What determines rail transit passenger volume? Implications for transit oriented development planning

Transit oriented development (TOD) has been an important topic for urban transportation planning research and practice. This paper is aimed at empirically examining the effect of rail transit station-based TOD on daily station passenger volume. Using integrated circuit (IC) card data on metro passenger volumes and cellular signaling data on the spatial distribution of human activities in Shanghai, the research identifies variations in ridership among rail transit stations. Then, regression analysis is performed using passenger volume in each station as the dependent variable. Explanatory variables include station area employment and population, residents’ commuting distances, metro network accessibility, status as interchange station, and coupling with commercial activity centers. The main findings are: (1) Passenger volume is positively associated with employment density and residents’ commuting distance around station; (2) stations with earlier opening dates and serving as transfer nodes tend to have positive association with passenger volumes; (3) metro stations better integrated with nearby commercial development tend to have larger passenger volumes. Several implications are drawn for TOD planning: (1) TOD planning should be integrated with rail transit network planning; (2) location of metro stations should be coupled with commercial development; (3) high employment densities should be especially encouraged as a key TOD feature; and (4) interchange stations should be more strategically positioned in the planning for rail transit network.     

Can high speed rail offset its embedded emissions?

This paper analyzes the climate implications of investments in high speed railway lines given uncertainty in future transport demand, technology and power production. To capture the uncertainty of estimated parameters, distributions for the annual traffic emissions reduction required to compensate for the embedded emissions from the construction of infrastructure are calculated using Monte Carlo simulation. In order to balance the annualized emissions from the railway construction, traffic volumes of more than 10 million annual one-way trips are usually required. Most of the traffic diverted from other modes must come from aviation and the project cannot involve the extensive use of tunnels.     

How could the collaboration between airport and high speed rail affect the market?

This paper discusses the possibility of collaboration between airport and high speed rail (HSR) to improve the airport’s gateway function. We apply the model which consists of three players, carriers, passengers, and the airport. In order to estimate the impact of the collaboration, we carry out some numerical computations with the model under the twin hub three zones network. Our results show that the collaboration between HSR and the smaller demand airport can reduce the congestion at the bigger demand airport, which suggests the collaboration can be preferable for carriers and passengers; it would improve the social welfare.     

Do transportation network companies increase or decrease transit ridership? Empirical evidence from San Francisco

Transportation - Transportation network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, have been hypothesized to both complement and compete with public transit. Existing research on the topic is limited...     

Would personal carbon trading reduce travel emissions more effectively than a carbon tax?

The application of personal carbon trading (PCT) to transport choices has recently been considered in the literature as a means of reducing CO₂ emissions. Its potential effectiveness in changing car travel behavior is compared to the conventional carbon tax (CT) by means of a stated preferences survey conducted among French drivers (N ∼ 300). We show evidence that PCT could effectively change travel behavior and hence reduce transport emissions from personal travel. There is however a definite reluctance to reduce car travel. We were unable to demonstrate any significant difference between the effectiveness of PCT and the CT with regard to changing travel behavior. However, in the experiment, the PCT scheme provided consistent results while this was not the case for the CT scheme. Further research is needed into the “social norm” conveyed by a personal emissions allowance.     

How do passengers use travel time? A case study of Shanghai–Nanjing high speed rail

Traditional travel behavior theory regards travel time as a waste. Recent studies suggest that it carries a positive utility, among other reasons for the benefit of the activities conducted while traveling. However, most studies of travel time use have focused on conventional trains in developed countries. Few have systematically examined the permeation of information and communication technology (ICT) into travel time use and the correlates of activity participation in developing countries, particularly on high speed rail (HSR). Using a survey conducted on the Shanghai–Nanjing corridor (N = 901), this study examines how HSR passengers use their travel time and explores the correlates of the different types of activities of business and non-business travelers, respectively, through multivariate probit models. We found that 96% of the respondents use ICT during their HSR journey and that most passengers spend some of their travel time on work-related activities. Moreover, items carried and advance planning as well as work-related travel attributes contribute significantly to activity participation. However, the factors affecting time use of business and non-business travelers differ. HSR service design should facilitate passenger engagement in various activities and improvement of their travel experience. A stable internet connection, adequate power sockets, and a noise-free environment will promote both work and leisure activities on the HSR.     

Will a driving restriction policy reduce car trips?—The case study of Beijing,China

A driving restriction policy, as one of the control-and-command rationing measures, is a politically acceptable policy tool to address traffic congestion and air pollution in some countries and cities in the world. Beijing is the first city in China to implement this policy. A one-day-a-week driving restriction scheme was expected to take 20% of cars off the road every week day. Using household survey and travel diary data, we analyze the short-term effect of this driving restriction policy on individual travel mode choice. The data also allow us to identify which demographic groups are more likely to break the restriction rule. The estimates reveal that the restriction policy in Beijing does not have significant influence on individuals’ decisions to drive, as compared with the policy’s influence on public transit. The rule-breaking behavior is constant and pervasive. We found that 47.8% of the regulated car owners didn’t follow the restriction rules, and drove “illegally” to their destination places. On average, car owners who traveled during peak hours and/or for work trips, and whose destinations were farther away from the city center or subway stations, were more likely to break the driving restriction rules. Therefore, Beijing is probably in need of more comprehensive and palatable policy instruments (e.g., a combination of congestion tolls, parking fees, fuel taxes, and high-speed transit facilities) to effectively alleviate traffic congestion and air pollution.     

Do public transport investments promote urban economic development? Evidence from bus rapid transit in Bogotá, Colombia

In 2000, the city of Bogotá, Colombia embarked on a grand land use and transportation system experiment. The transformation of Bogotá included building the TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, a city-wide system that offers speed and convenience similar to that of an underground metro. TransMilenio is widely regarded as a success, and cities around the world are planning or building similar systems. In this paper, we use a repeated cross-section labor market dataset to assess whether access to the new BRT system affects the incomes of those who live in station area neighborhoods. Our results indicate that the opening of the TransMilenio system was associated with increased income for those living near—but not immediately adjacent to—trunk line stations. This relationship is strongest in the lower and middle-income range. There are at least two possible explanations for this result: 1. existing residents earn higher wages, or 2. higher income workers move to the neighborhood. Our data do not allow us to distinguish clearly between them, but available evidence suggests that much of the effect is likely due to relocation. Our results stand in contrast to prior work, which has largely suggested that improvements in public transit will tend to reduce wages in station areas.     

Do reforms reduce the magnitudes of cost overruns in road projects? Statistical evidence from Norway

Although governments often respond to the prevalent cost overruns of transportation projects by reforming the agencies charged with overseeing the construction of projects, the transportation research literature has not provided statistical evidence as to whether such reforms assist in reducing cost overruns. This paper provides such evidence using the Norwegian road sector as a case study. The agency in question was reformed twice, from a monopolistic to a semi-monopolistic organization, and finally, to a fully competitive organization in which road construction was divided out into a separate company and privatized. In this work, we use statistical inferences to explore the related issues. The data set is composed of 1045 projects evenly distributed across the three organizational forms. The results demonstrate that the impact of the reforms has not been equal. The most important impact occurred in the final reform of full competition in which both the cost overruns and delays in construction among larger projects were greatly reduced. The second reform appears to have had a contrasting impact. For transportation research in general, we call for additional studies that will reveal the extent to which efforts carried out by governments (such as reforms) improve the efficiency of these sectors.