Browsing by Subject "Public transit"

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Access to Destinations: Annual Accessibility Measure for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2012-11) Owen, Andrew; Levinson, David
This report summarizes previous phases of the Access to Destinations project and applies the techniques developed over the course of the project to conduct an evaluation of accessibility in the Twin Cities metropolitan region for 2010. It describes a methodology that can be used to implement future evaluations of accessibility, including a discussion of the development and use of software tools created for this evaluation. The goal of the 2010 accessibility evaluation is twofold: it seeks both to generate an accurate representation of accessibility in 2010, and to identify data sources, methods, and metrics that can be used in future evaluations. The current focus on establishing replicable data sources and methodology in some cases recommends or requires changes from those used in previous Access to Destinations research. In particular, it is important to standardize data sources and parameters to ensure comparability between multiple evaluations over time. This evaluation recommends data sources and methodology that provide a good representation of actual conditions, that are based on measurements rather than models that provide a reasonable expectation of continuity in the future and that are usable with a minimum of manual processing and technical expertise.
Access to Public Transit and Its Infuence on Ridership for Older Adults in Two U.S. Cities
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2009) Hess, Daniel Baldwin
Growth in the population of older adults (age 60 and above) in coming years will challenge urban planners and transportation managers to provide travel options that support autonomy. To investigate barriers that older adults experience in using public transit, this research explores associations between older adults who do and do not ride fixed-route public transit and their neighborhood walking access to buses and trains. The research tests whether or not the distance between a trip origin or destination and a transit stop or station is a significant factor in predicting frequency of transit ridership. Data from a survey of older adults in California and New York is used to regress older adults’ frequency of riding public transit against explanatory variables, including demographic and socioeconomic variables, access and mobility measures, and neighborhood characteristics. Findings suggest that self-reported walking distance to transit has a statistically significant influence—in San José, California, but not in Buffalo, New York—in predicting transit ridership frequency. Drivers are more sensitive to walking distance than nondrivers. Models estimate that in San José, each additional five minutes in perceived walking time to transit decreases transit ridership frequency by five percent for nondrivers and by 25 percent for drivers. Older adults are likely to ride transit more often if they are male, nonwhite, and low income.
Accessibility and the evaluation of investments on the Beijing subway
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2017) Jiang, Haibing; Levinson, David
This study measures the job and population accessibility via transit for Beijing using the cumulative opportunity metric. It is shown that transit accessibility varies widely across Beijing, but is highly focused on subway stations. Early lines added far more accessibility than more recently planned lines.
Accounting for uncertainty and variation in accessibility metrics for public transport sketch planning
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2018) Conway, Matthew Wigginton; Byrd, Andrew; van Eggermond, Michael
Accessibility is increasingly used as a metric when evaluating changes to public transport systems. Transit travel times contain variation depending on when one departs relative to when a transit vehicle arrives, and how well transfers are coordinated given a particular timetable. In addition, there is necessarily uncertainty in the value of the accessibility metric during sketch planning processes, due to scenarios which are underspecified because detailed schedule information is not yet available. This article presents a method to extend the concept of "reliable" accessibility to transit to address the first issue, and create confidence intervals and hypothesis tests to address the second.
Achieving System-Level, Transit-Oriented Jobs-Housing Balance: Perspectives of Twin Cities Developers and Business Leaders
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2013-08) Fan, Yingling; Guthrie, Andrew
Fully realizing the potential of the growing regional transit system will depend in large part on the actions of private-sector real estate developers and employers. With support from the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant awarded to the Council by HUD, the EPA and USDOT, researchers from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs conducted a series of conversations with Twin Cities developers and business executives aimed at developing strategies for attracting a wide range of affordable housing choices and living-wage jobs to transit station areas. The research approach centered on in-depth, open-ended interviews with developers and business leaders. Questions focused on primary site selection factors, the role of transportation/transit access in site selection and how that role might change as the regional transitway system matures. Interview transcripts were analyzed through both close readings by the research team and content analysis using the NVivo software package. The research found significant, pent-up demand for transit accessible locations along with significant obstacles to actually selecting them, including automobile-centric development regulations, the lack of zoning allowing TOD's to be built by right, and a need for employers to continue meeting current employees' automotive access needs while preparing for future employees' transit access demands. Policy recommendations include encouraging public-private sector communication, especially with types of developers and employers that demonstrate strong interest in transit access, promoting diverse, walkable neighborhoods in and out of transitway corridors, promoting diverse affordable housing options by allowing consideration of transportation savings possible with transit and accelerating the development of high-quality local and regional transit.
An analysis of changes to transit accessibility and equity after the opening of a bus rapid transit system in Hartford, Connecticut
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2018) Bertolaccini, Kelly
In March 2015, CTfastrak, a bus rapid transit system operating in Connecticut in the United States, opened after nearly 16 years of planning and controversy. The 15.1-km (9.4-mi) busway connects the town of New Britain to the state capital of Hartford. The analysis conducted in this paper investigates whether or not CTfastrak and the transit system restructuring that occurred between 2013 and 2016 improved overall transit accessibility in the region, and if so, whether or not the distribution of these improvements is equitable. This exploration provides strong evidence that overall transit accessibility has improved in the region. Horizontal, or spatial equity, did worsen slightly as a result of this highly localized project. However, vulnerable populations experience more improvements and fewer decreases in transit accessibility than the general population. Though these analyses seem promising, an analysis of the distribution of transit access among workers hints that while many people are experiencing increases in general accessibility, they may not have meaningful access to their place of employment.
Assessing Neighborhood and Social Influences of Transit Corridors
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2012-07) Fan, Yingling; Guthrie, Andrew
This research investigates neighborhood and social influences of major transit improvements in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. To delineate a comprehensive picture, this research focuses on four transit corridors—Hiawatha LRT, NorthStar Commuter Rail, Cedar Avenue BRT, and Central Corridor LRT—each of which is at a different stage of planning, construction, or operation. The project undertakes a general quantification of neighborhood social change in transit served areas. For each corridor, the researchers also investigate inter-neighborhood and inter-corridor variations in social change, and examine residents' and business owners' perceptions of neighborhood social change, as well as of the specific impacts of transit corridors. A mix of quantitative analysis and survey research is used. By examining a wide range of system development stages including planning, construction, and operation, research findings will help policy makers determine at what point in the timelines of major transit capital projects policy responses are needed and likely to be most effective. By covering a variety of transit technologies including LRT, BRT and Commuter Rail, as well as a diverse range of urban and suburban neighborhoods, results from this research will help policy makers make more informed decisions about how to prevent and mitigate socially harmful neighborhood changes associated with various types of transitways. The research also presents strategies for engaging residents and businesses with negative, neutral and positive perceptions of transit projects in the transitway development process.
Assessing Neighborhood and Social Influences of Transit Corridors (Research Brief)
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2012-10) Fan, Yingling; Guthrie, Andrew
This four-page document summarizes a study (Assessing Neighborhood and Social Influences of Transit Corridors, CTS 12-19) that assessed how residents and businesses along transit corridors in the Twin Cities perceive neighborhood changes caused by transitways. Key findings include: (1) The majority of residents and businesses in transitway corridors have a positive view of transit induced neighborhood change. The extent of positive neighborhood change that transitway corridor residents and businesses anticipate varies widely from corridor to corridor. (2) People with any experience using light-rail transit, frequent transit users, and transit-dependent riders all have overwhelmingly positive attitudes regarding transit-induced neighborhood change. (3) Racial differences in perceptions of transit-induced neighborhood change do exist, with specific groups on certain corridors having markedly more negative or positive views than others. (4) Five key strategies may help address negative perceptions and possible negative impacts of transit-induced neighborhood change: address misperceptions, engage the neutrals, play to the strengths, include transit users, and conduct community-sensitive planning.
Better Understanding the Potential Market of Metro Transit's Ridership and Service
(University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2006-10) Krizek, Kevin; El-Geneidy, Ahmed
Ridership is a key element in the transit industry. Conventional travel analysis focuses on two types of transit users: captive and choice riders. Captive riders are typically those who lack an alternative to transit; they therefore use it as their primary mode of transportation to reach their destination. Choice riders are those who have realistic alternatives (e.g., driving) but choose to use transit for various trips. Service reliability and availability affects the ridership of both populations. However, substantial increases in ridership are usually assumed to be derived only from choice riders. Populations not using transit may be further considered as two distinct populations: auto captives and potential riders. Auto captives are mainly auto users who don’t have transit as a potential mode of transportation or would not even realistically consider using transit. Potential riders are currently not using transit for certain reasons and/or concerns, but may consider the idea of using transit based on certain criteria. This research analyzes results from two surveys conducted in the Twin Cities metropolitan region: one of existing riders and the other of non-riders. The aim is to understand the characteristics of both captive and choice riders, with an eye toward the factors that can increase ridership of the latter population. This research classifies riders and non-riders differently from previous research. In addition to the captivity of modes, the classification considers regularity of commuting. Accordingly, transit riders are classified as one of four categories: captive riders with regular commuting habits, captive riders with irregular commuting habits, choice riders with regular commuting habits, and choice riders with irregular commuting habits. Similarly, there are four types of non-riders: auto captives with regular commuting habits, auto captives with irregular commuting habits, potential riders with regular commuting habits, and potential riders with irregular commuting habits. Using the survey data to uncover such population, this research then comments on how using advanced forms of technology could increase the ridership from various populations.
Book review: Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives, by Jarrett Walker
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2012) Watkins, Kari Edison
This paper reviews the book Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives, by Jarrett Walker (Island Press, 2012).
Challenges and opportunities of autonomous vehicles to urban planning: Investigation into transit and parking
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-10) Wu, Xinyi; Douma, Frank; Cao, Jason
Using a series of qualitative approaches, this report examines the potential impacts of autonomous vehicles (AV) on transit and parking systems. A literature review helped us identify three orders of general impacts caused by the development of AV, as well as their specific effects on transit and parking. Based on the results of the literature review, we organized two focus groups and held in-depth discussions regarding the impacts of AV with planning practitioners from the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. The analytical results showed that opinions differ regarding what AV's specific effects might look like. Nevertheless, all of the literature as well as participants of the focus groups agreed that AV will have significant impacts and corresponding planning policies need to be developed.
Correspondence: Urban Mobility Plans and Accessibility
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2009) Dejeammes, Maryvonne
In France, as in other European countries, towns and cities have committed to reducing the negative effects of automobile traffic—accidents and air pollution—either by regulation or voluntarily in order to improve their inhabitants’ quality of life. Creating urban transport plans (PDUs) involves favoring non-automotive travel modes—walking and cycling—as well as public transport. Investment choices and planning of corresponding facilities are an excellent opportunity for improving accessibility to the town and public transport for disabled people and those with reduced mobility. The French law of February 11, 2005 “for equality of rights and chances, participation and citizenship of disabled people” included an obligation for PDUs to include an accessibility appendix whenever they are created, changed or revised. After a short review of the new regulatory obligations for authorities responsible for public transport and cities, this paper examines how PDUs approved since 1997 have dealt with the issue of accessibility for pedestrians and users of public transport. Two examples are analyzed. The first is the PDU for the town of Mulhouse, the actual decisions made concerning highways and public transports and the lessons learned by following indications and the difficulties encountered in involving local authorities responsible for accessibility modifications. The second example is the experience of Valenciennes in creating a street accessibility plan that will form part of the revision of the PDU. these examples highlight the institutional difficulties encountered and suggest methodological elements to facilitate cooperation between the various partners concerned and agreements with disabled people’s associations.
COVID-19 Implications on Public Transportation: Understanding Post-Pandemic Transportation Needs, Behaviors, and Experiences
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2022-11) Fan, Yingling; Becker, Andrew; Ryan, Galen; Wolfson, Julian
The COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social distancing measures have dramatically reduced public transit ridership, leaving transit agencies with massive revenue shortfalls, and it is still unclear how long it will take for transit to recover and whether transit will emerge fundamentally transformed for better or worse after the pandemic. This research collected first-hand data on people's post-pandemic travel behavior decision-making process in the Twin Cities metropolitan region between March and June 2021. Participants were recruited through various forms of digital marketing tools such as a website, social media, emails, and online videos. Of the 339 participants who were enrolled in the study, 154 (45%) used a smartphone app to capture daily transportation needs, behaviors, and experiences for two consecutive weeks. The data provided insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped people?s attitudes, perceptions, and decisions toward various transportation services, including public transportation, and how the mobility impacts of COVID-19 differ by individual socio-demographics and trip environments. Results from this research will help transportation planners identify innovative and sensible ways to effectively promote the use of public transportation in the post-pandemic era.
Data-Driven Support Tools for Transit Data Analysis, Scheduling and Planning
(Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute Center for Transportation Studies, 2011-07) Liao, Chen-Fu
Many transit agencies in the U.S. have instrumented their fleet with Automatic Data Collection Systems (ADCS) to monitor the performance of transit vehicles, support schedule planning and improve quality of services. The objective of this study is to use an urban local route (Metro Transit Route 10 in Twin Cities) as a case study and develop a route-based trip time model to support scheduling and planning while applying different transit strategies. Usually, timepoints (TP) are virtually placed on a transit route to monitor its schedule adherence and system performance. Empirical TP time and inter-TP link travel time models are developed. The TP-based models consider key parameters such as number of passengers boarding and alighting, fare payment type, bus type, bus load (seat availability), stop location (nearside or far side), traffic signal and volume that affect bus travel time. TP time and inter-TP link travel time of bus route 10 along Central Avenue between downtown Minneapolis and Northtown were analyzed to describe the relationship between trip travel time and primary independent variables. Regression models were calibrated and validated by comparing the simulation results with existing schedule using adjusted travel time derived from data analyses. The route-based transit simulation model can support Metro Transit in evaluating different schedule plans, stop consolidations, and other strategies. The transit model provides an opportunity to predict and evaluate potential impact of different transit strategies prior to deployment.
Designing an Autonomous Service to Cover Transit’s Last Mile in Low-Density Areas
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2024-03) Khani, Alireza; Aalipour, Ali; Kumar, Pramesh
Public transportation provides a safe, convenient, affordable, and environmentally friendly mobility service. However, due to its fixed routes and limited network coverage, it is sometimes difficult or impossible for passengers to walk from a transit stop to their destination. This inaccessibility problem is also known as the "transit last-mile connectivity problem." Such a lack of connectivity forces travelers to drive, thereby increasing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on roads. The autonomous mobility-on-demand (AMoD) service, with characteristics such as quick fleet repositioning and demand responsiveness, as well as lower operational cost due to the elimination of operators' wages, has the potential to provide last-mile coverage where fixed-route transit can only provide limited service. This study presents research on designing an AMoD service to solve the transit last-mile problem in Greater Minnesota. After selection of the Miller Hill Mall (MMH) area in Duluth, MN, as the case study site, analysis on local transit services and demand data show that passengers may have to spend significant time walking and cross multiple streets to access stores from transit stops. To address this issue, an AMoD system for last-mile service was designed and integrated with the fixed route transit service. Novel mathematical models and AMoD control algorithms were developed, and simulation experiments were conducted for evaluation of the AMoD service. Simulation results showed that the AMoD service can improve transit quality of service and attract more riders to use transit to the MHM area, and therefore reduce the VMT in the region. These findings were consistent with the literature in that mode choice and first-/last-mile access were highly interdependent and AMoD can improve transit quality of service and reduce VMT. Research on riders' perception of AMoD service and field testing of the AMoD system using the developed models and algorithms are recommended to help agencies prepare for application of AMoD system in the region.
Development of a temporal and spatial linkage between transit demand and land-use patterns
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2013) Lee, Sanggu; Hickman, Mark; Tong, Daoqin
We are exploring ways to capture the temporal and spatial dimensions of the use of public transit. Specifically, we are investigating how different land uses affect the spatial and temporal demand for public transit services. Spatially, the availability of new data collection technology in public transit allows us to examine transit demand at the individual stop level. Our hypothesis, however, is that transit users' activity may not be originated from or destined to an individual stop per se; rather, the activity is associated with a specific location in the vicinity of the stop, and this location may be "covered" by several adjacent transit stops. More importantly, understanding the transit demand at this aggregate level (an aggregate "catchment" area) can enhance the ability to define a specific land-use type and the temporal characteristics related to passengers' activities. Temporally, we seek to understand the relationship between the demand for public transit service at specific times of the day and the associated land uses that may strongly influence the timing of that demand. To explore these dimensions, this study: 1) proposes a method of stop aggregation; 2) generates transit service areas based on these aggregated stops; 3) develops a set of metrics to better represent land-use types within these service areas; and 4) examines the spatial and temporal characteristics of transit demand for these service areas. These methods are applied to a case study using land-use and transit demand data from the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area.
Economic Development Impacts of Bus Rapid Transit
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2016-01) Guthrie, Andrew; Fan, Yingling
Bus rapid transit (BRT) will play an increasingly important role in the Twin Cities transit system in the future. A key aim of transit corridor investments is improving access to jobs, particularly jobs for which disadvantaged workers are likely to be qualified. Transit improvements enhance job access by shortening journey times, but the greatest possible accessibility benefits require station-area job growth that is not restricted to central business districts. This research compares job growth within one half mile of new light rail and bus rapid transit stations implemented in the Twin Cities and peer regions between 2003 and 2010, broken down by sector are wage categories. Fixed transit infrastructure (light rail tracks or BRT dedicated guideways), total street mileage in station areas, proximity to central business districts and overall regional economic strength are associated with more station-area jobs. Policy recommendations include building a strong corridor identity for arterial BRT lines, proactive job growth promotion efforts along BRT lines in general and a continued focus on social and racial equity concerns.
The effect of the Dubai Metro on the value of residential and commercial properties
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2017) Mohammad, Sara I.; Graham, Daniel J.; Melo, Patricia C.
This paper analyzes the impact of the newly operated Dubai Metro on the sale transaction value of dwellings and commercial properties. The effect is estimated for properties within different catchment zones of a metro station using difference-in-differences and hedonic pricing methods on both repeated cross-sectional data and pseudo panel data. Our estimates show a positive effect of the metro on sale values of both residential and commercial properties, although the effect is stronger for commercial properties. The models also reveal that the effect of the metro on the value of dwellings and commercial properties is largest within 701 to 900 meters of a metro station and is about 13 percent and 76 percent, respectively.
Estimating Running Time and Demand for a Bus Rapid Transit Corridor
(University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2009-12) Horning, Jessica; El-Geneidy, Ahmed M.; Hourdos, John
Due to the increasing ease and affordability of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) data collection, new methods for assessing conditions along current and future transit corridors are available. Measures such as average speed, travel time, and intersection delay can be determined for car and bus traffic along a corridor using readily available technology. These measures can be used to monitor the performance of the transportation system for existing modes and to estimate measures for proposed additions to the system. The goal of this research is to utilize GPS device records from regular vehicles as well as busses to estimate running time and potential passenger demand for a proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor on Cedar Avenue in the southern Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Demand for future BRT service is predicted based on frequency and reliability of service and socio-demographic characteristics of the region around the corridor. Average passenger counts for existing transit service along the corridor in combination with existing commuting patterns in the region are used to estimate passenger demand. The running time and demand models produced by this study can be integrated with existing cost benefit software to evaluate the effects of intelligent transportation systems technologies on BRT running time (IBAT). The findings of this research introduce a benchmark for comparison between transit and private vehicle running time for general applications in Hennepin County. These findings also help to create additional understanding of the potential for BRT service in the Twin Cities region.
Evaluating the effects of land use and strategies for parking and transit supply on mode choice of downtown commuters
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2012) Zahabi, Seyed Amir; Miranda-Moreno, Luis. F.; Patterson, Zachary; Barla, Philippe
Metropolitan regions around the world are looking for sustainable strategies to reduce motor-vehicle traffic congestion, energy consumption, and emissions. These strategies include land-use policies as well as improvements to public transit services. This empirical work aims at studying the potential impact of land use (LU), public transit supply (PT), and parking pricing strategies on the mode choice of commuters living in the commuter rail line catchments in the Montreal (Canada) region. It makes use of an econometric modeling approach with both transportation mode choice and neighborhood type choice as simultaneous decisions, in order to take into account the endogeneity of these choices. The neighborhood choices are represented by neighborhood typologies derived from a cluster analysis using land use and transit supply indicators (population density, land use mix, and bus transit supply). As part of the outcomes of this study, the elasticities of mode choice with respect to commuter-transit fees, travel time reductions, and hourly parking costs are estimated. From the results, it is observed that a reduction of 10 percent in the transit fee or relative travel time would increase mode split by 10 percent and 3 percent respectively. The effect of age on both mode choice and neighborhood choice is also estimated. e individual and household structure factors associated with mode choice and/or residential neighborhood choice are also identified. Commuter age affects both outcomes. Income and gender affect mode choice while car ownership and the presence of children are linked to neighborhood choice.

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