The integration of informal minibus-taxi transport services into formal public transport planning and operations - A data driven approach

The MiniBus Taxi (MBT) mode is poorly understood by planning and operational authorities, yet plays a big role in the economies of developing countries transporting the workforce to and from their places of employment and offering employment to thousands in the operations of these services, as well as the numerous rank-side services and amenities offered to patrons. In recent years, research focussed on mapping paratransit services, including MBTs, in cities of the developing world has contributed significantly to the understanding of the mode in terms of its spatial extent in its respective service areas. In South Africa, experience has shown that the wholesale replacement of MBTs with scheduled services is an unattainable goal. Instead, planning authorities and researchers have, more recently, shown interest in investigating feasible methods of integrating the scheduled and unscheduled services as hybrid planned-trunk and paratransit-feeder networks. The objective of this research is to present the case for simple methods of planning and carrying out onboard surveys of paratransit services to classify and to better understand the operations of individual routes, identified route classes, the network as a whole, as well as revealed passenger demand for the services and, ultimately, how this information can be wielded in the planning and implementation of hybrid routes or networks. The data central to this study consist of onboard captured MBT data, which was collected with a public transport data capturing application using GPS enabled smartphones in the City of Cape Town from April to August 2017 as part of a City of Cape Town’s Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) data collection project. The purpose of the project was to clarify the actual extent of MBT services within the City and to improve the representation of the MBT mode in the City of Cape Town’s travel demand model. An Android smartphone application, purpose-built for collecting operational information onboard public transport vehicles, was used to collect spatial and temporal data on the operations of a sample of active MBT routes in Cape Town. The application, which saw some functionality updates specifically for the project, was used to collect the following information per MBT trip: · Location of stops; · Time of arrival and departure at stops; · Number of passengers boarding and alighting at each stop; · The relative boarding and alighting stop of each specific passenger; · The amount paid in fare money per passenger at each stop; · The actual path travelled by the vehicle as a GPS route trace; and · The origin and destination route description of each route captured. It is estimated that there are more than 800 active and operational routes in the Cape Town. The objective of the data collection project was to survey each one of these routes for a prespecified number of trips. As the project was still underway when this research was carried out, the information listed above collected for a sample of trips for 278 routes (556 if the reverse direction is considered as a unique route designation) formed the basis of this study. During the course of this study, the analyses of these data have shown that while the operational characteristics of individual routes are relatively consistent and stable, it is possible to distinguish between different service typologies within the larger route network. From the raw data structure listed above, the operational characteristics that were calculated for each trip and aggregated at the route level included: · Trip and route distances; · Average operating speeds; · Travel times; · Number of stops per trip; · Load factors between stops along the route; and · Fare rates and trip revenues. In addition to the identification of the operational characteristics of the MBT network, service classes and routes, the outcomes of the study include providing a framework of methods for the collection, extraction, cleansing, analysis and visualisation of the data. It also includes the identification of metrics which are key in describing the difference in service types. The descriptive operational characteristics that were calculated for each trip record, inbound and outbound per route, were evaluated to establish whether they can be used to determine if different service typologies can be observed in the data. It was found that simple k-means clustering procedures may be used to classify the routes into separate, distinguishable service classes. For the purpose of this study, it was decided, nominally, that the classification should be executed for three classes. Three was subjectively considered a good value to be inclusive of traditional Trunk and Feeder or Distribution, route types as well as the possibility of the existence of a yet to be defined third type. The clustering procedures were carried out for different combinations of the operational variables for which the most consistent results were obtained for the combination distance – stop density1 – passenger turnover. Analysis of the within-class operational characteristics indicates that these three service classes clearly differ in terms of their stop frequencies, distances, speeds and their spatial network coverage. The study furthermore provides evidence that the understanding of the MBT network and sub-networks of service classes within this network, including its interaction with other public transport modes and infrastructure, provides planning and operating authorities with key information for effectively planning and implementing hybrid networks. Finally, the study demonstrates many additional insights can be garnered from these data by implementing improved statistical sampling and survey methods at the route level and by analysing aspects of the data that were not considered central to the research. These aspects include route adherence studies, origin – destination studies and methods of expanding the onboard data samples accurately by marrying it with data collected during static rank departure and arrival counts. Ultimately, the study shows that an unprecedented knowledge of the operations of MBT routes and networks may be obtained through detailed yet simple analysis of onboard data and that this knowledge may be very useful in the planning and operations of integrated public transport networks

Enabling equitable access to public transport information to enhance hybrid system use in Cape Town, South Africa

Though previously unscheduled public transport services were often seen as incompatible with equitable mobility goals, emerging cities are increasingly seeking to integrate these with new scheduled services to form hybrid public transport systems. In contrast to the abundance of services available, there is little information available to plan multimodal journeys across the hybrid system, limiting users' abilities to best use the system to meet their needs. This thesis investigated, through mixed research methods framed within Amartya Sen's capability approach, how to enable equitable access to public transport information on the hybrid system through information and communications technology. The research focussed on captive public transport users in the context of Cape Town, South Africa. Using (n=22) semi-structured interviews, candidate passenger information types for planning hybrid journeys across various scenarios were identified. A best-worst scaling study was undertaken (n=413) to gain a representative understanding of the least and most useful information types. A stated preference choice model was applied (n=501) to investigate what minimum information is required to make use of the hybrid network to access mobility opportunities in non-routine scenarios. The most useful information types were represented as different levels of certainty. These information types were: (1) frequency, (2) fare cost, (3) departure time, (4) arrival time, (5) safety walking to/from a station/stop, (6) safety onboard, and (7) safety while waiting at a stop. A further passenger survey (n=536), together with available secondary data, was analysed to gauge access to technologies and skills related to transport information use cases. This research found that none of the information types at the quality level desired is currently evenly available across the hybrid system, and no official information sources have the capacity to equitably reach captive users given current technological capabilities. The combination of gaps in information provision and adequate communication methods hinders users' informational capabilities to plan journeys that best meet their needs and preferences, and consequentially limits their access to opportunities through mobility. Strategies for understanding information needs, collecting the data necessary, and opening this data to the public through portals provide the adaptability and flexibility needed to deliver sustainable solutions

Tools for Financing Local Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements: Moving from Planning to Implementation in a Fiscally Constrained Environment

Communities across the United States, of all sizes, have accepted that maintaining the automobile-centric design of their cities is not a sustainable way to plan for the future growth, public health or safety of their cities or citizens. As a result, communities have begun to embrace a shift in their design and engineering standards to allow for pedestrian and bicycle friendly facilities that safely accommodate and encourage mode choice. Through the collective will of the public and city leadership, communities are rapidly moving toward implementing plans and design standards that re-establish the public right of way as safe and accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as automobiles. However, in the face of increasingly diminished federal and state transportation funding, cities are looking toward creative local funding mechanisms to pay for their bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. To understand the types of local funding being used, this thesis analyzes eleven different sized case study cities across the U.S. that are leaders in planning for, and implementing, multimodal capital projects and programs. These national leaders most widely used the county sales tax measure as a funding mechanism. Additional popular approaches were general fund allocations, transportation impact fees and bond issues. The case study analysis also revealed that cities often looked to more than one local funding source to fund their bicycle and pedestrian capital projects

Pro-socially motivated interaction for knowledge integration in crowd-based open innovation

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study how the online temporary crowd shares knowledge in a way that fosters the integration of their diverse knowledge. Having the crowd integrate its knowledge to offer solution-ideas to ill-structured problems posed by organizations is one of the desired outcomes of crowd-based open innovation because, by integrating others’ knowledge, the ideas are more likely to consider the many divergent issues related to solving the ill-structured problem. Unfortunately, the diversity of knowledge content offered by heterogeneous specialists in the online temporary crowd makes integration difficult, and the lean social context of the crowd makes extensive dialogue to resolve integration issues impractical. The authors address this issue by exploring theoretically how the manner in which interaction is organically conducted during open innovation challenges enables the generation of integrative ideas. The authors hypothesize that, as online crowds organically share knowledge based upon successful pro-socially motivated interaction, they become more productive in generating integrative ideas. Design/methodology/approach: Using a multilevel mixed-effects model, this paper analyzed 2,244 posts embedded in 747 threads with 214 integrative ideas taken from 10 open innovation challenges. Findings: Integrative ideas were more likely to occur after pro-socially motivated interactions. Research limitations/implications: Ideas that integrate knowledge about the variety of issues that relate to solving an ill-structured problem are desired outcomes of crowd-based open innovation challenges. Given that members of the crowd in open innovation challenges rarely engage in dialogue, a new theory is needed to explain why integrative ideas emerge at all. The authors’ adaptation of pro-social motivation interaction theory helps to provide such a theoretical explanation. Practitioners of crowd-based open innovation should endeavor to implement systems that encourage the crowd members to maintain a high level of activeness in pro-socially motivated interaction to ensure that their knowledge is integrated as solutions are generated. Originality/value: The present study extends the crowd-based open innovation literature by identifying new forms of social interaction that foster more integrated ideas from the crowd, suggesting the mitigating role of pro-socially motivated interaction in the negative relationship between knowledge diversity and knowledge integration. This study fills in the research gap in knowledge management research describing a need for conceptual frameworks explaining how to manage the increasing complexity of knowledge in the context of crowd-based collaboration for innovation

Orienteering Problem: A survey of recent variants, solution approaches and applications

National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under International Research Centres in Singapore Funding Initiativ

The assignment of trips to a road network for the analysis of equitable transport

RÉSUMÉ Depuis plusieurs années, le transport durable et le rôle de l’automobile dans les grands centres urbains suscitent beaucoup d’intérêt. La congestion routière, la pollution, les gaz à effet de serre, la consommation énergétique et l’étalement urbain ont motivé le développement de nombreuses stratégies qui visent à modifier le comportement des voyageurs, surtout à l’intérieur des villes. En même temps, les discussions concernant la meilleure façon de financer les grandes infrastructures en transport cherchent à trouver un compromis entre les principes d’efficacité et les principes d’équité. Cette thèse a comme objectif de contribuer, d’une manière modeste, à ces discussions en clarifiant les enjeux entourant le « problème » du transport routier. Le projet de recherche décrit dans cette thèse est fondé sur deux concepts déjà bien documentés : une analyse des systèmes de transport urbain totalement désagrégée basée sur l’information, de même que sur l’équité géopolitique en transport. Dans le cas actuel, l’analyse désagrégée est appliquée à un sous-échantillon de l’enquête origine-destination de la grande région de Montréal effectué en 2003. Le concept d’équité géopolitique est appliqué à l’étude des 15 ponts qui relient la ville de Montréal au réseau routier nord-américain. Ces grandes infrastructures jouent un rôle essentiel de redistribution parmi les nombreuses municipalités qui font partie de la grande région métropolitaine. Outre la redistribution des personnes et des marchandises, les ponts permettent également la redistribution des coûts externes du transport, spécifiquement la congestion routière, la pollution et le bruit. L’enquête origine-destination a demandé à chaque conducteur d’indiquer lequel des ponts ils ont utilisé pour compléter leurs déplacements. Dans cette recherche, les réponses ont été soigneusement examinées afin de construire un sous-échantillon valide des déclarations de pont pour la période de pointe du matin d’une journée moyenne de la semaine. Le sous-échantillon validé était composé de 8 583 observations. En même temps, un modèle détaillé du réseau routier, comprenant plus de 100,000 liens et 70,000 nœuds, a été construit. Les liens étaient classifiés par fonction et par juridiction (municipale, provinciale ou fédérale). Puisque ces simulations étaient basées sur l’approche totalement désagrégée, elles ne comportent aucun système de zone, aucun centroïde et aucune matrice origine-destination. ----------ABSTRACT The past several years have witnessed a growing interest in sustainable urban transportation and a re-evaluation of the role of the automobile in large urban areas. Traffic congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and urban sprawl are all topics that have stimulated the development of various strategies that aim to change the way people travel, especially within cities. At the same time, the issues surrounding the best way to finance major transportation infrastructure are framed in a debate about efficiency versus equity. This thesis proposes to contribute to these discussions by clarifying, to a modest degree, the “problem” of urban automobile travel. The research described in this dissertation is founded on two already-documented concepts: the totally disaggregate information-based approach to urban transportation simulation and geopolitical equity. Following the precepts of the former, this research uses data contained within the 2003 Montreal travel survey. With regard to the latter, the research subjects are the 15 bridges that connect the island-city of Montreal to the mainland. These infrastructure elements play a vital role in the redistribution, among the dozens of municipalities within the urban region, of people and goods and of the external costs of travel, particularly traffic congestion, air pollution and noise. The travel survey asked automobile drivers to indicate which major bridge they used over the course of their trip. Their responses were meticulously examined to construct a valid sub-sample of declarations describing bridge usage patterns during the a.m. peak period of a typical average weekday. The final sub-sample contained 8,583 observations. Meanwhile, a model road network of the Greater Montreal Area was constructed. This complete network contained over 100,000 links and 70,000 nodes. The links are categorized by functional class and by jurisdiction (municipal, provincial or federal). Since all the simulations are based on the totally disaggregate approach, there is no zone system, no centroids and no origin-destination matrix

Telecommuting in the Developing World: A Case of the Day-Labour Market

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in general, and mobile phones in particular, have demonstrated positive outcomes in the various social transformation and human development dimensions. As a result, many researchers have focused on ICTs innovations targeting the poor. Among the poor are the low-skilled day-labourers who belong to the Day-labour Market (DLM), which is also made up of employers, job-brokers and intermediary organisations. The DLMs’ main activities involve a great deal of travelling in search of jobs by workers and a search for workers by employers. These travels place heavy economic pressure on the day-labourers, hence reducing their net earnings while they struggle with extreme poverty. The first objective of our study was to find out how and which ICT interventions can be used to alleviate the challenges faced by the DLM stakeholders. The nature of our problem resembled studies that use ICTs to reduce travel distance. Such studies fall under subjects such as teleactivities and teleworking/telecommuting, and advocate for prospects of working anywhere anytime. These studies have not received much research attention in the developing world. They have mainly been done in the developed world, and mostly on white-collar workers and organisations. This brought about our second objective: to find out whether the ICT interventions for the DLM could be studied under teleworking/telecommuting and whether the telecommuting benefits can be realised for the blue-collar workers. Our research methodology was Action Research applying three case studies. We used participant observation and both structured and unstructured interviews for qualitative data collection and questionnaires to collect quantitative data. Contextual inquiry, prototyping and technology probe was applied as our design technique. The prototypes were evaluated in-situ to assess usability and uncover user experience. We mainly employed qualitative data analysis, but where appropriate, triangulated with quantitative data analysis. The research outcomes were divided into three categories: (1) the knowledge on the DLM characteristics which depicted different forms of the DLM and shaped our design process, (2) the DLM software designs tested as prototype applications and software artefacts deployed for use by the DLM and (3) the meaning and the state of telecommuting/teleworking before and after our experiments in the DLM. In the first category, appreciating the challenges faced by our primary target users, the day-labourers, helped shape our designs and our inquiry to include intermediation. With regard to the prototype applications, they included the remote mobile applications and the web-based server side software systems. Although most of these applications where meant for proof of concept, some of them ended up being implemented as fully functional systems. Finally, in the third finding, travel reduction using ICTs (mainly the mobile phones) had been practised by some of the DLM stakeholders even before the commencement of our study. After our intervention, we discovered that implementing telecommuting/teleworking within the DLM may be possible, but with a raft of redefinitions and changes in technology innovations. We therefore identified factors to consider when thinking of implementing telecommuting among blue-collar employees, organisations and employers