Module 3: Roles, Planning, & Service Design Flashcards
Is Public Transportation a Business or Social Service?
-Public Transportation acts as a business and social service.
-Social Service:
-Provides mobility for transportation disadvantaged
-Provides options for congestion reduction
-Improves air quality
-Support economic development
-Business:
-Operates in a very competitive environment
-Charges a fare
Public Transportation is Unique.
-Few businesses or services are asked to pursue multiple & conflicting goals.
-Private businesses typically only have two potential goals:
-Maximize profits
-Maximize market share
-Public services are given a clear mandate that drives the activities of the organization.
-Transit is truly unique in that its activities try to pursue multiple & conflicting goals in the pursuit of the services they provide.
Role of Transit - An Equalizer.
-Who benefits from public transportation services?
-Policies on public transportation often include a social agenda.
-Redistribution of transportation resources in an urban region.
-Equity planning to promote a wide variety of choices for people who have few ones.
What are the Downsides of Transit?
In addition to the typical operational issues, sometimes it is just a perception, such as overcrowding, safety, and cleanliness:
-Not door-to-door
-Accessibility challenged
-Deficient in rural areas
-Social perception
Urban Mobility Readiness Index.
-56 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across social impact, infrastructure, innovation, system efficiency, market attractiveness, and innovation.
Why Cities Should Focus on Mobility Fundamentals.
-Simple, affordable, & efficient mobility solutions will help cities navigate economic & climate disruption.
-No city better demonstrates how important these factors are then Helsinki:
-car free zones
-large investments in EV charging infrastructure
-advanced cycling infrastructure
-an expanding public transit network with new LRT & tram projects
Public Transit Ranking.
-The Public Transit sub-index is based on the following KPIs:
-Autonomous transit in operation
-Diversity of public transit modes
-Length of walk to public transit
-Multimodal app maturity
-Public transit affordability
-Public transit operating hours
-Public transit station density
-Public transit utilization
-Rail network
-Share of time in public transit
-Strength of multimodal network
-Transit commute speed
-Transit estimated time of arrival
Government Subsidies on Transit.
-In all industrialized & many developing countries, urban transport systems are subsidized with public funds in order to continue operating.
-Targeted subsidies, such as students, older adults, or low-income communities. E.g. discounts
What is Transit Planning?
A spatial planning combining traffic engineering & urban planning:
-Methods or approaches to influence the distribution of people &
activities in spaces.
-Synonymous with the practices of urban planning.
-Includes zoning, land use planning, & transit planning.
Integrated Transit & Land Use Planning.
-Similar to transportation & land use, even stronger relationship between transit & land use.
-The effectiveness of the regional transit system depends critically on integration with regional development:
-In the 1960s & 19702, Toronto had a successful policy of directing
new office construction to locations served by the subway, while
residential development, even in the suburbs, was configured to
support reasonably efficient bus services.
-However, in the 1980s this policy was relaxed, & other policies
encouraged office development to occur outside the City of
Toronto, mostly in “industrial” areas with little or no transit
service. Residential development has been allowed to sprawl
across the suburbs.
Transit Planning - Basics.
-O-D: Where are they from (origin)? Where do they want to go (destination)?
-Ridership
-Technology:
-bus
-Busway
-LRT
-Subway
-On-demand
Trip Generators.
-Population & job density
-Transit user characteristics:
-lower income;
-not having a car;
-younger age group
-Major activity center:
-university campus
-shopping centers
-senior centers
-mixed land use is generally better
Trip Detractors.
-Pedestrian environment
-hostile
-Disconnected street network
-street pattern
-Ease and cost of alternatives
-road space is open (no congestion)
-free and available parking
Transit Service Planning.
-Understanding the travel markets in an area
-Choosing service routes & frequencies
-Station & station-area enhancements
-Bus operation technologies
-Traveller information systems
-Advanced fare payment options
Transit Service Planning - Ridership.
-Trade-Off in allocating limited resources
-high ridership
-wide coverage
-User environment is very different from car-centric one
-Frequency matters but reliability is paramount
Frequency Matters.
-Frequency is freedom.
-What does it do:
-it reduces waiting
-it makes connections easy, which make it possible for a pile of
transit lines to become a network
-it increases reliability
Transit Ridership - Success Factors.
-Density: density supports transit, high job/people density around transit stops
-Walkability: easy to walk to transit stops
-Linearity: a logical transit line is a direct path between any two destinations on it
-Proximity: short distances between many destinations are faster & cheaper to serve.
Other Factors - Stop Spacing.
More Stops = more coverage, slower speed.
Less stops = less coverage, higher speed.
Radial vs. Grid Transit Services.
Radial Transit Service: Transit lines converge towards a central hub.
Grid transit Service: Straight transit lines.
Kingston Transit.
-Kingston - highest proportion of commuters using active transportation & public transit of all mid-sized Canadian metropolitan areas.
-Kingston’s high ridership has been decades in the making.
-Queen’s University AMS was the first university to add a transit charge to their student fees & negotiate an annual contract with Kingston Transit.
Transit Service Design - Basic.
-Transit service plays a vital role to municipalities.
-Learn the principles of transit service design & resource allocation.
-The cost of running a transit route
-capital costs - vehicles
-operating costs - wages + maintenance
Layover.
The time added at the end of a trip to provide a break for the operator, and/or to catch up on time lost to delay.
Span of Service.
The time during which service is operated, e.g. 6 am to 9pm is 15 hour span of service.
Run Time.
The time it takes to complete a trip (one-way or round trip).
Headway.
Time between vehicles.
Frequency.
Number of vehicles per time period.
