Priority infrastructure for minibus-taxis: An analytical model of potential benefits and impacts
http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2309-8775/2021/v63n4a6 Many governments in the global south are grappling with challenges of improving the quality of informal transport, and an inability to pay for service improvements. This paper asks the question whether efficiency benefits might be gained through strategic implementation of once-off infrastructure interventions providing priority to informal vehicles at intersections. We note that informal […]
Mixing the formal with the informal in shared right-of-way systems: A simulation-based case study in Tshwane, South Africa
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2021.11.012 The study uses a microsimulation-based approach to examine the implications of mixing informal and formal operations in shared public transport lanes, based on a real-world Bus Rapid Transit service. The question is relevant to cities in the global south trying to transition towards upgrading informal paratransit services by investing in dedicated infrastructure, yet do not have […]
Using Twitter to Infer User Satisfaction With Public Transport: The Case of Santiago, Chile
User satisfaction is an important aspect to consider in any public transport system, and as such, regular and sound measurements of its levels are fundamental. However, typical evaluation schemes involve costly and time-consuming surveys. As a consequence, their frequency is not enough to properly and timely characterize the satisfaction of the users. In this paper, […]
Integrating Frequency Setting, Timetabling, and Route Assignment to Synchronize Transit Lines
Synchronization of different transit lines is an important activity to increase the level of service in transportation systems. In particular, for passengers, transferring from one line to another, there may be low-frequency periods and transfer zones where walking is needed, or passengers are exposed to adverse weather conditions and uncomfortable infrastructure. In this study, we […]
Public preferences for mobility as a service: Insights from stated preference surveys
As mobility as a service (MaaS) continues to evolve with increasing interest throughout many countries, a key driver of its success will be the take up by the community of users seeking an alternative way of accessing individual modal options. Whether a packaging of modal services into a mobility bundle will appeal to the travelling […]
On evasion behaviour in public transport: Dissatisfaction or contagion?
Fare evasion, in public transport (PT), is a major problem in certain countries and threatens the PT administrators’ funds directly. Hence, identifying the possible causes for this behaviour can be highly relevant. Governments and PT administrators aim to deliver first-class services to satisfy customers, who will then tend to reuse the services and recommend them […]
Introduction to Special issue on developments in mobility as a service (MaaS) and intelligent mobility
Transit-oriented development and air quality in Chinese cities: A city-level examination
In this paper, we aim to see whether transit-oriented development (TOD) in Chinese cities is associated with better air quality. We first identify 37 Chinese cities with existing urban rail transit and/or bus rapid transit (BRT) systems. For each of these cities we generate performance-based TOD indicators – including measures such as urban area coverage, […]
Do preferences for BRT and LRT change as a voter, citizen, tax payer, or self-interested resident?
Interest in modal preferences remains a topic of high interest as governments make infrastructure decisions that often favour one mode over the other. An informative input into the infrastructure selection process should be the preferences of residents, since they can guide buy into support political and bureaucratic choice making. Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) uses the self-interest […]
Effect of critical incidents on public transport satisfaction and loyalty: an Ordinal Probit SEM-MIMIC approach
Supplying public transport systems with high levels of service quality is fundamental for retaining users and attracting new ones. Policies that improve transit service quality will ultimately lead to more sustainable travel patterns. Measuring overall service quality implies measuring the quality of several specific attributes and is prevalently evaluated through the perceptions of users, using […]
The efficiency of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems: A dynamic congestion approach
The penetration of BRT systems has been increasing fast, although there have been many reports of heavy queuing to board the buses. We propose a dynamic congestion approach that endogenously models queuing both on the road and at BRT stations, which are the center of our interest. We show analytically that, if capacity is perfectly […]
Understanding public transport satisfaction: Using Maslow’s hierarchy of (transit) needs
Public transport (PT) administrators require mechanisms to prioritise investments for improving their services, not only to maintain existing customers but also to attract new users. Customer satisfaction surveys allow detecting the level of global satisfaction with the PT system in addition to more specific satisfaction with its various attributes. Statistical analyses of these data allow […]
On the efect of operational service attributes on transit satisfaction
Public transport (PT) providers aim to ofer services that meet users’ satisfaction, and for this, they can control some operational service attributes such as frequency, speed, crowdedness and reliability. Understanding how these objective attributes afect user satisfaction is essential to improve it cost-efectively, but these associations have not been examined enough in the PT literature. […]
The danger zone of express services: When increasing frequencies can deteriorate the level of service
Express bus services are services that skip some of the stops along their routes to provide a faster ride for particularly demanded trips on a corridor. There is a growing literature on express services that focuses on route design and performance evaluation. In this work, we study a simplified transit corridor where a regular service […]
Citizen participation for sustainable transport: Lessons for change from Santiago and Temuco, Chile
Winning citizens’ support for urban planning decisions has been a challenge at least since Jacobs published her groundbreaking Death and Life of Great American Cities (Jacobs, 1961) and Arnstein defined a “ladder of participation” (Arnstein, 1969). Since then, anti-highway movements and pro-cycling advocacy have demonstrated considerable efficacy (Buehler & Pucher, 2017; Fackler, 2009; Harcourt, Rossiter, […]
The underlying effect of public transport reliability on users’ satisfaction
Service reliability has an important impact on the satisfaction stated by public transport users with the service they receive. The main source of unreliability is found in headway variance, which also affects waiting times and distributes passengers unevenly across vehicles. However, it is still unclear how headway irregularity, with its impact in waiting, crowdedness and […]
Evaluating BRT and LRT on a level playing field in developed economies: A cross cultural comparison
Real-Time Prediction Of Bus Travel Speeds Using Traffic Shockwaves And Machine Learning Algorithms
Most transit agencies are trying to increase their ridership. To achieve this goal, they are looking to maintain or even improve their level of service. This is very hard, since traffic congestion is normally increasing. As a result, bus travel times are higher and less reliable, which makes harder to predict travel times and avoid […]
Efficient contracting and incentive agreements between regulators and bus operators: The influence of risk preferences of contracting agents on contract choice
Abstract Contracts that govern transactions between regulators and operators are an important feature of service delivery in public transport. This paper reviews the literature on efficient contracting in general and its application to public transport contracts and found little empirical evidence on the influence of risk preferences of contracting agents on contract choice, a fundamental premise of classical […]
Restructuring Public Transport through Bus Rapid Transit: An International and Interdisciplinary Perspective (Book)
Book Summary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is commonly discussed as an affordable way for cities to build sustainable rapid transport infrastructure. This book is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of BRT, examining the opportunities it presents along with the significant challenges cities face in its implementation. A wide range of contributors bring expertise […]
The impact of bus rapid transit on housing price and accessibility changes in Sydney: a repeat sales approach.
Abstract New public transport infrastructure is expected to improve the accessibility for local residents, and thus contribute to the land value uplift. The contribution that a bus rapid transit (BRT) system can make to land value uplift is less certain than for rail based systems with the literature mostly containing bus-based examples from developing countries […]
Rail Transit Ridership – A Station-Area Analysis of Boston’s MBTA
Fare structures (book chapter)
Book Summary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is commonly discussed as an affordable way for cities to build sustainable rapid transport infrastructure. This book is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of BRT, examining the opportunities it presents along with the significant challenges cities face in its implementation. A wide range of contributors bring expertise […]
Road safety impacts of BRT and busway features (book chapter)
Book Summary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is commonly discussed as an affordable way for cities to build sustainable rapid transport infrastructure. This book is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of BRT, examining the opportunities it presents along with the significant challenges cities face in its implementation. A wide range of contributors bring expertise […]
BRRT adding an R for reliability (book chapter)
Book Summary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is commonly discussed as an affordable way for cities to build sustainable rapid transport infrastructure. This book is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of BRT, examining the opportunities it presents along with the significant challenges cities face in its implementation. A wide range of contributors bring expertise […]
The TRESIS approach to population synthesis and spatial micro simulation
Book Summary Generate and Analyze Multi-Level Data Spatial microsimulation involves the generation, analysis, and modeling of individual-level data allocated to geographical zones. Spatial Microsimulation with R is the first practical book to illustrate this approach in a modern statistical programming language. Get Insight into Complex Behaviors The book progresses from the principles underlying population synthesis […]
BRT as a tool for negotiated re-regulation (book chapter)
Book Summary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is commonly discussed as an affordable way for cities to build sustainable rapid transport infrastructure. This book is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of BRT, examining the opportunities it presents along with the significant challenges cities face in its implementation. A wide range of contributors bring expertise […]
Designing bus concession contracts (book chapter)
Book Summary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is commonly discussed as an affordable way for cities to build sustainable rapid transport infrastructure. This book is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of BRT, examining the opportunities it presents along with the significant challenges cities face in its implementation. A wide range of contributors bring expertise […]
Densificación residencial e integración social en torno a estaciones de transporte masivo (in Spanish)
Propuesta desarrollada en el marco del Concurso de Políticas Públicas UC 2015, publicada en el libro Propuestas para Chile 2015. El artículo aborda la densificación e integración socioespacial en torno a la infraestructura de transporte público. Se evalúa la disposición a densificar con integración de los actores relevantes, para lo que se clasifican las estaciones […]
Data challenges: more behavioural and (relatively) less statistical – a think piece.
Abstract The study of traveller behaviour has blossomed into a multi-disciplinary array of theories, methods and data paradigms aimed at improving our understanding of drivers of passenger and freight movement. While progress continues unabated, there remains the challenge of extracting more behavioural richness out of the way in which we work to understand the nuances […]
