From riding to driving:The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transit in Metro Vancouver

This study analyzed a panel-based dataset to understand the effect of COVID-19 on transport behavior in Metro Vancouver, Canada, between December 2020 and May 2021. Findings from the sample indicate a decline in transit users compared to pre-pandemic levels and an increase in car use. On the other hand, we saw a shift to a more positive perception of transit in May 2021, while also capturing an increase in perceived levels of crowding. The study underscores the necessity for transit agencies to focus on instilling the feeling of safety among the population, as the majority of those who have not used transit since the beginning of the pandemic reported their willingness to return only with widespread vaccination, community immunity, or other broad successful treatments

I only get some satisfaction: Introducing satisfaction into measures of accessibility

Improving accessibility is a goal pursued by many metropolitan regions to address a variety of objectives. Accessibility, or the ease of reaching destinations, is traditionally measured using observed travel time and has of yet not accounted for user satisfaction with these travel times. As trip satisfaction is a major component of the underlying psychology of travel, we introduce satisfaction into accessibility measures and demonstrate its viability for future use. To do so, we generate a new satisfaction-based measure of accessibility where the impedance functions are determined from the travel time data of satisfying trips gathered from the 2017/2018 McGill Transport Survey. This satisfaction-based measure is used to calculate accessibility to jobs by four modes (public transport, car, walking, and cycling) in the Montreal metropolitan region, with the results then compared to a standard gravity-based measure of accessibility. We then offer a dissatisfaction index where we combine the ratio between satisfaction-based and gravity-based accessibility measures with mode share data. This index highlights areas with potentially high proportions of dissatisfied commuters and where interventions for each mode could have the highest impacts on the quality of life of a given mode commuter. Such analysis is then combined with a vulnerability index to show the value of this measure in setting priorities for vulnerable groups. The study demonstrates the importance of including satisfaction in accessibility measures and allows for a more nuanced interpretation of the ease of access by researchers, planners, and policy-makers.This research was funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. We would like to thank the McGill Campus Planning and Sustainability Office for their support with the 2017/2018 McGill Transport Survey. Daniel Schwartz provided technical support, for which the authors are very grateful. We would also like to thank the McGill community for their participation in the survey, Guillaume Bareau for provision of the Google API, and Robbin Deboosere for generating public transport travel times

If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver

As cities across the world embrace the benefits of rapid transit technology and invest in the expansion of existing infrastructure or plan for the introduction of new lines, the differences in both benefits and externalities that bus rapid transit (BRT) and rail rapid transit (RRT) bring remain unclear. This study aimed to address that gap and understand whether there was a distinction in impacts on the residential migration of households in different income and residential tenure groups as the result of BRT and RRT projects. This was achieved by exploring the effects of both modes in the same metropolitan region—metro Vancouver. This study used three BRT and three RRT lines that were in service for all or part of the 20 years spanning 1996 through 2016 to assess the rates of in-movement of households by income in Census Tracts (CTs) within 800 meters (½-mile) of a given rapid line. Our analysis suggested that areas adjacent to the Expo-Millennium RRT Corridor saw fewer in-movers between the 2001 Census and the 2016 Census than the areas without rapid transit infrastructure, while the same was true for the CTs affected by BRT lines and that had a larger than average share of new housing while holding everything else (e.g., housing supply) constant. While we did not find evidence to state that the presence of rapid transit infrastructure disproportionately affected any one of the income groups, our analysis suggested that there were more affluent renters moving in along the RRT and BRT lines. At the same time, the share of low-income renters that moved into areas close to rapid transit lines remained relatively stable. This research added a unique perspective to the debate cities and transport agencies have been experiencing with respect to decisions around the investment into different transport technologies and contributed to the argument for the need to carefully plan and provide rapid transit infrastructure together with affordable and diverse housing options

Understanding and responding to the transit needs of women in Canada

The historical practices of transportation planning are known to be gender-neutral and as a result have marginalized the experiences of a large sub-section of the population, namely women. Identifying the motives behind women’s travel behaviours works to inform equitable data collection methods, transportation planning, and public transit policy. Correspondingly, understanding how public transit services and policies (curated with gender-neutral data and transportation planning principles) impact women’s travel can reveal barriers to public transit usage. An inductive literature review of Global North grey and academic documents regarding women’s travel behaviour (mode choice, travel route, time of travel and distance) and needs was conducted. The synthesis reveals that gender roles which lead to disparities in caregiving, income, employment, and security result in women being more likely (as compared to men) to complete trip chains, mid-day or off-peak trips, and shorter distance trips. A systematic policy review of 18 public transit systems from Canada’s eight largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and a webinar discussing public transit policy with female industry leaders reveals that the majority of public transit systems assessed do not explicitly account for gender differences when drafting actionable policy, service standards and data collection methodology. The identification of opportunities for gender inclusivity informs future research and policies regarding women’s travel. Applying a gender lens to the creation of service standards, the introduction of new public transit technologies, the collection of real-time data, the creation of customer satisfaction surveys, and the evaluation of business cases and planning processes can result in the equitable consideration of women’s travel needs in public transit service and delivery

If we build it, who will benefit? A multi-criteria approach for the prioritization of new bicycle lanes in Quebec City, Canada

Many cities across the world are actively promoting cycling through investments in cycling infrastructure, yet ensuring that the benefits from these investments are distributed equally in a region and not benefiting only one group is an important social goal. The aim of this study is to develop a methodology that can help in identifying where new bicycle facilities can be built in a region while prioritizing investments for those who need them most. The study uses Quebec City, Canada, as an example since the city has recently made a strong commitment to provide safe and attractive bicycle infrastructure to its residents. It also uses a GIS-based grid cell model to identify priority areas for cycling investment in different parts of the city. This is followed by a proposal for a new set of facilities based on a multi-criteria approach. These proposed facilities are then evaluated through a level of usage analysis to determine which routes will provide the maximum benefit to existing and potential cyclists. Finally, an equity analysis is conducted to evaluate whether the new facilities will meet some of the travel needs of individuals residing in socially deprived neighborhoods. This step in the evaluation process proposes a new social equity component in bicycle planning processes. This research can be of value to planners, engineers and policymakers working toward investments in bicycle facilities because it shows the full process of planning and evaluating different cycling facilities while incorporating social equity principles

Identifying the Bias: Evaluating Effectiveness of Automatic Data Collection Methods in Estimating Details of Bus Dwell Time

Data from automated vehicle location (AVL) systems, automatic passenger counter (APC) systems, and fare box payments have been heavily used to generate dwell time models with the goal of recommending improvements in efficiency and reliability of bus transit systems. However, automatic data collection methods may result in a loss of detail with regard to the dynamics of passenger activity, which may bias the estimates associated with dwell or passenger activity time. The purpose of this study is to understand better any biases that might exist from using data from AVL–APC systems or fare box payments when estimating dwell time. Manually collected data from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, are used to estimate detailed dwell time models. This study compared those estimates to models generated by using data similar to what was reported by AVL–APC systems and fare boxes. The results reveal an overestimation in the passenger activity component of dwell time, which is mainly attributed to excess dwell time that AVL–APC data and fare box payments generally do not capture. While AVL–APC and fare box technologies provide transit agencies with rich data for analysis, adjustments to such data collection methods are warranted to reduce the overestimation of dwell time and to provide a more accurate picture of what is happening on the ground to generate better interventions that can reduce dwell times

Where is the happy transit rider? Evaluating satisfaction with regional rail service using a spatial segmentation approach

Public transit agencies are delivering transport services in a rapidly changing and highly competitive transportation market. Ensuring rider’s satisfaction in such an environment has led several public transit agencies to adopt different marketing strategies. For example, market segmentation analyses are commonly employed by transit agencies to identify groups of users, which are subsequently used as a base for developing policies and strategies aimed at improving customer satisfaction. However, previous studies adopting this market segmentation approach have predominantly ignored spatial and contextual factors related to the transit network and the built environment of where a user resides, resulting in network-wide policies that are difficult to implement especially for agencies with scarce resources. This study presents a new segmentation approach that incorporates spatial and contextual factors in addition to other rider’s preferences and satisfaction levels with commuter rail service in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Canada. Including these factors in a market segmentation analysis has enabled us to recommend service interventions at a local and finer scale compared to previous studies, while at the same time providing the greatest impact on a specified segment of riders. This research provides transit planners and policy makers with a spatial segmentation approach, which can be used to maximize the benefits of service improvements intended to increase satisfaction with public transit among certain groups of users in a region

Assessing operation and customer perception characteristics of high frequency local and limited-stop bus service in Vancouver, Canada

Public transport agencies implement different strategies aimed at improving the operation of transit service and to increase satisfaction among its riders. One service strategy employed by transit agencies is a limited-stop bus service that runs in parallel to a heavily used route to decrease travel times for existing riders and to reduce pressure on the local route. Using bus operations data obtained from automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic passenger counter (APC) systems and customer satisfaction data collected in Vancouver, Canada, the present study evaluates levels of satisfaction among users of a local and limited-stop bus service while controlling for the service characteristics these users have experienced in the past seven days. Our results reveal that after controlling for characteristics related to the conditions of the service experienced by users, namely passenger activity levels, patrons of the express route service were more likely to be satisfied with the transit service compared to users of the local service. This finding indicates that the operational characteristics of a limited-stop service, including in-vehicle time savings and higher route frequency, are highly valued by its users. Results of this study demonstrate how operations data can provide a greater context for customer satisfaction analyses. Finally, this study provides transit planners and policy makers with a better understanding of how customers perceive local and limited-stop service

Evaluating the relationship between socially (dis)advantaged neighbourhoods and customer satisfaction of bus service in London, U.K.

Affordable and efficient urban public transport is important for the development of a sustainable urban environment. Making sure public transport users are satisfied with the service is a goal many public transport agencies are trying to achieve. Customer satisfaction surveys are often used to monitor customer perceptions of service quality and to determine the relative influence of service attributes on a customer\u27s overall assessment of the service. This study presents a new method to spatially evaluate customer satisfaction survey data through examining satisfaction with bus service across neighbourhoods of varying levels of socio-economic status (SES). Using customer satisfaction survey data collected by Transport for London between 2010 and 2015, multi-level regression modeling is used to estimate the relationship between overall satisfaction and social deprivation of the area in which bus routes were operating. The results indicate lower levels of satisfaction along routes serving low SES neighbourhoods, which appears to be attributed to (1) low satisfaction with service characteristics related to an individual\u27s experience and quality of the bus and (2) conditions of the bus stop and shelter. Findings from this paper shows the importance of including cleanliness and bus internal quality as one of the performance indicators when contracting bus services, to ensure that all customers receive the same quality of service in the region regardless of their SES

Integrating Public Transit and Shared Micromobility Payments to Improve Transportation Equity in Seattle, WA

This study explores how shared micromobility services can integrate with public transit through equitable payment structures to address first and last mile issues for light rail transit riders in Seattle, WA, and increase accessibility for low-income households. Seattle has recently permitted shared micromobility services such as e-scooter companies to begin operating alongside existing bikesharing services in the city. However, equity concerns have arisen as the users of bikeshare have been disproportionately white, affluent, and well-educated. To address these concerns, efforts have been made to reduce barriers to access and make these services more equitable to encourage their use among marginalized populations. Previous research has demonstrated evidence that these services can improve accessibility for disadvantaged populations such as low-income people of color. This research consists primarily of a literature review of relevant academic and gray literature, and a jurisdictional scan of cities in the U.S., Canada, Finland, and China. The objective of this research is to identify barriers to accessing shared micromobility services and synthesize existing best practices to propose solutions to make these services more equitable. Findings from this research then inform a set of recommendations for equitable payment integration in King County, which can also be generalized to other municipalities that are striving for equitable public transit and shared micromobility integration