scholarly journals Planning a high-frequency transfer-based bus network: How do we get there?

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 863-884
Author(s):  
Emily Grise ◽  
Anson Stewart ◽  
Ahmed El-Geneidy
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
Cell Model ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
The United States ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Bus Network

As cities have grown more dispersed and auto-oriented, demand for travel has become increasingly difficult to meet via public transit. Public transit ridership, particularly bus ridership, has recently been on the decline in many urban areas in Canada and the United States, and many agencies have either undergone or are planning comprehensive bus network redesigns in response. While comprehensive bus network redesigns are not novel to public transit, network redesigns are commonly being considered in cities to optimize operational costs and reverse downward trends in transit ridership. For cities considering a comprehensive bus network redesign, there is currently no comprehensive easy-to-follow planning process available to guide cities through such a major undertaking. In light of that, this study presents a methodology to guide transport professionals through the planning process of a bus network redesign, using Longueuil, Quebec, as a case study. Currently, Longueuil operates a door-to-door network, and the goal is to move to a transfer-based, high-frequency service while keeping the existing number of buses constant. A variety of data sources that capture regional travel behavior and network performance are overlaid using a GIS-based grid-cell model to identify priority bus corridors. A series of analyses to measure and quantify anticipated and actual improvements from the proposed bus network redesign are conducted, including coverage analysis, change in accessibility to jobs, and travel time analysis. Accessibility to jobs was the key performance measure used in this analysis and is presented as a useful tool for planners and transit agencies to obtain buy-in for the proposed plan. This methodology provides transport professionals with a flexible and reproducible guide to consider when conducting a bus network redesign, while ensuring that such a network overhaul maximizes the number of opportunities that residents can access by transit and does not add an additional burden to an agency’s operating budget.

Partnerships in Urban Mobility: Incentive Mechanisms for Improving Public Transit Adoption

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Auyon Siddiq ◽  
Christopher S. Tang ◽  
Jingwei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Public Transit ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Direct Mechanism ◽  
Indirect Mechanism ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Transit Station ◽  
The Government

Problem definition: Because of a prolonged decline in public transit ridership over the last decade, transit agencies across the United States are in financial crisis. To entice commuters to travel by public transit instead of driving personal vehicles, municipal governments must address the “last-mile” problem by providing convenient and affordable transportation between a commuter’s home and a transit station. This challenge raises an important question: Is there a cost-effective mechanism that can improve public transit adoption by solving the last-mile problem? Academic/practical relevance: In this paper, we present and analyze two incentive mechanisms for increasing commuter adoption of public transit. In a direct mechanism, the government provides a subsidy to commuters who adopt a “mixed mode,” which involves combining public transit with hailing rides to/from a transit station. The government funds the subsidy by imposing congestion fees on personal vehicles entering the city center. In an indirect mechanism, instead of levying congestion fees, the government secures funding for the subsidy from the private sector. We examine the implications of both mechanisms on relevant stakeholders. These two mechanisms are especially relevant because several jurisdictions in the United States have begun piloting incentive programs, in which commuters receive subsidies for ride-hailing trips that begin or end at a transit station. Methodology: We present a game-theoretic model to capture the strategic interactions among five self-interested stakeholders (commuters, public transit agency, ride-hailing platform, municipal government, and local private enterprises). Results: By examining equilibrium outcomes, we obtain three key findings. First, we characterize how the optimal interventions associated with the direct or the indirect mechanism depend on: (a) the coverage level of the public transit network; (b) the public transit adoption target; and (c) the relative strength of commuter preferences between driving and taking public transit. Second, we show that the direct mechanism cannot be budget-neutral without undermining commuter welfare. However, when the public transit adoption target is not too aggressive, we find that the indirect mechanism can increase both commuter welfare and sales to the private-sector partner while remaining budget-neutral. Finally, we show that, although the indirect mechanism restricts the scope of government intervention (by eliminating the congestion fee), it can dominate the direct mechanism by leaving all stakeholders better off, especially when the adoption target is modest. Managerial implications: Our findings offer cost-effective prescriptions for improving urban mobility and public transit ridership.

Optimizing Public Transit Quality and System Access: The Multiple-Route, Maximal Covering/Shortest-Path Problem

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changshan Wu ◽  
Alan T Murray
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Shortest Path ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Path Model ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Maximal Covering ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Transit Agencies

Public transit service is a promising travel mode because of its potential to address urban sustainability. However, current ridership of public transit is very low in most urban regions—particularly those in the United States. Low transit ridership can be attributed to many factors, among which poor service quality is key. Transit service quality may potentially be improved by decreasing the number of service stops, but this would be likely to reduce access coverage. Improving transit service quality while maintaining adequate access coverage is a challenge facing public transit agencies. In this paper we propose a multiple-route, maximal covering/shortest-path model to address the trade-off between public transit service quality and access coverage in an established bus-based transit system. The model is applied to routes in Columbus, Ohio. Results show that it is possible to improve transit service quality by eliminating redundant or underutilized service stops.

Cost–Benefit Analysis of Rural and Small Urban Transit in the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 2533 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjit Prasad Godavarthy ◽  
Jeremy Mattson ◽  
Elvis Ndembe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Urban Transit ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
True Value ◽  
Benefit Cost

The true value of transit systems in rural and small urban areas in the United States has been largely unmeasured, and there are often effects that go unidentified. Many studies have documented the benefits of urban transit systems with benefit–cost analysis. However, not many have looked into the benefits of transit in rural and small urban areas, where there is a great need for public transit, especially for transportation-disadvantaged individuals. This study focused on evaluating the qualitative and quantitative benefits of rural and small urban public transit systems and analyzed the benefit–cost ratio for rural and small urban transit areas for fixed-route and demand-response services in the United States. Data for rural and small urban transit systems from the national transit database (NTD) and rural NTD were used for calibrating the transit benefits and costs. Results were presented at a national level to show the effects of transit investments in rural and small urban areas nationally. Transit benefits in the United States for 2011 were found to be $1.6 billion for rural transit and $3.7 billion for small urban transit, not including the economic effects. Results showed a benefit–cost ratio of 2.16 for small urban transit and 1.20 for rural transit in the United States. Sensitivity analysis showed that increasing the percentage of forgone trips to 50%, increasing the cost of forgone medical and work trips by 25%, and increasing the percentage of medical trips to 30% substantially increased the total transit benefits by 88%, 20%, and 158%, respectively.

scholarly journals Public Transit Ridership and Car-Oriented Cities: The Case of the Dallas Region

Economies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Ahmed Daqrouq ◽  
Ardeshir Anjomani
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Socioeconomic Characteristics ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Urban Rail

U.S. cities have invested large amounts of sums on public transit and urban rail in the last few decades, but the transit usage in most of these car-oriented cities is very low, and previous efforts to increase ridership have been mostly fruitless. This research examines the factors affecting transit ridership in a large car-oriented metropolitan setting and uses the Dallas region in the United States as a case for the study to identify factors that could help in increasing ridership. Most previous studies of transit ridership have not included many of the variables thought to influence transit ridership. Therefore, the disparities among the findings of empirical research completed to date point to the necessity for further study. This study addresses these shortcomings by exploring multiple factors, measuring population, technology, geography, and socioeconomic characteristics.

GTFS-Ride: Unifying Standard for Fixed-Route Ridership Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (12) ◽  
pp. 173-181
Author(s):  
Phillip Carleton ◽  
Sylvan Hoover ◽  
Ben Fields ◽  
Matthew Barnes ◽  
J. David Porter
Keyword(s):  
Public Transit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
Additional Support

The rapid growth in the availability and utility of vast amounts of digital data is arguably one of the most significant technological developments in recent years. In public transit, many agencies utilize modern technologies to collect large amounts of data, whereas smaller agencies with fewer resources and less expertise still use more traditional, manual data collection methods. Regardless of their technological capabilities, transit agencies recognize that some amount of transit data is useful and required. To the best of our knowledge, no standard data description of detailed fixed-route ridership exists today in the United States, forcing transit agencies to develop their own system of collecting, storing, and analyzing ridership and related data. In response to this need, this research aimed at developing one of the first public transit ridership data standards for fixed-route services and to support and promote its adoption and use. The resulting standard, an extension to the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data standard, is referred to as GTFS-ride. GTFS-ride is easy to understand, able to accommodate the complexities of larger transit agencies, and capable of establishing a strong connection to the state of a transit network as it existed when the ridership data was collected. The first complete draft of GTFS-ride was released on September 6, 2017. This paper explains the structure of the five files that compose GTFS-ride, introduces additional support elements developed to facilitate its promotion and adoption, and documents the lessons learned from pilot implementations of GTFS-ride at three Oregon public transit agencies.

scholarly journals Smart Cities in Turkey: Approaches, Advances and Applications with Greater Consideration for Future Urban Transport Development

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 2308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Can Bıyık
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Urban Transport ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Future Vision

The smart city transport concept is viewed as a future vision aiming to undertake investigations on the urban planning process and to construct policy-pathways for achieving future targets. Therefore, this paper sets out three visions for the year 2035 which bring about a radical change in the level of green transport systems (often called walking, cycling, and public transport) in Turkish urban areas. A participatory visioning technique was structured according to a three-stage technique: (i) Extensive online comprehensive survey, in which potential transport measures were researched for their relevance in promoting smart transport systems in future Turkish urban areas; (ii) semi-structured interviews, where transport strategy suggestions were developed in the context of the possible imaginary urban areas and their associated contextual description of the imaginary urban areas for each vision; (iii) participatory workshops, where an innovative method was developed to explore various creative future choices and alternatives. Overall, this paper indicates that the content of the future smart transport visions was reasonable, but such visions need a considerable degree of consensus and radical approaches for tackling them. The findings offer invaluable insights to researchers inquiring about the smart transport field, and policy-makers considering applying those into practice in their local urban areas.

scholarly journals Presentation, Management, and Outcomes across the Rural-Urban Continuum for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kali Zhou ◽  
Trevor A Pickering ◽  
Christina S Gainey ◽  
Myles Cockburn ◽  
Mariana C Stern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Tumor Stage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Place Of Residence ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Receive Treatment

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of few cancers with rising incidence and mortality in the United States. Little is known about disease presentation and outcomes across the rural-urban continuum. Methods Using the population-based SEER registry, we identified adults with incident hepatocellular carcinoma between 2000–2016. Urban, suburban and rural residence at time of cancer diagnosis were categorized by the Census Bureau’s percent of the population living in non-urban areas. We examined association between place of residence and overall survival. Secondary outcomes were late tumor stage and receipt of therapy. Results Of 83,368 cases, 75.8%, 20.4%, and 3.8% lived in urban, suburban, and rural communities, respectively. Median survival was 7 months (IQR 2–24). All stage and stage-specific survival differed by place of residence, except for distant stage. In adjusted models, rural and suburban residents had a respective 1.09-fold (95% CI = 1.04–1.14, p < .001) and 1.08-fold (95% CI = 1.05–1.10, p < .001) increased hazard of overall mortality as compared to urban residents. Furthermore, rural and suburban residents had 18% (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.10–1.27, p < .001) and 5% (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02–1.09, p = .003) higher odds of diagnosis at late stage and were 12% (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.80–0.94, p < .001) and 8% (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.88–0.95, p < .001) less likely to receive treatment, respectively, compared to urban residents. Conclusions Residence in a suburban and rural community at time of diagnosis was independently associated with worse indicators across the cancer continuum for liver cancer. Further research is needed to elucidate the primary drivers of these rural-urban disparities.

scholarly journals Planning for the First and Last Mile: A Review of Practices at Selected Transit Agencies in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2222
Author(s):  
Hossain Mohiuddin
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Plan Implementation ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Transit Agencies

A transit trip involves travel to and from transit stops or stations. The quality of what are commonly known as first and last mile connections (regardless of their length) can have an important impact on transit ridership. Transit agencies throughout the world are developing innovative approaches to improving first and last mile connections, for example, by partnering with ride-hailing and other emerging mobility services. A small but growing number of transit agencies in the U.S. have adopted first and last mile (FLM) plans with the goal of increasing ridership. As this is a relatively new practice by transit agencies, a review of these plans can inform other transit agencies and assist them in preparing their own. Four FLM plans were selected from diverse geographic contexts for review: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), Riverside (CA) Transit Agency (RTA), and Denver Regional Transit District (RTD), and City of Richmond, CA. Based on the literature, we developed a framework with an emphasis on transportation equity to examine these plans. We identified five common approaches to addressing the FLM issue: spatial gap analysis with a focus on socio-demographics and locational characteristics, incorporation of emerging mobility services, innovative funding approaches for plan implementation, equity and transportation remedies for marginalized communities, and development of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructures surrounding transit stations. Strategies in three of the plans are aligned with regional goals for emissions reductions. LA Metro and Riverside Transit incorporate detailed design guidelines for the improvement of transit stations. As these plans are still relatively new, it will take time to evaluate their impact on ridership and their communities’ overall transit experience.

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