Monash University, Institute of Transport Studies: World Transit Research (WTR)
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Ride-hailing and transit accessibility considering the trade-off between time and money
No full textRide-hailing services can expand access to opportunities in urban areas, but out-of-pocket costs may limit its benefits for low-income individuals. This paper examines how ride-hailing shapes spatial and socioeconomic differences in access to opportunities while accounting for the trade-off between travel time and monetary costs. Using one year of aggregate Uber trip data for Rio de Janeiro in 2019 and a new multi-objective routing algorithm, we analyze the potential for ride-hailing services to improve employment accessibility when used as a standalone transportation mode and in conjunction with transit as a first-mile connection. We find that, compared to transit, standalone ride-hailing can significantly expand accessibility as a standalone mode for short trips, and as a first-mile feeder to transit in trips longer than 30 min. However, the accessibility benefits of ride-hailing accrue mostly to high-income groups due to affordability barriers. These findings suggest that policy efforts to integrate rideshare with transit are likely not going to benefit low-income communities without some form of subsidized fare discounts to alleviate affordability barriers. The paper also highlights how accounting for trade-offs between travel-time and monetary costs can importantly influence the results of transportation accessibility and equity studies
A pilot study evaluating the preventive effects of platform-end lengthwise fencing on trespassing, person struck by train and traffic delays
No full textBackground: Trespassing at train tracks and “person under train” (PUT) incidents are serious health, societal and transportation concerns. There is a need for developing different measures to prevent these events. Here, we hypothesized that platform-end lengthwise fences (PLF) reduce trespassing, the number of PUT incidents (suicides and accidents), and train traffic delays. Method: PLFs were installed as the intervention at one station in Stockholm in 2020. The number of trespassers detected using CCTV-cameras was compared before and after at the intervention station over a total period of 29 months (using incidence rate ratio, IRR). The reduction in the number of PUT (over 20 years) and train traffic delays (over 9 years) was also investigated by IRR, and by using three control groups. Results: After installation of PLF there was a significant ∼90% reduction in trespasses (IRR = 0.10, 95%CI 0.04–0.23; one-sided exact p \u3c 0.0001). No PUT incident occurred at the intervention station after the installation, compared to 1.11 per year before installation (IRR = 0.32, 95%CI 0–1.82; one-sided exact p = 0.1216). There was a significant reduction in delay minutes post installation compared to before the installation (Mann Whitney U = 0, upper one-sided exact p = 0.0357). The effect of the PLF was also observable in comparison to the three control groups, suggesting that the preventive effect was not due to wider societal events affecting all stations. Conclusion: PLF had a large effect on reducing the number of trespasses and the number of delay minutes due to trespasses and PUT incidents. PLF may also have an effect of reducing PUT incidents. Practical Applications: PLF is deemed to be relatively easy and cheap to install and thus scalable (as compared to full barriers, e.g., platform screen doors) and may be considered at platform-ends having an exit, provided there is enough space to install them
Documenting #MeToo in Public Transportation: Sexual Harassment Experiences of University Students in Los Angeles
No full textThis study presents findings from a survey with 1,284 students at three Los Angeles area universities, exploring their experiences with sexual harassment in transit environments, and how these differ by gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. It finds that sexual harassment is a common occurrence, forcing precautionary behaviors. Nevertheless, reporting of harassment incidents is extremely low. Regression models find that certain individual characteristics of students and environmental characteristics of transit settings influence the incidence of victimization and student perceptions of safety. The study discusses multi-pronged strategies to tackle harassment in transit environments that include research, design, and policy initiatives
“God, whatever you do, don\u27t tell people it\u27s unsafe”: Public transport service providers\u27 perspectives on women\u27s safety from sexual violence on public transport
No full textIn Australia, one in two women have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime and one in five women has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Public facing organizations, such as public transport providers, have a role to play in providing safe environments and preventing violence.
Our study examined the experiences and views of those working in public transport delivery organizations about the organizational challenges and opportunities to provide safe transport for women. Using Normalization Process Theory (NPT), our analysis of 19 semi-structured in-depth interviews with stakeholders focused on three key areas: making sense of safety of women on public transport; working towards women\u27s safety on public transport; and monitoring the progress of safety initiatives.
We found that public transport is delivered by multiple stakeholders, with individual and combined organizational and relational complexity. Participants highlighted the importance of leadership and the need for an overarching strategy for women\u27s safety. Macro-level organizational and environmental barriers to implementing safety initiatives include a lack of proactive, consistent, and collaborative approaches. Differing understandings of what women\u27s safety means can lead to conflicting strategies among organizations, but there are opportunities to develop and integrate enhanced and conceptually consistent training and policies in response to women\u27s safety. At the micro-level, providers recognize the need to prioritize safety for women across public transport. Our findings indicate key opportunities to inform the development of interventions and policies for public transport, and public facing organizations more broadly, to provide for and sustain women\u27s safety
Distance traveled, transit design and optimal pricing
No full textShould transit prices vary with distance? And if so, how? Two arguments that point in opposing directions have been presented in the literature: long distance users induce larger operators’ costs while short distance users induce larger in-vehicle times. Here we formulate a stylized model of a corridor where these and other elements are taken into account to approach the optimal strategic design (frequency, vehicle size, and route length) and its associated optimal pricing problem considering identical users that travel different distances. A crucial element is the consideration of the crowding caused by passengers entering the system at different points along the corridor, affecting the value of in-vehicle time which increases with the load factor through a crowding factor that, ultimately, is the single element that triggers optimal prices that increase with distance at a decreasing rate
Standing strong? The causal impact of metro stations on service firms’ survival
No full textThe aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of the extension of a metro line on the survival of individual firms. An empirical analysis focuses on the relation between proximity to new stations and firm survival following the announcement of the extension of the orange line of the metro in Montréal (Canada) between 1996 and 2016. To do so, a Cox Proportional Hazards model is estimated using the simultaneous announcement of two potential extensions to define the treatment (new stations) and control groups (speculative stations) based on the distance to the closest stations. The model explicitly controls for anticipation and speculation effect by introducing three distinct treatment effects by period. The impact of the new metro stations appears to be mostly positive on firms’ survival probability during the construction period and after the opening of the service. The results suggest that the metro extension does have a positive influence on the survival rates of individual firms within 250 to 1,250 m. of the closest station, especially for local activities
Associations of walkability, regional and transit accessibility around home and workplace with active and sedentary travel
No full textFew studies have simultaneously examined whether the neighborhood built environment near work is independently associated with active versus sedentary travel. We investigate the associations of objectively assessed built environment and regional/transit accessibility around home and work locations with active (walking, biking) and sedentary (auto-use) transportation while controlling for attitudinal predispositions, perceptions, and demographic factors. Baseline data from 2012 to 2013 on a sample of 648 participants in the Rails & Health study based in Portland, Oregon were analyzed. Data about active and sedentary travel outcomes, attitudes, perceptions, and demographics were derived from a survey. Road network buffers (with a 1 km range) around each of the home and work locations were used to create detailed measures of walkability, natural environment, regional and transit accessibility. Log-linear and log-linear Tobit regression models tested associations of home and worksite neighborhood features with weekly amount of walking, biking, and auto use. Significant differences in walkability, regional accessibility, and natural environment between home and workplaces were observed. Independent of walkability around home, a one-unit increase in walkability index around work was correlated with a 2.8% [90% CI: 0.5% - 4.9%] and 2.7% [90% CI: 0.5% - 4.8%] higher weekly duration of biking and walking, respectively. Greater walkability around workplace was associated with lower time spent in automobiles. Greater regional and transit accessibility around work was correlated with higher walking/biking and lower automobile travel. The study highlights the important role of more walkable, connected, denser, and diverse workplace environments in enhancing public health
Cyclist safety around trams: A market survey
No full textTram systems present safety risks to cyclists, however only limited research has explored this topic, of which most has focused on crash and hospital data, and severe crash events. This paper presents the first known cyclist market survey focused specifically on the experience of cyclists related to safety around trams, including unreported incidents and those that did not result in hospital attendance. Findings suggest that track-skid incidents are more common than track-wedge incidents, in contrast to previous research that emphasizes track-wedging as a larger issue than skidding. This is may be explained by the differing outcomes, with track-wedging more likely to result in injury. This research is thus significant in identifying track skidding as a major risk concern, causing a majority of crashes, while also confirming that track wedging is the major severity concern. In the last five years, 21% of respondents were involved in at least one tram-track-related crash. This was less than the share of respondents involved in falls (50%), crashes relating to road defects (36%) or collisions with motor vehicles (29%). However, half of survey respondents (52%) reported cycling on roads with tram tracks for 0–20% of their cycling, which might suggest that tram track-related crash rates are high given that most inner-city cycling occurs on roads without tracks. Track-skidding was found to be associated with wet conditions. Those involved in at least one track-skid in the last five years where more likely to have been cycling more than 3 years, but involvement in track-wedging was more likely amongst those cycling \u3e 10 years and aged \u3c 45 years. Implications for research and practice are suggested
Non-linear impact of the built environment on metro commuter flows before and after the COVID-19 outbreak: A case study in Guangzhou
No full textThe built environment is a crucial factor influencing subway commuting. However, the extent to which the built environment affects metro travel during the COVID-19 pandemic remains under explored. In particular, people\u27s travel patterns and destinations might have changed during the pandemic, influenced by the built environment. The degree to which these influences differ from those in normal circumstances has scarcely been studied. This study investigates the non-linear effects of the built environment on metro commuters within an 800-m radius of subway stations. Analysis of mobile signal data from Guangzhou Metro Line 1 showed that the importance of the built environment was 81.69% and 70.06% before and after the outbreak, respectively. Based on the threshold effects of the built environment on subway passenger flows before and after the pandemic, this study determined the immediate needs of commuters for the built environment after the outbreak. This information can guide planning strategies around subway stations facing public health emergencies. This study highlights the non-linear impact of the built environment on subway passenger flows after an outbreak. Thus, the number of parking lots, the proportion of medical facilities and the distance to the central business district are urgent demands for subway passengers after the outbreak
Exploring the effects of public transport subsidies on satisfaction and ridership
No full textThe determinants of public transport demand are multifaceted, necessitating consideration of various factors that extend beyond the objective aspects of operation. In addition to travel time and costs, it is imperative to comprehend psychosocial factors influencing public transport usage to enhance policies geared toward fostering ridership and sustainable mobility. Empirical evidence suggests that subjective attributes, such as satisfaction and attitudes, exert a discernible influence on travel behavior and the utilization of public transport. Nevertheless, these linkages remain largely unexplored, especially within the context of large public transport networks in cities of the Global South. This paper aims to address this gap by evaluating the impact of demand-side subsidies in the form of travel vouchers on public transport ridership to understand the mediating effect of satisfaction levels according to the users’ socioeconomic characteristics. These satisfaction levels are related to overall satisfaction with transport, employment and educational opportunities, and life. To achieve this, a large-scale randomized controlled experiment was conducted in Bogotá, Colombia, involving a sample of frequent public transport users (N = 1,607). The participants were divided into a treatment group, which received the travel vouchers loaded onto their smart travel cards for four months, and a control group. Hybrid-ordered logit models were employed to estimate the average number of weekly trips undertaken before, during, and after the intervention. The result shows an increase in ridership by the treatment group, which does not solely depend on improved affordability; but is influenced by a complex interplay of socioeconomic factors and shifts in satisfaction levels. This confirmed that travel satisfaction can contribute to increased public transport demand