Public Transport Supply Research Articles

Transportation policy potholes: analyzing Metro Manila’s COVID-19 response

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine government was already implementing policies and building infrastructure aimed at improving the country’s road-based public transportation system and alleviating impacts of traffic congestion, especially in Metro Manila. However, with the pandemic, new priorities emerged. Public transportation now plays a vital role in controlling the spread of the disease while, at the same time, ensures that essential services are accessible, and public transport providers are sufficiently supported. This paper analyzes the road-based public transportation policies of the government during the pandemic using a multi-dimensional framework. In general, and in principle, we see that the government policies issued are consistent with the recommended transport policies that must be implemented during such crisis. However, there are some strategies that are untimely implemented, such as the mandatory utilization of the integrated terminals, the forced consolidation of transport providers, and the continuing modernization of jeepneys.

Factors influencing the usage of shared E-scooters in Chicago

The rapid popularity growth of shared e-scooters creates the necessity of understanding the determinants of shared e-scooter usage. This paper estimates the impacts of temporal variables (weather data, weekday/weekend, and gasoline prices) and time-invariant variables (socio-demographic, built environment, and neighborhood characteristics) on the shared e-scooter demand by using four months (June 2019- October 2019) period of data from the shared e-scooter pilot program in Chicago. The study employs a random-effects negative binomial (RENB) model that effectively models shared e-scooter trip origin and destination count data with over-dispersion while capturing serial autocorrelation in the data. Results of temporal variables indicate that shared e-scooter demand is higher on days when the average temperature is higher, wind speed is lower, there is less precipitation (rain), weekly gasoline prices are higher, and during the weekend. Results related to time-invariant variables indicate that densely populated areas with higher median income, mixed land use, more parks and open spaces, public bike-sharing stations, higher parking rates, and fewer crime rates generate a higher number of e-scooter trips. Moreover, census tracts with a higher number of zero-car households and workers commuting by public transit generate more shared e-scooter trips. On the other hand, results reveal mixed relationships between shared e-scooter demand and public transportation supply variables. This study's findings will help planners and policymakers make decisions and policies related to shared e-scooter services.

Challenges of Low Carbon Public Transport Systems in the Arabian Gulf City: Case of Muscat, Oman

The Arabian Gulf cities are growing. The gulf cooperation council states (GCCs) are among the richest and most urbanized in the world. As a major focus on sustainable development of cities, sustainable transportation acts to diminish the city’s energy consumption by providing a public transport system that has greater ecological obligation and societal justice. The study’s significance is to figure out the challenges in the sector of public transport in the city of Muscat. The wide spread of mass transportation plays a significant role in reducing the exhaustion of energy. Also, it contributes to make a better living experience. Provision of sustainable public transport will prevent the increasing number of motor cars and equally accompanied environmental pollution and traffic congestion. The study is based on an in-depth quantitative and qualitative research method to explore the hindrances that are encountered in the way of building sustainable infrastructure of public transport. The findings of the study revealed that public transport system face real challenges in Gulf region, particularly in Muscat. It indicated that for the well-being of Gulf society, the use of public transportation was encouraged and most of the population have their own cars. In addition to it, cultural and social preservations are raised, mainly by the people that act against the operation of public transport system. Due to the substantial effect of clean and sustainable transportation on energy consumption levels, recent years have been marked with a notable trend towards sustainable and low carbon systems, particularly the mass transportation ones.

A snapshot of the informal organization of public transport operators in the Caribbean: Tap-Tap services in Port-Au-Prince

Literature about transport in the Caribbean is scarce. Furthermore, the lack of studies exploring the complexities associated with informality in transport in cities of the Caribbean stands in contrast with the wealth of literature about cities in the neighboring Central and South America. This knowledge gap has led to limited evidence and methods tailored to the region to inform transport policy, public investments, and regulation. This paper seeks to partially address this gap by presenting a snapshot of public transport supply (and suppliers) in Haiti's Metropolitan Area of Port-Au-Prince (PAP), an urban context marked by acute poverty and inequality social vulnerability. The paper frames the analysis in three dimensions of informal organization of transport supply: functional, space-time, and social, building on a literature review of informal transport in the Global South. The study builds on a survey conducted in 2018 to 461 drivers of Tap-Tap, privately-owned and operated modified pick-ups providing collective transport services to a large share of PAP's public transport demand. We construct a profile of the modes of organization and operation of Tap-Tap services under the three dimensions in the framework. The paper finds low levels of representation and organization, a limited role of drivers' associations, an overwhelmingly old fleet, and a masculine, unequal and exploitative system for operations. We also find that personal relationships play a significant role in the profitability of support functions of informal transport services. Such findings can inform policy and regulation in a highly dependent context from international development assistance, providing much-needed evidence for addressing pressing urban transport planning investment priorities.

Resident travel mode prediction model in Beijing metropolitan area.

With the development of economic integration, Beijing has become more closely connected with surrounding areas, which gradually formed the Beijing metropolitan area (BMA). The authors define the scope of BMA from two dimensions of space and time. BMA is determined to be the built-up area of Beijing and its surrounding 10 districts. Designed questionnaire survey the personal characteristics, family characteristics, and travel characteristics of residents from 10 districts in the surrounding BMA. The statistical analysis of questionnaires shows that the supply of public transportation is insufficient and cannot meet traffic demand. Further, the travel mode prediction model of Softmax regression machine learning algorithm for BMA (SRBM) is established. To further verify the prediction performance of the proposed model, the Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), model are introduced to compare the prediction accuracy. The results show that the constructed SRBM model exhibits high prediction accuracy, with an average accuracy of 88.35%, which is 2.83% and 18.11% higher than the SVM and MNL models, respectively. This article provides new ideas for the prediction of travel modes in the Beijing metropolitan area.

A Holistic Decision-Making Process to Improve the Productivity of Public Transportation in Cuenca-Ecuador

National governments are responsible for guaranteeing the accessibility, affordability, availability, and social acceptability of public services. If urbanization grows in an unplanned way requires more investments to extend the current infrastructure or build new ones. Since, in general, cities in developing countries lack sufficient economic resources, it is necessary to maximize the productivity of the current infrastructure to satisfy additional demand. Boosting asset utilization, optimizing maintenance planning, and expanding demand management measures could take advantage of the wasted infrastructure. The local government of Cuenca-Ecuador aims to expand the public transport supply throughout the urban area (77.5% of spatial cover and 92% of population cover in the urban area), using the maximum network capacity. Thus, it requires a holistic and inclusive framework that guarantees the implementation of the project. Studies in urban planning have shown that the productivity of the public transportation network depends on the network and activity systems. The application of actor-network theory demonstrated that the proposed solution (a package of 22 measures related to the transit-oriented development and demand-management measures) is not only necessary but feasible. The analysis allowed identifying ten interested actors and one non-interested actor. Moreover, the method highlights the role of each actor to counteract potential opponents and meet the target by 2030.

Proposal of a Multicriteria Method to Implement New Primary Health Care Units - a Case Study in São Carlos - SP

Primary Health Care (PHC) is understood as the user's first contact with the Brazilian health system. The planning of PHC units is usually done based on political decisions, which neglect technical aspects related to the theme. The general objective of this study is to present a multicriteria method to assist in planning the implantation of new PHC units, through technical and objective criteria. Then this method is put into practice in the city of São Carlos - SP. The study used as the main tool the Geographic Information System (GIS), and evaluated the quality of six criteria, which are: (1) service area; (2) spatial constraints; (3) risk of natural events; (4) public transportation supply; (5) population distribution; and (6) average income. Each criterion was based on a series of indicators with clear definitions that allowed for the assignment of values according to the theme of the criterion. Each criterion culminated in a thematic map, which, when combined through a raster calculator, allowed the general classification of the study area and the viability of implanting new PHC units. The proposed method proved to be a technical and objective tool, capable of helping in the planning of new PHC units. This is exemplified in the case study in the city of São Carlos- SP.

Precinct planning for active and public transport in growth suburbs

ABSTRACT Goals for increasing walking, cycling and public transport use are widely adopted in contemporary Australian planning. However, new and outer suburbs are often car-dependent and comparatively poorly served by other transport options. These suburbs, therefore, warrant special attention when planning for active and public transport. In Victoria, Precinct Structure Planning (PSP) is one instrument to influence active and public transport usage from the beginning. Drawing on relevant literature, document analysis and 30 interviews with stakeholders involved in the process, this paper investigates to what extent the PSP process includes active and public transport provision. The analysis is based on elements identified in the literature as being conducive to public and active transport: such as local destinations, mixed land uses, dwelling density and street connectivity. Moreover, we identify some key points of apparent tensions and trade-offs in the current PSP process concerning transport. While the PSP process is well established and has improved, there are some clear limitations to the effectiveness of planning for active and public transport, such as the low ambition for density goals. Importantly, there are also major issues beyond the actual planning process, concerning implementation, which need improvement if goals for facilitating walking, cycling and public transport use are to be met in new suburbs.

Revisiting car dependency: A worldwide analysis of car travel in global metropolitan areas

This article aims to contribute to the understanding of car dependency of cities, a line of inquiry which emerged in the late 1980s. First, we update possibly outdated insights based on more recent data. Second, we highlight methodological limitations of this type of research, which will help determine the relevance of typical findings in the broader debate on urban sustainability. For our analysis, we base ourselves on the Mobility in Cities Database which includes properties of urban form and mobility of 56 metropolitan areas worldwide. Using OLS modelling, we found that density, public transport supply and demand, car ownership, fuel price and level of congestion are important predictors of car use. However, although these variables are significantly associated with car travel in metropolitan areas, they do explain variance to a limited extent only, partly since such variables do not cover underlying personal attributes such as age, income, attitudes, or residential self-selection. This puts the findings and the implications of earlier comparative analysis of car dependency of metropolitan areas into perspective and questions the tendency of urban planning policies to view urban density as a silver bullet solution.

A simulation-optimization model for analyzing a demand responsive transit system for last-mile transportation: A case study in São Paulo, Brazil

Ride-hailing services, in particular Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) systems, have emerged in many cities worldwide as a potential solution to bridge the public transport supply gap. In such services, passengers whose itineraries and times are coincident to a certain degree can share vehicles that follow flexible routes to accommodate distinct boarding and alighting locations with minor disturbances to their convenience. In this context, this paper aims to evaluate the potential of a DRT as an alternative for a feeder to a trunk transport system, such as BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), or a metro or rail system as well. This is accomplished by a simulation–optimization model that allows determining, in very short time, the optimized way to serve each new transport request that arises dynamically over time. The model was applied to a first/last mile transportation system in an area adjacent to a subway station in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. We analyze and measure the impacts of different operational characteristics of supply and demand, measured in terms of service level to riders, number of vehicles, average occupation and total kilometer traveled per vehicle. The results evidence the potential of these DRT services as an alternative to complement the existing bus lines, as well as to attract users of individual transport, as they can offer adequate service level at a competitive cost.

GIS Approach Applied to Tourist Bus Route Design on Lanzarote Island

Current public transport supply on the Island of Lanzarote is clearly insufficient, and opportunities to substitute private automobiles are extremely limited, for residents and tourists alike. Therefore, this paper analyzes the possibility of introducing a tourist bus service to connect Lanzarote’s main tourist attractions, and it also focuses on a move towards public transport by tourists to reduce the CO2 emitted by excessive private car usage. This work assesses the impact of road transport in accessing tourist activities on Lanzarote Island and its implications for sustainable tourism development. The evaluation is based on the volume of CO2 emissions for the current tourist mobility model on the island and an alternative option such as a tourist bus route. The methodology employed here is the application of a geographical information system (GIS). The study analyzes how to manage the impact of road access to tourist sites through the implementation of a new tourist bus line. The study seeks to evaluate the design of a new bus to deliver tourists to key tourist activities on Lanzarote Island. A GIS-T algorithm is used to compare the level of CO2 emissions from the current tourist mobility model versus the implementation of a new touristic bus. The levels of pollution produced by the present system and the tourist route are compared, and different levels of demand for the new circuit are considered. We conclude that in order to reduce the current levels of emissions by around 15%, some 19.4% of the tourists that currently use hire cars would have to switch to the new tourist bus service.

Sustainably resilient supply chains evaluation in public transport: A fuzzy chance-constrained two-stage DEA approach

Owing to today’s highly competitive market environments, substantial attention has been focused on sustainably resilient supply chains (SCs) over the last few years. Nevertheless, very few studies have focused on the efficiency evaluation analysis of the sustainability and resilience of SCs as an inevitable essential in any profitable business. This study aims to address this issue by proposing a novel fuzzy chance-constrained two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model as an advanced and rigorous approach in the performance evaluation of sustainably resilient SCs. To the best of our knowledge, the current study is pioneering as it introduces a new fuzzy chance-constrained two-stage method that can be used to undertake the deterministic non-fuzzy programming of the proposed model. The proposed approach is validated and applied to evaluate a real case study including 21 major public transport providers in three megacities. The results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach in comparison to the existing approaches in the literature.

Optimal pricing of car use in a small city: A case study of Uppsala

Studies of cities that have successfully shifted demand from cars to more sustainable modes suggest that coordinated packages of mutually reinforcing policy instruments are needed. Congestion charges and parking fees can be important parts of such packages. This paper examines the introduction of welfare-optimal congestion charges and parking fees in a model calibrated to Uppsala, a small city in Sweden. These effects are modeled with a simple transport demand model for the welfare optimization of parking fees, congestion charges, and public transport provision. The results suggest that welfare-optimal congestion charges in Uppsala are as high as EUR 2.8 in peak hours and EUR 1.4 in off-peak hours. A rough cost–benefit analysis shows that the introduction of congestion charges in Uppsala is welfare improving if the operating costs of congestion charges are proportional to city population size. In the main scenarios, optimal congestion charges and parking fees reduce the number of car trips by 10% and 7%, respectively. The model can be used to assess when it is worthwhile to introduce congestion pricing.

Understanding the barriers to NET-ZERO transport for rural roads: a Northern Ireland case study

IntroductionClimate-related disasters have cost the world over £450 billion over the last 3 years. In the race to mitigate these effects, the UK government has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. Transport provides the largest single sector contribution to CO2 emissions, the road network accounts for up to 91%. As the only UK country without a formal climate change bill Northern Ireland could compromise the overall effort.Case descriptionIn this research a survey of road asset owners, managers, academics, consultants, public transport providers was undertaken to seek to understand the current barriers to adapting a dispersed rural road network in Northern Ireland for net-zero transport. The survey data was collected though an online form with a combination of multiple choice and open ended questions. Thematic analysis was used to code and analyse the data collected which enabled a discussion around the key expert opinions gathered.Discussion and evaluationThe paper presents details of the current road network in Northern Ireland and highlights some of the issues faced by asset owners. The survey questions were developed though engagement with transport professionals in Northern Ireland and focus predominantly on road use rather than the impact of current land management practices or environmental conditions such as flood risk. The response highlights a clear enthusiasm for change in the operation of the public road network which is hindered by a lack of government strategy and limited public consultation.ConclusionsThe high response rate (41%) for the survey highlights the interest of those in the transport sector to engage in activities which can support a better understanding of how road networks contribute to CO2 emissions. Within the survey data a requirement for behavioural change was highlighted as a key step to reduce transport related emissions, the enthusiasm for change demonstrates this is the optimum time to engage with the public and develop clear transport strategies. More accurate findings and empirical evidence could have been established had the study considered specific, transport planning, environmental and land use conditions for Northern Ireland. This will be the focus of further research in this area to enable clear translation of the research to other countries.

Tourism and intraregional transport: The assimilation of local transport in tourist destination – the perception of Lisbon’s residents

This article aims to analyze the importance that scientific research has given to tourists’ transport, understand the perception of visitors on the adequacy of intraregional transport in the visited destinations, understand the value different type of transports assume in tourist visits, identify the most used means of locomotion in a tourist destination and evaluate the acceptance levels of a tourist transport circuit organized with crossing points at the main touristic attractions, where visitors can leave their vehicles in strategically located car depots. In this case study, 226 valid respondents were considered. The main conclusion of this research is that Portuguese visitors do not consider adequate the supply of public and collective transportation in the national destinations they visit. Not only, most travellers do not use this type of transport to reach a travel destination as, once there, they won’t use it. Different factors influence the choice of the travel transportation but if the destination provides efficient supply of collective transportation or environmental vehicles for individual use, visitors are willing to drop their vehicles in car deposits outside touristic centres.

Accesibilidad y equidad espacial al transporte público para pacientes con enfermedad neurodegenerativa en Santiago de Cali, Colombia

Los sistemas de transporte público suelen ser en ciertos casos el único medio disponible para que algunos grupos de población accedan a servicios que cubren sus necesidades básicas y esenciales. Sin embargo, los diseños de estos sistemas no garantizan una accesibilidad adecuada y funcional, en especial para la población con algún tipo de discapacidad, disminuyendo la calidad de vida de estos usuarios y convirtiéndose en un factor de exclusión social. En este contexto, empleando herramientas de análisis espacial se evaluó la equidad espacial de las condiciones de acceso al sistema de transporte público para la población con enfermedad neurodegenerativa en la ciudad de Santiago de Cali, Colombia. Se estimó la equidad espacial a través de un valor único empleando la curva de Lorenz y el coeficiente de Gini. Esta evaluación facilita el seguimiento a la provisión de servicios generando insumos para establecer estrategias de planificación y operación del sistema de transporte. Se encontró un considerable grado de desigualdad para la provisión de transporte público, debido a múltiples factores, como la disponibilidad de caminata de los pacientes y la proximidad entre la residencia del paciente a una parada y/o un corredor vial del sistema de transporte.

Managing passenger etiquette in Tokyo: between social control and customer service

ABSTRACT Public transport providers often attempt to prevent passenger behaviour they consider dangerous, deviant, or otherwise undesirable through media technologies such as posters, signage, and overhead announcements. This paper explores the rationale of such mediated regulatory endeavours by taking up the example of ‘manner improvement’ poster campaigns by urban rail providers in Tokyo. Based on expert interviews with individuals involved in the production of poster campaigns and analysis of industry documents, it examines the motives and considerations guiding company interventions into passengers’ everyday mobility practices. While previous scholarship has largely viewed such initiatives as a form of social control, this paper interprets manner improvement efforts as a customer service strategy. The paper examines posters’ content, design, and limitations to argue that manner improvement efforts by urban transport providers are not primarily concerned with disciplining passengers but satisfying customer sensibilities. Enquiring into transit etiquette posters from the perspective of transport and design companies involved in creating them, this paper presents a novel contribution to the study of urban mobilities.

KAJIAN AKADEMIK PENYUSUNAN RANCANGAN PERATURAN DAERAH TENTANG SISTEM MANAJEMEN TRANSPORTASI DI KABUPATEN SUMBAWA

This study aims to provide a scientific and academic basis in making regulations regarding the transportation management system in Sumbawa Regency in the form of an academic text. To examine this study using empirical legal research methods with data collection using observation, document studies and interviews. The results obtained in this study are an empirical review of the number of groups that are still dependent on public transportation, but are not balanced with the provision of adequate public transportation, especially in terms of the feasibility of public transportation itself. Several factors make people reluctant to use public transportation, including security that is not guaranteed, facilities that are not feasible and are not environmentally friendly. The results of the evaluation and analysis of laws and regulations related to the transportation management system can be divided into 2, namely attribute regulations and delegation regulations. The drafting of a regional regulation on transportation management systems is based on a philosophical basis, a sociological basis and a juridical basis.

Access to Transportation: The Experiences of Women with Physical Disabilities

Many disabled people still encounter significant barriers in getting access to transportation, especially those with physical impairments. Although the Malaysian government has developed significant disability provision, policies and legislation since the period of colonialism, disabled people still have difficulties accessing public transport. This paper, therefore, set to explore the experiences of women with physical disabilities in gaining access to public transportation. The study collected the data from in-depth interviews with 33 Malaysian women with physical impairments. The data collection took six months in interviewing twice 17 Malays, eight Chinese and eight Indian women in Malaysia. The majority of informants came from low income and rural families, and thus many of them had limited access to transportation. The findings found that many of the women interviewed revealed that they had experienced significant barriers in getting access to public transports in terms of inaccessibility of public transport and negative attitudes of the public transport providers. Therefore, this article will discuss the study's implication and how it impacts women with disabilities in Malaysia.

Who continued travelling by public transport during COVID-19? Socioeconomic factors explaining travel behaviour in Stockholm 2020 based on smart card data

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has changed travel behaviour and reduced the use of public transport throughout the world, but the reduction has not been uniform. In this study we analyse the propensity to stop travelling by public transport during COVID-19 for the holders of 1.8 million smart cards in Stockholm, Sweden, for the spring and autumn of 2020. We suggest two binomial logit models for explaining the change in travel pattern, linking socioeconomic data per area and travel data with the probability to stop travelling.Modelled variablesThe first model investigates the impact of the socioeconomic factors: age; income; education level; gender; housing type; population density; country of origin; and employment level. The results show that decreases in public transport use are linked to all these factors.The second model groups the investigated areas into five distinct clusters based on the socioeconomic data, showing the impacts for different socioeconomic groups. During the autumn the differences between the groups diminished, and especially Cluster 1 (with the lowest education levels, lowest income and highest share of immigrants) reduced their public transport use to a similar level as the more affluent clusters.ResultsThe results show that socioeconomic status affect the change in behaviour during the pandemic and that exposure to the virus is determined by citizens’ socioeconomic class. Furthermore, the results can guide policy into tailoring public transport supply to where the need is, instead of assuming that e.g. crowding is equally distributed within the public transport system in the event of a pandemic.