How affordable are accessible locations? Neighborhood affordability in U.S. urban areas with intra-urban rail service

Cities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 103295
Author(s):  
Matan E. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Rail ◽  
Rail Service

Assessing the First and Last Mile Problem for Intercity Passenger Rail Service

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Lorena Losada Rojas ◽  
Konstantina “Nadia” Gkritza ◽  
V. Dimitra Pyrialakou
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Rail Service

The first and last mile of a trip has been used to describe passenger travel with regards to getting to and from transit stops/stations. Solving the first and last mile (FMLM) problem extends the access to transportation systems and enlarges the number of passengers from a remote community, such as rural areas. The FMLM problem has been addressed in different public transit contexts, mainly within urban areas. However, it is also an important part of the journey in an intercity trip; yet, limited research efforts have been undertaken to examine the FMLM problem that intercity passenger train riders face. This paper fills in this gap and further, aims to identify the best strategies that could serve as a FMLM solution for short distance intercity passenger rail service (i.e., corridors that are less than 750 miles long according to the Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act, 2008). The Hoosier State Train (HST) service, a short-distance intercity passenger rail that connects Chicago and Indianapolis four days a week, was chosen as a case of study. The HST has four intermediate stops located in Indiana. For some of those intermediate stops HST is the only intercity public transit service offered to reach either Chicago or Indianapolis. In order to explore opportunities to enhance the HST ridership, an on-board survey was conducted in November and December 2016. The findings of this survey suggested that there are riders who travel from counties further away from a county with a station to reach and complete their journey on the train. Moreover, it was found that most of the respondents drove or rented a car, or were dropped off to reach a train station in Indiana. Unlike the results from the Chicago station, the majority of riders boarding the train from one of the Indiana stations did not use ridesharing services or public transportation. These findings suggest that there is a possible gap into the FMLM travel options for intercity rail riders and alternative options to fill this gap should be considered. This paper discusses the case study results of an accessibility analysis aiming to identify the areas in need of first/last mile service where there are no public transportation services and/or it is costly to reach a station from a desired origin. To that end, a cost surface for the different modes available in the area of study was created to determine the average travel cost to the nearest station. The analysis was carried out in ArcGIS using origin-destination data from the on-board survey, transportation network information from the U.S. Bureau Transportation Statistics, and general transit feed specification (GTFS) data. Subsequently, some of the best strategies identified were modeled around the station (e.g., shuttle buses to/from the station) in order to examine how the accessibility would increase after a strategy implementation. The results of this study may have far-reaching implications for planning strategies that can enhance access to the train stations. Finally, the FMLM strategies could assist intercity passenger rail service providers attract a larger number of passengers.

scholarly journals Study of the Bus Dynamic Coscheduling Optimization Method under Urban Rail Transit Line Emergency

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Wang ◽  
Xuedong Yan ◽  
Yu Zhou ◽  
Jiaxi Wang ◽  
Shasha Chen
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Solution Process ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Emergency Evacuation ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Urban Rail Transit ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Evacuation Time ◽  
Passenger Safety ◽  
Urban Rail

As one of the most important urban commuter transportation modes, urban rail transit (URT) has been acting as a key solution for supporting mobility needs in high-density urban areas. However, in recent years, high frequency of unexpected events has caused serious service disruptions in URT system, greatly harming passenger safety and resulting in severe traffic delays. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study emergency evacuation problem in URT. In this paper, a method of bus dynamic coscheduling is proposed and two models are built based on different evacuation destinations including URT stations and surrounding bus parking spots. A dynamic coscheduling scheme for buses can be obtained by the models. In the model solution process, a new concept—the equivalent parking spot—is proposed to transform the nonlinear model into an integer linear programming (ILP) problem. A case study is conducted to verify the feasibility of models. Also, sensitivity analysis of two vital factors is carried out to analyze their effects on the total evacuation time. The results reveal that the designed capacity of buses has a negative influence on the total evacuation time, while an increase in the number of passengers has a positive effect. Finally, some significant optimizing strategies are proposed.

Urban rail service design for collaborative passenger and freight transport

2021 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 102205
Author(s):  
Zhujun Li ◽  
Amer Shalaby ◽  
Matthew J. Roorda ◽  
Baohua Mao
Keyword(s):  
Service Design ◽  
Freight Transport ◽  
Urban Rail ◽  
Rail Service

scholarly journals Spatial–Temporal Features of Coordination Relationship between Regional Urbanization and Rail Transit—A Case Study of Beijing

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
Xuanxuan Xia ◽  
Hongchang Li ◽  
Xujuan Kuang ◽  
Jack Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Spatial Correlation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Central City ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Urban Rail Transit ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Urban Rail ◽  
Degree Of Coupling ◽  
Coordination Degree

Urban rail transit is an important transportation infrastructure that mitigates the congestion of the central city and realizes compact city space development. However, the literature on the spatiotemporal coupling of urbanization and rail transit from the urban scale and its influencing factors is still uncommon. Taking Beijing as an example, based on the theory of coupling coordination, we have constructed a comprehensive indicator system for regional urbanization (hereafter RU) (including population, economy, and spatial urbanization) and rail transit (hereafter RT). On this basis, we use the entropy method, coupling coordination degree model, and spatial autocorrelation analysis method to explore the spatiotemporal characteristics of the overall and pairwise coupling coordination between population, economy, spatial urbanization, and rail transit. Finally, we analyze the spatial correlation and standard deviational ellipse analysis of the coupling coordination degree between RU and RT. The results indicate the following: (1) In addition to population urbanization, the other urbanization indicators and the RT level all show a downward–rising–falling trend from 2006 to 2017, among which the level of economic urbanization is the highest. The degree of coupling coordination between RU and RT is unbalanced development and shows a trend of first rising and then falling. (2) The degree of coupling coordination between RU and RT presents an imbalanced distribution in various regions, and the coupling coordination degree in the central urban areas is significantly higher than that in the outer suburbs. (3) From 2006 to 2017, the spatial correlation of the coupling coordination degree between the various systems has a similar changing trend. Moreover, the distribution of the spatial agglomeration points of the coupling coordination degree between RU and the RT is similar, showing a decreasing trend from the central urban area to the surrounding urban area. Therefore, relevant departments can rationally plan the construction of urban rail transit according to the coordination relationship between RU and RT and the spatial aggregation degree to realize the benign and sustainable development between urban especially suburbanization and rail transit.

scholarly journals Economic Impact Of Railroad Line Abandonment On Regional And Urban Areas: A Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154
Author(s):  
Duane J. Rosa
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
Community Or ◽  
Rail Line ◽  
Rail Service ◽  
Future Growth

This case study focuses on the economic and legal issues affecting a region or community as a result of potential railroad line abandonment. Railroad line abandonment, where rail service is being discontinued over a rail line or segment of a line, is becoming an increasing common practice in the United States. The loss to an affected community or a region can have significant economic and social consequences, especially when the rail line to be abandoned represents one of the principal modes of transportation into and out of the affected area. This can limit future growth and the marketing of an area to potential entrants. This case study analyzes the specific steps required by the railroad and interested parties in the rail line abandonment process as well as alternative arrangements to abandonment. It concludes by analyzing the economic issues related to alternative uses of railroad right-of-way, including its use as a rail trail. This case study offers students the opportunity to analyze the various economic and legal issues involved and develop alternative plans from both the perspective of the railroad as well as the affected community or region.

scholarly journals Using Radical Innovation to Overcome Utility Trade-Offs in Urban Rail Systems in Megalopoleis

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-168
Author(s):  
Marcelo Blumenfeld ◽  
Clive Roberts ◽  
Felix Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Rail Systems ◽  
Urban Rail ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Operational Concept ◽  
Time Required

Urban mobility is increasingly becoming accepted as a basic human need, as socio-economic opportunities depend on the ability to reach places within an acceptable time. Conversely, the emergence of megalopoleis as dominant features of the global landscape has increased commuting effort to unprecedented levels, due to the ever expanding urban areas and the associated travel distances. This now poses a risk to the efficient accessibility of cities, but there is an assumption that the problem can be overcome by increasing the speed of transport systems. However, advocates of this approach overlook important utility trade-offs that arise from the conflict between greater vehicle speeds and the additional time required to access the services. In this paper, we investigate this approach and show that higher speeds in metro systems do not always result in faster travel in cities. We then propose a new approach to addressing the problem, which culminates in a solution that can overcome the current paradoxes and increase door-to-door speeds more effectively. The resulting operational concept optimizes speed and coverage in urban rail systems in megalopoleis, accommodating the longer trips within time budgets. We position this research as a starting point to a new perspective on developing complex urban systems in the future.

Management of minor ailments in primary schoolchildren in rural and urban areas

1996 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
J A Cantrill ◽  
B Johannesson ◽  
M Nicholson ◽  
P R Noyce
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Primary Schoolchildren ◽  
Minor Ailments

Cannabis use in Switzerland: The role of attribution of drug use to friends, urbanization and repression 1The study was supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (Bundesamt für Gesundheit BAG) Grant 316.96.5980.

2001 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Model ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Structural Variables ◽  
Hbsc Study ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Individual Use

Cannabis use does not show homogeneous patterns in a country. In particular, urbanization appears to influence prevalence rates, with higher rates in urban areas. A hierarchical linear model (HLM) was employed to analyze these structural influences on individuals in Switzerland. Data for this analysis were taken from the Switzerland survey of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study, the most recent survey to assess drug use in a nationally representative sample of 3473 15-year-olds. A total of 1487 male and 1620 female students indicated their cannabis use and their attributions of drug use to friends. As second level variables we included address density in the 26 Swiss Cantons as an indicator of urbanization and officially recorded offences of cannabis use in the Cantons as an indicator of repressive policy. Attribution of drug use to friends is highly correlated with cannabis use. The correlation is even more pronounced in urban Cantons. However, no association between recorded offences and cannabis use was found. The results suggest that structural variables influence individuals. Living in an urban area effects the attribution of drug use to friends. On the other hand repressive policy does not affect individual use.

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