Driving reduction after the introduction of light rail transit: Evidence from an experimental-control group evaluation of the Los Angeles Expo Line

Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 2780-2799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Spears ◽  
Marlon G Boarnet ◽  
Douglas Houston
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Travel Behaviour ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Experimental Control

There is a pressing need to estimate the magnitude and dynamics of the behavioural effects of transportation investments and policy. This article innovates by applying an experimental-control group research design to the case of new light rail transit service in Los Angeles, California. Only a handful of previous studies use an experimental design to assess impacts of light rail transit, and this is the first to use an experimental design to measure impacts on vehicle miles travelled, a key determinant of greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. We administered an annual seven-day travel study to a panel of households in the vicinity of Los Angeles’ Expo light rail line before the 2012 start of rail service and twice after the line opened. We find that households living within walking distance (1 km) of the new light rail drove approximately 10 fewer miles per day relative to control households farther away. Rail transit trips among near-station households approximately tripled relative to households beyond walking distance. Such driving reductions among households within walking distance of new rail transit stations suggest that Los Angeles’ large rail transit investment, coupled with land use policy, has the potential to help achieve climate change policy goals. More broadly, experimental evaluation can provide insights into causality and patterns of travel behaviour change associated with planning policies.

Walking Distances to and from Light-Rail Transit Stations

1996 ◽  
Vol 1538 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean O'Sullivan ◽  
John Morrall
Keyword(s):  
Central Business District ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Bus Stop ◽  
Business District ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

A quantifiable basis for developing design guidelines for pedestrian access to light-rail transit (LRT) stations is provided for planners based on observations in Calgary, Canada. Calgary's LRT system, which began operations in 1981, has been operating for long enough for walking patterns to and from its stations to become established. Interviews were conducted with 1,800 peak-hour LRT users about the origins and destinations of their LRT trips. Those who walked to or from a station were asked to point out on a map their approximate origins or destinations. The distances were then measured off the maps. Walking distance guidelines were developed for central business district (CBD), transfer and local stations. Catchment area maps were produced, and the relationship between reported walking time and measured walking distance was calculated. Also compared are the walking distances at LRT stations and the walking distances at bus stops. The research strongly indicates that people walk farther to reach an LRT station than a bus stop. Using bus walking standards would result in an underestimate of LRT walking distances by about half. For the city of Calgary the average walking distance to suburban stations is 649 m with a 75th-percentile distance of 840 m. At CBD stations the average walking distance is 326 m and the 75th-percentile distance is 419 m.

Gender and Rail Transit Use: Influence of Environmental Beliefs and Safety Concerns

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsin-Ping Hsu ◽  
Marlon G. Boarnet ◽  
Douglas Houston
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Environmental Attitudes ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Safety Concerns ◽  
Environmental Beliefs ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Transit Use

Research suggests that gender influences attitudes toward both the environment and safety. While pro-environmental attitudes might encourage transit use, safety concerns might discourage transit use if the transit environment is perceived as unsafe. To quantitatively examine how gender, environmental beliefs, and safety concerns jointly affect transit use, results are analyzed from a longitudinal quasi-experimental study which conducted pre- and post-opening travel surveys near a new light rail transit service in Los Angeles. It is found that the influence of safety concerns on transit use is more prominent than that of environmental attitudes, particularly for women. Living closer to a new light rail transit station correlates with an increase in train ridership. This effect, however, is significantly lower for women. The results suggest that to foster transit use, reducing personal safety concerns related to transit may be more effective than increasing public awareness of transportation-related environmental issues, especially for attracting female riders.

scholarly journals Tipologi Potensi Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) di Sekitar Stasiun Light Rail Transit (LRT) Sumatera Selatan

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Fatimah
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Transit Oriented Development ◽  
The South ◽  
Cluster Data ◽  
Base Data

AbstrakLight Rail Transit (LRT) Sumatera Selatan dengan 13 stasiun pemberhentian menyediakan alternatif moda transportasi umum massal di Kota Palembang. Jalur LRT sepanjang sekitar 23 kilometer membentang dari utara ke selatan yang merupakan koridor utama Kota Palembang. Stasiun sebagai titik transit perpindahan dari moda transportasi LRT ke angkutan umum lainnya dan sebaliknya, berpotensi untuk menjadi bagian dari pengembangan Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Masing-masing stasiun memiliki karakteristik tertentu sesuai kondisi lingkungan terbangun di sekitarnya. Pengelompokan stasiun sebagai area yang potensial untuk pengembangan TOD menyederhanakan perencanaan dan perancangannya. Dengan menggunakan data berbasis spasial, yaitu kepadatan penduduk, persentase kawasan perkantoran, persentase kawasan komersial, rata-rata jarak berjalan kaki, dan kepadatan persimpangan, dilakukan analisis cluster. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 3 cluster potensi TOD pada jalur LRT yaitu cluster dengan jarak berjalan jauh, cluster kawasan komersial dan/atau perkantoran, dan cluster area padat penduduk dan/atau persimpangan.Kata kunci: Light Rail Transit (LRT), Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), Analisis Cluster, Data Berbasis Spasial.AbstractThe Typology of the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Potential around the South Sumatera Light Rail Transit (LRT): The South Sumatera Light Rail Transit (LRT) that has 13 stops provides an alternative mass public transport mode in Palembang City. The LRT track is around 23 kilometers, run from north to south of Palembang City which is the main corridor. As a transit point from the LRT to other public transport and vice versa, stations potentially be a part of the TOD development area. Each station has certain characteristics according to the built environment around it. Grouping stations as potential areas for TOD development simplifies planning and design. Using spatial base data including population density, percentage of office area, percentage of the commercial area, average walking distance, and intersection density as variables, cluster analysis was conducted. The results of the analysis showed that there were 3 TOD clusters in the LRT pathway including the cluster with long walking distance, cluster in the commercial and/or office area, and cluster in the dense population and/or intersections.Keywords:  Light Rail Transit (LRT), Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), Cluster Analysis, Spatial Base Data.

scholarly journals From “Big Small Town” to “Small Big City”: Resident Experiences of Gentrification along Waterloo Region’s LRT Corridor

2021 ◽  
pp. 0739456X2199391
Author(s):  
Margaret Ellis-Young ◽  
Brian Doucet
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Big City ◽  
Waterloo Region

Most studies of transit-induced gentrification rely on statistical analysis that measures the extent to which gentrification is occurring. To extend and enhance our knowledge of its impact, we conducted sixty-five interviews with residents living along the light rail transit (LRT) corridor in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, shortly before the system opened. There was already strong evidence of gentrification, with more than $3 billion (Canadian dollars) worth of investment, largely in condominiums, before a single passenger was carried. In line with contemporary critical conceptualizations of gentrification, our interviews identified new and complex psychological, phenomenological, and experiential aspects of gentrification, in addition to economic- or class-based changes.

A simplified iterative approach for testing the pulse derailment of light rail vehicles across a viaduct to near-fault earthquake scenarios

2021 ◽  
pp. 095440972098741
Author(s):  
Ling-Kun Chen ◽  
Peng Liu ◽  
Li-Ming Zhu ◽  
Jing-Bo Ding ◽  
Yu-Lin Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motions ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Seismic Responses ◽  
Near Fault ◽  
Rail Vehicle ◽  
Pulse Type ◽  
The Impact

Near-fault (NF) earthquakes cause severe bridge damage, particularly urban bridges subjected to light rail transit (LRT), which could affect the safety of the light rail transit vehicle (“light rail vehicle” or “LRV” for short). Now when a variety of studies on the fault fracture effect on the working protection of LRVs are available for the study of cars subjected to far-reaching soil motion (FFGMs), further examination is appropriate. For the first time, this paper introduced the LRV derailment mechanism caused by pulse-type near-fault ground motions (NFGMs), suggesting the concept of pulse derailment. The effects of near-fault ground motions (NFGMs) are included in an available numerical process developed for the LRV analysis of the VBI system. A simplified iterative algorithm is proposed to assess the stability and nonlinear seismic response of an LRV-reinforced concrete (RC) viaduct (LRVBRCV) system to a long-period NFGMs using the dynamic substructure method (DSM). Furthermore, a computer simulation software was developed to compute the nonlinear seismic responses of the VBI system to pulse-type NFGMs, non-pulse-type NFGMs, and FFGMs named Dynamic Interaction Analysis for Light-Rail-Vehicle Bridge System (DIALRVBS). The nonlinear bridge seismic reaction determines the impact of pulses on lateral peak earth acceleration (Ap) and lateral peak land (Vp) ratios. The analysis results quantify the effects of pulse-type NFGMs seismic responses on the LRV operations' safety. In contrast with the pulse-type non-pulse NFGMs and FFGMs, this article's research shows that pulse-type NFGM derail trains primarily via the transverse velocity pulse effect. Hence, this study's results and the proposed method can improve the LRT bridges' seismic designs.

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