scholarly journals Framework for Assessing Public Transportation Sustainability in Planning and Policy-Making

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Karjalainen ◽  
Sirkku Juhola
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Sustainability Planning ◽  
Transportation Sustainability

Transportation plays a key role in urban sustainability planning and urban greenhouse gas emission reductions. Globally, cities have established sustainability agendas and policies to guide the shift from traditional private automobile dependent transportation systems towards an increased use of public transportation, cycling, and walking. While the surrounding physical urban form and governance structures condition public transportation services, there are also many other factors to consider when discussing sustainability. As such, comprehensive planning and policy-oriented assessment frameworks that are independent of local conditions are still largely missing in literature. This paper presents a Public Transportation Sustainability Indicator List (PTSIL) that provides a platform for an integrated assessment of environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability through an indicator-based approach. To demonstrate its use, the PTSIL is applied to analyze the policy documents of public transportation agencies in Helsinki, Finland, and Toronto, Canada. The results show that while both cities achieve relatively high scores in all dimensions, there is still high variability among individual indicators. The PTSIL presents a missed stepping stone between descriptive definitions of transportation sustainability and case specific sustainability performance assessments, offering an opportunity within the planning and policy-making sectors to review, assess, and develop public transportation services comprehensively.

scholarly journals Estimating Cost Savings of Coordinating Regional Non-Emergency Human Transport Services

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryoichi Sakano ◽  
Julian Benjamin
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Transport Services ◽  
Transportation Agencies ◽  
Human Transport ◽  
Current Operating

Local public transportation agencies provide a nonemergency human transport service to nearby hospitals and doctors' offices. Some users require specialized medical services at a hospital located out of the normal service area. In the Piedmont/Triad region of North Carolina, the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) began PART Connections in April 2004, to provide two daily transportation services between the Piedmont/Triad area and the UNC/Duke medical areas. Using current operating cost data of participating transportation systems, round-trip costs to the UNC/Duke medical areas from each county and to the nearest PART Connections stop are estimated. Given the actual number of passengers served by PART Connections during the first nine-month period of the service, the net saving in the operating cost by participating PART Connections is estimated for each system. Then, the total service hours saved by using PART Connections are estimated for each system, and are used to estimate the number of additional passengers served within the system. It is estimated that PART Connections could provide a net saving of $38,000 on operation expenses annually to the participating four county transportation systems. More importantly, PART Connections would enable the four county systems to provide more than 10,000 additional passenger trips within each county annually, by using the saved resources. In addition, 12 local community transportation providers in 15 western counties of the Piedmont/Triad region, which currently do not participate in PART Connections, are estimated to save a modest $9,600 in total annually, by using PART Connections.

Planning Innovative Public Transportation Systems for Arlington, Texas

1996 ◽  
Vol 1521 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28
Author(s):  
David A. Faria ◽  
Wilma Smith
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
General Will ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
Niche Concept ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Alternative Community ◽  
Public Transportation Systems ◽  
The City

A study was done to develop various innovative transportation strategies to address the changing travel needs of Arlington, Texas, residents. The study was guided by the Arlington Community Transportation Study Committee. It developed the transportation niche concept: the ability to use alternative community transportation services to address specific needs of the community in different parts of the city. Five high-priority niches were studied in detail. The success of the individual niches in particular and the integrated transportation system in general will rely heavily on the cooperation and coordination between the public and the private sectors and the acceptance of the niche concept by the general public.

The State of Transportation for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services 1915(c) Waivers

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carli Friedman ◽  
Mary C. Rizzolo
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Services And Supports ◽  
Community Based Services

Transportation is the most frequently reported problem for people with disabilities. While some people with disabilities have difficulty with limited or no public transportation systems, others have trouble with inaccessible infrastructures and systems. In addition, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have trouble with many of the skills that navigating transportation requires. Although accessible transportation is crucial for independent living, Medicaid only requires states cover nonemergency medical transportation and does not require transportation related to other aspects necessary for community living such as accessing work, errands, or recreational activities. The purpose of this article is to examine Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) 1915(c) waivers, the largest provider of long-term services and supports for people with IDD, to see how transportation is provided for people with IDD. Our examination of 99 waivers for FY 2013 revealed 58 waivers provided transportation-specific services and 71 waivers provided transportation within another service. The majority of waivers provided transportation for people with IDD through these two means; however, this transportation was often limited to very specific purposes. From our findings, it appears transportation services for people with IDD in waivers need to be expanded to support community access and integration.

scholarly journals Urban Form and Mobility Choices: Informing about Sustainable Travel Alternatives, Carbon Emissions and Energy Use from Transportation in Swedish Neighbourhoods

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todor Stojanovski
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Transportation Energy ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Urban Planning And Design

The lack of mobility choices in many Swedish neighbourhoods and cities designed for automobiles hinders the possibilities to shift towards more sustainable travel alternatives. Urban designers and planners can help with redesigning these neighbourhoods and creating urban forms that encourage walking, cycling and increased use of public transportation if they are informed about the environmental performance and carbon implications of transportation systems in existing and newly planned neighbourhoods. This paper proposes a mobility choices model based on urban form and accessibility factors commonly used in urban planning and design practices. The mobility choices model produces heat maps and visually informs about the integration with walking, cycling, public transportation and private car, modal shares, carbon emissions and transportation energy use. This information can (potentially) trigger urban transformation or redesign to better integrate sustainable travel alternatives in these neighbourhoods and contribute to more sustainable cities. Many houses can have an excellent environmental performance as buildings but they can be located at a distance where it is impossible to walk, cycle or use public transportation. The benefits of energy efficient and carbon neutral home then disappears with extensive travel and commuting by automobile.

Rural Intelligent Public Transportation System Design

2015 ◽  
pp. 623-650
Author(s):  
Leila Esmaeili ◽  
Seyyed AliReza Hashemi G.
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Intelligent Transportation Systems ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Trip Planning ◽  
Transportation Management ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Public Transportation System ◽  
User Centric ◽  
Public Transportation Systems ◽  
Intercity Transportation

In order to improve the level of intelligence, availability, convenience, information and humanization of rural public transportation systems, they are more willing to use modern information and communicative technologies. In addition to management services, intelligent transportation systems can provide passengers, drivers and other institutions with other services such as trip planning, tracking and so forth. In this paper the authors have attempted to present a comprehensive design of rural ITS based on cloud and grid computing, RFID, GPS, GIS, etc. through e-commerce and particularly m-commerce in order to improve the rural transportation management and presentation of user-centric services. Also according to the design, intercity transportation services to passengers are re-engineered. The results show proposed design with distribution infrastructure improves the performance of e-commerce and ISs in transportation domain. The system designed on this paper regardless of the possible challenges could efficiently cover the problems of rural transportation of newly developing countries.

scholarly journals YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE! TRANSPORTATION ISSUES OF OLDER ADULTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S253-S253
Author(s):  
Angela M Zell ◽  
Joan Ilardo
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Transport Services ◽  
Innovative Solutions

Abstract Older adults and individuals with disabilities face transportation challenges on a daily basis that differ from the general population. Transportation is critical to all aspects of quality of life yet presents significant challenges. Lack of appropriate vehicles, reliable public transportation, and the high-cost of vehicle ownership lead to missed healthcare appointments, lack of access to proper nutrition, and social isolation. The purpose of the study was to provide information for the Commission on Services to the Aging. It was necessitated by the lack of existing data from the Department of Transportation because Michigan’s transportation systems are locally controlled. An online questionnaire was emailed to public and private organizations serving older adults and people with disabilities to determine transportation services currently available in their geographic areas and innovative solutions employed to address barriers. The questionnaire was adapted from the National Center of Senior Transportation in 2009 that produced the report “Transportation: The Silent Need”. The study analyzed data on current transportation services and innovative solutions piloted in Michigan. Respondents represented every Michigan county and included area agencies on aging, senior centers, councils on aging, healthcare agencies, transportation providers, community action agencies, and job training programs. Information includes: services provided by the agency; barriers to accessing transportation; access to transportation services information; transport services previously used, currently available, and being planned. Many of the 95 respondents commented on persistent lack of funding for viable, reliable transportation options and jurisdictional issues. Most pilots used fixed routes, volunteer drivers, demand response and expanded schedules.

Regulation of Road-Based Public Transportation and Strategies for the Developing World

2003 ◽  
Vol 1835 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges B. Darido
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Private Organizations ◽  
Sustainability Strategies ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
And Performance

In most cities of the developing world road-based public transport (i.e., buses, paratransit, jitneys, etc.) is the primary mode of motorized travel. Varying degrees of regulation control its provision; regulation is sometimes the role of government, private organizations, or the operators themselves. Many characteristics of developing world cities and travel markets influence the implementation and performance of regulatory schemes for public transportation. By exploring these factors and the spectrum of regulatory options, it is possible to suggest a methodology framework to make regulation and competition of public transportation services more effective and sustainable. This methodology attempts to capture local conditions, priorities, implementation issues, and sustainability strategies for developing regulatory schemes. Research concludes with suggested practices and strategies to increase the acceptance and sustainability of regulations by maximizing the potential benefits and minimizing the negative impacts.

Rural Intelligent Public Transportation System Design

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Esmaeili ◽  
Seyyed AliReza Hashemi G.
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Intelligent Transportation Systems ◽  
Intelligent Transportation ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Trip Planning ◽  
Transportation Management ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Public Transportation System ◽  
Public Transportation Systems ◽  
Intercity Transportation

In order to improve the level of intelligence, availability, convenience, information and humanization of rural public transportation systems, they are more willing to use modern information and communicative technologies. In addition to management services, intelligent transportation systems can provide passengers, drivers and other institutions with other services such as trip planning, tracking and so forth. In this paper the authors have attempted to present a comprehensive design of rural ITS based on cloud and grid computing, RFID, GPS, GIS, etc. through e-commerce and particularly m-commerce in order to improve the rural transportation management and presentation of user-centric services. Also according to the design, intercity transportation services to passengers are re-engineered. The results show proposed design with distribution infrastructure improves the performance of e-commerce and ISs in transportation domain. The system designed on this paper regardless of the possible challenges could efficiently cover the problems of rural transportation of newly developing countries.

From Rural Single-County to Multicounty Regional Transit Systems: Benefits of Consolidation

2003 ◽  
Vol 1841 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Cook ◽  
Judson J. Lawrie ◽  
Andrew J. Henry
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
The State ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Legislative Changes ◽  
Public Transportation Systems

A research study developed recommendations for activities to consolidate single-county rural public transportation systems into regional multicounty transit systems in North Carolina. The study identified opportunities from regionalization of public transit services, examined barriers to integration and consolidation of transit systems regionally, evaluated best practices from case study sites, and made recommendations for programmatic and legislative changes to facilitate the implementation of regional transit systems in both metropolitan and rural areas of the state. Emphasis is on the rural component of the study, in summarizing regionalization issues and recommendations for the consolidation of rural single-county into multicounty transit systems. Consolidation of rural public transportation systems into regional entities is another step in further coordinating public transportation services in the state. However, there is a public transportation system now operating in all 100 North Carolina counties. Therefore, the thrust of regionalization will be to consolidate existing rural transportation systems into regional entities. There are key programmatic and legislative aspects of interest to state departments of transportation, transportation planners, and policymakers. Case studies also gathered information from associated state department of transportation staff, to include both the state and local perspectives on regional rural transportation systems.

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