Using smart card data to model commuters’ responses upon unexpected train delays

National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under International Research Centre @ Singapore Funding Initiativ

Exploring the relationship between intelligent transport system capability and business agility within the Bus Rapid Transit in South Africa

Abstract: More than 65% of South Africans use public transportation to access educational, business, and financial activity. Mobility of individuals and products, particularly in metropolitan areas, suffers from delays, unreliability, absence of safety and air pollution. On the other hand, mobility demand is increasing quicker than South Africa's accessible infrastructure. Public transport services are poor in general, but this picture is transforming a high-quality mass transit system using high-capacity buses along dedicated bus lanes by implementing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. The BRT system appeared as the leading mode of urban passenger transit in the first decade of the twenty-first century after a few pioneering applications in the later portion of the twentieth century. In addition, Intelligent Transport System’s (ITS) advantages motivate both advanced and developing nations, such as South Africa, to invest in these techniques rather than spending enormous quantities on expanding the transportation network. Various stakeholders in government, academia and industry are in the process of presenting a shared vision of this new strategy and first practical steps should be taken towards this objective. Intelligent transport system capacity can provide better and more inclusive public transportation facilities to commuters through enhanced reliability and accessibility; to operators through efficiency gains; and to customers and operators in terms of cost-effectiveness and service provision affordability. International experience shows that capacities of the ITS can boost transportation profits by as much as 10-15%...D.Phil. (Engineering Management

Travel behaviour dynamics: a mobility biography study towards change

Travel demand management (TDM) strategies continue to receive attention in recent years as a means of managing congestion in cities and promoting more sustainable transport systems. Most TDM measures focus on effecting travel behaviour change amongst commuters. Clearly such measures are likely to have the greatest impact when targeted at commuters most receptive to changing their travel behaviour at the right time. The study of commuters in order to understand their travel behaviour patterns, when they are most open to change and what causes them to change, is therefore imperative in drawing up effective TDM strategies. Also important is identifying the period within which commuters are deliberating and seeking information in order to change their mode of transport. Many studies have been conducted, in various contexts, to understand the dynamics of travel behaviour change. Some studies have argued travel behaviour to be rational, thus, an individual engage in active deliberation whenever there is a mode use choice decision problem. These studies suggest variability in travel patterns. Other studies have argued travel behaviour to be habitual in nature and characterised by non-deliberative repetition travel decisions. They argued that deliberate reappraisal of travel choices generally occur when triggered by 'key life course events’ or 'life shocks’. Such habitual behaviour suggests fairly stable travel patterns in a city’s transport network. The process through which the individual goes through in making a mode use change decision when triggered by 'key life course events’ however remain largely unexplored. This study, through the use of a qualitative mobility biography survey, firstly investigated the proposition that commuters in Cape Town engage for long periods of time in non-deliberative habitual mode choice behaviour while exhibiting considerable levels of intra-personal variability. These nondeliberative habitual mode use choice behaviours were posited to change when infrequent key life course events or incidents induce deliberation. Average duration between mode use changes among commuters was found to be about six years, confirming the habitual nature of mode use choice - especially among private vehicle users. Variations were, however, found in other attributes of travel choices such as departure time and route choice. Changes in mode use were observed to be in all directions, with the net change over the long-term being from public to private transport - an indication of 'asymmetric churn’. Key life course events found to cause mode use changes included changes in employment, changes in residential location and car ownership. The study then investigated the process a commuter goes through in making mode use changes when experiencing one of these three major life course events. The time when commuters start to deliberate on mode use change and seek information was investigated. Commuters were found to start deliberating on mode use changes and seek information about thirty and twenty-five days before the life course event occurs respectively and stopped about a day after. Information sought after during deliberation included; operational cost, comfort, travel time, convenience of mode use and safety. Commuters, however thought more about what they would gain by changing mode rather than what they would lose. The study concludes by recommending travel demand management strategies to be targeted at commuters that are about to experience a life course event and not after, as it may be too late. Information aimed at changing mode use choices from private to public transport should lay emphasis on what commuters would gain by changing to public transport rather than what they would lose. Information such as travel cost, travel time, convenience, safety, environmental and health impacts may be included in the design of information packs

Examining changes in transit passenger travel behavior through a Smart Card activity analysis

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning; and, (S.M. in Transportation)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-140).Transit passenger behavior is an area of major interest for public transportation agencies. The relationship between ridership and maintenance projects, however, is unexplored but increasingly relevant in the era of aging infrastructure. This thesis bridges this gap by analyzing changes in Smart Card activity for a sample of rail commuters during a large scale maintenance project in Chicago. Results show that between 8% and 11% of the passengers used the bus system as a commuting alternative while the majority of them continued using the train under deteriorated service conditions. Comparisons to a control zone show that between 2% and 7% of the commuters did not use transit for their trips. Using the observed results, we model the shift from rail to bus using a binary logit model. Implications of the findings are discussed.by Carlos H. Mojica.S.M.in TransportationM.C.P

Transportation Operations Master Plan

This document outlines a long-range vision of transportation operations for the DVRPC region. It presents transportation operations goals, objectives, and operational strategies to achieve them. An operations vision establishes a plan of where ITS infrastructure, emergency service patrols, and incident management task forces, should be deployed in the region. A series of plans and programs are identified to accomplish the regional goals and vision. Lastly, a financial analysis was conducted to estimate the costs to construct, operate, and maintain these projects

Five empirical essays on the user perspective of the public transport ticketing system: understanding effects, attitudes, and behavioural response to ticketing improvements

Public transport (PT) plays a key sustainability role in society due to its significant economic, social and environmental benefits, stemming from the extent of its ridership. Fare policies, often implemented by means of a ticketing system, and service quality help service providers to manage PT ridership. Ticketing thus constitutes the interface between the user and the PT service and adds to the generalised cost of the PT service, thus impacting PT service quality. Yet, very little is known about users’ attitudes towards the PT ticketing system and their behavioural response to ticketing system improvements such as integrated ticketing, which is a current PT policy focus area globally due to highly deregulated PT markets, multimodalism, fast urbanisation and regionalisation of PT systems. The overall aim of this doctoral research, characterised by five related research papers, is therefore to contribute to the knowledge on commuters’ attitudes to the PT ticketing system and their behavioural response to integrated ticketing. Consequently, an inter-disciplinary psychological and economic approach to understanding behaviour was adopted. Using the Movingo multi-region and multi-operator integrated ticketing scheme in Sweden as a case, three questionnaire surveys were conducted along the corridor with the largest proportion of cross-county commuting in Sweden, Stockholm – Uppsala. Subsequently, exploratory statistical and discrete choice modelling methods were used to analyse the samples. The findings suggested that: a). PT commuters’ attitudes to ticketing was influenced by income, commuting route, ticket type and ticket purchase channel. They accepted fare payment more than fare inspection and they showed preference for automatic fare inspection, particularly seamless ticket inspection. b). integrated ticketing increased user satisfaction and made rail commuting attractive to car commuters but did not necessarily improve the overall perceived quality of ticketing due to interoperability challenges. c). users' valuation of integrated ticketing is at least 26% of the average season ticket price. Non-commuters’ valued it higher than commuters and males valued it higher than females. d). integrated ticketing has a positive effect on mode choice due to its synergistic effects. The study highlights some policy implications and recommends further research

INVESTIGATING ICT SOLUTIONS FOR THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT IN THE FREE STATE: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

ThesisInefficiencies in the public transportation system in the Free State province resulting in poor quality public transportation has led to the investigation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to improve the system, through integration, and the challenges and opportunities that may result from this integration. This research investigates ICT solutions for public transportation improvement focusing on the challenges and opportunities for all stakeholders of the public transportation system. Critical review of South African legislation and policies on public transportation and ICT was carried out. This was to review government laws and policies governing public transportation development. It also reviewed how the government planned on improving public transportation, developments so far based on those plans and future plans, and how these legislations by the government have been carried out in the Free State province. A theoretical framework was developed to lay out expectations for the integration process including the adoption of technologies and adaptations to the new integrated public transportation system based on technology acceptance and diffusion theories. Questionnaire and Interview surveys were carried out on public transportation vehicle owners, drivers, public transportation users and non-users to assess the current state of public transportation, their needs that could potentially be solved by ICT and the challenges likely to be faced. The use of questionnaires was also to assist in identifying and defining elements needed for successful integration of ICT into the system. ICT experts, transportation planners, academics, public transportation owners and users were also interviewed to gain more understanding and insight on ICT solutions, the public transportation systems, technologies for potential use in the public transportation system and challenges that may arise due to integration