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Station-pair passenger flow forecast modeling is crucial for public transportation to address emerging needs. The accurate prediction and estimation will provide backbone support for various features of transport, viz. (a) Demand forecasting for resource allocation during peak travel periods; (b) Service planning to determine transportation frequency on specific routes; (c) Resource allocation for vehicles and capacity adjustments, including planning for new fleet size; (d) Infrastructure planning to identify areas requiring additional development; (e) Enhancing passenger experience with ample seating and amenities; and (f) Emergency planning for crowd control and passenger safety. Recent advancements in transit information station-pair estimation methods can be implemented with Data Science. Over the years, there has been significant progress in developing innovative modeling approaches to estimate travel behaviour, taking into account various factors such as timeslots, holidays, and other relevant features. In this study, we have synthesized ticket data from Thane Municipal Transport (TMT), collected from e-ticket machines, spanning from January 1 to June 23, 2023, covering all routes and comprising more than 2.80 crore tickets. This paper presents a comprehensive station-pair short-term passenger flow forecast by utilizing three boosting models: extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Light Gradient Boosting model (LightGBM), and Categorical Boosting model (CatBoost). Their implementation is well-suited based on statistical parameters. The study concludes by comparing the results of the models, considering computation time and statistical parameters, to validate their superiority. By looking into day to day requirements, the LightGBM model is most appropriate for implementation with an accurate result. The research findings contribute to providing valuable data support and a robust scientific foundation for managing passenger flow through route planning and dispatching in urban transit systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving energy efficiency in public passenger transport is key to achieving sustainability goals. In many developing countries, public passenger transport relies heavily on fossil fuels, which necessitates a strong focus on reducing emissions from energy consumption. Surprisingly, few studies have addressed this issue in the context of daily operations, with most research focusing on operational and infrastructural changes. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing detailed energy consumption variables into a public transport simulation model using SUMO, a tool known for its seamless integration with Python. The development of two Python scripts underpins this endeavour. The first script facilitates the automatic generation of scenarios, allowing the manipulation of parameters such as station spacing, line length, passenger capacity and waiting times, among others. The second script is dedicated to estimating energy consumption for each scenario. Together, these tools allow us to calculate average energy consumption for different scenarios and modes of public transport. As a result, they provide valuable insights for the formulation of public policies aimed at saving energy in different public transport environments and lay the foundation for the integration and development of intelligent transport systems and simulation-based digital twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how the same commuters use public transport and short-term rental cars to get to work and universities. Its purpose is to identify the specific contextual elements (benchmarks for valuations, activities, and assets used) of the two practices - public transport and short-term car rental - and investigated whether commuters create urban mobility practices rather than simply adopt new offers. We discuss how the providers inspired the changes in the repertoire of mobility practices, how other stakeholders contribute or not to this change and how commuters create their practices independent of the providers of the services. We conceptualize the consumer enrichment as their ability to perform a diverse repertoire of practices. Based on a qualitative research method (33 individual interviews with public transport and car-per-minute users, aged 19-25) and the map of practices we suggest that researchers and policy makers interested in transformations of mobility practices should consider practices that are mediated by the mobility and not to be limited to modality problems. Transformations of non-mobility social practices can inspire changes in mobility, including its reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the competitive and economically sustainable model of public transportation service in the Upper Šariš region. The paper is focused on both the intraregional transport needs as well as the connection of the region with the outside area – especially with the city of Prešov as crucial transport node in terms of connection of the region with the rest of Slovakia. The proposal takes into consideration current state of transport infrastructure, transportation needs of inhabitants, present state of the transport service as well as operational aspects of proposed backbone transport system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of alternative fuels for transportation means using renewable energy is an essential factor for achieving sustainable development. Natural gas use is increasing, and it ranks as one of the most often consumed alternative fuels for public transportation and is leading to improved air quality in urban areas, enabling cleaner production in the transport sector. The investment and maintenance costs for buses fuelled by compressed natural gas (CNG) are higher than for diesel buses. Notably, the use of CNG buses can reduce fuel costs. These factors have a significant influence on the financial effectiveness of deploying CNG buses for public transport. Replacing diesel buses with CNG buses in urban transport reduces the emission of toxic substances and greenhouse gases and contributes to reducing the negative impact from the transportation sector on the environment. Fuelling the buses with a renewable energy source also results in reduced external costs, a crucial factor in determining the economic effectiveness of investments in the transport sector. This paper considers the costs and benefits associated with the purchase and use of CNG buses for public transport and presents the results of an evaluation of their financial and economic effectiveness. Additionally, the benefits resulting from reducing the negative impacts of the public transport sector on the environment, which is a crucial factor for cleaner production in the transport sector and fulfilling the aims of the sustainable development strategy, are calculated. On this basis, economic policy recommendations were formulated. Image 1026 • The costs and benefits of using CNG buses have been identified. • The cash flows of the use of CNG and Diesel buses were compared. • The econometric model for forecasting the operating costs was created. • The effectiveness of using the CNG buses in public transport was assessed. • Recommendations for economic policy were formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Carbon emissions from the Chilean public transport sector have doubled between 2000 and 2013. Thus, the need to find alternative clean-air solutions is becoming increasingly critical. With this in mind, this paper addresses a solution to the aforementioned problem by studying the conversion of both taxis and "colectivos" (public taxis with defined routes) into electric vehicles (EV) to be used in the Chilean public transport sector. In Chile, 80% of taxis are Nissan V16s, meaning that all of these vehicles will be replaced and end up in landfills within the next 5–8 years. This study presents an option to give a second life to these vehicles, addressing environmental and financial issues. It compares emissions from the Nissan V16's conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) with an equivalent electric conversion prototype. Furthermore, it analyses the CO 2 emissions from the EV that has been fully charged by the Chilean grid as well as one that has been charged by a solar photovoltaic system. A solar recharging station for EV taxis is designed, taking advantage of the high levels of solar radiation in Chile. The results show that EV conversion does not lead to real environmental benefits, in comparison to its ICE equivalent, when it is charged with the grid. However, the results also show a considerable decrease in cost and CO 2 emissions per km travelled when using solar energy to charge the batteries. Future challenges include identifying solutions to cope with solar intermittence and minimizing CO 2 emissions during periods of low radiation. Highlights • Conversion of ICE taxis into EVs in Chile. • Comparison of emissions of the Nissan V16 ICE with its electric conversion prototype. • Design of solar charging stations considering solar irradiation available in Chile. • Conversion does not show benefits when EV charged from electricity grid in comparison to ICV. • Results show decrease in running cost and CO2 emissions when EV charged from solar electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • This is the first application of Pareto-optimization on real data in AHP. • Methodological background of Pareto test is introduced. • Full description of the application procedure is provided. • Conclusions are summarized and suggestions are made to other potential appliers. • Results are directly disposable for public transport development decisions. Abstract Recent findings in operations research and decision theory show that the eigenvectors derived from pairwise comparison matrices are not Pareto optimal in all cases. Thus, looking at the traditional eigenvector method of Saaty, a better approximation may exist for characterizing the decision makers' opinion. The Pareto optimal modified vector may lead to better decisions for better expressing the real intention of the evaluator. This paper aims to examine Pareto-optimality on real data pairwise comparison matrices gained from a public transport Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) survey. Moreover, detecting the impact of weight score modification on the whole AHP structure and thus the significance of Pareto test is also in the scope of this study. Further, a detailed description of the general process of Pareto optimal AHP is also included. The application has been conducted in Mersin, Turkey with the purpose of determining public preference on the importance of developing supply quality elements in local bus transportation service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in Nanhai, this paper adopts an analytical framework to examine how a combination of infrastructure-pull, supply-push and demand-pull initiatives implemented by a small district government in southern China were able to facilitate socio-technical transitions to the public transport decarbonization through the establishment of hydrogen refuelling infrastructures, the adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), and the development of production network on FCEVs. With neither massive investment from the central government nor captive linkage with global automakers, Nanhai out-performs other automotive powerhouses in China by accounting for 9.85 percent of FCEVs and 4.59 percent of all operating hydrogen refuelling stations in China, despite its land area only accounting for 0.01 percent of the country. The provision of hydrogen infrastructures and other pro-active local government initiatives (including financial incentives) facilitate the development of a competitive regionalized production network of about 90 (privately-owned) fuel cell electric buses makers and parts suppliers around the Xianhu Hydrogen Valley in Nanhai. This finding enhances our understanding on effects of (local) state policies on the socio-technical transitions to public transport decarbonization and the long-term development of hydrogen economies in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revitalizing the role of public transport systems has the potential benefit of creating sustainable urban mobility and enhancing social inclusion. However, an imbalanced distribution of public transport services across a population may result in adverse effects for some social groups. One of these, the senior population, is seeing rapid growth, giving rise to increasing concerns. In this context, this paper develops a systematic methodology, supported by Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to identify the relative spatial gaps in public transport supply and demand from seniors, such as census tracts (CTs), traffic analysis zones (TAZs), or neighborhoods, considering sustainability at the statistical area (SA) level. A case study of Edmonton, Canada is described to demonstrate the novelty and practical capabilities of this methodology. The presented results indicate that the concentration degree of transport services varies among all CTs and reflects diversity in terms of various transport supply indicators, but the Gini coefficients of the seniors are all found to be relatively small. Distribution of the public transport supply index (PTSI) and the public transport demand index (PTDI) are found to be diverse among all CTs in terms of geographical locations and the number of CTs in different categories. It is also found that Edmonton features some easily distinguishable over-serviced and under-serviced areas, as well some CTs with balanced service—usually in suburban locations far from the city's core. The findings provide policy makers with evidence to validate a quantitative method for evaluating the relative spatial gaps in public transport services for individual CTs in order to promote greater equality of transport opportunities and increase of transport service efficiency among socially disadvantaged groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important issues in transportation and urban planning is an understanding of passenger choice while commuting in existing transport infrastructure. Big modern cities offer a multimodal selection of methods to transfer between the parts of the city, including various types of ground transportation and a subway. On the other hand, passengers’ model choice depends on the available routes, often historically formed without regard to modern passenger needs and fast-changing of cities life. As a result, for the optimization of public transport systems we should understand how the rules are formed, followed by passengers when choosing a specific route. This paper discusses the evaluation of modal-choice rules through ground transportation modeling using historical data collected from turnstiles in the subway and census data. The results should help in identifying the critical places in the existing infrastructure and transportation planning of big cities. The modeling results are shown on the example of St. Petersburg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008-9 the first idea of mapping the situation in Petržalka - Bratislava from traffic planning point of view defined the possibility to create a new situation for development of tramway infrastructure across the river Danube. The paper is dealing with the tools of traffic engineering surveys observing the situation in modal split and capacity of bridges in Bratislava from which was created a complex transport model. The results from the transport model showed the future collapse by overflowed situation on the street network and found the way to start with preparing the new Carrying System of Integrated Public Transport using the multi-modality of rail tracks in the agglomeration of Bratislava. Nowadays Bratislava has its first section of new tramway infrastructure from the downtown of the city connecting the all radials of the city toward the southern largest housing estate Petržalka. This section is prepared for operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on demand-responsive collective transportation facilities that can act as feeder services to time-table based public transportation (PT) requires detailed and accurate information about the PT infrastructure, including the attachment of bus stops to the appropriate network link. Due to the size of the infrastructure, the data integration shall be automated. This paper describes the effort to prepare data from publicly available OpenStreetMap (OSM) and General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) sources. Procedures are proposed (i) to build a network derived from OSM suitable for simulations in transportation, (ii) to extract bus stops from GTFS and remove anomalies and (iii) to find candidate network links to attach them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the closure of TXL airport and its impact on the bus network of Berlin. The results of the scenario are based on a co-evolutionary algorithm for public transit network design. The algorithm is integrated in a multi-modal multi-agent simulation. In the simulation, competing minibus operators start exploring the public transport market offering their services. With more successful operators expanding and less successful operators going bankrupt, a sustainable network of minibus services evolves. In the TXL scenario, the impact of the massive change in demand is found to be locally confined. Only transit lines serving TXL airport directly are affected. Furthermore, transit lines are found to have a higher probability of surviving if connecting two different activity centers, e.g. transit hubs. Following a hub-and-spoke approach by letting the line end in low-demand areas renders a line less attractive because of a reduced connectivity, e.g. to one train station only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines concentration of ultrafine particles (UFPs) based on data collected using high-resolution UFP monitors whilst travelling by bus during rush hour along three different urban routes in Auckland, New Zealand. The factors influencing in-bus UFP concentration were assessed using a combination of spatial, statistical and GIS analysis techniques to determine both spatial and temporal variability. Results from 68 bus trips showed that concentrations varied more within a route than between on a given day, despite differences in urban morphology, land use and traffic densities between routes. A number of trips were characterised by periods of very rapid increases in UFPs (concentration ‘spikes’), followed by slow declines. Trips which recorded at least one spike (an increase of greater than 10,000 pt/cm 3 ) resulted in significantly higher mean concentrations. Spikes in UFPs were significantly more likely to occur when travelling at low speeds and when passengers were alighting and boarding at bus stops close to traffic light intersections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]