignment/cover model, a multi-commodity flow model and a new multi-commodity flow/assignment model.Based on a hierarchy of the decisions made during the resolution of the problem, a new decompose-and-fix heuristic is developed by exploring the underlying structure of the multi-commodity flow models. The heuristic solves the sequence of sub-problems identified by the hierarchy, while fixing or bounding the value of some variables to incorporate previous decisions.Computational experiments were carried out with instances, derived from real world data and from benchmark data, characterized by a days-off pattern in use at two Portuguese public bus transport companies. Computational results confirm the good performance of the decompose-and-fix heuristic.

Regulation strategies on the public transit system with information provision

The effects of various regulation strategies on the transit fare and frequency in public transit system with information provisionwas studied. Besides two extreme strategies,namely monopoly optimum and social optimum,the rate-of-return strategy and quantity control strategy were also investigated as two more realistic regulation policies. The model assumes that the arriving passengers follow passion process and the percentages of passengers who plan their trips are endogenous and depend on the frequency of service and on the quality of information provided. There is a certain relationship between monopoly optimal and social optimal under the above model. In addition,the problem of profit maximization by public transport company under transit regulations was also analyzed. The results of the study found that the information provided undersocial optimum is better than monopoly optimal,and the number of passengers under social optimumis two times than monopoly optimal,other exogenous variables also have a significant effect of the four kinds of regulation strategies.

A Study on Effect of Internal Marketing Mix of Seoul Public Transportation Company on Individual and Organizational Performances

A Study on Effect of Internal Marketing Mix of Seoul Public Transportation Company on Individual and Organizational Performances

Incentivizing Users for Balancing Bike Sharing Systems

Bike sharing systems have been recently adopted by a growing number of cities as a new means of transportation offering citizens a flexible, fast and green alternative for mobility. Users can pick up or drop off the bicycles at a station of their choice without prior notice or time planning. This increased flexibility comes with the challenge of unpredictable and fluctuating demand as well as irregular flow patterns of the bikes. As a result, these systems can incur imbalance problems such as the unavailability of bikes or parking docks at stations. In this light, operators deploy fleets of vehicles which re-distribute the bikes in order to guarantee a desirable service level. Can we engage the users themselves to solve the imbalance problem in bike sharing systems? In this paper, we address this question and present a crowdsourcing mechanism that incentivizes the users in the bike repositioning process by providing them with alternate choices to pick or return bikes in exchange for monetary incentives. We design the complete architecture of the incentives system which employs optimal pricing policies using the approach of regret minimization in online learning. We investigate the incentive compatibility of our mechanism and extensively evaluate it through simulations based on data collected via a survey study. Finally, we deployed the proposed system through a smartphone app among users of a large scale bike sharing system operated by a public transport company, and we provide results from this experimental deployment. To our knowledge, this is the first dynamic incentives system for bikes re-distribution ever deployed in a real-world bike sharing system.

Value of the energy storage system in an electric bus fast charging station

Electric buses (EBs) are undergoing rapid development because of their environmental friendliness. Different from private electric vehicles, EBs are scheduled by a public transport company and required to be charged as soon as possible during operation hours. Consequently, the implementation of fast charging stations (FCSs) is essential to support the operation of EBs. Usually, the size of an FCS is constrained by the residual capacity of the connected distribution network and the investment budget. An energy storage system (ESS) is considered as a potential supplement not only to reduce the network integration cost for FCSs but also to reduce the charging cost of EBs through electricity price arbitrage. To quantify the value of ESS in an electric bus FCS, a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) formulation for optimal sizing and control of FCS and ESS is built. A simplification method is proposed to convert the MINLP problem to a linear one without any loss in optimality, which accelerates the solving process. Simulations are performed based on historical data of a practical FCS. Numerical results indicate that ESS can significantly help reduce the overall investment and charging cost of the FCS. Meanwhile, the parameters of investment cost, lifespan and time-of-use electricity price have significant influences on the overall value of ESS for an FCS.

TRAMWAY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN INDONESIA

Tramway systems, which can carry more passengers than buses at one haul, are now being proposed to meet Indonesia’s public transport requirement. The objective of this research is to analyze the management structures for operating tram in different countries and then propose a suitable organizational structure for operating trams, if re-introduced, in Indonesia. The author chose France (Montpellier tramway), Germany (Karlsruhe tram-train) and the UK (Nottingham Express Transit) as the role model countries for investigation. From the analysis, the most appropriate organizational structure and suitable tramway management structure for operating tramways implementation in Indonesia. The key features of the research are to establish public transport company by local government to manage all public transport systems, propose tramway construction and operation to exist as separate departments under the tramway team division of the public company, recommend the public transport company to have responsibility for overseeing construction of the trams, operating, and maintaining the trams, suggest local government to own them and have responsibility for tramway strategic policy, control regulation as well as supervision and coordination of the performance of the public transport company, propose joint working between public and private sectors.

Delay Management in Public Transportation: Service Regularity Issues and Crew Re-scheduling

In this paper, we propose a decision support tool to assist a local public transportation company in tackling service delays and small disruptions. We discuss different ways to assess and improve the regularity of the service, and we propose a simulation based optimization system that can be effectively used in a real-time environment taking into account both vehicle and driver shifts. In particular, we describe a tabu-search procedure for the online vehicle scheduling optimizing the regularity of the service and a column generation approach for the consequential crew re-scheduling minimizing the driver extra-time. As a case study, we analyze the management of urban surface lines of Azienda Trasporti Milanese (ATM) of Milan. In the last part of the paper we report a detailed analysis of the experimental phase showing the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

A Traveller Information System: Minimisation of the Number of Graphs’ Nodes Involved When Processing Route Requests

Abstract The number of people using public transport is continuously increasing. Transport companies want to fulfil travellers’ expectations wherever possible. However, the great number of public transport companies operating in the same area can sometimes confuse travellers as to which route they should take and how to obtain the information relative to their journey. In this paper we suggest integrating several traveller information systems from different companies into the same multimodal information system, offering companies the choice not to share their data. This encourages them to join the system. Additionally, we have minimised the number of nodes involved when processing travellers’ requests in order to simplify the calculation process. To put our plan into action, we have opted for a multi-agent system coupled with the Voronoi decomposition for managing the network.

Una aproximación a la eficiencia técnica de las empresas de transporte urbano colectivo en España

En el presente trabajo se analiza la eficiencia técnica de las empresas de transporte urbano colectivo en España durante el período 2008-2011. El estudio se realiza tanto a nivel global como segmentado según el tamaño de las empresas, utilizando una metodología no paramétrica (DEA). A tal fin, partiendo de la información económico-financiera de estas empresas, se seleccionan los inputs y outputs para aplicar un modelo orientado a inputs con rendimientos variables a escala. Los resultados evidencian que pocas empresas se sitúan en la frontera de eficiencia, y que las más eficientes no son sólo las empresas de mayor tamaño.

Application of RFID Technology in Public Transport Company

Our aim is to deal with the application of RFID technology in real conditions. Increasing interest in Radio Frequency Identification and related numerous applications for increasing automation in information systems has become an area of ​​interest public transportation applications. The reason for the application of RFID technology is tracking entrance/exit of vehicles to or from the parking area. The main expected benefits arising out of the introduction of this system is considered to maximize efficiency in payments to external carriers parking operator for services related to the use of the bus park for a period of time.