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Climate disruptions have prompted institutions to invest in zero-emissions technologies, in recent years. As a result, the transportation sector has witnessed a shift from internal combustion engines to electric. Several public transport companies have initiated the “Zero-emissions” project to introduce alternatives to diesel in their bus service. This paper delves into the impacts of transitioning from diesel-powered to electric buses. It starts by estimating emissions produced by buses and comparing them. Subsequently, the analysis evaluates the implications of renewing the fleet on the service, considering the change in bus capacity. Additionally, a profitability analysis assesses the Total Cost of Ownership, factoring in helpful life and average distance (kilometres) driven annually. Overall, the findings indicate that switching to electric buses is a promising approach towards achieving environmental objectives. The study shows that investing in electric buses, particularly those measuring 9-m, offers significant economic benefits while aligning with sustainability goals. The research demonstrates that electric buses yield a substantial reduction in global and local emissions when compared to their diesel counterparts. Adopting a comprehensive “well-to-wheel” perspective, electric buses achieve an impressive 68 % reduction in emissions. However, concerning local emissions, certain specific lines recorded values exceeded legal limits. While the initial investment costs for electric buses may surpass diesel buses, the total cost of ownership analysis conducted over 15 years indicates that electric buses can become more cost-effective over time. This cost-effectiveness and their environmental advantages strengthen the case for adopting electric buses to pursue sustainable transportation systems.

The aim of the paper is to determine the relevance of services for public transport undertakings in terms of externalities. The article develops a methodology for researching and evaluating the quality of public utility services and the degree of saturation of the use of environmentally friendly modern technologies in the field of local public transport. Multi-criteria evaluation was used to assess the degree of quality of utility service delivery systems in the field of local public transport. The article is based on the experience of scientific partners from the University of Economics in Kraków and the University of Economics in Bratislava, using the examples of Poland and Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progressive conversion of conventional bus fleets into full-electric fleets have gained focus in recent years, instilled by awareness about the environment and significant trends of urbanization. Public transport operators in major cities worldwide have put efforts into fulfilling this change. However, an efficient electrification process is still a challenge for most operators. This paper aims to propose an E-Bus vehicle model that estimates the actual energy consumption. The proposed model is implemented on the case study of a real bus line for Local Public Transport (LPT) and considers all technical characteristics of the vehicle. Real-time input data are represented by real driving cycles of the actual bus fleet and slope profile of the line. Real-time input data allow to establish directly the influence on the energy consumed during real operations. As simulation results, the global energy consumption and battery State of Charge (SOC) are then computed for the whole daily service operations. The simulation results are validated with the real data available and several scenarios are then considered within the simulations. Based on the results obtained, further improvements are proposed and discussed aiming to optimize the utilization of bus fleet, regarding both vehicles scheduling and new charging solutions.

Collective public transport is the most important public service and its organization is the main focus of cooperation in functional urban areas. So far, research on its development in Poland concerned mainly the largest cities, excluding smaller centers and their complexes. The conducted analysis is to partially fill this cognitive gap. The aim of the research was to determine the range and assessment of the level of development of local collective transport systems in settlement complexes unrelated to voivodeship centers in Poland. The answer to the question about the scope of inter-municipal cooperation in this respect in comparison to the designated FUAs and ITIes was also interesting. The 23 settlement complexes were identified outside voivodship centers in Poland, where urban transport served intercity connections. Urban transport in these complexes was serviced by a total of 141 communes, including 76 cities. They were inhabited by a total of 3,3 million people. There were a total of 28 public transport operators operating in their area, running 656 communication lines. These communes were covered with a network of connections to a different extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study developed several machine learning-based cost models to predict an efficient total economic cost per vehicle revenue-mile of urban public bus transport. The models were trained on a built-in dataset from 269 transit agencies providing urban services in the United States from 2015 to 2019. A feature selection strategy was implemented, finding that, for each proposed model, a subset of features determined a large impact on unit cost. These "core" features included commercial speed, average salary expenses per employee, vehicle productivity, and fleet ownership cost per vehicle. Machine learning techniques outperformed the linear regression method in terms of predictive power and robustness (understood as the dispersion of predictive power measures over the training sets). Based on SHAP values, the sensitivity analyses showed that the proposed models could be used to predict the impact of changes in some critical features on corresponding unit costs. The results may be useful for: (i) introducing regulatory constraints to the allocation of national public resources to local public bus transport services, aimed at minimizing the resources needed to provide a given level of service; (ii) defining the maximum economic compensation required by firms involved in competitive tendering for the allotment of service concessions, or firms with monopoly rights (by political choice and/or local public ownership); and (iii) improving service contract management and design by identifying key cost drivers of transit services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to optimize the public administration process, the local authorities, which operate in a decentralized regime, provide public services to the population that satisfies the needs of the beneficiaries of the administrative-territorial unit they represent. In this context, in this paper we propose to analyze the local public transport service in the Municipality of Suceava, which is part of the sphere of community services of public utility and which is a decentralized public service subordinated to the Town Hall of the Municipality of Suceava. We want to analyze how this service is provided to the population of Suceava Municipality and whether decentralization has influenced the development of the local public transport service and the effects that decentralization has in terms of increasing the quality of life for the local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regiokutatas Szemle is the property of University of Debrecen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since 1990, the number of local public transport passengers has been steadily decreasing with a simultaneous increase in the number of residents using individual transport. Since that process has contributed to an increase in traffic congestion and the deterioration of air quality in cities, local governments have tried to reverse that negative trend. A few years now, a reversal of this trend has been observed in some cities. This article, using data on the number of passengers in over 80 Polish cities, presents regression models explaining the factors influencing the demand for public transport services, and it estimates the demand elasticity related to various independent variables. The explanatory model refers both to the features of the cities’ socio-economic environment and to the organization of the service. The results indicate that local policies matter: the density of the public transport network is the most important factor in relation to the volume of demand, while the ticket price level is almost irrelevant. Demand is also clearly increasing in the largest cities, but the relationship between demand and population size is not a linear one.

The emergency at COVID-19 has changed the face of our cities, preventing most urban activities, limiting travel on large, medium and short distances and drastically reducing the number and intensity of social relationships. The organization of the built environment, combined with the characteristics of the pedestrian network, has taken on greater weight in relation to the restrictive measures that COVID-19 has imposed on entire populations. Social distancing, the limitations of movements allowed almost exclusively for the achievement of the services identified as essential, together with the ban on carrying out certain activities, on the one hand have changed people's living habits and on the other have revealed the need to reorganize quickly the network of canals and open spaces to adapt them to the current emergency situation, but probably also to the conditions of a "different normal". Local decision makers are faced with a new demand for mobility and accessibility by moving in completely unexplored waters.

Copyright of Regiokutatas Szemle is the property of University of Debrecen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose - This study aims to find out the causes for an increase in the number illegal E-taxis and the extent of these vehicles in the municipalities of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach - Based on extensive literature review and field investigation, a set of questionnaires was developed to explore the actual causes for an increase in the number of illegal E-taxis, where ten predicted hypotheses were tested. Findings - The result proved that the illegal E-taxi is very active in the study area. Besides the socio-economic condition of the commuter, education level of taxi drivers and commuter satisfaction level (safety and comfort) and provision of continuous and door-to-door service system are the main causes for increasing number of E-taxis in the municipality of Bangladesh. Originality/value - Moreover, this study provides an effective thinking on socio-economic condition of drivers and the legalization of illegal E-taxis in the study area.

Since 1990, the number of local public transport passengers has been steadily decreasing with a simultaneous increase in the number of residents using individual transport. Since that process has contributed to an increase in traffic congestion and the deterioration of air quality in cities, local governments have tried to reverse that negative trend. A few years now, a reversal of this trend has been observed in some cities. This article, using data on the number of passengers in over 80 Polish cities, presents regression models explaining the factors influencing the demand for public transport services, and it estimates the demand elasticity related to various independent variables. The explanatory model refers both to the features of the cities' socio-economic environment and to the organization of the service. The results indicate that local policies matter: the density of the public transport network is the most important factor in relation to the volume of demand, while the ticket price level is almost irrelevant. Demand is also clearly increasing in the largest cities, but the relationship between demand and population size is not a linear one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 1990, the number of local public transport passengers has been systematically decreasing at the expense of individual transport, which led to an increase in traffic congestion and deterioration of air quality in cities. However, for the last few years, a reversal of this trend has been observed in some cities. The article, using the data on the present number and recent changes in the number of passengers in nearly 100 Polish cities, discusses regression models to explain the factors influencing the diversity of demand for public transport services and its dynamics. The independent variables of the model refer both to the characteristics of cities (their socio-economic environment) and the organisation of services (e.g. organisational and legal forms of local transport companies, tariff policies, etc.). The results show that the density of the public transport network is the most significant factor explaining variation of the demand, while the level of ticket prices is almost insignificant. Demand in the largest cities has also recently been on the increase, but the relationship between the demand and the population size of the city is not a linear one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper estimates the standard cost in Italian regional public rail passenger transport services (LPTR), depending on service characteristics. The results highlight the crucial role of: number of seats per ride, commercial speed, service size and length of rail tracks. The model also shows the positive link between investment in rolling stock and the unit cost of the service. Finally, based on the empirical evidence, we propose regulatory adjustments to accomplish policy targets regarding the fair allocation of public LPTR funds to Regions and Local Authorities and a more efficient use of (scarce) local and national public resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a model of local railway passengers service able to account for the main specific characteristics of the sector under vertical separation. Afterwards, we use this model to carry out both a normative analysis of the operators' investment decisions and an assessment of the welfare effects of simple regulatory instruments. We show that, because of the information asymmetry of train operating company about the productivity of the infrastructure manager, the introduction of a regulatory instrument inducing the former to internalize the effect of her investment on the latter's cost of providing access may be welfare reducing. • Provide a theoretical model of local regional rail passengers service. • Infrastructure manager (IM) and train operating company (TOC) vertically separated. • Three sources of inefficiency related to the misalignment of incentives are identified. • Assessment of the welfare effects of simple regulatory instruments. • Characterize cases in which regulating the local TOC could reduce social welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper proposes a new methodology to aid the electrification process of local public transport (LPT). In more detail, real drive cycles of traditional buses currently in use are evaluated together with other data to simulate the consumption of equivalent e-buses (electric buses) with similar characteristics. The results are then used in order to design the best charging infrastructure. The proposed methodology is applied to the case study of Algeciras Bay, where a specific line of LPT is considered. Real measurements are used as data for the simulation model, and the average consumption of an equivalent e-bus is obtained for different operating conditions. Based on these results, different sizes and locations for fast-charging infrastructure are proposed, and the size of the depot charging system is defined trying to maintain the current buses timetable. Finally, some future developments of the present work are presented by considering other bus lines that may benefit from the introduction of the defined charging systems.

Climate disruptions have prompted institutions to invest in zero-emissions technologies, in recent years. As a result, the transportation sector has witnessed a shift from internal combustion engines to electric. Several public transport companies have initiated the "Zero-emissions" project to introduce alternatives to diesel in their bus service. This paper delves into the impacts of transitioning from diesel-powered to electric buses. It starts by estimating emissions produced by buses and comparing them. Subsequently, the analysis evaluates the implications of renewing the fleet on the service, considering the change in bus capacity. Additionally, a profitability analysis assesses the Total Cost of Ownership, factoring in helpful life and average distance (kilometres) driven annually. Overall, the findings indicate that switching to electric buses is a promising approach towards achieving environmental objectives. The study shows that investing in electric buses, particularly those measuring 9-m, offers significant economic benefits while aligning with sustainability goals. The research demonstrates that electric buses yield a substantial reduction in global and local emissions when compared to their diesel counterparts. Adopting a comprehensive "well-to-wheel" perspective, electric buses achieve an impressive 68 % reduction in emissions. However, concerning local emissions, certain specific lines recorded values exceeded legal limits. While the initial investment costs for electric buses may surpass diesel buses, the total cost of ownership analysis conducted over 15 years indicates that electric buses can become more cost-effective over time. This cost-effectiveness and their environmental advantages strengthen the case for adopting electric buses to pursue sustainable transportation systems., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The article deals with the issues of the innovations implemented in public transport. Their theoretical background was defined in the form of the latest concepts of territorial development: the theory of sustainable development, circular economy, and smart city. The examples of innovations quoted above have been analysed in terms of their impact on: the local community, the environment, health, safety, and economic and social aspects. The main conclusion drawn from the analysis is that technical innovations in public transport contribute to improving mobility, the comfort and safety of commute, and, at the same time, have a positive impact on the environment.

It is a well-known fact that reforms necessary to enhance competition and make the economy more attractive play a major role in the Government activity in Europe. Considering the Italian state of affairs, this paper focuses on the inefficiency of public producers in the light of certain market and legal impediments. This paper describes key barriers that undermine the healthy functioning of an important industrial and service sector of the Italian economy: specifically local public transport. This paper also sheds some light on this problem analysing the impact that a controversial regulation framework may have on an industry and suggests that the degree of liberalisation affects the return on investments.

The article deals with the issues of the innovations implemented in public transport. Their theoretical background was defined in the form of the latest concepts of territorial development: the theory of sustainable development, circular economy, and smart city. The examples of innovations quoted above have been analysed in terms of their impact on: the local community, the environment, health, safety, and economic and social aspects. The main conclusion drawn from the analysis is that technical innovations in public transport contribute to improving mobility, the comfort and safety of commute, and, at the same time, have a positive impact on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a hybrid cost model for the determination of unit standard costs in the Italian local public bus transport sector. Detailed economic and transport data have been collected from companies producing more than 500 million of bus-kilometers in Italy observed in 2011. We draw upon the Bottom-Up approach for the estimation of the cost of the driving personnel and the economic cost of the rolling stock which usually cover more than 50% of the total economic cost. We thus adjust for efficiency the number of bus-kilometers per vehicle and the number of net driving hours per driver, which are characterized by very different levels of efficiency across Italian Regions. We resort to the Top-Down approach for the estimation of other costs. We find that an increase in the number of net driving hours per driver produces higher savings in urban services than intercity services. Conversely, the impact of an increase in the number of bus-kilometers per vehicle in the case of urban services is almost equal to that in the case of intercity services. The applied model allows us to tune the required level of efficiency according to regional desiderata. Our results might then be useful in order to define the maximum economic compensation that can be required by any local public transport firm which takes part in competitive tendering procedures for the allotment of service concessions or which is entitled with monopoly rights by political choice and/or local public ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the approach and results of a German study as an example of strategies in German legislation relating to accessibility in public transport. In the study a participatory approach was followed to reach consensus about the interpretation and definition of a new legislative term "vollständige Barrierefreiheit (total accessibility)". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the system of organization and financing of the local public transport in Poland. Providing local public transport is one of the tasks of local self-government units (called gmina). According to The Act on Public Transport of 2010 that task may be performed using different legal forms, e.g. budgetary entities or commercial companies established by local self-governments.

Local public transport companies provide important mobility services to the general public. Although these services are usually subsidised, companies rely on revenues generated by ticket sales. Therefore, fare evasion (i.e., people using a transport service without paying for it) and ticket forgery (the production of an illegal ticket facsimile) have considerable influence on the companies’ economic sustainability. As existing research regarding the economic perspective is limited, this paper presents a Delphi study that investigates the phenomena with a survey of experts in public transport companies and transport associations in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The findings of the survey provide insights into the overall perception and discuss relevant aspects of both fare evasion and ticket forgery, thereby not only highlighting practical implications, but also helping policy makers shape adequate policies for public transport in societies.

Aim of this paper is to evaluate the customer satisfaction in a public service context. It is well know that customer satisfaction plays a strategical role for companies providing the public services. In section one some introductory aspects, concerning the concept of citizen satisfaction are discussed. In the second section we define the quality of public services, describing the quality dimensions, considering the "service chart" as a tool useful for the construction of our questionnaire. Infact, our survey, carried out on citizen satisfaction, has been developed through the analysis of questionnaires administered in Bologna city with respect to the service of local public transport. In section three we briey delineate the sampling procedure adopted for our survey and we describe the questionnaire. In the following section, we illustrate the main statistical results in term of descriptive analysis and multiple correspondence analysis. Finally some conclusive remarks about the needs of citizen-users are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a regression model for estimating unit standard costs for the Italian local public bus transport services. We account for quantitative and qualitative characteristics, which contribute to explain the variability of the cost structure. Economic and transport data have been collected from companies producing more than 500 million of bus-kilometers. We find that commercial speed is the most important cost driver, while economies of scale are low and only present in small size services. Results prove a positive correlation between investments in bus fleet and the cost incurred in service provision. Finally, we show how the regression model can be augmented with policy targets in order to fairly allocate among Italian Regions the public funds yearly earmarked to the local public transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most developing countries, motorcycles are part of the essential mode of transportation. In the case of the Philippines, local public transport in the form of tricycles as well as “habal-habal”, or “motorcycle taxi” exists. This paper reviewed the local transport policy development with regards to innovating motorcycles as tricycles or using motorcycles as a public transport mode. It assumes that motorcycle-propelled public transport precedes the development of local public transport policy. Davao City is chosen as the site for the case study since a wide variation of motorcycle-innovations can be observed. Philippine tricycle is classified as a motor vehicle composed of motorcycle fitted with a single wheel sidecar or with a two-wheel cab, operated as a public transport for a fee. In Davao City, three forms of tricycles can be observed: side-cab, center-cab and open cab. An emerging mode, in the form of motorcycle taxi known as “habal-habal” can also be found. The study shows that the presence of various motorcycle-propelled public transport in Davao City is attributed to inadequacy of either national or local policy that defines its operation and physical design. The policy response of eliminating “triciboat” and the presence of private motorcycle credit facility led to the emergence of informal and illegal modes like the “habal-habal” and open-cab tricycles. The issues and gaps in policy implementation and the importance of relating policies to local urban and transportation planning and management were discussed.

Traffic calming measures, such as raised pedestrian crossings, chicanes, speed bumps, mini-roundabouts, etc. are contributing to the improvement of road safety in urban areas, but at the same time their diffusion can produce negative effects on the quality of local transport, affecting bus passengers' on-board comfort. The present paper aims to propose and give an initial validation of a comfort scale, putting into relation a specific comfort index with the dynamic effects on standing bus passengers and with certain road characteristics, such as the presence of roundabouts. The results obtained are intended as an initial contribution to identifying general guidelines for drafting local road regulations able to point out the most comfortable bus itineraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to calculate the price elasticity of demand for several local public transport products of a mid-sized German city (Jena) to estimate the potential subsidy requirements of social tariff concessions. The results of the ten year time series AR-model estimation show an elasticity coefficient of − 0.63 for a single ticket which is slightly higher in absolute terms compared with past studies but can be explained with the geographical structure of the examined city. The price elasticity of social concession-tariffs is significantly higher. This means that the income effect will be outweighed by the effect of lower demand of welfare recipients for (relatively inelastic) intra-city commuting.

This paper refers to the concept of public governance in the light of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). While TCE is well developed and widely applied in the private sector, only a few studies have adopted such framework to investigate the provision of public services. We aim at pointing out the coherence between peculiar typologies of transactions and a given set of governance structures, within Local Public Transport systems. The core of the analysis is the alignment between characteristics of transactions and governance structures. The empirical section addresses these issues referring to three case studies, pointing out an articulated organizational configuration in terms of actors involved and governance structures adopted. The analysis shows an alignment between the choices underlying the design of the local transport system and the outcomes expected in terms of TCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the project of European initiative EUREKA "Ecological mountain railway as an element of the sustainable development of a tourist region in Poland" joining the spas of Piwniczna with Szczawnica. After presentation of the project scope and the partners, the municipalities which serves and links planned narrow-gauge railway have been characterized. Reflection of an idea for the railway in the existing strategic and planning documents has been identified. Functions of the railway and its situational and altitude alignment of its route are specified. The vehicles of the railway and the rules and examples for creating of schedules are generally characterized. The rules for construction of prognostic passenger flows by rail are described and selected results are quoted. The conclusions from the analysis of the environmental impact of the railway and the result of financial and economic analysis are presented. List of the expected main effects of the project and its potential impact on the development of transport technology is given. An idea of enlargement the territorial scope of the narrow-gauge railway project with proposal for its internationalization is presented. This includes extension of the route from the Szczawnica spa to the Krościenko spa and the branch route from the Obidza pass to the Stara Lubovna town in Slovakia. For this purpose an initiative will be taken to apply a research project of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how the ownership and the selection procedure of firms operating in the Local Public Transport (LPT) sector affect their productivity. In order to compare different institutional regimes, we carry out a comparative analysis of 77 companies operating in large European cities over the period 1997 to 2006. This allows us to consider firms selected either through competitive tendering or negotiated procedures. Retrieving the residuals we obtain a measure of Total Factor Productivity (TFP), which we regress on firm and city characteristics. We find that totally or partially public firms display lower productivity than privately owned firms. Moreover, firms selected through competitive tendering display higher TFP. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]