Level-Based Approach to Public Transport Network Planning

Author(s):  
Hermann Orth ◽  
Andrew Nash ◽  
Ulrich Weidmann

The public transport network level is defined and is used to describe the performance and future improvement of the public transport system in Zurich, Switzerland. A public transport level is a specific type of service designed to serve a particular market. “Service” is defined as a combination of vehicles, infrastructure, and operating characteristics. A pure level occurs when the service is targeted specifically at one particular market. A hybrid level occurs when a service is targeted to serve several markets. Urban travel is generally described as three markets: short, inter mediate, and long-distance trips. Consequently many cities have developed three-level public transport networks: surface buses and trams to serve short trips, rapid rail to serve intermediate trips, and regional rail to serve longer-distance trips. Often, by design or for historic reasons, cities have additional levels, fewer levels, levels that are not precisely matched to their markets, or all three. For example, two-level networks are often found in medium-sized cities. Their advantage is lower costs, and their main disadvantage is a mismatch between transport mode and market that manifests itself in capacity limitations. The level concept to help analyze and plan public transport service is useful because it focuses attention on matching service qualities to markets. This approach, used here to analyze the success of the public transport system of Zurich, Switzerland, and to provide a structure for planning improvements that will be needed to meet rapidly increasing public transport demand, could help other cities design or redesign their public transport systems to be more attractive and efficient. More specifically, the approach could show how two-level public transport networks would be a viable option for medium-sized cities and large cities with dispersed settlement patterns.

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 4315
Author(s):  
Mark Richard Wilby ◽  
Juan José Vinagre Díaz ◽  
Rubén Fernández Pozo ◽  
Ana Belén Rodríguez González ◽  
José Manuel Vassallo ◽  
...  

Bicycle Sharing Systems (BSSs) are exponentially increasing in the urban mobility sector. They are traditionally conceived as a last-mile complement to the public transport system. In this paper, we demonstrate that BSSs can be seen as a public transport system in their own right. To do so, we build a mathematical framework for the classification of BSS trips. Using trajectory information, we create the trip index, which characterizes the intrinsic purpose of the use of BSS as transport or leisure. The construction of the trip index required a specific analysis of the BSS shortest path, which cannot be directly calculated from the topology of the network given that cyclists can find shortcuts through traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, etc. to reduce the overall traveled distance. Adding a layer of complication to the problem, these shortcuts have a non-trivial existence in terms of being intermittent, or short lived. We applied the proposed methodology to empirical data from BiciMAD, the public BSS in Madrid (Spain). The obtained results show that the trip index correctly determines transport and leisure categories, which exhibit distinct statistical and operational features. Finally, we inferred the underlying BSS public transport network and show the fundamental trajectories traveled by users. Based on this analysis, we conclude that 90.60% of BiciMAD’s use fall in the category of transport, which demonstrates our first statement.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Olivková

Abstract This article presents a detailed description and explanation of the methodology for evaluation of quality public transport criteria in terms of passenger satisfaction. In 2011-2014 this method was applied in an assessment of passenger satisfaction with the urban public transport system in Ostrava. In order to assess passengers’ satisfaction, traffic survey has been chosen utilizing questionnaire and student inquirers. The results achieved by application of the method have been processed to evaluate time accessibility criteria of a public transport system. Time accessibility criteria group (accessibility of stops, waiting for a connection and transferability in the public transport network) evaluates physical and psychological aspects of the passenger during his arrival at the station, while leaving the station, in the course of waiting for a connection and during the transfer. The time accessibility criteria are considered the most significant criteria that impact a passenger’s decision to utilise public transport options.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13356
Author(s):  
Ioannis Politis ◽  
Georgios Georgiadis ◽  
Aristomenis Kopsacheilis ◽  
Anastasia Nikolaidou ◽  
Panagiotis Papaioannou

The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyday life to a significant degree. The transport sector is no exception, with mobility restrictions and social distancing affecting the operation of transport systems. This research attempts to examine the effect of the pandemic on the users of the public transport system of London through analyzing tweets before (2019) and during (2020) the outbreak. For the needs of the research, we initially assess the sentiment expressed by users using the SentiStrength tool. In total, almost 250,000 tweets were collected and analyzed, equally distributed between the two years. Afterward, by examining the word clouds of the tweets expressing negative sentiment and by applying the latent Dirichlet allocation method, we investigate the most prevalent topics in both analysis periods. Results indicate an increase in negative sentiment on dates when stricter restrictions against the pandemic were imposed. Furthermore, topic analysis results highlight that although users focused on the operational conditions of the public transport network during the pre-pandemic period, they tend to refer more to the effect of the pandemic on public transport during the outbreak. Additionally, according to correlations between ridership data and the frequency of pandemic-related terms, we found that during 2020, public transport demand was decreased while tweets with negative sentiment were being increased at the same time.


2020 ◽  
Vol 208 ◽  
pp. 05005
Author(s):  
Irina Skorobogatykh ◽  
Zhanna Musatova ◽  
Roman Sidorchuk ◽  
Natalia Ivashkova ◽  
Petr Nevostruev

Consistent actions taken by car manufacturers to improve the quality of vehicles make them easier to use and reduce their negative impact on the environment significantly strengthen the competitiveness of personal transport. At the same time, high investments in the development of urban transport systems (especially large ones) create conditions for the mobility of all population groups, but do not significantly affect the competitiveness of public transport. At the same time, the high competitiveness of the public transport system is a sign of the successful implementation of the concept of sustainable development of the territory, making it more attractive for tourism and stimulating its development. The study of the limitations of the analysis of the competitiveness of public transport is conducted in this article along with an analysis of the factors that influence the choice of citizens in terms of mobility for their daily tasks. The article presents the results of an empirical study of relations between Moscow residents and public transport, changes in the intensity of use of personal cars in the period 2015-2020. During this period, the transport system has undergone significant positive changes, which have affected the perception of comfort and accessibility of public transport in Moscow.


Author(s):  
Yanyan Gu ◽  
Yandong Wang

The public transport system is considered as one of the most important subsystems in metropolises for achieving sustainability objectives by mediating resources and travel demand. Representing the various urban transport networks is crucial in understanding travel behavior and the function of the transport system. However, previous studies have ignored the coupling relationships between multi-mode transport networks and travel flows. To address this problem, we constructed a multilayer network to illustrate two modes of transport (bus and metro) by assigning weights of travel flow and efficiency. We explored the scaling of the public transport system to validate the multilayer network and offered new visions for transportation improvements by considering population. The proposed methodology was demonstrated by using public transport datasets of Shanghai, China. For both the bus network and multilayer network, the scaling of node degree versus Population were explored at 1 km * 1 km urban cells. The results suggested that in the multilayer network, the scaling relations between node degree and population can provide valuable insights into quantifying the integration between the public transport system and urban land use, which will benefit sustainable improvements to cities.


Author(s):  
Tatenda Mbara ◽  
Smart Dumba ◽  
Tapiwa Mukwashi

Cities in the developing world are growing both geographically and demographically. Thisgrowth has increased pressure on services, including the public transport systems used bythe majority of people. In the last two decades public transport provision has undergoneconsiderable changes. Concomitant to these changes there has been debate on the formof public transport to be operated. Such debate has been informal, general, and at timesacademic, and therefore not able to provide substantive understanding of the views of keystakeholders. Zimbabwe has had an explosion of informal transport activity in the formof minibuses, and decision makers appear to be in a policy dilemma because of a need tostrike a balance between maximising passenger welfare whilst protecting the livelihoods ofindigenous minibus operators and striving to build an efficient and environmentally soundurban transport system. Critical questions for policy dialogue in this conundrum include,inter alia: How do stakeholders perceive the current public transport system? How can publictransport be sustainably provided? This study seeks to answer these questions using a casestudy of Harare. A qualitative research approach blended with some quantitative aspects wasused. Initial steps involved the identification and clustering of key urban public passengertransport stakeholders, followed by structured and unstructured interviews. Although thereis lack of consensus on the form of public transport that the City of Harare should adopt, thereis a strong view that a mass transit system is the backbone of sustainable public transport.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Elmar Wilhelm M. Fürst ◽  

This article aims at providing a basic understanding of the important, but often neglected field of accessibility in public transport. Accessibility as an inclusive sustainable concept has the goal to enable all people to use the public transport system independently and self-determinedly. The implementation of accessible public transport directly affects different user groups. People who do not have temporary or permanent impairments will also benefit from simpler and more accessible systems. Consequently, the usability and comfort of public transport systems is raised for all persons. Therefore, the paper points out barriers and solutions for different target groups in public transport and discusses solutions for overcoming them. The paper concludes by showing how the consideration of accessibility already in the planning phase of a project can substantially reduce costs and improve the quality of the services, respectively leading also to better economic results.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Łukasz Fiedeń

Abstract Major changes can be observed in the way that the public transport system in Poland operates as a result of the structural and ownership transformations of the former state-owned Motor Transport Company (Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Samochodowej [PKS]). An analysis was carried out of the town’s existing public transport connections in order to determine the impact of these changes on the mobility of the residents of a small town. The town of Brzozów was selected for the research. After August 2013, PKS Krosno S.A. withdrew from the provision of services on many bus routes in that area. The external accessibility of public transport in Brzozów was presented at three scales: local, intra-regional and national. Each of these has its own characteristics, and the bus routes provided on each of these scales have different significance for the inhabitants and the functioning of the economy. Accessibility by public transport in Brzozów is very good and strongly correlated with the city’s functional links on local, regional and national scales. The main transport axis of the city is the route connecting Rzeszów (the capital of Podkarpackie Province) with the Bieszczady Mountains (an area of great value for tourism). On the local market, the desire to adapt the carriers’ provision to the needs of students and the employees of large companies, while providing for university students on the market for long-distance transport, provided the main motivations for changes in the public transport system in the area of Brzozów Municipality.


Author(s):  
A. Kinsht ◽  
E. Malova

Public transport is not only an element of a city ensuring the territorial integrity, but also a factor that significantly affects the quality of the urban environment. Improvement of the public transport system and optimization its types make it possible to rebuild the urban space, providing territories for public, recreational and other functions of the city. The transport infrastructure in the urban environment without these functions results in negative consequences.The aim of the work is to identify the advanced trends in the organization of the public transport system based on the experience of cities with a high level of urban comfort.It is shown that without the interaction with external and internal components of the urban and transport systems, the infrastructure of public transport cannot be considered, since transport becomes a competitor for land resources for pedestrian, cycling infrastructure and landscaping. It is found that the optimization of the transport system must be oriented towards the accessibility of urban areas at any time, expanding pedestrian and green areas and reducing the negative impact on the urban environment.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4384
Author(s):  
Hanhee Kim ◽  
Niklas Hartmann ◽  
Maxime Zeller ◽  
Renato Luise ◽  
Tamer Soylu

This paper shows the results of an in-depth techno-economic analysis of the public transport sector in a small to midsize city and its surrounding area. Public battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses are comparatively evaluated by means of a total cost of ownership (TCO) model building on historical data and a projection of market prices. Additionally, a structural analysis of the public transport system of a specific city is performed, assessing best fitting bus lines for the use of electric or hydrogen busses, which is supported by a brief acceptance evaluation of the local citizens. The TCO results for electric buses show a strong cost decrease until the year 2030, reaching 23.5% lower TCOs compared to the conventional diesel bus. The optimal electric bus charging system will be the opportunity (pantograph) charging infrastructure. However, the opportunity charging method is applicable under the assumption that several buses share the same station and there is a “hotspot” where as many as possible bus lines converge. In the case of electric buses for the year 2020, the parameter which influenced the most on the TCO was the battery cost, opposite to the year 2030 in where the bus body cost and fuel cost parameters are the ones that dominate the TCO, due to the learning rate of the batteries. For H2 buses, finding a hotspot is not crucial because they have a similar range to the diesel ones as well as a similar refueling time. H2 buses until 2030 still have 15.4% higher TCO than the diesel bus system. Considering the benefits of a hypothetical scaling-up effect of hydrogen infrastructures in the region, the hydrogen cost could drop to 5 €/kg. In this case, the overall TCO of the hydrogen solution would drop to a slightly lower TCO than the diesel solution in 2030. Therefore, hydrogen buses can be competitive in small to midsize cities, even with limited routes. For hydrogen buses, the bus body and fuel cost make up a large part of the TCO. Reducing the fuel cost will be an important aspect to reduce the total TCO of the hydrogen bus.


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