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Basic education and public transport services are often provided by local or regional governments. In Norway, they fall within the remit of two different tiers of government, with public transport being the responsibility of regional government (fylke), while basic education (primary and secondary schools) is the responsibility of local government (kommune). Current efforts to consolidate and reorganize the school structure have yielded mixed results. On the one hand, such changes can help reduce public spending by exploiting economies of scale in the provision of education, for instance by having fewer and larger schools. On the other hand, they are likely to lead to cost increases by expanding the geographic coverage of school transport. Furthermore, transporting schoolchildren during peak commuting hours may exacerbate cost increases for regional governments. Our paper examines the cost effect of changing the school structure with respect to transport provision. Applying econometric analysis to panel datasets at the municipal and regional levels, we seek to identify the impact of the number of pupils and school size on the costs of providing school transport. We combine these data with data on transport provision to look at the effects of school-related transport on costs and competitive tendering in public transport. We show that a school closure can increase the cost of providing public transportation both by increasing the cost of maintaining the current level of public transport services and by necessitating the expansion of the supply. The empirical results indicate that municipalities' economic gains from school consolidation generally outweigh the corresponding cost increases related to the provision of public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper synthesises published research concerned with the valuation of public transport customer amenities. It includes normalisation of published values to equivalent terms, a meta-analysis of factors influencing these values, a review of valuation methods and issues faced in applying these methods, and an identification of gaps in knowledge. Some 57 separate research publications in this area were identified. Valuation methods adopted included stated preference, revealed preference, customer ratings, priority evaluator, maximum difference scaling and benefit/value transfer. Of these, stated preference was the most common published approach, however in practice benefit/value transfer is the most common method to apply values in project appraisal. Key issues associated with valuation include substantial variation in values (which are often context dependant) and the adoption of different units for expressing values, thereby limiting their transferability. Some 556 separate customer amenity values were identified relating to 97 separate amenity types. Almost all valuations were below 2 minutes of equivalent in-vehicle travel time value. Meta-analysis identified five types of significant predictors of values (R2 = 0.23): study location (Scandinavia), valuation method (stated preference), mode (train/metro), amenity group (access) and journey stage (boarding/alighting). Future research needs to disaggregate valuations by market segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media reports on train mishaps and havocs emanating from rooftop riding abound; however, there has been very limited effort on the empirical investigation of why daredevils embark on this utter suicide mission. Besides, studies that rigorously examined profiles of the perpetrators of the dastardly act are hard to come by in the literature of railway transport. Against this background, this study examined the menace of train rooftop riding in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria, with a view to evolving a policy response that could curtail the life-threatening nuisance. Towards achieving this aim, specific objectives were formulated. These were to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of train rooftop riders in Lagos Metropolis, determine the motivations for train rooftop riding in the study area, assess the efforts made by the authorities to discourage train rooftop riding in the study area, and proffer policy recommendations towards engendering a safe rail transport milieu. Data were obtained through participant observation, interview and questionnaire administration. The respondents comprised 64 conveniently sampled rooftop riders, 183 law-abiding passengers of three Diesel Multiple Units and three Mass Transit Trains selected using multistage sampling, and the 113 staff members of the Nigerian Railway Corporation consisting of 20 engineers, 79 conductors and 14 ticket vendors. The study found that train rooftop riding had defied all the measures taken against it in the study area. It characterized most trips but was prevalent at the morning and evening peak periods (35.2% and 59.2%, respectively). All the rooftop riders were middle-aged men. None of them admitted to ever falling off before; however, 28 (43.8%) admitted to being scared of falling off, while 40 (62.5%) boasted they could not possibly fall off. Two categories of motivations for rooftop riding were found: 'perceived' and 'real'. Smoking (47.0%), substance abuse (23.0%) and criminal tendencies (19.7%) were among the perceived motivations, while space inadequacy (37.5%), queue avoidance (50.0%) and adventure (34.4%) were among the real motivations. Given an overall improvement in the railway services, 28 (43.8%) would stop, 18 (28.1%) would not stop, and 18 (28.1%) were unsure they would stop rooftop riding. The study concluded that the menace of train rooftop riding was undesirable. Consequently, practical policy recommendations were proffered towards curbing the menace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The use of public transit subsidy has become a widely discussed aspect for the development of public transportation. The government uses the subsidy policy to offer incentives to improve the service levels and convenience of residents. This paper presents an incentive subsidy mechanism which is based on the service level of a bus line. The subsidy mechanism overcomes the problem of information asymmetry between public transport companies and the local government in the subsidy process, and thus reinforces that bus companies should provide efficient services on lines of different profitability levels. This paper provides the analytical results of the model and analyzes the optimal results. To broaden the scope of application of this model, this study also provides an example that explains how to regulate the bus company when quality reduction happened if the subsidy occurs at the beginning of the subsidy period. At last, management significance and policy recommendations are offered and possible directions for further research are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transport plays an important role in the environment. This study established a Spatial Computable General Equilibrium (SCGE) model to examine the economic and environmental effects of public transport subsidy policies. The model includes firms, consumers, and traffic modules in one framework. Statistical data from Beijing were used in calibration to obtain benchmark equilibrium. Based on the equilibrium, simulations compared citywide social welfare, jobs-housing spatial population distribution, and environmental outputs under four subsidy policies: fare subsidy, cash grants, road expansion, and public transport speedup. Based on the results regarding the effects of public transport policies, conclusions can be drawn about which policies will have greater overall social influence and should therefore be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bus Rapid Transit systems exist in over 206 cities and 45 countries around the world. They are seen to provide a much lower cost option of mass mobility than fixed rail or underground systems which developing countries struggle to afford. Whilst BRT systems have undoubtedly been seen to be successful from a transport system perspective, they are more than a transport system innovation. They are often introduced to replace what is seen to be a failing, unsafe and poorly regulated informal transit system. This paper therefore focuses on the process of BRT introduction as a governance reform. The paper draws on African experience where adoption of BRT has been slow relative to South America and South East Asia. Using an in-depth analysis of the introduction of a new system in Ghana and data on levels of governance maturity across the African sub-continent, the paper finds that to understand BRT implementation requires an understanding of how the incumbent transport regime could and will be able to be reorganized. The success of BRT systems that result will depend at least as much on how the reforms are achieved as it will on the usual design concerns which typically occupy transport planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to consider environmental and social issues on a par with economic concerns in policy, plan, programme and project making in order to achieve sustainable development has been widely recognized. However, to date there has been no adequate implementation, and economic issues are frequently prevailing over other aspects. In many developing and emerging economies, a perceived urgency to promote economic growth frequently means that environmental and social costs of development are overlooked. It is within this context that this paper explores the consideration of environmental and social issues in transport policy, plan and programme (PPP) making in Brazil, an emerging economy which over recent years has invested heavily in its transport infrastructure. Aiming at establishing the extent to which environmental and social issues are considered and identifying the barriers for better practice, legal and institutional frameworks for transport PPP making, the substantive focus of PPPs as well as perceptions of actors involved in their preparation are investigated. Results show that whilst the need to respect environmental and social issues is recognized in sectoral guidelines and underlying values, in practice they are poorly considered. Main constraints to a better consideration of sustainable development in transport PPP making include the lack of instruments for a systematic consideration, the nature of existing PPP making processes and the dominance of political and economic interests. Moreover, suggestions for improvement are limited and mainly relate to external pressures. In this context, Strategic Environmental Assessment in particular would need to be introduced as an instrument for a more rigorous and clearly prescribed consideration of environmental and social issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One approach to making transportation more sustainable is to transition away from a car-oriented society. Unfortunately, our understanding of the factors that prompt households to voluntarily forgo their motor vehicles is limited. The 2008 Mobility in Germany (MiD) and the 2012 California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) provide an opportunity to start filling this gap by teasing out what built environment and socio-economic variables impact the likelihood that a household is carless (voluntarily or not) in Germany and in California, two car-dependent societies with different carless rates. Results from our generalized structural equation models show that in both Germany and California, households who reside in denser neighborhoods, closer to transit stations, and who have a lower income or fewer children, are more likely to be voluntarily carless. However, households with more education are more likely to be voluntarily carless in Germany, whereas the reverse is true in California. Moreover, employment density and public transit have a higher impact on voluntary carlessness in Germany than in California. Our results also show that different socio-economic groups have substantially different residential location preferences in Germany and in California. These differences may be explained by cultural preferences, historical differences in land use and transportation policies, and by the higher cost of owning a motor vehicle in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers an analysis of empirical evidence on the equity impacts of operational Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in the Global South. The focus is on vertical equity, i.e. whether BRT systems achieve progressive benefits for poorer segments of the population. Findings from Africa, Asia, and Latin America all suggest that BRT does offer significant benefits to low-income groups, in terms of travel time and cost savings, access enhancement, and safety and health benefits. However benefits are often skewed toward medium-income users and thus less progressive than they might be. Two primary reasons for this are insufficient spatial coverage and inappropriate fare policies. While many features of BRT potentially allow it to deliver pro-poor outcomes, such outcomes only materialize if BRT implementers pay specific and sustained attention to equity. The paper identifies key issues that need to be addressed to steer BRT implementation toward more socially sustainable outcomes—including better integration with other transit, paratransit, and nonmotorized transport services, and with the housing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transportation is one of the most important systems in transportation, especially in big and crowded cities. As a result, evaluation of public transportation systems is a strategic decision-making problem for both private and public sections. In this paper, the problem of public transportation passengers in Tehran is addressed and their satisfaction levels are assessed by using passenger satisfaction survey. An integrated MCDM approach is proposed for evaluation of public transportation systems based on Delphi method, group analytic hierarchy process (GAHP) and preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE). The proposed model provides more reliable and realistic results and introduces directions for future improvements of public transportation service quality. A sensitivity analysis is applied to investigate the influence of criteria weights on the decision making problem. As a conclusion, the most important public transportation systems in Tehran orderly are: metro, taxi, BRT, bus and van. Therefore, Tehran Municipality and policy makers should encourage and support the previously mentioned systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport policy decisions often involve a trade-off between travel time and safety. Transport economists generally evaluate the societal value of transport policy options involving travel time versus safety trade-offs in a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) through multiplying the expected change in traffic casualties with the value of a statistical life (VOSL) and multiplying the changes in travel time with the (marginal) value of time (VOT). The dominant empirical approach to infer the VOSL and the VOT is based on stated preference experiments in which respondents are asked to make choices between (hypothetical) routes which differ in terms of various characteristics (e.g. travel time and number of fatal accidents per year). This approach towards inferring the VOT and the VOSL has been criticized by scholars who argue that individuals’ preferences as consumer of mobility inferred through (hypothetical) route choices may be a poor proxy for how the same individuals in their role of citizen believe that government should trade-off safety and travel time. This study investigates the extent to which individuals indeed do have different preferences as consumer and citizen when trading off travel time and safety, by conducting five stated choice experiments in which respondents are asked to choose between hypothetical routes as consumer or hypothetical routes/policy options as citizen. Our results suggest that individuals in their role as citizen assign substantially more value to safety than travel time when compared to their consumer choices. We believe that this paper could fuel a debate about whether or not the VOT and VOSL inferred from choices individuals make as a car driver are the single most relevant metrics for the valuation of expected changes in traffic casualties and travel time in the appraisal of transport-related government policy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fleet for surface transit in urban areas - number of buses and vehicle size - is usually determined by the characteristics of demand during the peak period, adjusting frequencies for other periods where those characteristics are quite different. Here the problem is formulated analytically considering a representative single line where hourly passengers flow and average trip lengths differ between peak and off-peak periods. Analytical and numerical results show that minimizing social costs (operators and users) for the whole day yields a larger fleet of smaller buses than if only the peak period is considered. Contrary to previous results on this issue, optimal frequencies across periods differ by a large amount, as optimal peak and off-peak frequencies are larger and smaller respectively than what would be obtained modeling each period by itself. The optimal bus size lies in-between the capacities obtained when each period is independently optimized. Several other interesting counterintuitive results are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation system can be improved in any city by performing numerous different measures ranging from relatively inexpensive signal re-timing to very expensive freeway development. Determining the set of measures that are the most cost effective and efficient for a particular city has always been very challenging. In this study, the development of a performance measurement system (PMS) is used as a base for choosing the best programs for the city of Mashhad, Iran. Six programs are selected for analysis; four programs from major public transportation programs and two from major private transportation programs. The following steps are performed to conclude the proposed most efficient programs: (1) defining a wide range of performance measures (PM), (2) selecting a set of PMs based on the city's goals, (3) calculating the improvements of each program and (4) comparing the results with “do nothing” scenario. The analysis shows that modification of the current Taxi Khattee (equivalent to jitney) and introducing the bus rapid transit (BRT) system are the most efficient programs for Mashhad. The very expensive interchange or light rail transit (LRT) system are not as efficient as a modification of the current bus system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the Occupy Central Movement (OCM) in Hong Kong from an innovative and understudied angle of transport resilience. With the OCM as a shock event, subsequent responses may be conceptualised as having three different phases. Phases One and Two refer to chaos at an adverse event’s initial outbreak, and the subsequent state of flux. Phase Three may or may not exist; it sets in when people in the society accept these adaptations as longer-term arrangements. Fragmented data and information about the severe disruptions and ensuing changes of the transport system during and after this shock event have been carefully assembled and systematically analysed in relation to the actions and adaptations made by the Government, the industry and the general public. With increasing urbanisation, all stakeholders, including city governments, the industry and the general public, need to be more prepared for large-scale disruptions caused not just by natural hazards but also human beings. Government actions alone are not sufficient. Speedy and concerted responses of the industry are indispensable in achieving transport resilience. Effective dissemination of information through different channels is critical. Moreover, there needs to be concrete steps towards establishing Key Resilience Performance Indicators for cities, covering both the hardware and software components of a transport system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates policy values for comfort, defined as getting a seat, and crowding reduction on board local public transport in Sweden. We use stated-preference (SP) data and present crowding as a mode-neutral crowding level among the standing travelers depicted in images presented to the respondents. We analyze whether there are differences in the willingness to pay (WTP) for comfort and crowding reduction among the three largest urban areas in Sweden. In general, we find no significantly different preferences for sitting and crowding reduction among the three urban areas. Still, the point estimates differ in some cases, indicating that there may be differences across the three urban areas, but the estimates have large confidence intervals that overlap each other. Also, these differences are likely to have resulted from mode-share differences and not from differences in preferences across the urban areas. Some significant differences are found among the modes, for example, a higher disutility of standing on a bus versus on a tram. These mode-specific estimates can be used as policy values for a given tram line or metro line. Nevertheless, we also pooled the data suggesting average WTP estimates for sitting and crowding reductions that can be used for national cost–benefit analysis policy in all large urban areas in Sweden where crowding on local public transport occurs. Importantly, analysis of heterogeneity and SP-design differences shows that the results are in line with empirical knowledge of the value of travel time savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Th is article provides a comparative analysis of citizen participatory mechanisms at the regional and local levels. Th is research focuses on two cities that institutionalized citizen participation in their transit planning processes. In Detroit, Michigan a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) was established to assist with the preparation of a regional transit master plan while the City of Hamilton in Ontario formed a Citizen's Jury (CJ) to examine the establishment of light rail transit. Th e article analyzes these mechanism's overall representativeness of the general population, their operation and contribution to 'policy learning', and their impact on subsequent transit policies. We fi nd that these participatory mechanisms are generally regarded as important and useful by both the participants and the politicians that established them. In spite of this, the conclusion reached is that neither mechanism had a signifi cant impact on transit policies. In both cases, the policy decisions were aff ected by a range of factors and particularly the local and regional political contexts. Indeed, it can be argued that both cities are plagued with regional divides that potentially no amount of citizen participation can solve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how the high-speed rail construction in Northeast Japan (Tohoku) has affected total demand and interregional travel patterns. We use annual interregional passenger data from 1989 to 2012 and apply regression analysis with the demand between Tokyo and the Tohoku prefectures as the dependent variable. We distinguish particularly between the ‘Full-’ and the ‘Mini-’ Shinkansen, where the latter are branch services running with reduced speed. We find that the ‘Full-Shinkansen’ quickly increases rail and total public transport trips and generates additional rail demand year on year. The ‘Mini-Shinkansen’ impacts are less pronounced. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the Shinkansen has shifted some demand from air to rail once it started operation and increased rail share gradually. We therefore suggest that predictions of demand impacts should carefully distinguish immediate from gradual impacts. We also discuss differences in regional demand in that not all prefectures have gained equally from Shinkansen construction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Conventional wisdom states that transit riders are averse to transfers and that consequently bus networks should be designed to limit their number. Probably as a result of this belief, many real bus systems try to connect as many origins and destinations as possible without transfers, so they are usually composed of long, circuitous routes with redundant overlapping sections – and the resulting bus map is hard to understand. If coverage is extensive, many routes are needed. Economics then prevents an agency from populating all routes with sufficient buses to provide attractively frequent service. This low frequency and the complicated circuitous map discourage transfers, perpetuating the belief that people are averse to transferring. Not surprisingly, the percentage of bus trips that includes a transfer has been reported to be: 1.5% for Boston, 3% for New York, 13% for London, and 16% for Melbourne. The Nova Xarxa in Barcelona was designed with a different paradigm. It was designed and deployed to cover the whole city on the belief that if a bus map is easy to understand, and has direct lines with frequent service and ubiquitous transfer points then the bus system would become more appealing, people would transfer more freely and become users of the network rather than its single lines. With this design paradigm, a city can be covered with fewer lines, which can be depicted on a simple map. The lines can in turn be economically populated with sufficient buses to deliver the high frequency required to encourage transfers. Could this work? To answer this question and see whether there is truth in the beliefs underlying the new paradigm, this paper examines data from the first three deployment phases of the Nova Xarxa (from 2012 to 2015). It is found that the Nova Xarxa is already attracting more demand than the network it replaced. This attests to its appeal. Furthermore, this demand has increased disproportionately with the number of lines opened for service in each phase, revealing that some people are using the Nova Xarxa as a network. The paper further shows that this growth is underpinned by transfers -- at the end of 2015, the percentage of trips that involved a transfer was approximately 26%, and it reached a maximum of 57% for line V7. These numbers should increase considerably (to 44% and 66%, respectively) once the Nova Xarxa is completed in 2018 and passengers have even more opportunities for transferring. The numbers disprove the conventional wisdom. They strongly suggest that transit providers can attract more demand by providing transfer-friendly networks that can be used as such and not as an inefficient aggregation of individual lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) involves intense, mixed development around transit nodes. This article investigates the extent to which TOD policies have become reality in Brisbane, a city of two million in eastern Australia, which has embraced TOD at a policy level. It also aims to present a straightforward method which cities in Australia and internationally can employ to measure the outcomes of their TOD policies. Through GIS analysis, the authors measure the level of concentration of population, dwellings, and jobs in rail-based TOD nodes—as opposed to areas that are unserved by the train network. The results do not support the notion that Brisbane is a transit-oriented city. Nonetheless, there is a moderate trend toward the concentration of people and dwellings in TOD areas. The planning sector could accelerate this trend through policy measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study assesses inter-city road transport performance and quality of service offered by the Kaduna State Transport Authority (KSTA) from the commuter viewpoint. A combination of secondary and primary data was sourced from the KSTA office, including a self-administered questionnaire through random and cluster sampling methods used across the terminals. A total of fifty-seven (57) commuters were sampled at bus terminals in the city, over two weeks period. For data analysis, Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), Time-Series Analysis, Spearman and Partial Correlation based on the 2-tailed were used in testing specified hypothesis and measuring commuter perception. The result shows that there is a significance relationship between the quality of services rendered and commuters' satisfaction at (p = 0.729 **), with the passenger satisfaction level at (72.9%). Hence, a uniform ticketing and booking system for fares should be introduced, preferably ticketing machines across major and sub terminals, for standardisation and fair pricing policy. The introduction of e-commerce across the network, will reduce the possibility of passenger exploitation by the unscrupulous employees. Therefore, using Artificial Intelligence System (AIS) such as the E-fleet management system for effective monitoring and tracking of staffs' activities will improve on board and terminal quality of service, for a better user experience, which guarantee repeat patronage and loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oran’s agglomeration has resulted in an important peripheral urbanisation over the last two decades, followed by a considerable increase of distances travelled and an explosion of passenger car use as the principal transportation mode, to the detriment of public transport use and walking. A political will has emerged to promote public transport use by the implementation of a multimodal public transport system (bus, tram, and metro). Unfortunately, this policy has failed to address sustainable mobility development and the promotion of soft mobility, where walking, as a pillar of urban mobility, is marginalized in public spaces development. This paper aims to analyze the negative impact of the increase of passenger car use on the modal reversal of daily practice displacements and on public spaces development. Likewise, it examines the areas earmarked for walking in the new projects of public transport promotion through the study of the first tram line project in Oran, Algeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in private vehicle usage tends to increase the demand for the road infrastructure and related facilities. Like other cities in the world, Lahore city is also facing with the dilemma of autodependency and transit insufficiency. It is very important for local government to develop and promote state-of-art public transport. To develop such polices, it is essential to explore the potential factors at the planning stage that can affect the intended use of improved transit facilities. Therefore, this study attempts to explore the significant influencing factors on the use of public transport using results of a questionnaire survey. In this study, a questionnaire was designed which included socio-demographics and trip characteristics of respondents, statements on travel attitudes and intentions to use public transport under specific conditions. This survey was conducted in Lahore city and 428 usable samples were obtained. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted and two factors were extracted i.e. auto-oriented and transitoriented. Structural equation modeling technique was used to evaluate the influence of extracted factors on people's intentions to use public transport. The results depict that the intentions to use public transportation are affected negatively by auto-oriented attitudes whereas positively by transit-oriented attitudes. The study findings implicate that auto-oriented attitude of travelers need to address properly in planning and designing public transport improvement policies for Lahore city. The findings would be helpful for local planners and policy makers in developing a transport system for Lahore system that should be sustainable, equitable and affordable for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian cities have observed a “consensus turn” expressed as broad public support of greater accessibility and public transport provision as revealed in metropolitan strategic plans. In contrast large-scale road projects proposed to traverse the inner-city of three major Australian cities reveals an ongoing and deep-seated attachment by some to car-based travel in Australian urban transport planning. Comparative case studies of these three road projects in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth explores the impact that an antagonistic relationship between the state and community has on the culture of transport planning. Through observational insights, policy and media analysis and interviews with community groups, we show that this antagonistic planning culture arises when there is a fracture between metropolitan strategic plan-making and project planning, and when clear channels of communication and deliberation are undermined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For more than five decades, the federal, state, and local governments have subsidized mass transit systems through sales, gasoline, and property taxes with an expectation that it would improve mobility to low-income citizens, reduce carbon footprints and traffic congestion, and facilitate regional economic growth. However, in times of financial crisis and chronic government budget deficits, the inefficient use of a mass transit system can increase public outcry over the wasteful spending of government funds and taxpayers' monies. To find ways to utilize mass transit systems more efficiently across the United States, this paper aimed to identify the benchmark transit practices that every mass transit system can emulate and then continuously improve its performance. To achieve these goals, this paper analyzed the multiple years of past performances of 262 mass transit agencies in the United States using data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist productivity index and then provided practical guidelines for enhancing mass transit efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find ways to develop more efficient mass transit systems across the USA and, thus, make the best use of state/federal/municipal government funds and taxpayers’ monies. This paper conducts benchmarking studies. In doing so, this paper identifies the best-in class mass transit practices that every regional mass transit system can emulate.Design/methodology/approach The continuous underutilization of a mass transit system can increase public scrutiny concerning the increased investment in mass transit services. To defuse such scrutiny, this paper analyzes the past (in year 2011) performances of 515 mass transit agencies in the USA using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Also, to identify which factors influences those performances, the authors paired DEA scores for transit efficiency at the state level against a set of independent variables using a special form of regression analysis called Tobit regression.Findings The authors found that the greater population density of the service area, the greater number of riders can be served in a short amount of distance and time. Also, the authors discovered that the transportation mode of mass transit services could affect mass transit efficiency. On the other hand, the authors found no evidence indicating that the public ownership or private operation of transit systems could make any differences in the transit efficiency.Originality/value This paper is one of the few that assessed the performance of mass transit systems in comparison to their peers using a large-scale data and identify the leading causes of mass transit inefficiency. Thus, this paper helps transit authorities in handling juggling acts of protecting the conflicting interests of government policy makers against the general public and, then, make sensible future investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose New services design and development are difficult to plan, execute, measure and evaluate. Particularly, new services that are capital-intensive and involve a long gestation and development time are considered extremely risky. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a list of innovative practices in various managerial aspects in designing, planning and development of a large scale infrastructure intensive public transportation service. A contemporary new public transportation service development is discussed as evidence of proven and benchmarked criteria.Design/methodology/approach This is a technical paper, where theoretical foundations of best practices in new service development project are discussed and supported by practice-based evidences from a real-life urban transportation project. A case study approach is adopted with secondary data.Findings Worldwide during and after economic recession of 2008, several projects were stalled or abandoned. The inference through this work is that through efficient management practices, a large capital-intensive new service development project can be made successful even during a turbulent economy in a region marred by more challenges than elsewhere.Practical implications Several issues in large scale services development, such as urban transportation are domain specific. Some of the issues faced in urban transportation are common to several Gulf countries; therefore the policy guidelines, managerial practices and development strategies reported in this paper can be replicated in many of them. The commercial impact of the service project is a significant drive towards fuel conservation and to save huge amounts of productive time.Social implications Public transportation with a high quality of networked service improves the quality of life to a large extent. Unless certain measurable demands are not met, an affluent society is less likely to endorse public transportation. In addition, endorsement of public transportation is been promoted in several parts of the world as a drive towards a green, energy efficient, low-carbon emission and sustainable environment.Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, new services planning and development is a key operations management topic, on which very little is written about. Particularly no other paper has presented a real-world large scale infrastructure intensive project development to this detail, and along with a theoretical background to benchmark performance and development practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an analysis of road transportation in Delhi region with focus on energy demand and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. The study has considered five scenarios for the year 2021; one business as usual, and four future alternative scenarios, with 2007 as the reference year. The alternative scenarios have been developed by considering the introduction of six policy interventions, namely; construction of integrated mass rapid transit system (IMRTS), fixed bus speed, hike in parking fees, fuel efficiency, stringent emission norms, and increase in the occupancy of private vehicles. An integrated A ctivity- S tructure-Energy I ntensity- F uel Mix (ASIF) framework has been used to model, energy demand and CO 2 emissions. The outcome from the study shows that 2021-ALT-IV scenario gives the best-estimate results, which translated to ∼32% reduction in annual energy demand than projected in 2021-BAU scenario. This reduces the daily per-capita energy requirement to 5.3 MJ in 2021-ALT-IV scenario, contributing to about 2.9 million tons of CO 2 emissions. This scenario further reduces fossil fuel demand by ∼48% compared to 2021-BAU scenario; however, Delhi Metro will require a huge amount of electrical energy by the year 2021 making it inevitable to adopt cleaner electricity generation options in the near future. Therefore, the current study shows that shift to public transport use would not will merely be sufficient to reduce energy demand, oil use and carbon emissions from passenger transport in urban areas of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a model for evaluating optimal coordination of a multimodal and multioperator transit system. The core logic of the modeling is to minimize the total cost for both transit operators and users. Hence, the objective function is the total cost which consists of operator cost and user cost. The models, which take the form of feedback equilibrium, were solved using the outer approximate algorithm provided in computer software. Sensitivity analysis and statistical analysis were carried out to make comparisons of optimal cost components under different operator policies. The results indicated that optimal coordination strategies would be a cooperation policy between operators in an integer-coordination approach in the special situation similar to Singapore transit system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the Republic of Kazakhstan is dynamically forming up its transit policy, improving its directions and the development of new vectors. This article looks into the development of the transit and transport potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It presents the main conclusions on the development of a feasibility study for the construction of a logistics terminal in the seaport of Lianyungang (China) as one of the directions of building transit policy, improving its direction and the formation of new vectors. The urgency of building a logistics terminal is conditioned by the necessity for national interests and further expansion of political and economic advantages of Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to population growth and events, Toronto is currently in the midst of debates about transportation planning. However, the perspectives of immigrants, especially women, who depend heavily on public transit, are often missing from academic and policy debates on transportation planning in Toronto. Due to Toronto's changing demographic landscape, a transit planning strategy that is based on a deeper understanding of how immigrant groups travel across the city can further social equity in transportation. Drawing on qualitative interviews with immigrants on their experiences of public transit in Toronto, the paper proposes an environmental justice framework in order to consider the equity and sustainability issues inherent in Toronto stakeholders' focus on transit expansion.. The research findings highlight the limited affordability of public transit, the poor servicing and connectivity of transit networks, and the resulting barriers to accessing work opportunities across the region. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for new directions in transit policy and planning that can better address the changing demographics and social and spatial divisions in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that there is a need to address how policy measures, such as, gendered segregation of space in public transport, reconfigure gender relations in such spaces. On the basis of a small survey, personal observations and blogs published online, it is suggested that new areas of gendered confusions and exclusions in the use of the Delhi Metro are sharply emerging in response to reservation of a coach for women. These confusions and exclusions are giving rise to notions of legitimate and non-legitimate gendering of spaces, which allow men to make new claims on public space. Notions such as these derive from entrenched ideas about overcrowding and differential needs. Such contestations deny women an unambiguous right to the reserved space and also undermine their capacity for negotiating for such rights. It is argued that these are emerging concerns that need to be addressed in a more proactive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transit administrators wield an exceptional amount of power over the lives of the urban poor. Their decisions have immediate and lifelong consequences, and can determine where and when transit dependent populations can access societal resources like jobs, schools, hospitals, and cultural facilities. Few public administrators have as much responsibility to make fair decisions and honor the principles of social justice as public transit administrators. Learning how they define basic concepts like fairness and justice will assist public policymakers in better understanding the mobility challenges of the poor as well as the environment of social justice in public transportation agencies. The purpose of this study is to further the study of transportation equity and the relationship between social justice considerations and public administration research. Transportation equity is a small but rapidly growing subset of urban studies and public policy academia, and this research, informed by the principles and literature of public administration, intends to document the extent to which social justice values are taken into account in the administrative discretion of transit agency professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban sustainable transport policies are very different in terms of costs and expected benefits, and the effects of these policies and their combinations are difficult to anticipate on a purely intuitive basis and sometimes the end effect could be contrary to intuitive expectations (e.g. policies aimed to reduce pollution, ending up in increasing it). In this context, the concept of eco-rational planning assumes a central role. This means identifying the right mixture of interventions to be implemented on the transport system that is: rational for the transport system and sustainable for people’s health and for the environmental and requires minimal economic resources. Starting from the results of the compendium paper (Part 1), the paper investigate on non-rational sustainable transport policies through an ex-post analysis on real casa application in Naples (Italy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is a need to insure effectiveness in public transport infrastructure capital outlays. The Value for Money (VfM) concept has been embedded in political economy and management without a clear methodological framework and accepted definitions. This paper addresses methodological boundaries and opportunities for implementation of the VfM concept with special consideration to its marketing components. Methodology: A literature review and assessment of practical experience has been completed. An evaluation of the VfM logic is also provided. The VfM functions and application as an analytical, management and marketing tool are analyzed. Findings: The VfM project assessment methodology can be used to insure the best possible input costs and impacts ratio. The maximization of VfM is possible if this approach is correctly and fully implemented. Additional methodological and conceptual work is needed to ensure its full applicability. This concerns also marketing elements of the VfM concept. Originality: The paper presents a complex approach to VfM as an analytical and management procedure. It contributes to research advancement in this insufficiently explored area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reform of the urban public bus transport service in Shanghai, China aims to improve customer satisfaction and stimulate more passenger use. The public bus transport service, which is different from commercial services, not only considers the service quality but also public participation, government financial input and other factors. An urban public bus satisfaction model was constructed based on customer satisfaction theory. The model was tested using Shanghai's public bus service data and the structural equation model method. The model was found to comprise five latent variables - perceived quality, customer perceived input, public participation, satisfaction and trust - and the results show that the model's goodness of fit indexes are satisfactory. Second, the results of this study show that improvements in perceived quality and public participation could increase satisfaction and trust, which would motivate more people to use the service. Policy suggestions are therefore that the Shanghai government should improve the quality of the bus service and explore more avenues of public participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to a reconsideration of Australian urban transport policy by presenting and analysing data on travel patterns in Australia's seven capital cities (Canberra, plus the six state capitals) over the last 35 years. It uses data from the Australian census, which includes a question on the mode of transport used to travel to work since 1976. Travel modes are presented by city, including car drivers, train, tram, bus and ferry, and walking and cycling. A key finding was that after two decades of rapid decline, public transport usage rates commenced a revival in 1996. The revival began slowly, but the five years to 2011 saw the biggest increase in public transport mode share seen since 1976. Sydney and Perth were comparatively impressive in terms of public transport use, with Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra as the worst performers. In the past, policymakers who favoured roads could claim to be following public preferences expressed in mode share trends, but now public transport is gaining ground at the expense of the car. The paper argues for a reorientation of transport policy in Australian cities towards public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years the South African government has put forward policies and strategies to improve and promote public transport. Despite this, very little has changed over the last 30 years, although projects such as the Gautrain high-speed rail service and a few bus rapid transit routes have been introduced recently. These projects, however, are not integrated in a logical manner into the broader public transport system and are often referred to as standalone interventions because of a lack of managing public transport in terms of integrated transport plans. The traditional commuter rail, bus and 16-seat taxi industries therefore operate in policy silos and, in the case of the bus and rail industries, are planned and funded independently of each other, leading to a further lack of integration. Policy interventions have been implemented partially or not at all, leaving the public transport sector in a state of flux. The methodology followed in researching this paper was to briefly trace the historical public transport policy developments, with a focus on the commuter bus industry, in order to identify possible impediments to policy implementation and to identify policy interventions for addressing the currently stalled policy implementation programme. The main finding of the paper is that it would be advisable to establish provincial transport authorities between local and provincial governments. That should speed up the development and implementation of integrated transport plans, which ought to lead to integrated public transport systems and a more optimal spend of the available governmental funds aimed at subsidising public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which discusses Pennsylvania's regulation of privately owned mass transit companies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania from the 1910s through the 1970s, including the regulation of privately owned motor bus and trolley companies. The role that motor buses played in replacing electric streetcars in Allegheny County, including the streetcars owned by the Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo), is discussed. PRCo fares are also discussed.

Canberra, the capital of Australia, is a city with two modes of mechanised passenger travel: traditional bus and automobile. Canberra's population of 352,000 is relatively spread out with a low overall average population density. Recently, the local government (the government of the Australian Capital Territory) submitted a bid to the Australian federal government to fund a light-rail system for the city. This paper examines the issues of serving low and medium density communities with light rail, using Canberra as a case study. The paper qualitatively and quantitatively outlines the socioeconomic and demographic profile of Canberra, with a focus on centres of population and economic density; reviews the literature on Light-Rail Transit (LRT) and other 'structural' transit, which includes significant fixed capital investment such as Bus-Rapid Transit (BRT) for low-to-medium density areas; and analyses what an LRT in Canberra would look like if it is to be financially and operationally sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a contribution to policy research on monopolies in planning for public utilities and the role of the state in ordering the coordination of land use and transport in a market economy, this paper evaluates a couple of hypotheses informed by the Coasian economic concept of an implicit contract. There have been public subsidies to franchised bus and ferry companies in Colonial Hong Kong in the form of concessions in kind with spatial land-use transport implications. The hypotheses were evaluated by a comprehensive archive survey and documentary analysis of the clauses in relevant franchise documents, Crown Leases, government memoranda, and expert writings on buses and ferries. The findings revealed that there was no real land price subsidy provided for within or outside the franchise or lease documents, but there were substantial indirect subsidies during the study period. These were provided not only in terms of the free provision of bus terminals and piers, but also their planned combination on government land, as well as the strategic positioning of bus terminals in newly-developed government housing estates and new towns. The land-use public transport planning strategy shaped the urban structure of Hong Kong prior to the takeover of the companies by developers. The critical role of the government vis-a-vis developers as a super landlord is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is the development of an accessibility estimation method as a transport policy assessment tool based on the state of the art of the accessibility concept and measurement techniques, and available information directly related to socioeconomic data, transport demand and supply characteristics for specific areas of Bogotá. Study areas and indicators are defined in order to determine relevant relationships between transport and access to opportunities for individuals with specific socioeconomic characteristics and present mobility conditions. In addition, evaluation of restricted travel budgets scenarios defined both by the standard transport theory and individuals is performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which aimed to determine the motivations and impediments to collaboration among public transit systems in the United States. Cost savings and government initiatives in the merger activity of the transportation industry; Details on capital investments; Process and regulations in business contracting; Methodology and discussion.