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As a trending mobility choice, e-scooters have become popular in many cities. A number of authorities have initiated shared e-scooter trial schemes to assess the feasibility of the vehicles prior to enacting official legalisation. This paper aims to provide an evidence review of shared e-scooters and investigate how existing evidence may inform long-term policies. This carries significant relevance for jurisdictions that are in a conflicting position with e-scooters, such as New South Wales (NSW), Australia whose context motivates this study. The evidence review focuses on three themes derived from experience with shared e-scooters within the broader micromobility landscape, namely: safety; where shared e-scooters fit into the modal landscape; and the environmental impacts. Findings confirm that ensuring the safety of shared e-scooters requires complex solutions, which may include a clear regulatory framework for e-scooters, safety education and skill training, innovative data collection and analysis methods, and an approach to safety management that is user-based, location-based, and time-based. In terms of modal fit policymakers should encourage first and last-mile combinations with public transport, with consideration of user characteristics; while climate impact is strongly correlated to the mode replaced by e-scooter trips. The paper provides insights for policymakers on the regulation and positioning of shared e-scooters. • Many jurisdictions are struggling to determine policies for e-scooters. • Existing e-scooter evidence sheds light on possible long-term policies. • Safety management should consider different users, locations, and times. • First and last-mile combinations with public transport should be encouraged. • Climate impact is strongly correlated to the mode replaced by e-scooter trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper reviews factors influencing shift to public transport. • The focus is on developing countries. • The findings highlight a modal shift from motorcycles to public transport. • The findings highlight a theoretical framework for the modal shift. Most studies on commuter and public transport mode choice rely on theoretical frameworks that draw boundaries between the utility function, social-ecological system, demographic and socio-economic attributes, and psychological theory. While models predicting the shift towards public transport are commonly applied in developed countries, there is a lack of similar studies that construct these models in developing countries. In addition, in some developing countries, the motorcycle is one of the main private motorised travel modes. Therefore, the modal shift from motorcycles to public transport in Southeast Asia to reduce private mobility is one of the important topics to examine. This paper presents a systematic literature review, utilising a comprehensive search strategy across electronic databases and reputable sources to identify directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), revealing factors influencing the choice and intention to shift to public transport. Data synthesis from selected studies highlights the intrinsic and extrinsic variables influencing public transport use, motorcycle use, and the modal shift to public transport. The study also proposes a theoretical framework for the modal shift in usage from motorcycles to public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the basic issues involved in identifying and providing solutions to transport problems. The paper argues that solutions focusing solely on investment in capacity or second-best solutions to pricing such as road pricing and free public transport ignore the essential economic relationships involved in transport. The paper provides a critique of investment and pricing and argues for a more integrated approach in which optimal pricing is a core consideration in any investment decisions. This is seen as particularly important in a post Covid-19 world where many of the fundamental drivers of transport demand have changed, and public authorities face significant constraints on budgets whilst new pressures such as commitments to net zero in the face of global warming threats add additional pressures. The paper offers some thoughts on the principles involved in establishing a more suitable structure for dealing with the transport problem. • Identifies the core elements of the transport problem as pricing and investment. • Reviews problems in implementing first-best pricing. • Critiques investment decisions in the light of wider economic impacts. • Considers changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the move to net-zero. • Offers a set of principles for reforming transport policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has been widely recognised as an affordable and effective mass transport system that can solve various mobility issues in countries that are unable to afford rail-based mass transit options. However, it is extremely challenging to predict the demand for the first BRT service in a city of a developing country with a weak public transport system using aggregate models, given the radical difference in the level of service between the BRT and the existing modes. Further, there can be substantial changes in the activity and travel patterns in a city after the introduction of the BRT which simpler disaggregate level analysis tools are unable to predict. Agent-based simulation tools, which are the state-of-the-art tools for simulating complex travel behaviour, are hence more appropriate for predicting the network conditions after the introduction of a new BRT system. But the application of such simulation tools has been primarily limited to developed countries where the transport landscape and the travel behaviour are very different from the developing countries. To address this gap, this paper presents a demand forecasting model for BRT and integrates it into an activity-based micro-simulation tool in the context of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and one of the fastest growing megacities in the world. The model was developed based on an existing multi-agent, activity-based, travel demand simulator (MATSim). The MATSim implementation in the context of Dhaka focused on two aspects: (1) implementing behaviour models in MATSim to reflect the mode choice in the presence of the proposed BRT (2) integrating multiple data sources (including stated-preference data) for calibrating the mode choice and other components of MATSim to realistically mimic the travel behaviour in the city. Once calibrated, different access scenarios for BRT were simulated using MATSim, and the sensitivity of the outputs to different modelling assumptions is tested. Results from the simulation showed that the marginal utility of travel time, travel cost, and pricing structure of BRT significantly influenced BRT travel demands. Also, BRT demand was found to be the highest (25% of the total trips) in the scenario with multi-modal access/egress connections. While such direct model outputs presented in this paper will be useful for the planners to maximise the ridership of the proposed BRT, the calibrated simulator will be also useful for the evaluation of other innovative transport modes in the context of Dhaka in the future. • Behavioural models are integrated with agent-based microsimulation approach to predict BRT demand in the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh. • The demand for BRT is found to be notably influenced by both the fare structure and multimodal connectivity. • Simulation outputs demonstrate that BRT demand can vary between 0.7% and 25% depending on the adopted policies. • Policy measures to maximise BRT demand include making motorcycles less attractive and ensuring intermodal connectivity. • Customised services, incentives, and targeted planning, including gender-sensitive strategies, are vital for improving BRT ridership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last-mile delivery challenges and complexity are increasing simultaneously with the e-commerce growth, the e-commerce growth constitutes a threat to urban transport, especially for big cities and developing countries. This paper examines the economic impact of crowd-shipping based on public transport collaborated with the automated parcel locker and the impact of traditional delivery, as two different methods of last-mile delivery under the same circumstances. This paper aims to assess crowd-shipping as an alternative solution for last-mile delivery compared to traditional delivery. Data has been simulated based on Cairo reality, one of the largest cities in the world. The mathematical models were formulated for the problem, where the first model objective function minimizes the costs of vehicle possession and vehicle kilometers traveled, while the second model objective function minimizes the costs of establishing lockers, vehicle possession, and vehicle kilometers traveled. A genetic algorithm has been used due to the complexity of the problem. The results show that the economic impact of the crowd-shipping delivery system is better than the traditional delivery system under the conditions of large-sized and medium-sized demand, while the economic impact of traditional delivery is better than the crowd-shipping delivery system under the conditions of small-sized demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no secret that decision-making around mass transit infrastructure can be highly political. Transport policy research, however, has tended to view political dynamics mainly as barriers. There is a need to better understand how and under what conditions political interests and institutions can enable mass transit projects, especially in cities which are not yet locked into car-centric transport systems. This paper addresses this gap with new inductive evidence from 32 expert interviews on the politics of bus rapid transit (BRT) in low- and middle-income countries. It develops two novel analytical frameworks, one on the politics of system adoption and another on the politics of system durability. The first framework highlights how BRT proposals often pitch broad but shallow political support against narrow yet deep political opposition. This renders them inherently contentious. Proposals move forward when their implementation generates political benefits for powerful decisionmakers. The second framework challenges the conventional view that BRT systems prove durable when their operations perform well. Instead, it posits that systems endure when their operations mitigate or adapt to adverse political feedback. The paper offers a novel holistic perspective on how to understand the politics of BRT, and presents a critical intervention in the BRT literature which has tended to focus on isolated political dynamics, such as the need for a local champion or resistance from paratransit operators. • Political analysis can strengthen policymaking for mass transit development. • BRT proposals often pitch broad, shallow support against narrow, deep opposition. • Proposals move forwards when they generate political benefits for decisionmakers. • BRT operations, in turn, often suffer from adverse political feedback. • BRT systems prove durable when operations mitigate or adapt to political feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design, implementation, and practical use of a specialized online data repository and an interactive visualization of a transportation dashboard. Specifically tailored to handle and interpret large-scale transportation data within the Qatari context, the combined platform serves as a comprehensive solution for managing extensive datasets, including GPS traces from taxis and e-scooters, which are examined as primary use-cases in this paper. The online data repository provides a centralized hub for efficient data storage and management of public transport including Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) data. Concurrently, the visualization dashboard fosters an intuitive, user-friendly interface for data exploration and analysis. Through real-world applications within Qatar's transportation ecosystem, we elucidate how these innovative developments can inform data-driven policy decisions in crucial areas such as infrastructure development, resource allocation, and safety measures. Ultimately, this study underscores the pivotal role of effective data management and advanced visualization in maximizing the potential of big data, providing valuable insights for urban mobility planning and enhancing the landscape of policy-making in Qatar and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an ongoing process that greenhouse gas emissions of transport will be incorporated in the European Emissions Trading System. The cap-and-trade approach will result in substantial price increases for fossil fuels which will affect affordability of the transport systems. Within this paper the regressive effect on car-owning households is described in different area categories of the urban and rural region in Germany. Equal-per-household redistribution of the carbon revenue could reverse the regressive effect into a progressive effect. However, there is substantial variation within the different economic status groups leaving notable shares of households with a very low economic status without a positive net transfer. This share will be lowest in the metropolises of the urban region and highest in small-sized cities/village areas of the urban and rural region. Particularly in the latter area categories, these households may need temporary mobility allowances due to limited abatement options. Despite the environmental bonus, electric car-owning households still belong to groups of higher economic status, and public transport supply is limited, particularly in the small-sized cities/village areas of the urban and rural region. • The financial burden of transport carbon pricing varies by the economic status of households. • Within all economic status groups, the financial burden varies also by area categories. • Equal-per-household-payments could turn the regressive effect of carbon pricing progressive. • Yet some households with a very low economic status may still need temporary mobility allowances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A current topic that has surfaced among Public Transport Companies (PTCs) is the selection of alternative fuels for their bus fleets. Both European and Italian regulations are pushing toward abandoning diesel fuel and the consolidation of alternative traction power sources, such as battery-electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, and hydrogen-electric vehicles. The literature has provided some approaches toward assessing this selection such as multicriteria-decision-methods in some countries in the world. However, not enough specific attention has been paid to cost criteria, experts involved, and the type of service required. This paper intends to address these gaps by applying an integrated method, which includes: (i) the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to define the weights of criteria; (ii) the ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalitè I (ELECTRE I) to find a good compromise solution among the fuel alternatives and (iii) a simple Weighted Sum Model (WSM) to refine ranking. This integrated method was applied in Italy involving a panel of experts from whom the data was collected. Different fuel alternatives for both urban and interurban services and with and without funding are discussed. The results provide a useful tool supporting PTC policies, which aims to rationalise and prioritise bus fuel alternatives when deciding on fleet renewal. • Bus fuel selection studies lack cost criteria, experts involved, and service type. • The multicriteria-decision-methods (MCDM) considers the previous issues. • An integrated MCDM method selects fuel alternatives for urban/interurban bus services. • Results prioritise the economically advantageous fuels for with and without funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation is an economic sector that contributes significantly to global warming due to its high consumption of fossil fuels, and sustainably produced hydrogen is a major contender for an alternative clean energy source. Public transit is vital for environmental sustainability via reducing individual vehicle usage and traffic congestion, and the prospect of powering buses using hydrogen fuel has been extensively studied lately. This paper seeks to comprehensively review the current status of research on hydrogen-powered buses considering triple bottom line sustainability perspectives. A brief technical overview of prospective environmentally benign hydrogen production processes has been presented. Technological, economic, and environmental findings and research trends seen in recent analyses on hydrogen-powered buses have been summarized, along with the status quo of global hydrogen refuelling stations. Identified focal points for future studies include performance enhancements, refuelling infrastructure propagation, and policy formulation. The conclusions derived from this review will benefit the accelerated deployment of hydrogen-fuelled public transit fleets. • Environmentally benign hydrogen production is reviewed techno-economically. • The prospects of using hydrogen for public bus transport are discussed thoroughly. • Blue and green hydrogen production are likely to coexist in the hydrogen economy. • Costs and energy consumption of hydrogen-powered buses need improvement. • Refuelling facility deployment and public awareness of safety should be enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking a mixed method and comparative case study approach, this paper has analyzed the formulation process of mobility policy strategies and plans and their implementation in four Asian cities. The key findings are: (1) there was some evidence on leadership shown by mayors, governors, public transport administrators and police in all four cities; (2) limited stakeholder engagement in the whole process of policy formation to implementation and some forms of donor influence were observed in three capital cities that resulted in follow-up projects or studies; and (3) the implementation of policies and plans faced many challenges relating to leadership, resources, prioritization, and coordination among various organizations. There was much focus on the formulation of mobility policies and plans and the users could not feel a meaningful improvement to urban mobility services despite the implementation of large urban mobility projects. A comprehensive evaluation framework is proposed and used to evaluate the whole process of improving urban mobility from policy formulation to implementation. There seems to be much preference for large urban transit projects vis-à-vis infrastructure for active mobility and low-cost solutions. The research also indicates the need for meaningful public engagement so that the mobility plans take a citizen-centric approach that reflects the needs of the urban residents, rather than taking a modernistic approach with solutions more suitable for middle-income groups. Delays in the implementation of major projects also suggest that more realistic planning, scheduling, and improvement in project management and coordination is necessary. • Reviews and assesses the whole process of mobility polices and plans in Asian cities. • There was some evidence of leadership shown by mayors, governors, public transport administrators and police. • Limited stakeholder engagement in the process of policy formation to implementation and some donor influence observed. • There was much focus on the formulation of mobility polices and plans and without much improvement to mobility services. • A comprehensive evaluation framework is proposed to evaluate mobility polices and plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curbside parking in a residential area may be induced by the presence of a public transport stop. Travelers may park their car near the stop and continue their trip to the city center by other means. This is called informal park-and-ride. The magnitude of the phenomenon is estimated by simulation. Parking demand is derived from the history of parking time (tickets) sold at vending machines. For each ticket, an activity location is determined by stochastic sampling from a buildings (facilities) database based on the position of the vending machine. The activity timing is derived from the parking duration specified by the ticket. Suitable parking spots for an activity are determined for the cases (i) drive-park-walk and (ii) drive-park-publicTransport-walk respectively. The generalized cost (based on money and travel duration) is determined for both options. The decision is sampled by means of a behavioural model. Several scenarios are considered and the results allow to evaluate the complaints issued by residents of a study area because microsimulation enables the generation of probability densities for parking occupation in such area in each scenario. This paper reports how the method is applied to a study area in Amsterdam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term Mobility as a Service (MaaS) refers to a seamless, single interface, fully integrated and customised transport service. Whilst the technological barriers to implementing MaaS are steadily being overcome, less is known about how the MaaS eco-system might evolve. This paper unpicks the MaaS concept in light of broader societal trends to suggest how it could evolve and offers insights for practitioners and policy makers. The paper draws on relevant literature, together with discussions with stakeholders, to better understand how MaaS has emerged. It then constructs four future MaaS market scenarios and identifies implications. It is concluded that current expectations of how the MaaS concept may evolve are limited in their understanding of how the transport system could change should MaaS be adopted on a wide scale. The major challenges for policy makers will likely relate to balancing the promised benefits offered with issues such as safety (including bio-safety in our post Covid-19 world), data security and privacy, equity and the threat of dominant suppliers distorting the marketplace. Together, these insights suggest that the MaaS reality may be messy and difficult to manage, and that future transport systems might look very different to now. • Unpicks MaaS concept to offer insights for practitioners and policy makers. • Four future MaaS market scenarios based on literature and stakeholder discussions. • Finds current expectations of MaaS evolution are limited. • Future MaaS reality may be messy and difficult to manage. • Challenge to balance benefits with safety, data security, privacy, equity, market distortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although using public transport can effectively reduce carbon emissions, the percentage of people using it is still very small. Meanwhile, population aging has been a global problem and the number of older adults is still growing. Thus, encouraging more older adults to use public transport will significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. This paper explores the effect of social media, one of the most popular ways to share information, on older adults' intention to use public transport. To comprehensively measure the effects of social media, this paper considers two different kinds of perceived benefits (information sharing and price saving) and perceived risks (financial and privacy risks) separately. This paper, first, conducted a research framework based on the theory of planned behavior and then collected 197 questionnaire data. After employing the validity and reliability tests, the hypotheses were tested. The results show that perceived benefits of social media have a positive effect on older adults' intention to use and recommend public transport. However, financial risks do not significantly affect older adults' intention to use and recommend public transport, while privacy risks can affect older adults' intention, but not negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared micro-mobility services are increasingly becoming popular in many cities. These services can help shape sustainable cities and reduce car dependency. To unlock their full potential, a deep understanding of these services' operation, adoption, and integration within existing mobility systems is required. This paper uses a newly introduced agent-based simulation framework to study the implications of shared bikes and e-scooters in Lyon, France. The paper describes data collection, processing, and input data generation for the simulation of shared bikes and e-scooters. Simulation outcomes evaluate the impact of introducing these services on existing travel modes. The introduction of shared bikes and e-scooters can compete against public transit and walking. The simulation framework can be used to assess various aspects of shared bikes and e-scooters and help policy-makers take advantage of their full potential to improve urban mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to understand the effect of different information types on risk perception and examine the relationship between perceived risk and travel behaviour during a pandemic outbreak. A hybrid choice model structure, incorporating a multiple discrete-continuous extreme value model, was formulated and estimated to explore travellers' mode choice and usage changes. We used a risk perception map to visually explain which risk elements felt unfamiliar and uncontrollable to travellers. Virus variation , Potential sequelae , and Long-term coexistence of coronavirus with humans were perceived as the most unfamiliar and uncontrollable risk elements. The model results indicate that increased perceived risk tends to reduce travellers' use of public transport and increase the use of shared bikes and private cars. Reducing passengers' perceived risk is critical to encourage the re-uptake of public transport in the post-pandemic era. As travellers also show significant heterogeneity, governments should aim to design targeted intervention strategies to encourage different travellers to return to public transport when considering risk communication. • This paper examines the effect of different information on perceived risk and the influence of perceived risk on travel behaviour changes during the Covid-19 pandemic. • A risk perception map is used to find out risk elements that feel unfamiliar and uncontrollable to travellers. • A hybrid choice structure, incorporating a multiple discrete-continuous extreme value (MDCEV) model is formulated and estimated to understand mode choice and changes in the frequency of usage of these modes. • As Travellers show significant heterogeneity, targeted intervention strategies for different types of travellers are required to encourage re-uptake of public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is an emerging framework that integrates multiple transport services into a single and intuitive platform. This paper contrasts the urban passenger transport markets in developed versus developing economies to understand the challenges of integrating mobility services using the MaaS framework, with a focus on decarbonization and sustainability as societal goals. In addition, we conducted a Life Cycle Assessment of carbon emissions and energy requirements of travel alternatives in the city of Santiago, Chile, to shed light on the effects of multimodality as an environmental tool. A summary of findings follows. Data sharing and open data are new in developing countries, and thus more investment in data infrastructure is required so that MaaS can leverage digital technology and network optimization. If the scalability of MaaS is an open question in developed countries, it is more so in developing countries, owning to institutional and financial constraints that are present in the latter. The lack of public subsidies to support formal public transport is a key limitation for the implementation of MaaS schemes and multimodal frameworks in the developing world. Regarding formality, in countries with an informal public transport sector, a potential implementation of MaaS will be spatially constrained to those locations where public transport operates formally and frequently (BRT and rail lines), limiting its spatial coverage and posing social equity issues. In countries with scarce or no public funds available for the transport sector, MaaS could be used as a catalyst for a broad environmental and equity-seeking transport pricing reform which requires a direct involvement of public sector in both regulation and financial backing. We conclude that the formalization and general improvement of the public transport sector, the regulation of shared-mobility platforms including the formalization of the work of drivers, and the setting of proper pricing and subsidization instruments in the direction of internalizing the social costs of motorized traffic, are all prerequisites for any MaaS system that aims to improve economic efficiency, social equity, and sustainability. • Assess MaaS as a framework for decarbonization in developing world. • Discuss governance and equity issues in implementing MaaS. • Identify carbon policy for different cities to achieve sustainability. • Conduct a life cycle assessment to inform carbon strategies. • Scalability is a key challenge in both developing and developed worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies the current practices and challenges related to the planning, management, and operation of microtransit systems as well as the concerns associated with the (lack of) policies in place. Our work focuses on the U.S. experience and is primarily based on an in-depth analysis of six microtransit systems using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. We investigate and classify the multiple ways public agencies form public-private partnerships to institute microtransit service in their jurisdictions and discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of the different service delivery models. We also thoroughly examine the contracts public agencies formed with private entities to disentangle the various cost elements associated with the launch and operation of a microtransit system. Our policy discussion emphasizes the lack of sustained funding sources for microtransit and the funding formulas that lead to a reduction or loss of public transportation funding when a jurisdiction replaces a fixed route service with microtransit. We also explain the requirements for ADA compliance in microtransit systems and highlight that service equivalency between disabled and non-disabled riders is not guaranteed when only some of the microtransit vehicles and operators are ADA compliant and certified. In terms of operation practices, we describe the safety risks that microtransit users may face on a day-to-day basis due to algorithm-driven virtual pick-up and drop-off locations, and the unwillingness of some service providers to enforce inclusive practices and ensure that individuals without electronic payment options and smartphones can gain access to the service. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges with balancing supply and demand in microtransit systems, and the need for allowing for both on-demand and pre-scheduled trip requests in order to ensure that critical and time-sensitive work, school, and medical trips are accommodated and prioritized. • Quantitative and qualitative data from six microtransit implementations. • Classification of public-private partnerships for microtransit service. • Explanation of technology fees and vehicles and drivers' costs in microtransit contracts. • Lack of sustained funding sources, and ADA compliance not guaranteed. • Challenges related to operation, such as the safety of algorithm-driven virtual stops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisational structures in the transport sector are often complex and fragmented, with different authorities responsible for different stages of a traveller's journey. In such circumstances, collaboration across organisational boundaries is required to facilitate intermodal journeys. This paper aims to provide empirically grounded insights into collaboration in transport planning, extending the literature to include cycling as an access and egress mode. This is done by examining the challenge of improving bicycle parking facilities at railway stations in Copenhagen, Denmark. Interviews with key actors involved in public transport and cycling planning reveal three main inter-organisational barriers to improving station bicycle parking in Copenhagen. First, station bicycle parking falls between the responsibilities of different organisations and levels of governance. Second, the absence of an established funding formula contributes to negotiation-oriented rather than collaborative interactions among the stakeholders. Third, the tension between cyclist satisfaction and rail passenger growth targets hinders collective action. In summary, despite Copenhagen's strong cycling identity and the prioritisation of this transportation mode in the city's political decision-making and transport planning, the issue of station bicycle parking highlights the complexity of multi-actor governance of intermodal journeys. • Organisational fragmentation creates challenges for intermodal integration. • Station bicycle parking falls between modal responsibilities and governance levels. • The need to negotiate financial commitments can hinder inter-organisational collaboration. • Tension exists between cyclist satisfaction and railway passenger growth goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many countries have experienced more than one wave of the pandemic throughout 2020, Australia has been able to contain the virus in a way that makes it a stand out (with New Zealand) in the way that it has been contained, with an exception in Victoria linked to failed quarantine procedures for travellers returning from overseas. Through descriptive analysis, this paper builds on earlier papers by the authors on the Australian response, with a focus on the changing dynamics of travel activity, concern with public transport, and attitudes surrounding activity given the perception of risk of COVID-19 and the level of public support for regulatory intervention and restrictions on movement. We find that Australia continues to suppress travel, particularly that for commuting, that comfort in completing day-to-day activities continues to rise (with the exception of Victoria where confidence feel significantly), and while support for intervention measures remains high, there has been an erosion in sentiment. As with previous work, we discuss what this might mean for future transport policy, and attempt to draw lessons from the Australian experience. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lagos is often depicted as a city of immobility and inequality. Based on a micro-sociological study in the public transit system and an ethnographic study in an urban neighborhood, this article provides a nuanced analysis of situational inequality. Given the enduring traffic congestion and prevailing social inequality in the city, moments of aggressive cutting in line on roads and disputes over light collision accidents demonstrate a spontaneous unequal power relationship that is at odds with the existing social inequality structure. These moments can impose a sense of frustration on the private car drivers who are assumed to have a higher social status while bringing delight to minibus (danfo) drivers and passengers who have lower status. This emergent situational inequality, the paper argues, provides lower-class people with affective elements which can contribute to making sense of (im)mobilities, urban lifestyle, and conceptualization of Lagos. However, the effects of situational inequality are limited to the individual level, as it cannot largely transform the spatiality and temporality of traffic congestion, the socioeconomic class structure, and the traffic governance in Lagos. This dialectical situational inequality does not become a practical living strategy but reifies their individual philosophies of living in Lagos embodied through narratives. The sociological account of situational inequality in this paper showcases an approach to interpret the meaningfulness of micro mobility experiences with regard to macro urban conditions, thereby enriching our understandings of the relationship between mobility and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal public transport is generally understood as transport services that are provided in absence or violation of state regulations. This paper argues that attempts to define the informality of public transport through such liberal economic lenses are insufficient in explaining the processes which lead to production of informalities. Discussing the operation of Vikrams (individually-owned and privately-operated shared autorickshaws plying on fixed routes) in Dehradun, India, this paper uncovers the multifaceted role of the state in producing and sustaining informalities in public transport provisions. It offers a more nuanced view of informality in transport studies than its commonplace understanding as a spontaneous, self-regulating, entrepreneurial aggregate. The paper argues that informality in transport studies should be understood as a heterogeneous practice that is a product of wider structural contexts situated in the politico-historical understandings of public transport in evolving spatio-temporal moments. In the case presented in this paper these include imperial legal legacies and its intersections with shifting postcolonial political economies and territorial structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased usage of alternative transportation modes during public transportation disruptions has been well documented in the literature. While many papers discuss the resilience of the disrupted mode or measure changes in the usage of various alternative modes, little research has addressed the capacity flexibility and the price fluctuations of the alternative modes—two important components of the quality of an alternative. This paper documents the capacity and price changes of BlaBlaCar during the nationwide French railway strike in 2018. We collected more than 1 million trip offers from the BlaBlaCar's API from April to July 2018, covering 82 representative intercity routes in France. Our empirical analysis shows that, on an average strike day, the number of offered seats increased by approximately 6 %, while the number of booked seats rose by 33 %. Despite the spikes in demand, prices remained stable during the strike. We argue that the price recommendation mechanism helped maintain the price stability on the platform during the strike. The mechanism is in fact an effective enforcement of the policy laid down by the French government to uphold the cost-sharing principle on ridesharing platforms. This paper presents a case of voluntary compliance by a private company to put in place a price recommendation mechanism that in effect stabilizes prices and contributes to the resilience of the whole transportation system against abnormal market conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic affected mobility around the world, significantly reducing the number of trips by public transport. In this paper, we study its impact in five South American capitals (i.e., Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Quito and Santiago). A decline in public transport patronage could be very bad news for these cities in the long term, particularly if users change to less sustainable modes, such as cars or motorbikes. Notwithstanding, it could be even beneficial if users selected more sustainable modes, such as active transport (e.g., bicycles and walking). To better understand this phenomenon in the short term, we conducted surveys in these five cities looking for the main explanation for changes from public transport to active and private modes in terms of user perceptions, activity patterns and sociodemographic information. To forecast people's mode shifts in each city, we integrated both objective and subjective information collected in this study using a SEM-MIMIC model. We found five latent variables (i.e., COVID-19 impact, Entities response , Health risk , Life related activities comfort and Subjective well-being), two COVID-19 related attributes (i.e. , new cases and deaths), two trip attributes (i.e., cost savings and time), and six socio-demographic attributes (i.e. , age, civil status, household characteristics, income level , occupation and gender) influencing the shift from public transport to other modes. Furthermore, both the number of cases and the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 increased the probability of moving from public transport to other modes but, in general, we found a smaller probability of moving to active modes than to private modes. The paper proposes a novel way for understanding geographical and contextual similarities in the pandemic scenario for these metropolises from a transportation perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Non-drivers with physical disabilities (PD) more prefer to use autonomous vehicles (AV) than drivers. • Persons with PD who live in urban areas prefer to use AV over others. • Persons with PD's intention to use AV predominantly depends on their view of AV, not their mobility habits. • AV have excellent potential to improve access to transportation and ensure transportation equity. • One solution is introducing AV in the public transport system following accessibility, reliability, and safety principles. Improving access to transportation and ensuring transportation equity for persons with physical disabilities is one of the global challenges. Autonomous vehicles are pointed out as the potential solution to these problems. The views of persons with physical disabilities about autonomous vehicles differed sharply and substantially compared to non-disabled and other persons with disabilities. Therefore, this paper investigates differences in acceptance of autonomous vehicles among different groups of persons with physical disabilities. The driving status criterion was used because this fact significantly impacts the quality of life and social status. The paper's main contribution is to help create policies and practices related to autonomous vehicles following the real needs of persons with physical disabilities. The research was conducted in a country with vast problems of inclusion of persons with disabilities and transportation equity – Serbia. The Bayesian linear regression models were created with weakly informative prior distributions. We found that non-drivers with physical disabilities prefer to use autonomous vehicles more than drivers. The key issues of the successful introduction of autonomous vehicles are attitudes, accessibility, and trust. Autonomous vehicles present an excellent opportunity to improve mobility and transportation equity for non-drivers with physical disabilities. Transportation stakeholders, vehicle manufacturers, and representative associations of persons with disabilities should cooperate closely, respecting the concept „Nothing about us, without us.". One solution for resolving recognized challenges is introducing autonomous vehicles in the public transport system following accessibility, reliability, and safety principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of bike usage and transit services is an effective way to enhance accessibility for both transportation modes. Using high-resolution transit data, the study analyzes bike-transit multimodal accessibility and usage patterns through a social equity lens. Two types of accessibility increment are studied: bicycle increment to public transit – the benefits of using bicycle for transit riders, and transit increment to cycling – the merits of using transit for cyclists. Results show that bike-transit integration benefits both public transit riders and cyclists, expanding their accessible opportunities by up to 70% and enabling longer trips for cyclists while providing continuous benefits for public transit users. Meanwhile, better infrastructure significantly improves multimodal accessibility, resulting in more increment for public transit riders but less increment for cyclists. The paper also shows the spatiotemporal patterns of multimodal ridership. The research highlights disparities in bike-transit activities for Black communities due to inadequate local biking infrastructure. Black people majority neighborhoods enjoy less increment compared to other neighborhoods for shorter and very long trips; they also have disproportionately lower multimodal ridership despite much higher transit ridership and better transit access. Enhancing biking infrastructure in these areas can improve physical accessibility increment and promote social equity. The paper provides practical insights for transit planning, emphasizing the importance of connecting bike lanes and creating safer streets for cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A public transit accessibility under heat exposure model is studied with time-dependent consideration. • A column generation method to urban rail-bus-walk service network integration is devised. • Experiments in Beijing show the impact of heat exposure on public transit accessibility. The evolution of urban transportation systems is increasingly driven by the integration of rail, bus, and walking pathways, forming a cohesive service network. This urban rail-bus-walk service network integration is pivotal in addressing urban challenges and ensuring seamless mobility. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of such integrated systems depends on their accessibility and the willingness of individuals to take them as their primary transportation mode. In the context of climate change, extreme heat events pose an increasing threat to passenger comfort and health, which in turn, affects individuals' decisions to use public transit. Additionally, walking to transit stops or waiting for transportation becomes more challenging during such extreme heat conditions. This paper tackles the challenge of comprehensively addressing the evolving issues related to public transit accessibility in response to rising temperatures, an area of research that has received limited attention until now. This paper introduced an approach aimed at optimizing the urban rail-bus-walk service network with a focus on both accessibility and heat exposure considerations. By calculating the transportation accessibility level under varying temperature conditions and identifying its vulnerability to high temperatures, this paper presents a methodology to enhance the transit service. Such improvement involves not only adjustments to the integration network but also considering of cooling facilities, such as shaded routes and shelters. Column generation is applied to solve this problem and the optimization result demonstrates improvement of accessibility under the extreme heat condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Women in urban contexts make frequent, shorter trips with more stops along the way to combine multiple tasks while men follow direct and linear routes. • The cost and frequency of public transport affect women more than men. • Coverage issues like the absence of a well-connected public transport system and last-mile problems limit women's use of public transport. • Transport infrastructure design does not prioritize women's comfort. • Women's perceptions about violence and their actual safety in public spaces affect both their physical mobility and economic choices. Women and men travel differently in low- and middle-income countries. This paper provides an overview of the evidence on key features of women's travel behavior and the barriers they face in accessing public transport in developing countries, including affordability, frequency, coverage, comfort, and safety. Women make more frequent, shorter trips with more stops along the way to combine multiple tasks. In contrast, men follow direct and linear routes. As this paper shows, the cost and frequency of public transport affect women more than men, and given women's income constraints, create trade-offs between travel and other economic opportunities. This paper also highlights how the current design of public transport does not accommodate the unique needs of women. Notably, coverage issues such as a poorly connected network, including last-mile problems, limit women's use of public transport and increase their reliance on private and informal modes of transport. Infrastructure design does not prioritize women's comfort. Women's perceptions about violence and their actual safety in public spaces affects their physical mobility and economic choices. Understanding the evidence on the challenges faced by women is a first step in identifying policies and interventions that could improve women's mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban corridor areas, profound congestion creates a pressing need for public transit to deliver efficient, flexible, and sustainable "door-to-door" services. This paper introduces a modular electrified transit system tailored for urban corridor areas (MET-CA), with a primary focus on enhancing transportation efficiency and reducing electrical energy consumption. The MET-CA system comprises two core components: mainline transit, dedicated to providing rapid services along the corridor, and feeder transit, catering to individual service zones. Seamless en-route transfers are facilitated through designated docking sections along the corridor. To rigorously address the system's optimization, we formulate it as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem on a time-expanded network. Subsequently, an inter-transit iterative heuristic with a problem-customized rolling method is developed within a bi-level framework to address the large-scale complexity. Its performance is validated through extensive numerical experiments, substantially compared to exact solutions obtained from the Cplex solver, showcasing an impressive average computation time savings of 49.7% with a minimal quality decrease of 0.18%. Through a real-world case study, Pareto optimality analysis underscores MET-CA's 24.4% average electricity savings and highlights its advantages in efficiency and flexibility over bus rapid transit and demand responsive transit in urban corridor areas. • This paper introduces a Modular Electrified Transit system tailored for Corridor Areas (MET-CA). • MET-CA is modeled as a mixed-integer linear programming and a bi-level heuristic is customized. • Numerical experiments and a real-world case study showcase crucial insights of MET-CA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires public transit agencies to provide an equivalent transportation service for people with disabilities, known as ADA paratransit service. As the U.S. population continues to grow and age, the demand for paratransit service keeps rising, posing many challenges for transit agencies due to its high operational cost. In response, a growing number of transit agencies are looking to incorporate alternative paratransit services by forming partnerships with transportation network companies (TNCs) to provide what is known as same-day service (SDS). However, most of these partnerships are still in the pilot phase, and scant research investigates the opportunities and barriers of SDS or provides guidelines and measures for transit agencies interested in such partnerships. Considering both the characteristics of paratransit trips and riders and the operational norms of TNCs, this paper explores different conditions under which SDS trips are most appropriate and estimates potential trip diversion from conventional paratransit to SDS operated by TNCs. Trip diversion conditions include (1) trip length, which is impacted by the subsidy amount for SDS and the dynamic pricing of TNC trips, (2) level of service, which depends on the level of mobility assistance required by paratransit riders, and (3) the operational efficiency of conventional paratransit. Different settings and combinations of these conditions help transit agencies explore the potential trip diversion of SDS while considering significant barriers to the service. Using 2019 ridership data of Access paratransit, the ADA paratransit services in the Seattle region, this research finds that without an excessive subsidy amount, transit agencies can divert up to 18% of paratransit trips to SDS. This percentage can drop to as low as 11% of paratransit trips if transit agencies further limit the SDS service area to ensure the efficiency of conventional ADA paratransit. This paper concludes that although SDS provides many benefits, significant barriers inherent to TNC business models and paratransit users should be carefully examined when pursuing ADA paratransit-TNC partnerships. • Providing paratransit Same-Day Service through TNCs has many barriers. • TNCs cannot accommodate all types of ADA paratransit trips beyond curb-to-curb. • TNCs pricing limits subsidized length of SDS trips during peak and off-peak hours. • The diversion rate to SDS should not disrupt the operational efficiency of paratransit. • ADA paratransit should remain equally available when providing SDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic risk hinders the development of human society. Due to the influence of weather and climate, the traffic risks vary in different time periods. This paper innovatively reconstructs the criterion system for evaluating regional traffic safety risk from a time series perspective. On the basis of the novel criterion system, this paper proposes a monthly dimension regional public traffic safety risk grading model with Analytic Hierarchy Process Sort II (AHPSort II) and Criteria Importance Though Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) (i.e., AHPSort II-CRITIC method), in which, AHPSort II is used to obtain the traffic safety risk levels of different regions, and the CRITIC is used to determine the weight vector of the criteria system. The proposed method is applied to evaluate the regional traffic safety risk levels of 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in the Chinese mainland and some cities in Hubei province in the whole year of 2019. The results of this paper show that the traffic safety risk levels are high in June, July, and August, and the performances of other months are relatively more optimistic. Finally, this paper puts forward some transport policy implications, which provide a suitable basis for policy formulation to reduce regional traffic safety risk. • A monthly dimension evaluation model for traffic safety risk is established. • An AHPSort II- CRITIC method is proposed to grade the risk levels. • Effectiveness of the method is verified by empirical analysis of cases. • A time perspective broadens the direction of regional traffic risk research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, all public transport, including urban rail transit, inevitably adopted a vigorous physical-distancing policy to prevent the disease from spreading among passengers. Adoption of this measure resulted in a substantial reduction in train service capability and required control of the risk contact exposure duration. Thus, this paper proposes the Skip-Stop Strategy Patterns (3S–P) decision-support model to incorporate social distancing constraints in train operations. The 3S–P model is a two-stage, multi-objective optimization model for scheduling train skip-stop patterns to satisfy the study's two main objectives of minimizing the average passenger travel time and unserved passengers. In the proposed model, the first optimization identifies the optimal train skip-stop patterns, while the second assigns these patterns to establish an hourly train schedule. The paper's case study uses data from the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) SkyTrain Silom Line in Bangkok, Thailand and considers the 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 m social distancing schemes. The results reveal that the optimal train skip-stop patterns are superior to the all-stop alternative with, on average, a 13.4% faster travel time at the same level of unserved passengers. Furthermore, the non-dominated schedules from the second optimization decrease the numbers of unserved passengers given equal average passenger travel times. • Decision-support model proposed for urban train operation policy in COVID-19 pandemic. • Two-stage multi-objective optimization to schedule train skip-stop patterns. • Trade-off among social distancing policy, passenger travel time, and unserved passengers. • Skip-stop schemes have 13.4% faster passenger travel times than all-stop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Post COVID-19, a third of Scottish residents expect to use public transport less. • A random parameter bivariate probit model was estimated to analyse survey data. • Sociodemographic, perceptual and behaviour factors affected future bus & train use. • Perceived risk of COVID-19 infection significantly influenced future travel choices. • Frequent bus users in urban areas were less likely to abandon public transport. This paper examines the determinants of changes in future public transport use in Scotland after the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire was distributed to 994 Scottish residents in order to identify travel habits, attitudes and preferences during the different phases of the COVID-19 outbreak and travel intentions after the pandemic. Quota constraints were enforced for age, gender and household income to ensure the sample was representative of the Scottish population. The respondents indicated that they anticipated they would make less use of buses and trains at the end of the pandemic. Over a third expect to use buses (36%) and trains (34%) less, whilst a quarter expect to drive their cars more. As part of the analysis, a random parameter bivariate probit model with heterogeneity in the means of random parameters was estimated to provide insights into the socio-demographic, behavioural and perceptual factors which might affect future public transport usage. The inclusion of random parameters allows for the potential effects of unobserved heterogeneity within the independent variables to be captured, whilst making allowances for heterogeneity in the means of the random parameters. The model estimation showed that several factors, including pre-lockdown travel choices, perceived risk of COVID-19 infection, household size and region significantly affected intended future use of public transport. In addition, several variables related to age, region, pre-lockdown travel choices and employment status resulted in random parameters. The current paper contributes to our understanding of the potential loss of demand for public transport and the consequences for future equitable and sustainable mobility. Our findings are highly relevant for transport policy when developing measures to strengthen the resilience of the public transport system during and after the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the potential for green-hydrogen production in a run-of-river hydropower plant. This particular hydropower plant has no significant water accumulation, but there is the potential for limited hydrogen production due to a mismatch between the daily predefined electricity production (known as the timetable) and the actual water inflows. The timetable for the hydropower plant is prepared by the operator of the electro-energetic system based on a model of the available production capacities, forecasted consumption, water accumulation, state of the river flows, weather forecasts and the system operator's strategy. The uncertainty in the model's input parameters is reflected in the output timetable for the hydropower plant and, for this reason, a small reserve of water for potential exploitation is envisaged. By using real data for the timetable and the water inflow, we estimate the excess hydropower that can be used for hydrogen cogeneration. Since the primary task of the hydropower plant is to produce electricity according to the timetable, the production of hydrogen is only possible to a limited extent. Therefore, we present a control algorithm that regulates the amount of hydrogen production, while considering the predefined timetable and the real water accumulation. The second part of the paper deals with the economic viability of hydrogen cogeneration in the case-study run-of-river hydropower plant and discusses the possibility of using it for local public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study aims to identify and evaluate e-scooters' controversial reputation in Sweden. • We use a mix method approach based on a news item analysis and a quantitative survey. • The local press portrays e-scooters as a problem; there are around five negative comments for every positive one. • Users and non-users have different perceptions but are all concerned about e-scooters' safety, cost, health and eco-friendliness. • Even non-users see e-scooters as fast, convenient and pleasant services; this triad can be the basis for an image-reshaping. E-scooters, one of the most rapidly growing forms of micromobility globally, entered our cities as an innovative first and last-mile travel mode looking to complement public transit and reduce short car trips. However, there are many voices openly suggesting that e-scooters, despite representing still a very low modal share, have instead been the source of traffic accidents, transport system disruption and public space anarchy. Despite a wealth of e-scooter research appearing lately, knowledge gaps about e-scooters' current reputation and how this matches actual user and non-user perceptions do exist. Our two-phase mixed method approach means to fill in these gaps by examining the intriguing context of Sweden, a country hosting more than 30 million e-scooter trips on an annual basis but recently enforcing new stricter rules for their regulation. This paper contributes to the state of the art by contextualising the current reputation of e-scooters in Sweden through a discourse analysis of local press items and by analysing an attitudinal survey that ran in Stockholm and Gothenburg with almost equal numbers of e-scooter users and non-users. First our news item analysis identifies six reputation-defining themes: cityscape fit; traffic safety and irresponsible user behaviour; rules, regulations and exploits; business; sustainability; and convenience and concludes that e-scooters' portrayal in Sweden is very negative. There are approximately five negative comments in the press for every positive one. Our survey offers statistical evidence that there are significant differences in the evaluations of users and non-users when it comes to seven perceived e-scooter qualities (s afety; speed; eco-friendliness; cost; convenience; fun; health and wellbeing) and two policy practicalities (regulations clarity; and parking provision). Users' perceptions are always more positive from those of non-users, but they do agree with them that safety, eco-friendliness, cost, health and wellbeing are areas of concern for e-scooters. Both groups see value in enhanced regulation clarity and better parking provision. Non-users however, to some degree, do recognise that e-scooters offer fast, convenient and pleasant mobility services making this the tripole where image change and positive rebranding could start from. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of primary research involving a survey of travelers in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was conducted in January 2022 using the CAWI method on a representative sample of n =1,129 Polish adults aged 18 to 60. As many as 74% of respondents believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed traveler preferences with regard to urban, regional and trans-regional transport. Two-thirds of respondents (67%) cited a car as the most common mode of transportation, 40% said they walk, and 25% use buses. Just over 10% chose a bicycle (14%) or tram (11%). The least preferred mode of transportation was the train (7%). The three most frequently cited features of transportation services that respondents considered most important included easy ticket purchasing, ticket prices, and cost of travel. The aim of this paper is to discuss the decisions of Polish passengers using public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the research may help to influence the passengers' purchasing decisions in accordance with the objectives of long-term transport policy of both the European Union and Poland related to sustainable transport development, as well as the decisions of transport operators as this is a stakeholder group that may be interested in applying them in their daily work and carriers themselves, competing for passengers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer satisfaction has always been a pivotal indicator of public transport service quality. However, most existing studies on public transport satisfaction focused on passenger perception without considering the actual traveling performance. Thus, whether passenger perception veritably reflects the actual performance remains to be investigated. This paper adopts the gradient boosting decision trees approach to reveal the relationship between actual on-board performance and passenger satisfaction driven by individual perception. The work utilizes a mixed dataset combining customer satisfaction survey (CSS) with actual traveling data collected in Shijiazhuang, China. Instead of a direct equivalence, the results indicate the complex non-linear relationship between passenger perception and actual on-board performance. These findings enable deriving strategies for administrators and operators to improve the public transport service quality and customer satisfaction in a more effective and targeted way. • The relationship of actual performance, perception and satisfaction is explored. • This paper adopts the gradient boosting decision trees approach. • A merged dataset composed of questionnaire data and objective data is utilized. • The equal assumption is proved to be not established under some circumstances. • A more effective and targeted service quality strategy is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Significant growth in most teleactivities (remote online activities) due to COVID-19. • Telework, online learning, telehealth, and virtual meetings increased during COVID-19. • Neighborhood density associated with more frequent telework and virtual meetings with friends and family during COVID-19. • More local facilities associated with more frequent online learning during COVID-19. • Short and long-term implications for mobility are discussed. This paper presents new evidence on changes in a broad range of teleactivities due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and investigates how the built environment relates to these changes. The paper relies on survey and geospatial data from Oslo and its surrounding Viken region in Norway. Findings suggest that most teleactivities increased due to COVID-19. Telework, teleconferencing, online learning, telehealth, and virtual meetings with friends and family all increased during COVID-19 compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. The next step in the analysis examined relationships between built environment characteristics and teleactivities before and during COVID-19. Telework and virtual meetings increased to a greater extent in denser neighborhoods than in lower-density neighborhoods. A larger increase in online learning was associated with lower neighborhood density, lower accessibility to public transport, and more local facilities. Numerous local facilities were associated with more frequent telework and virtual meetings both before and during COVID-19. The substantial COVID-19-induced increase in teleactivities found in the study highlights the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) for replacing travel for various activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the TRGST data structure, which is designed to handle queries related to topological relations between paths represented as sequences of stops in a network. As an example, these paths could correspond to stops on a public transport network, and a query of interest is to retrieve paths that share at least k consecutive stops. While topological relations among spatial objects have received extensive attention, the efficient processing of these relations in the context of trajectory paths, considering both time and space efficiency, remains a relatively less explored domain. Taking inspiration from pattern matching implementations, the TRGST data structure is constructed on the foundation of the Generalized Suffix Tree. Its purpose is to provide a compact representation of a set of paths and to efficiently handle topological relation queries by leveraging the pattern search capabilities inherent in this structure. The paper provides a detailed account of the structure and algorithms of TRGST , followed by a performance analysis utilizing both real and synthetic data. The results underscore the remarkable scalability of the TRGST in terms of both query time and space utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freight curbside management has become a contentious issue as various stakeholders claim access to public urban space. Although prior research has offered solutions to mitigate freight-related conflicts in the use of space, a deeper understanding of the extent to which those interventions contribute to cities' sustainable development goals is needed. This paper presents the results of a meta -analysis that examines the effects of four freight curbside interventions: curbside space allocation for freight, data sharing, parking duration limits, and enforcement. The paper pinpoints benefits and drawbacks of those interventions on last-mile deliveries, the urban environment, and the use of public transport infrastructure. The findings suggest positive impacts and underscore the necessity of incorporating people-centred approaches in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies concerning public space. Nevertheless, trade-offs when implementing those interventions have been identified. The paper concludes by outlining directions for future research and suggesting implications for urban freight policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports new insights into how the selection of route based characteristic parameters can influence the predicted energy consumption for next generation battery electric buses. 24 characteristic parameters have been studied to understand their relative importance on vehicle energy consumption and to develop new data-driven prediction models. The parameters are grouped into two scenarios, representative of the varying levels of route information available to a typical bus operator. A combination of feature selection methods was used to determine which characteristic parameters had the greatest influence on energy consumption. Regression based prediction models were developed, and models were then validated using standard and real vehicle drive cycles. The prediction models had a mean absolute percentage difference of 2.10–10.67%. This paper presents a novel methodology to estimate energy consumption of operating zero emission vehicles, which will support public transport operators, policy makers and energy suppliers in the decarbonisation of public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a type of circular causation called Congestive Mode-Switching (CMS) that may arise when an increase in congestion penalizes transit relative to driving. In turn, rising congestion persuades some transit riders to drive, which exacerbates congestion further, and so on. This circular causation can beget multiple equilibria with different levels of congestion and transit ridership. The paper explores this logic with a static model of a bus route. When the bus fleet size is fixed, CMS applies because congestion raises the bus cycle time and thus lowers bus frequency, resulting in higher wait times. When the fleet size depends on bus ridership, CMS is joined by economies of scale as a second source of circular causation. We derive the system's equilibria using a static model in the vein of Walters (1961), which permits us to graphically characterize equilibria in useful ways. The comparative statics of a road improvement show how feedback alters first-order effects. A Downs-Thomson paradox is not possible, because a road improvement aids buses even more than cars. Continuous-time stability analysis shows that multiple equilibria may be stable. • Introduces a type of circular causation for mixed-traffic transit systems called Congestive Mode-Switching (CMS). • Shows CMS can lead to multiple equilibria in a model of a bus route with mode choice. • Characterizes comparative statics and stability of equilibria. • Shows how CMS interacts with economies of scale, another source of circular causation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Socio-demographic attributes and daily habits influence the COVID-19 infection. • Madrid's measures make public transport a relatively safe option during the pandemic. • High crowding increases the risk of COVID-19 on certain public transport services. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people's mobility patterns, increasing the preference for private modes and reducing the public transportation demand. Most scientific contributions have studied the role of mobility levels in the spread of the virus and the influence of public transport on COVID-19 infections, but ignoring the importance of individual-level variables potentially affecting COVID-19 infection, such as daily habits. This paper analyses the relationship between the probability of being infected by COVID-19 and using public transport through a survey data analysis, taking Madrid (Spain) as the case study. This research uses a survey campaign with more than 15,000 responses, capturing socio-demographic aspects, COVID-19 infections, daily habits, and mobility patterns with high risk of COVID-19 infection. Through a multilevel probit model, this paper explores the extent to which a higher use of public transport is related to a greater likelihood of COVID-19 infection. The results suggest a relationship, although not very strong, between the probability of infection and the conjunction of higher frequency of use of metro services and level of crowding during the trip, whereas the use of bus services and travel time within the vehicle do not appear to affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of modal disparity studies focus on accessibility to jobs and to non-work activities with little attention paid to actual commuting behavior. How modal differences in commuting behavior change when set against the minimum and maximum commutes possible within a fixed urban structure is much less known. In commuting efficiency studies, the mode of commuting flows has not been intersected with socio-economic characteristics. Using the 2015 1 % National Population Sample Survey (NPSS) in Shanghai, we apply the excess commuting framework to fill this research gap by measuring the modal disparity between public transport and cars, in commuting efficiency by education level of workers. Results show that public transport users are less efficient commuters than car users, indicating great capacity exists for optimizing public transportation. However, the modal disparity decreases with increasing educational attainment, because car commuting efficiency is decreasing at a faster rate than for public transport. Based on these findings, urban transportation policy should focus on improving jobs-housing balance of public transport, and building a friendly green travel environment to rectify car-oriented bias in urban spatial structure and narrow the difference between public transport users and car users, especially for the poorly-educated. • This paper is the result of an international collaboration between three authors who have worked extensively on topics related to commuting. • The paper examines aspects of the demographics and transportation interactions in Shanghai. • A very notable finding is the overwhelming mode share in public transport for the least educated workers. • The paper shows the importance of heterogeneity of socioeconomic characteristics in estimating excess commuting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on transit smart card data allied with local weather station records over a 12-month period, this paper takes Brisbane, Australia as the study context and examines the way in which weather impose influences on public transit passenger's travel behaviour. In terms of transit passenger's spatiotemporal origin–destination (OD) information, a new travel behaviour indicator called stickiness is developed to reflect passenger's travel similarity in using the transit service over a period. By applying a suite of regression models, it shows that weather's effects on transit passenger's travel behaviour vary by temporal period and passenger type. In general, weather is shown to exert a stronger effect on passenger's stickiness during midday off-peak hours in comparison with either AM peak or PM peak. Across all types of passengers, child passengers are found to be most tolerant to weather changes and even be stickier to their regular travel pattern during AM peak. The modelling results also reveal that when it relates to journey-to-work or journey-to-school, weather's effects on alighting location are much smaller than other three OD-related travel behaviour features (i.e., boarding time, boarding location, and alighting time). In contrast with the postponement during AM peak, transit passengers are prone to bring forward their trip back home during PM peak in response to poor weather conditions. Moreover, this paper verifies that weather parameters are not singly perceived by transit passengers but as an interrelated unity in shaping transit passenger's travel behaviour. By enriching the weather–travel behaviour scholarship, the empirical findings of this study are helpful to render a holistic understanding of the weather–travel behaviour relationship and have important implications for transit operators in building a more weather-resilient transit system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As planners and policymakers in cities around the world struggle to attract and retain public transit users, this paper explores strategies to promote transit adoption in contexts where the odds are stacked against transit. Using travel behavior data from India's National Capital Region – one of the most congested metropolitan areas globally that is experiencing unprecedented growth in personal vehicle ownership and plummeting transit ridership – this study analyzes the choice of intra-urban (metro) rail over personal car for commute trips within a specific population sub-group that is fast adopting the personal car and exiting the transit market. The objective of this mode choice analysis that employs both logistic regression modeling and the propensity-score matching technique is to identify multi-modal service quality/performance factors that determine metro rail vs. car choice, and thereby recommend efficient and effective interventions for inducing car-to-transit switches in addition to retaining existing transit riders. Results suggest that increasing metro rail's travel time competitiveness relative to car (particularly for long distance commuters), service frequency and safety level, and raising car parking cost at the destination can increase the likelihood of choice of metro rail over car in the study context. Interestingly, increase in traffic congestion and travel time unreliability of the car mode are not expected to automatically boost the demand for metro rail use, all else equal. As the momentum towards more car adoption continues, this study shows that deteriorating traffic conditions may not push drivers out of cars; rather, public transit has to step up and pull drivers out of cars. For planners and policymakers, this study indicates that rather than passively waiting for driving conditions to worsen, they should proactively invest in transit service quality improvements. This study also highlights the importance of communicating service changes to the traveling public in order to efficiently translate interventions to behavior changes, given the dissonance between travelers' perceptions of multi-modal travel conditions and actual travel conditions. This paper further demonstrates that analysis of travelers' perception errors, including variation in error across travelers, is important for accurately modeling travel behavior changes in response to interventions. The findings add to the literature on mode choice analysis, and provide strategic advice for transit agencies in India and across other comparable contexts globally. • This study suggests ways to promote car-to-transit switches in fast-growing economies. • Regression analysis and propensity-score matching used to determine drivers of transit choice. • The importance of investing in fast, frequent and safe transit, and the role of parking cost are highlighted. • Traffic congestion and unreliability will not automatically boost transit demand. • Value of information communication and recognizing travelers' perception errors are underscored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous-rail Rapid Transit (ART) is a new type of road public transportation with an automatic driving function, and it is one of the main places for epidemic spread. Scientific wearing of masks has been proven to be an extremely effective way to prevent an epidemic. However, drivers wearing masks make it difficult for traditional driver alert detection methods based on facial information to operate effectively. This paper proposes an ART driver alert detection system based on multimodal information fusion and deep learning, which can be applied to drivers wearing masks. The detection system is mainly divided into three modules: data acquisition module, preprocessing module, and vigilance detection module. The data acquisition module collects real-time face thermal imaging data, and environment temperature information of 13 people in the vigilance and fatigue state of the ART simulated driving environment. The preprocessing module proposes a face thermal imaging key information extraction method based on the constraints between Yolov5 and thermal image interframe constraints and extracts the mean temperature information and the hot voxel information (HV) of the eyes, forehead, and mask areas. Then the extracted information and the environment temperature information are transmitted together to the vigilance detection module for learning and classification. The vigilance detection module proposes a lightweight hybrid-attention optimization network, and this paper extracts training sets and testing sets from the data of 13 subjects. And the training set data is enhanced. Each sample is 90 frames. The maximum accuracy rate of the testing set reaches 99.57%. The feasibility of the detection system proposed in this paper is proved, which makes the thermal imaging and attention model show great potential in the application of traffic safety operation and maintenance. • A contactless vigilance detection method is proposed for ART drivers with face masks. • The multi-modal fusion method uses facial thermal image and environmental data. • A lightweight network model that integrates hybrid-attention mechanism is proposed. • A method for extracting face key information from thermal images is proposed. • The testing set shows that the system is feasible and the accuracy rate is 99.57%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]