Bike sharing schemes can have a positive impact on nearby house prices.

Homes and neighborhoods are generally more attractive when they are located close to transport links. Is this also the case for bike sharing schemes? In new research which uses Montreal’s Bixi scheme as a case study, Ahmed El-Geneidy, Dea van Lierop, & Rania Wasfi examine the influence of bike sharing stations on the attractiveness of nearby housing. They find that a home which has 12 stations within 800 meters can be expected to sell for nearly 3 percent more compared to those which have no nearby bike sharing stations. They also find that bike sharing stations give municipalities the opportunity to profit from higher property taxes

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

Commuting to the future: Assessing the relationship between individuals’ usage of information and communications technology, personal attitudes, characteristics and mode choice

Innovations in transportation and communications technologies influence the development of cities and how people move through them. Since the widespread adoption of smartphones, mobility and information and communication technology (ICT) have become increasingly interconnected, and there may be a possibility for mobile technologies to nudge, or influence, individuals to travel using sustainable, and collective modes. It remains unclear whether social, financial, or ICT incentives would be effective to nudge the use of sustainable modes. The objective of the study is to understand the reasons affecting modal choices and how the use of ICTs and personal opinions and attitudes influence the decision-making process. A discrete choice model is used to consider five transportation alternatives including three single modes, namely bicycle, transit, and car, and two multimodal possibilities, bicycle and transit as well as park and ride (car and transit). The target population for this study are Utrecht University employees, who travel to a large university campus located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The results of the person-based mode-choice model demonstrate that strong correlations exist between the kinds of mobile applications individuals use, their attitudes towards travel, their personal characteristics and their transportation mode. No mobile application seems to favor the use of active modes, which cast doubts upon the use of ICT to promote sustainable transportation. However, social incentives may play an important role for certain groups as individuals who are influenced by their friends, family, and colleagues, are less likely to travel by car or to use park & ride facilities

Dockless bike-sharing’s impact on mode substitution and influential factors: Evidence from Beijing, China

As a newly emerged bike-sharing system, dockless bike-sharing has the potential to positively influence urban mobility by encouraging active cycling and drawing users from car, public transit and walking. However, scant empirical research explores the extent to which dockless bike-sharing replaces other travel modes for different travel purposes. There is a lack of knowledge about how dockless bike-sharing users’ personal characteristics and neighborhood environment features influence their mode substitution behaviors. Using survey data collected from residents in Beijing and geodata of land use and public transit, we conduct four multinomial logistic models to explore potential mode-substitution behaviors influenced by dockless bike-sharing for four travel purposes: work or education commuting, sports and leisure, grocery shopping, and recreational activities such as shopping, eating and drinking. The results indicate that, for the majority of respondents, dockless bike-sharing systems potentially substitute for walking or public transit. In addition, our analysis of travel attitudes points out that dockless bike-sharing not only attracts bicycle lovers but also users with a preference or positive attitude toward other travel modes. The positive association between the length of bicycle paths and the likelihood of potentially replacing public transit or motorized vehicles by dockless bike-sharing also reveals that the cycling infrastructure of residential neighborhood could be an important facilitator for users of public transit and motorized vehicles to switch to dockless bike-sharing systems

Travel satisfaction with dockless bike-sharing: Trip stages, attitudes and the built environment

Using survey data collected among residents in Beijing, this paper presents an investigation of the difference in travel satisfaction between dockless bike-sharing and other travel modes. The effects of individual, spatial and trip attributes on travel satisfaction with dockless bike-sharing are also identified. Our analysis adds to the empirical support for higher satisfaction with trips by dockless bike-sharing than trips by private bicycles. The assess time for shared bicycles is negatively associated with travel satisfaction with dockless bike-sharing. In addition, travelers have higher satisfaction with dockless bike-sharing when used as the primary mode than as the first-mile/last-mile solution. Travel-related attitudes tend to play a more significant role in travel satisfaction with dockless bike-sharing than residential built environment. Travelers with a preference for bicycles and public transport and those who value the health or environmental influence of travel tend to evaluate dockless bike-sharing travel as more satisfying

Differences in Active Travel Between Immigrants in an Active and Less Active Mobility Culture

Despite growing investments in active travel infrastructure in many developed countries, walking and cycling rates often remain low. In addition to changes in the built environment, life experiences, place-specific urban mobility policies, and social and cultural norms with regard to active travel mode use are also found to be important factors for encouraging walking and cycling. Many researchers have examined immigrants’ travel behaviour to study the influence of social and cultural norms and place-specific factors on mode choice and travel decisions. However, knowledge of the differences in walking and cycling behaviour between various sub-groups of immigrants remains limited. By means of a multiple linear regression model, this study investigates differences in walking and cycling behaviours between immigrants in a less active travel culture, namely New Zealand, and an active travel culture, the Netherlands. The findings show that immigrants in both contexts walk and cycle more than the wider populations. Analysis results demonstrate that socio-demographic characteristics, car and bicycle access, and trip purpose all have a significant effect on active travel behaviour. Furthermore, on average, Dutch born-and-raised immigrants in New Zealand cycle more days per month than professional immigrants in the Netherlands and tend to use a much wider range of transport modes, particularly sharing services. These findings suggest that past experiences with particular travel modes and socialisation factors likely play a major role in active travel behaviour, thereby stressing the need for more research on the role of cultural and social norms in travel decision-making processes

Chasing sustainability: Do new TOD residents adopt more sustainable modes of transportation?

It is suggested that one of the solutions for mitigating the detrimental effect of motor vehicles on 3 society is to implement Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). This type of development is 4 intended to reduce automobile use and urban sprawl as well as to provide communities with more 5 socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable neighborhoods that offer a variety of 6 mobility choices. This paper attempts to find out whether new TOD residents adopt more 7 sustainable modes of transportation after their relocation. The analysis determines which factors 8 influence travel mode switching decisions by specifying a multilevel multinomial logistic 9 regression model. Data for the analysis are drawn from a travel behavior survey conducted on 10 residents in seven different North American TODs in 2013. Our results show that TOD 11 newcomers adopt more sustainable travel modes for amenities and leisure trips, whereas they are 12 less likely to do so for work and shopping trips. To encourage more sustainable travel modes, our 13 findings suggest that transit incentives coupled with workplace parking charges need to be 14 considered. Awareness of the environmental impact of each travel mode, walkability of the 15 neighborhood and availability of various destinations as well as proximity to transit stops are 16 factors that increase the probability of switching to a more sustainable mode of transportation for 17 new TOD residents. However, larger household size and becoming a homeowner, as well as the 18 addition of a new car, have a negative impact. Findings from this research provide new insights 19 into TOD planning and its link to travel behavior that can be of benefit to planners, engineers and 20 policy makers adopting this approach of development with the goal of mitigating car usage. 21 2

Enjoying the ride: experience, motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty in public transit

The development of high-quality, equitable, and accessible public transit systems is a planning challenge that many cities recognize as being a fundamental aspect in the development of socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable communities. Accordingly, many cities and transportation agencies are aiming to develop public transit systems that are competitive with regard to speed, comfort and reliability, in order to retain and attract users to increase overall public transit usage. Nevertheless, regardless of the efforts to stimulate increases in transit mode share, current transit usage in many cities still lags behind the use of personal motorized vehicles and many transit agencies are losing ridership due to a variety of reasons. Therefore, novel strategies are needed to retain existing passengers and attract new users. Accordingly, the goal of this dissertation is to contribute to increasing satisfaction and loyalty among existing transit users. It offers a multifaceted approach to better dissect and understand the drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty among existing transit users, and contributes to expanding knowledge in the field of public transit research by: (1) Deepening the understanding of how improvements to particular service factors and users' image of public transit influence satisfaction and loyalty among different groups of transit users, in order to develop targeted strategies that maximize overall ridership retention; (2) Comprehensively reviewing and clearly redefining the concept of 'loyalty' in public transit in order to allow transit agencies and researchers to measure loyalty in a more valid and reproducible manner, i.e., the re-operationalization of the concept of 'loyalty;' and (3) Developing a methodology for assessing, contrasting and integrating customer satisfaction surveys (i.e., user's perception of service) with operations data (i.e., actual service), which is reproducible and implementable in many regions. Overall, the results of the research can be helpful for transit agencies aiming to develop specific strategies in order to benchmark user satisfaction and loyalty among different groups and maximize overall ridership retention. Insight into how passengers perceive transit services can be useful for helping transit agencies and cities generate better public policy as making improvements to public transit systems is one way to assist in the development of more socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable communities.Le développement de réseaux de transport en commun de haute qualité, équitables et accessibles est un défi de taille pour le développement de communautés durables, tant du point de vue social environnemental et économique. Conséquemment, plusieurs villes et agences de transport visent à développer des réseaux de transport en commun qui soient compétitifs en termes de vitesse, de confort et de fiabilité afin de retenir et d'attirer des usagers pour augmenter l'utilisation du transport en commun. Néanmoins, malgré les efforts pour augmenter la part modale du transport en commun, l'utilisation de celui-ci reste en déclin à travers le monde. Ainsi, des stratégies innovatrices sont requises afin de retenir les usagers actuels, et d'attirer de nouveaux usagers. Dans ce contexte, cette dissertation utilise une approche à multiples facettes afin de répondre à certaines questions fondamentales à propos des moteurs de la satisfaction et de la loyauté des usagers actuels et ainsi mieux comprendre comment les villes et agences de transport peuvent supporter et augmenter la rétention des usagers. De façon générale, cette thèse contribue au développement des connaissances dans le domaine de la recherche liée aux transports en commun en: (1) Approfondissant la compréhension de l'influence spécifique des divers facteurs de service et de l'image qu'ont les usagers envers le transport en commun sur la satisfaction et la loyauté des différents groupes d'usagers, afin de développer des stratégies ciblées qui maximisent la rétention des usagers; (2) En révisant et en définissant le concept de 'loyauté' dans le contexte du transport en commun afin de permettre aux agences de transport en commun et aux chercheurs de mesurer la loyauté de façon plus valide et reproductible (ré-opérationnalisation du concept de 'loyauté'); et (3) En développant une méthodologie, reproductible et implantable dans plusieurs régions, pour évaluer, comparer et intégrer les données des sondages de satisfactions des usagers (i.e., perception du service par les usagers) avec les données d'opérations (i.e., service réel). En abordant ces enjeux, cette thèse comble d'importantes lacunes dans la littérature existante sur la satisfaction, la loyauté et la rétention des usagers du transport en commun. De façon générale, les résultats de cette recherche peuvent être utiles pour les agences de transport visant à développer des stratégies spécifiques afin de mesurer l'atteinte d'objectifs en lien avec la satisfaction et la loyauté des différents groupes d'usagers et de maximiser la rétention des usagers. Une compréhension approfondie de la perception qu'ont les usagers des services de transport en commun peut être utile pour les villes et agences de transport désirant générer de meilleures politiques publiques, étant donné que l'amélioration du transport en commun contribue au développement de communautés durables d'un point de vue social, environnemental et économique

How will older adults use automated vehicles? Assessing the role of AVs in overcoming perceived mobility barriers

Automated vehicles are expected to change the mobility landscape. Older adults living in both urban and peripheral areas may benefit from the availability of new automated modes due to increasing levels of accessibility. However, little is known about how seniors may make use of new automated mobility options. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to explore the mobility needs and desires of older adults in the province of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and assess how they envision the future usage of four distinct AV scenarios: automated public transport with fixed schedules, routes and timetables; automated on-demand public transport; fleet-based shared automated vehicles; and privately owned automated vehicles. Based on the results of a series of focus groups, findings demonstrate that study participants have a strong interest in using AVs in their daily life to overcome current accessibility and mobility barriers. Increases in flexibility due to on-demand booking, using the mode for access and egress to other modes of transport, as well as the option to travel together with friends were found to be important factors in having a positive attitude towards AV adoption. The findings of this study allow researchers, transport agencies and vehicle manufacturers to gain a broader understanding of the needs of older adults and take them into account in future AV design and policy development

If you build it, they will change: Evaluating the impact of commuter rail stations on real estate values and neighborhood composition in the rotterdam–the hague metropolitan area, the netherlands

In many metropolitan regions, transit-oriented developments are built to motivate the use of sustainable travel by promoting urban growth within walking distances of public transport stations. Changes in residential property values are a common way to assess the success of transit-oriented developments. However, studies that focus on property values alone have reported mixed effects. This paper attempts to evaluate the land value impact around commuter rail stations by analyzing the change in property values within the context of the transformation of socio-spatial neighborhood attributes. The study sets out to estimate the effect of Randstad Rail stations using real estate transaction data of residential properties and neighborhood socio-spatial attributes in the Rotterdam–the Hague metropolitan area of the Netherlands covering a period from 1985 to 2018. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, the effect is estimated for properties within different catchment zones around three commuter rail stations using a Difference-in-Differences Model and Multivariate Analysis of Variance. The results demonstrate the overall negative effect of the Randstad Rail on the value of residential properties at a distance equal to or less than 400 meters from the selected rail stations in the range of-18.8% to-11.5%. In contrast, a positive effect is observed for the residential properties located within a radius of 400 to 800 meters from the rail stations, which is estimated to be +15% to +33.2%. The findings also indicate a considerable socio-spatial transformation in the neighborhood composition after the opening of the rail stations in terms of neighborhood population density, land-use density, housing characteristics, and car ownership, which significantly affect the magnitude and direction of the impact