scholarly journals Assisting Visually Impaired People in the Public Transport System through RF-Communication and Embedded Systems †

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yessica Sáez ◽  
José Muñoz ◽  
Francisco Canto ◽  
Antony García ◽  
Héctor Montes

For a significant number of people with visual impairments, public transport plays an important role in productivity, community participation, and independence, since it may be the only feasible mobility option to participate in their education, work, medical care, food, and to attend many other places in their community. To use the public bus system safely, effectively, and autonomously, these people need to collect information about their physical environment and visible information at stops and terminals, such as timetables, routes, etc. Unfortunately, most people who are blind or visually impaired experience difficulties in getting on the right bus or getting off at the right destination. These situations usually force them to depend on other people that assist them in activities close to their homes, or settle for simpler jobs, or simply stay at home. Therefore, our efforts should aim to develop a system where technology is used to empower people with visual disabilities, allowing them to navigate autonomously in the public transport system. This paper presents a system based on radio frequency (RF) communication proposed within the framework of the MOVIDIS (Mobility for Visually Disabled People) research project (funded by the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation-SENACYT, under Grants No. 109-2015-4-FID14-073 and No. 99-2018-4-FID17-031), which provides an alternative to assist people with visual disabilities with their mobility in the public transport system. The various modules of this system communicate with each other by means of radio frequency and allow users to interact with buses and their respective stops. The first experimental results show that RF communication represents a viable option to help people with visual disabilities in public transport services.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2S8) ◽  
pp. 1215-1218

Public transportation is one of the sustainable form of transportation which provides mobility options for the people. The public transport services are very basic need of people’s lives, especially in developing world. It is the basic means for mobility of a large percent of people and hence it is the driving force of economic and social life. Quality of service, characterized by the Level-of-Service (LoS) is one of the major factors determining the demand for public transport. This study tries to determine the city-wide Level-of-Service provided by the public transport system using the service level benchmarks as a case study of Trivandrum city. The indicators for determining the Level-of-Service used in the study are presence of organized public transport system, availability or extend of public transport supply, service coverage, average waiting time, level of comfort in public transport and the fleet availability. This approach can be used to determine the LoS at the city-level and thus provides a measure for identifying the public transport quality of an urban area.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 533-539
Author(s):  
Alina Verseckienė

The demand of transport grows along with road traffic. Congestion costs 1% of the GDP of European Union (European Union 2014) and also causes significant emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. This problem could be solved by transfering a part of passengers from private modes of transport to the public transport. But the essential condition is a sustainable development which means the accessibility on equal terms. Therefore, attention to the focus group – people with movement impairements, is neccessary. Since even under ideal conditions some of those people will not be able to use the ordinary public transport services, a special transportation service, called paratransit, should be offered. In this paper the parameters of paratransit as well as their variations are analyzed. Also the wider application possibilities are considered. The aspects of integration of paratransit into the existing system, pottential barriers for the integration and conditions for the integration are highlighted. The main purpose of this paper is to formulate the scenarios for the integration of paratransit into the existing public transport system based on the analysis of the scientific literature and the best practices, which could be used to form a policy of improving the accessibility of the public transport for people with movement impairments. Transporto paklausa nuolat auga, o kartu su ja ir kelių eismo intensyvumas. Spūstys Europoje kasmet sudaro apie 1 % jos BVP (Europos Sąjunga 2014), dėl jų išmetama daug anglies dioksido ir kitų nepageidaujamų teršalų. Ši problema miestuose gali būti sprendžiama perkėlus dalį keleivių iš privataus į viešąjį transportą. Tačiau labai svarbu, kad vykdomi projektai atitiktų tvarios plėtros principus, pagal kuriuos numatomas viešojo transporto prieinamumas lygiomis teisėmis. Todėl būtinas dėmesys tikslinei žmonių grupei – žmonėms, turintiems judėjimo apribojimų. Kadangi dalis tų žmonių netgi esant idealioms sąlygoms negalės naudotis tradiciniu viešuoju transportu, jiems yra būtina specialioji transporto paslauga, vadinama paratransportu. Šiame straipsnyje yra išskiriami paratransporto paslaugos parametrai, jų variacijos. Taip pat analizuojamos platesnės šios paslaugos pritaikomumo galimybės. Išskiriami transportinės paslaugos integravimo į esamą viešojo transporto sistemą aspektai bei potencialūs barjerai ir sąlygos paratransporto paslaugai įdiegti. Šio straipsnio tikslas – remiantis mokslinės literatūros ir gerosios patirties analize suformuluoti paratransporto įdiegimo į veikiančią viešojo transporto sistemą scenarijus, kurie gali būti taikomi formuojant viešojo transporto prieinamumo žmonėms, turintiems judėjimo apribojimų, tobulinimo politiką.


Transport ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 182-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiva Griškevičienė ◽  
Algirdas Griškevičius

To determine the demand for public transport on the market, a survey was conducted in 2001 — 2002 concerning the situation in the suburban zones of newly-built up districts where public transport is either inaccessible or poorly developed. The analysis was based on major social and economic factors determining the demand for transport. They are: demographic structure and development, restructuring of productive forces and space planning; employment and unemployment; income and poverty; social insurance, pensions and welfare; the household structure; income and expenditures; mobility of the inhabitants and motorization. The accessibility of transport services to passengers and the choice of transport facilities is closely related to their purchasing power. The offer of public transport services is lower than the demand, especially in the suburbs. As a result, the competition of automobiles is very strong there: the preference given to a car is determined by inaccessibility of public transport on the route for 22 % of the inhabitants, while for 20 % the reason was long way to a bus stop or large intervals in the schedule of public transport facilities. Based on the results obtained, the public transport system in Vilnius should be developed along three main lines: 1) raising the quality of public transport provided on fixed routes; 2) revising and updating the system of fares; 3) integrating the suburban public transport system into the central city transport system. These are the priority tasks associated with general goals of improving the system of public transport so that it could satisfy the needs of the passengers in the city.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
Diāna Līduma ◽  
Aija Kairēna ◽  
Inese Lūsēna-Ezera ◽  
Monta Šimkus

Transport has always had an important role in the lifestyle of population and development of economy, but the public transport performs mainly the social function – it works for the benefit of the society. Development and quality of services must be provided also for the public transport companies, however, we meet different problems related to infrastructure and traffic for this to happen. To successfully manage and develop a public transport company, it is essential to change the thinking of people in favour of the public transport, not for the personal transport. It is necessary to ensure the sustainability as the main value, which means selection of the right public transport system. The authors relied on the experience of formation of a unified transport system in the world and Latvia’s largest cities’ strategic vision for public transport development. Taking into account the fact that Liepaja is one the three cities in Latvia where the public transport service is provided by a tram, an empiric research was made. Its aim was to clarify the opinion of the inhabitants of Liepaja, regarding the services provided by Liepaja trams, regarding the possible improvements and necessity for development. 200 inhabitants of Liepaja were questioned within the framework of the research. The results of the research revealed that although the tram provides daily the inhabitants of Liepaja with the movement possibilities, unfortunately inhabitants are not ready yet to replace their personal transport with the public transport – tram to settle their daily problems. The results of the research allowed to conclude that future development possibilities and perspectives of the tram in Liepaja City can be related mainly with the creation of a new route, purchase of new carriages and unified public transport system in Liepaja City. Key words: availability and sustainability, Liepaja tram, public transport, social function of public transport.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2S3) ◽  
pp. 1019-1022

Public transportation is one of the sustainable form of transportation which provides mobility options for the people. The public transport services are very basic need of people’s lives, especially in developing world. It is the basic means for mobility of a large percent of people and hence it is the driving force of economic and social life. Quality of service, characterized by the Level-of-Service (LoS) is one of the major factors determining the demand for public transport. This study tries to determine the city-wide Level-of-Service provided by the public transport system using the service level benchmarks as a case study of Trivandrum city. The indicators for determining the Level-of-Service used in the study are presence of organized public transport system, availability or extend of public transport supply, service coverage, average waiting time, level of comfort in public transport and the fleet availability. This approach can be used to determine the LoS at the city-level and thus provides a measure for identifying the public transport quality of an urban area.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohit Dev ◽  
Arindam Biswas

PurposeThe objective of this study is to understand the institutional dynamics of the public transport system in Jaipur. The institutional dynamics of the public transport system includes an understanding of the role of the formal and informal institutions (i.e. the actors) and the relationship between the public bus, external and private city bus operators.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology to achieve the objectives of the study included an institutional mapping method to develop an in-depth understanding of the existing institutional framework for the public transport, secondary data and primary survey processed through focused interviews of Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) and the Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials, representatives of the external operator, drivers and conductors’ union and private city bus service operators. The cooperation level between these organizations was measured on a five-point Likert scale.FindingsThe study indicated significant issues: poor cooperation levels between JCTSL and the RTO; the absence of a horizontal relationship between JCTSL and the RTO; conflict of powers, the competition of public and private minibus service; delays in smart city projects; absence of an integrated transport authority.Originality/valueIn the Indian context, this study can help other Indian cities which are facing similar problems due to the fragmented institutional framework for public transport services and financial losses to the public bus operators due to the direct competition from paratransit or private bus services.


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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0308518X2110271
Author(s):  
Yao Shen ◽  
Yiyi Xu ◽  
Zhuoya Huang

As an extension of public space, the public transport system in modern society is an arena for cross-group interactions. Uncovering social segregation in public transport space is an essential step in shaping a socially sustainable transport system. Based on 2011 origin–destination flow data for London, we simulate the working flows between each pair of connected tube stations for every occupation with minimised transfer times and travelling hours and calculate the multi-occupation segregation index for all tube stations and segments. This segregation index captures the density and diversity aspects of the working population. The results demonstrate that segregation levels vary significantly across stations, lines, and segments. Transfer stations and tube segments in the city centre do not necessarily have lower levels of segregation. Those stations or segments close to a terminus can also be socially inclusive, e.g., Heathrow. Victoria is the line with the lowest levels of segregation, and Green Park is the most socially inclusive station during commuting peaks. The proposed mapping approach demonstrates the spatial complexity in the social performance of the public transport system and provides a tool for implementing relevant policy with improved precision.


2019 ◽  
Vol 280 ◽  
pp. 04016
Author(s):  
Muhammad Nanang Prayudyanto ◽  
Muiz Thohir ◽  
Stefan Belka

The subsidies for public transport entails a controversial discussion on the pros and cons. On one hand mode share of public transport will decrease with increasing income levels towards private motor vehicle use. Intention of this paper is to prove that subsidy plays important role in the public transport operation and business. However such subsidy is not recover he needs to carry out the sustainable urban transport in the future. Government and private partner should create a systematic subsidy targeted for the right modes, that having sustainable achievement. This paper is structured to answer to what extent the effectiveness of government subsidies for the development of public transport services.


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.


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