The Free State Public Transportation System: A Comparison Between Buses and Taxi Services and Adaptation of ICT Solutions

Conference ProceedingsThis paper explores Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for consideration in the public transportation system in the Free State and how the two main types of public transportation; buses and taxis, are likely to adapt to these technologies. Taxis and buses operation and management of operations are completely different; their differences are likely to affect how each adapts to these technologies. Adaptation to the integrated public transportation system by the bus and taxi users, drivers, and operators will be key to successful ICT integration. Focusing on the benefits that ICT solutions have brought in some regions in the world should not overshadow consideration for possible slow adaptation, lack of acceptance or resistance by stakeholders when applied in a different environment and a different public transportation system. This paper considers the different operational scenarios, government involvement and political will, public – driver – operator participation and willingness and ICT awareness. Whether the technologies and applications will be suitable and adaptable to the existing system and their perceived influence on adaptation to an ICT integrated public transportation system from implementation until there are fully embedded into the system are also considered. Feasibility of some ICT solutions, to the decision makers and operators, considering financial, technical and management feasibility and degree of integration will influence the adaptation process

The potential of a Mobility-as-a-Service platform in a depopulating area in the Netherlands: An exploration of small and big data

This chapter describes a case study examining the potential of a community-driven Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform in a rural and depopulating area in the Netherlands. The aim of the 5-year project is to examine if a MaaS platform can be an effective and efficient solution to improve accessibility and liveability of rural areas. The potential for a MaaS is examined by addressing the current mobility patterns and mobility and accessibility barriers. We use a mixed method approach using a combination of small data (primary data) and big data (secondary data)

The mortality impact of bicycle paths and lanes related to physical activity, air pollution exposure and road safety

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Objective: Guidelines for bicycle infrastructure design tend to consider safety issues but not wider health issues. This paper explores the overall health impact of bicycle infrastructure provision, including not just road safety impacts, but also the population health impacts stemming from physical activity as well as cyclists' exposure to air pollution. Data and methods: We have summarised key publications on how bicycle paths and lanes affect cyclists' exposure to physical activity, air pollution, and road safety. The health impact is modelled using all-cause mortality as a metric for a scenario with new bicycle lanes and paths in a hypothetical city. Results: The outcomes of the study suggest that, based on currently available research, a reduction of all-cause mortality is to be expected from building bicycle lanes and paths along busy roads with mixed traffic. Increased physical activity through more time spent cycling is the major contribution, but is also the most uncertain aspect. Effects related to air pollution and cycling safety are likely to reduce mortality but are small. The overall benefits are large enough to achieve a high benefit-cost ratio for bicycle infrastructure. Conclusions: The introduction of bicycle paths and lanes is likely to be associated with health benefits, primarily due to increased physical activity. More research is needed to estimate the absolute size of the health benefits. In particular, evaluations of the effects of bicycle infrastructure on time spent cycling are limited or of insufficient quality to infer causality. We recommend before-after studies measuring the effects of different interventions and in areas representing a wide range of base levels of cycling participation

Time needed to evacuate the Netherlands in the event of large-scale flooding: strategies and consequences

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How does a modal shift from short car trips to cycling affect road safety?

<p>Governments aim to promote a shift from car to bicycle, but concerns about road safety seem to represent an important argument against this encouragement. This study examines the road safety impact of a modal shift from short car trips to cycling in Dutch municipalities. The road safety effect is estimated using Accident Prediction Models (APMs) that account for the non-linearity of risk. APMs are developed utilizing Negative Binomial regression. This study is the first to develop APMs using crash and mobility data from municipalities, and utilizing these models to estimate the effects of changing modal splits of current car and bicycle use to modal splits that actually exist in these municipalities. The results suggest that, under conditions such as in Dutch municipalities, transferring short trips made by cars to bicycles does not change the number of fatalities, but increases the number of serious road injuries. The neutral effect on fatalities, despite the high fatality risk for cyclists, can be explained by there being fewer cars on the road to pose a risk to others, the shorter length of bicycle trips compared to the car trips they replace, and the "safety in numbers" phenomenon. The rise in the number of serious road injuries is due wholly to the high number of cycling crashes with no other vehicle involved. The effect of a modal shift is dependent on the age of the population in which the shift is concentrated, and can be influenced by measures affecting cyclists' injury risk. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</p>