THE INFLUENCE OF LAND USE ACTIVITIES TOWARDS MASS RAPID TRANSIT (MRT) FEEDER BUS SERVICE RIDERSHIP

The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) feeder bus service is a complementary public transport service provided to encourage ridership of MRT rail services in Malaysia. In brief, this feeder bus service plays a role in connecting people to and from MRT stations. The objective of this study is to determine the passenger volume generated at each MRT feeder bus stop location in the study area, and relate it to surrounding land use activities. Using the rule of thumb in public transportation systems, 200 m and 400 m radial buffers were identified as catchment areas of the bus stops. The key finding from this study is the relationship between volume of passenger and land use activities. This study concludes that land use activities influence MRT ridership, and that the presence of shelters or waiting poles is important to encourage ingress or egress.

Evaluating Public Transit Reforms for Shrinking and Aging Populations: The Case of Takamatsu, Japan

Many small and midsized cities around the world are expected to experience rapid shrinking and aging of their populations in the near future. In Japan, these dramatic demographic shifts have already begun in all but the largest cities, creating an urgent need to redesign public transportation systems to accommodate the transit needs of smaller, older populations. Here we focus on the specific case of Takamatsu, a medium-sized city with a population of 420,000 that is currently redesigning its transit system to better serve an aging city with a declining working-age population. We use the agent-based transportation simulation model MATSim to predict the ramifications of Takamatsu’s transit system reforms on transportation behavior in the year 2050. Our analysis reveals how the effects of Takamatsu’s transit reforms vary geographically and temporally, with societal implications—particularly for the mobility of elderly residents—that we discuss.

Effect of Compositions of MRT System Route Maps on Cognitive Mapping

Route maps, common in public transportation systems, refer to thematic maps drawn according to topological concepts. To simplify complex route information, a transport network is represented using primary graphic elements. First used in 1931 with topological concepts, the octilinear design has influenced the compositions of traffic route maps to this day. The current study involved cognitive mapping research on a representative route map in Taiwan: the Metro Taipei Route Map. Through two task experiments, this study analyzed users’ cognitive behavior when using the route map and alternative route map representations. The results indicated that the route map composed of all curves resulted in higher user performance than maps using a hybrid system and the conventional octilinear system. The route map based on the hybrid system, which included a route in the shape of a perfect circle, was highly evaluated and subjectively preferred by the users. Thus, the addition of appropriate curves in route maps is beneficial for improving usability, cognitive memory, and subjective evaluation. Finally, adding travel time information to a route map effectively enhances users’ decision-making during route planning.

A P-Hub Location Problem for Determining Park-and-Ride Facility Locations with the Weibit-Based Choice Model

Park and ride (P&R) facilities provide intermodal transfer between private vehicles and public transportation systems to alleviate urban congestion. This study developed a mathematical programming formulation for determining P&R facility locations. A recently developed Weibit-based model was adopted to represent the traveler choice behavior with heterogeneity. The model’s independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) property was explored and used to linearize its nonlinear probability. Some numerical examples are provided to demonstrate a feature of the proposed mixed integer linear programing (MILP). The results indicate a significant impact of route-specific perception variance on the optimal P&R facility locations in a real-size transportation network.

Intelligent automated public transportation systems with enhanced security

A significant population of our country is folks with an average income who depend on public transportation to go about. But this method of transport has become one of the most chaotic and also has a high percentage of crime sites for numerous incidents. Hence this method has the most insecure position for the public and also pollution generating state. Out of the full population of India as of 2017, around 5.5 percent of the total GDP goes by road dependent on public transit. The aim of this work is to develop a Smart automatic Public transport System with improved security to provide convenience to passengers who are unaware of the complete information about the buses such as availability of seats, journey time, distance traveled, and to make sure they experience the same comfort as their personal vehicles.