Use Of Public Transport System Research Articles

Public transport across models and scales: A case study of the Munich network

Abstract The use of public transport systems is a striking example of complex human behavior. Modeling, planning, and managing public transport is a major future challenge considering the drastically accelerated population growth in many urban areas. The desire to design sustainable cities that can cope with a dynamically increasing demand requires models for transport networks since we are not able to perform real-life experiments before constructing additional infrastructure. Yet, there is a fundamental challenge in the modeling process: we have to understand which basic principles apply to the design of transit networks. In this work, we are going to compare three scientific methods to understand human behavior in public transport modeling: agent-based models, centralized optimization-based models, and minimal physics-based models. As a case study, we focus on the transport network in Munich, Germany. We show that there are certain universal macroscopic emergent features of public transport that arise regardless of the model chosen. In particular, we can obtain with minimal basic assumptions a common and robust distribution for the individual passenger in-vehicle time as well as for several other distributions. Yet, there are other more microscopic features that differ between the individual and centralized organization and/or that cannot be reproduced by a minimal nonlocal random-walk type model. Finally, we cross-validate our results with observed public transport data. In summary, our results provide a key understanding of the basic assumptions that have to underlie transport modeling for human behavior in future sustainable cities.

Factors Affecting Public Transportation Use during Pandemic

For preventing the spread of COVID-19, health authorities urgently turned their attention to urban public transportation. It is believed that virus transmission is more likely to occur in public transportation due to increased exposure to infected individuals in the closed and crowded spaces of public transport. This study aimed to model effective factors in the use of public transportation systems during a pandemic based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The methodology used was structural equation modeling, with 358 Iranian passengers in Tehran participating and data collected through a questionnaire. The data underwent analysis by means of the partial least squares method with the assistance of SMARTPLS software. The results indicate that passenger satisfaction is affected positively and significantly by expectation and service quality. Behavioral control, subjective norm, attitude, perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived ease of use (PEU) each contribute positively and significantly to the formation of intention. Service quality, PU, and PEU positively and significantly affect attitude. Finally, expectation, intention, PU, and PEU positively and significantly affect the use of the public transportation system. Therefore, it can be inferred that amalgamating TPB and TAM can serve as a robust indicator of passengers' inclination towards using public transportation during pandemic situations, as well as their actual usage of it.

SOME OF THE MODES OF OPERATION USED BY DRUG TRAFFICKERS

This article delves into the sophisticated and diverse methods employed by drug traffickers to evade law enforcement. It outlines the ingenious ways traffickers hide and transport narcotics, from using everyday vehicles modified with secret compartments to deploying complex drug manufacturing in clandestine laboratories. The study highlights the use of publictransportation systems and international postal services for drug movement, underscoring the challenges faced by authorities in detecting these covert operations. Additionally, it details various methods for the identification and detection of narcotics, emphasizing the necessity of advanced scientific techniques to combat this global issue. The article provides valuable insights into the evolving strategies of drug trafficking, offering a comprehensive understanding crucial for law enforcement and policy development.

Fostering an Age-Friendly Sustainable Transport System: A Psychological Perspective

The aging population is rapidly growing across the world, with the number of people aged 65 or older projected to reach 1.6 billion by 2050. As such, it is essential to consider how to develop sustainable transport systems that are age-friendly. This perspective paper investigates how to foster an age-friendly transport system with a particular focus on public and sustainable transport options for the elderly. Existing transport systems are evaluated to determine their adherence to an effective age-friendly transport system in terms of three main requirements, namely affordability, accessibility and safety. Then, a psychological perspective is introduced by considering the psycho-physical needs and preferences of the elderly as well as individual factors affecting them. Four areas are considered: (a) independence and autonomy, (b) comfort and convenience, (c) social inclusion and ageism, (d) physical health and well-being, especially injuries due to mobility and fear connected with them. Finally, a proposal is made about psychological training programs directed to both elderly users and transport workers to overcome concerns for an age-friendly transportation system. Such programs could effectively support the age-friendly use of public transport systems simply by increasing the age-friendly skills of both users as well as transport workers.

Public Transport Passenger Attraction Using Policy Interventions for a Post-COVID Scenario

Public transport (PT) ridership has seen a continual decline over the past years as more people are opting to use private vehicles, contributing to increased traffic congestions, road accidents, pollution, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this problem, with official guidelines discouraging the use of PT systems to prevent contagion. Passenger attraction policies for a post-pandemic phase should be formulated by examining the changes in daily trips brought about by the COVID-induced lockdowns. With data collected from employees working in Thiruvananthapuram city, the present study develops a post-lockdown mode-choice model using fuzzy logic programming to evaluate different policies to increase PT ridership. The policies such as introducing parking prohibition on major streets, reducing return-trip fares, improving PT coverage and supply, and early-bird pre-peak hour discounts were tested using sensitivity analysis and the choice model estimated a (private to PT) modal shift of 5.8%, 6.9%, 6.2% and 6.2%, respectively. It is concluded that passenger attraction policies should concentrate more on improving PT services than discouraging private modes to improve ridership.

Traffic Impact Assessment, Diversion and Management Plan for Surat Metro Line 1, Package –CS3, Surat

Abstract: Package CS3 of Metro Line 1 in Surat City includes 3 stations i.e. Surat railway station, Maskati Hospital and Chowk Bazar. As per proposed Metro plan of Surat city, this line will originate from Sarthana station and will terminate at Dream City. The length of Line 1 is 21.61KM of which 14.59km is elevated whereas 7.02km is Underground and consists of 20 Stations. This metro line envisages use of public transport system in Surat city and shall cater the present and future travel demand of the catchment area and shall also reduce load from road based transport system of the corridor. During the construction phase of any Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) running along the Right of Way (ROW) of existing roadway system, Traffic diversion and management plan implementation becomes absolute mandatory to reduce congestion, conflicts increase level of safety and ease construction process. Similarly, for package CS3 of Surat Metro line 1, there is need of preparing an implementing Traffic Diversion and Management plan to create a synergy amongst construction activities, traffic flow, safety of pedestrian and construction worker with minimal impact on surrounding catchment. This study shall provide Traffic diversion and management plan which may help to cater the existing traffic and stir them in a smooth and non-congested flow with the help of signage’s, road markings, etc.

Spatiotemporal behaviors of the ridership of a public transportation system during an epidemic outbreak: case of MERS in Seoul.

During May and June 2015, an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) occurred in Korea, which raised the fear of contagion throughout society and suppressed the use of public transportation systems. Exploring daily ridership data of the Seoul bus transportation system, along with the number of infected patients and search volume in web portals, we observe that ridership decreased abruptly while attention was heavily focused online. Then this temporal reduction recovered exponentially with a characteristic time of 3 weeks when newly confirmed cases began to decrease. We also find with the data of ranked keywords of web portals that areas with severely reduced ridership tended to cluster and spatiotemporal variations of such clusters were highly associated with general hospitals where MERS patients were treated. On the other hand, the spatial reduction in ridership relaxed algebraically with the distance from a general hospital while the outbreak was severe. We further probe the influence of the epidemic outbreak in the framework of linear response theory, which relates the responses to the epidemic outbreak (“perturbation”) with correlations in the absence of the perturbation. Indeed, the spatial correlation function of the ridership changes is observed to follow a power law, sharing the same exponent as the spatial relaxation of the response function. This new theoretical approach offers a useful tool for understanding responses of public transportation system to epidemic or accidental disasters.

Accessibility and inclusive use of public spaces within the city-centre of Ibadan, Nigeria

PurposeIssues pertaining to accessibility and inclusiveness of public spaces are not explicitly discussed in developing nations. Thus, this study aims to explore how ease of access and socio-economic status of residents influence the use of city-centre public spaces in Ibadan, Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachA survey involving users (N = 427) of three different types of public spaces (shopping mall, park and recreational centre) was undertaken. Statistical analysis including Kruskal Wallis H-test and ordered logistic regression analysis were used in determining the differences in the public spaces attributes and predicting the determinants of use.FindingsThe analysis revealed that the use of a private car, income and gender significantly predict the frequency of use. It was observed that the determinants of public space use differ across the three categories. In particular, accessibility better predicted the use of the park than it did for the shopping mall or the recreation club.Practical implicationsIt brings to fore ways through which city planning in developing countries can address social exclusion and spatial disparity within city-centres. Specifically, new proposals need to be sensitive to the walkability potentials when sitting parks whilst holistic efforts must be directed towards group-specific needs when planning shopping malls and recreation clubs. City management strategies, policies and incentives are required to encourage the use of public transportation systems within city-centre spaces as it presents a vital platform for improving access and inclusive use.Originality/valueThe study fills the gap in the literature by extending knowledge on certain aspects of city-centre’s public spaces in a unique cultural setting. The implications of socioeconomic disparity on public space use became apparent.

Catching the bus in Barcelona

In our study, we seek to identify the basic factors in citizens’ decisions to regularly use public transportation, especially the decision to ride a bus in Barcelona, Spain. Our survey reveals that, contrary to other recent results, income is not a statistically significant factor in those decisions, whereas level of education and occupation are. Moreover, the effects of congestion emerge as a key factor in the decision to ride the bus regularly. Considering congestion’s impact on the likelihood of regularly using the bus transport system, regular commuters in the urban area and riders with a high level of education are more responsive to reductions in congestion. Those findings contribute to an important discussion about implementing public policies that support citizens’ use of public transportation systems in urban areas.

Smartphones for public transport planning and recommendation in developing countries—A review

AbstractIn this era of connected systems that have penetrated everywhere, transport units have become a significant source of data, collected from commuters, vehicles, drivers, or any section being touched by the transport system. These data, which have both spatial as well as temporal aspects, is utilized for a plethora of services like travel assistant systems, multi‐modal transport solutions, real‐time travel information, smart parking, autonomous vehicles, to name a few. With the current buzz of sustainable transport, the use of public transport systems have been popularized owing to the economic and environmental savings. In this review article, we provide a highlight of works, which have tried to utilize techniques to improve multiple sections of the public transport system, primarily focusing on developing economies, thus improving the overall commute experience at various countries.This article is categorized under: Application Areas > Society and Culture Technologies > Internet of Things

How Japan Stumbled into a Pandemic Miracle

While a number of nations have used high-tech surveillance, mass testing, contact tracing, and draconian stay-at-home laws to manage the ongoing pandemic, Japan’s official response has been less energetic. The country also faces tremendous challenges with an aging population, high population density, and broad use of public transportation systems. Yet it has managed to achieve strong COVID-19 outcomes, with far lower death rates than many other advanced industrial democracies. This article traces Japan's weak response and potential explanations for its pandemic miracle, focusing especially on the role of social ties and silver linings that have emerged during the pandemic.

An efficient, dense and long-range marker system for the guidance of the visually impaired

In this paper, we address the problem of making a mobile/smartphone camera sensitive to distant fiducial markers. To this end, we carefully design a novel visual marker that is both dense and readable from large distances. The main novelty of the proposed marker is the combination of a quaternary color-based coding system with robust methods for reading the color patterns included in each frame once it is detected. These patterns include a CRC whose length grows linearly, whereas that of the message grows quadratically. Our experiments show that the proposed bundle marker-vision algorithm outperforms the alternatives in terms of distance and angle and also that it is very robust to changes in lighting conditions, thus making it a good intelligent system for guiding people with visual impairments in their day to day use of public transportation systems.

Bus timetabling considering passenger satisfaction: An empirical study in Beijing

Public transport is the key component in sustainable transportation. In China, large subsidies are provided by the national and local governments to encourage the use of public transport systems. However, high commuting demand leads to such incredible phenomenon that passengers have to climb windows for riding in buses during peak hours. Thus, a case study was conducted in a Beijing’s transport hub which covers 116 bus lines and ten stations. The existing bus timetabling is surprisingly manually made and 26.53% of the bus supply undertakes 59.19% of the bus demand, which results in unbearable long waiting time and on-board crowding. To find a bus timetabling method which is practical and applicable in China, three procedures are carried out. Firstly, the passenger satisfaction and the bus transit efficiency are simplified and formulated. Secondly, a preliminary bus timetabling method with consideration of passenger satisfaction is proposed for optimizing the bus frequency and headway. Thirdly, the bus timetabling is optimized by embodying a balance between the passenger satisfaction and the bus transit efficiency, subject to the constraints of load factor. This method is verified by field data and the results demonstrate that it has the advantage of reducing waiting time and lessening on-board discomfort.

The effect of odd-even driving scheme on PM2.5 and PM1.0 emission

According to a global survey of 1600 cities by WHO in 2015, Delhi was found to be the most polluted city in the world, highlighting immediate need to bring in appropriate and effective measures to ensure a healthy air quality throughout the city. In a bid to do so, the odd-even driving scheme was implemented a few years ago in Delhi city on a trial basis requiring the vehicles bearing odd and even registration numbers to run on alternative days with effect from 1st January 2016. Applied for the very first time in India and lasting on a pilot basis for 15 days and also referred to as Phase 1 of implementation, the scheme ended on 15th January 2016 with primary goal of assessing the extent to which such a scheme could serve as an effective measure to bring down and control the excessively high ambient air pollution levels. Other associated benefits, which the study considered, were decongestion of city roads, and promoting use of public transport system and carpooling, besides other alternative modes of transport. The paper presents a comparative analysis of particulate matter concentrations recorded before and during the implementation of odd-even scheme of Phase 1 for three key traffic corridors of the city. The study reports an average reduction of PM2.5 of 5.73% and that of PM1.0 of 4.70% in the ambient air across all the corridors during the days of implementation of scheme, which depicts a small but positive impact of the measure adopted towards abatement of urban air pollution in the megacity of Delhi.Capsule: The study finds that the odd-even driving scheme can help to reduce particulate matter levels compared to non-scheme days at traffic corridors.

Measuring Public Transport Accessibility for Elderly

The growth acceleration in the older population has been observed in many countries which creates a significant challenge to transportation. Public transport is an essential component of most people’s lives. This specific group of population growth will require special attention to accessibility and mobility issues in combination with the transport system which undoubtedly can play a key role to support ageing. Good health, quality of life and independence are fundamental values for the life as well as mobility. For people such as senior citizens, public transport needs to be accessible and affordable in order to provide them with the opportunity to fulfil their medical, shopping and recreational needs. Providing access to transport for people with age 65 & over is not a marginal problem and it is expected to grow in the future. The most important concern in accessibility is the relatively short distance and high frequency movements from a permanent home. This study will identify the travel pattern & mode for elderly commuters in greater Melbourne, Australia. The study will also suggest strategies to improve the use of public transport system to promote ageing in place.

Determining the potential and requirements of transit-oriented development (TOD)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of transit-oriented development (TOD), the perceptions of buyers and the establishment of the comfortable walking distance. The literature indicates the requirement of TOD with increasing population in major cities.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, exploratory sequential mixed methods research approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted followed by questionnaire survey. The respondents were categorised based on their generation cohorts to further understand their acuities on TOD.FindingsThe key consideration factors when buying houses in the TOD area are as follows: amenities related to jobs and family for Baby Boomers; time saving for Generation Y; and location for Generation X, i.e. house should be conveniently located in relation to working place, school, etc. Communities in Malaysia are willing to walk for five to ten minutes (approximately 400 to 800 m).Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies can be enlarged to include other major cities in Malaysia and draw comparisons with neighbouring ASEAN countries.Practical implicationsThis paper provides insights to property developers, consultants and government agencies for product development. Ultimately, TOD is the innovative sustainable solution for high-density urban planning and development.Social implicationsTOD is a sustainable development concept that encourages the use of public transportation system in order to reduce private motor vehicles usage.Originality/valueThis paper emphasises the potential of TOD, explores the perceptions of different generation cohorts in relation to TOD and establishes the comfortable walking distance for Malaysian communities. It also highlights the key factors of conveniences for TOD.

A Fundamental Study on Evaluation of Public Transport Transfer Nodes by Data Envelop Analysis Approach Using Smart Card Data

This research proposes a method of evaluating transfer nodes based on smart card data with the objective of making a contribution to public transportation restructuring in regional cities. The study seeks to better comprehend the use of public transportation systems (trams and buses) in central Kochi City in Japan based on the transportation mode transfers recorded on user Smart Cards. Specifically, this study seeks to use the Data Envelop Analysis (DEA) model, which allows us to reference multiple indices, in order to evaluate the efficiency of user transfers between transportation systems while also considering transfer times and user age groups. The study results show that efficiency varied according to the time of day and user age groups, even at the same transfer nodes, and identified the need for more thorough understanding of the properties of each transfer point based on the efficiency values of multiple indices.

Methodology for Evaluating Service Quality of Public Transport: Case of Delhi, India

The harmful effects of air pollution, noise pollution, traffic congestion, and energy consumption can be minimized by more and more use of public transport system. But the service quality is an obstruction in use of public transport. Managing the service quality is crucial and more important factor for increasing the use of public transport. In this paper researchers used SERVQUAL for measuring service quality of one of the modes of public transport. Service quality is an amalgamation of a variety of criteria, among them some vague criteria are difficult to measure. This attribute introduces the problem for respondent to response to the survey. To conquer this issue, the researchers used Fuzzy TOPSIS for assess the service quality of public transport system. To measure the service quality, the researchers firstly developed a questionnaire based on SERVQUAL for collected the data. The respondents provided the linguistic assessment for rating the criteria of service quality and the various alternatives available. Then linguistic assessments are combined by Fuzzy TOPSIS for measurement of overall performance of each and every alternative. The better criterion is chosen on the basis of overall performance score and ranks them. The potency of the presented move toward is its convenient applicability and skill to endow with quantitative information. The utility of this proposed approach for assessment of service quality of public transport will be applicable in the capital city and neighboring townships i.e. Delhi & NCR.

Evaluation of a GPS-Based System for Supporting Independent Use of Public Transportation by Adults With Intellectual Disability

Abstract People with intellectual disability often have support needs related to navigating their communities using public transportation. Specialized transportation resources such as paratransit programs or adult service agency transportation are costly and generally non-inclusive. This paper describes a study examining the impact of a GPS-based system called WayFinder operating on mainstream smartphone device on the independent use of public transportation systems by people with intellectual disability. Specifically, the impact of the system on number of training trials for independent navigation of a novel bus route (vs. traditional training procedures) and generalization to another novel route were examined. Additionally, the bus ridership and financial impacts were examined in a city where a provider organization and the public bus system were adopting WayFinder to support people with intellectual disability to access fixed-route bus systems. Implications and recommendations for future research and practice are described.

Toward Universal Design in Public Transportation Systems: An Analysis of Low‐Floor Bus Passenger Behavior with Video Observations

AbstractThis study aims to investigate the relationship between ergonomic comfort and the provision of accessibility features for mobility‐impaired persons in the use of public transportation systems in Korea. To deal with mobility issues in a public transportation environment, we chose the low‐floor bus as our research subject because it is the representative of a barrier‐free design solution. We collected data via video observation, which can overcome the limitations of traditional accessibility‐focused studies and laboratory studies by providing data on real usage patterns. We developed a framework to analyze the gathered data which includes user, space, tools, activities, and context. As a result, we observed existing difficulties of mobility‐impaired persons in terms of moving and supporting their bodies on the bus, despite the application of accessibility features. Furthermore, the design only for accessibility of mobility‐disabled persons can cause unexpected predicaments for the passengers who do not have physical handicaps. Drawing on these findings, we concluded that the concept of universal design in public transportation environments must be introduced in Korea. This study suggests video observation as a useful methodology for collecting data in dynamic environments. Additionally, our study is expected to contribute to how the concept of universal design can be implemented, and stimulate issues for ergonomic research based on our behavior pattern analysis.