Who uses smart card? Understanding public transport payment preference in developing contexts,a case study of Manila's LRT-1

The culture of “tingi-tingi” or sachet economy provides a strong backdrop to better understand the payment mode preference of the riding public in the Philippines. First, the use of single journey tickets (SJT) reflects the purchasing practices amongst the urban poor thereby affecting the promotion and uptake of public transport smart cards. Second, as a glocalization strategy, it can inform what, how, when, and why services that has global uptake can be tailored towards the realities of a differentiated, local market conditions.Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) is presented to determine the key variables explaining the likelihood of uptake of smart cards for public transport passengers in the Philippines. The Metro Manila Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) presents an appropriate context to examine how the glocalization of smart cards can help improve the quality of public transport services, and to provide planning and policy recommendations on smart card uptake and integrated ticketing, with the end goal of improving public transport provision and management. LRT-1 alongside its change in management, also introduced a new smart card payment system. However, more than half continue to use single journey tickets.The model parameters are estimated using primary survey data collected from LRT-1 passengers. Transit smart card has been widely used around the world and effectively reduces waiting time for passengers who used to purchase paper tickets.The main results of the model reveal that: (1) only groups with high education background, stable income, or with stable job would likely to use smart card; (2) passengers with lower education level, lower income, or with unstable job prefer to use single journey ticket; and (3) the sachet economy is strongly associated with the purchasing practices amongst Filipinos, particularly the urban poor, hence may affect the promotion and uptake of public transit smart cards. These findings may inform changes to the introduction of alternative payment schemes and the planning of public transport policies that recognise the need for an effective glocalization strategy, paving the way towards improved public transport service and provision.     

公交查询系统设计与开发

为提供快速简便的城市公交站点、线路查询服务,文章采用B/S模式、ASP.NET（C#）开发环境及工具、Web发布服务方式以及Microsoft SQL Server后台数据库,构建了一个简单、实用的公交查询系统,并对该系统的整体架构、数据库设计及应用程序设计方法进行了介绍。     

Financing public transport systems in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia: challenges and prospects

Most major cities across the world today are facing an intractable challenge of financing public transport. In Kuala Lumpur for example, public transport services are somewhat poor in part because of the failure of major operators to secure ample funding. Previous funding programs implemented in the city have failed to produce a replicable model for financing public transport. Due to numerous financial problems and the dismal performance of privately owned transport firms, the State has in the recent past emerged as a key source of funding for the public transport sector in Kuala Lumpur. This article argues that, despite the insuperable challenges, prospects for the future funding of public transport in Kuala Lumpur appears to be good. The article also draws lessons from both Tokyo and Hong Kong. In order to address the funding deficit facing the public transport industry in the city it is crucial that more viable strategies and policies such as value capture and public–private sector partnerships are adopted by the urban authorities.

The effect of financial constraints on the optimal design of public transport services

Recent experience with the design of bus services in Santiago, Chile, seems to confirm Jansson's (1980) assertion regarding observed planned bus frequency and size being too low and too large, respectively. We offer an explanation based upon the relation between cost coverage, pricing and optimal design variables. We recall that average social cost decreases with patronage, which generates an optimal monetary fare below the average operators' cost, inducing an optimal subsidy. Then we compare optimal frequency and bus size—those that minimize total social costs—with those that minimize operators' costs only. We show that an active constraint on operators' expenses is equivalent to diminish the value of users' time in the optimal design problem. Inserting this property back in the optimal pricing scheme, we conclude that a self-financial constraint, if active, always provokes an inferior solution, a smaller frequency and, under some circumstances, larger than optimal buses.

A hybrid model of fuzzy and AHP for handling public assessments on transportation projects

Having an effective public participation in transportation planning and project development processes has been a major concern for developed countries. In the United States, for instance, all state Departments of Transportation are subject to the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) that formally requires public involvement in transportation planning. Since transportation planning involves public resources and values, judgments by the public should play a key role in determining final decisions. Therefore, all these agencies are required not only to disseminate information to the public, but also to solicit and consider public opinion in forming transportation policy. This work presents a decision support model, with public involvement and public oversight, to help policy makers select appropriate transportation projects for implementation. Since focus groups will face multiple objectives and inexact information in the process, a hybrid model of fuzzy logic and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is proposed. A set of ‘if–then’ rules based on Weber’s psycho-physical law of 1834 is presented to reason from fuzzy numbers to capture essential subjective preferences, pairwise, among the alternatives. The AHP is then incorporated to estimate preference allotments among alternatives. An example application of the suggested method is provided seeking public approval of an appropriate public bus transportation system choosing between one run by municipal authorities and one run by private agencies to show how this procedure works.

基于GIS的公交站台信息查询系统的开发

为乘客的公交出行提供基本的公交信息及最优乘车方案的查询,开发了基于GIS的公交站台触摸屏查询系统。系统数据库以ACCESS进行描述,以ADO．NET与数据库进行连接访问,以Maplnfo地理信息系统平台为基础,利用VB．NET语言编程完成了基于GIS的站台触摸屏公交查询系统的开发。经过实验测试及实际运用,该系统能够在换乘次数最少的前提下,给出四种可供选择的优化目标,分别为出行时间最少、出行费用最少、出行距离最短以及舒适度最佳。用户根据自己的情况选择优化目标,系统将给出相应的乘车方案。     

北京新城公共交通发展对策研究——以顺义新城为例

坚持公交优先是北京市交通发展的基本政策。顺义区作为北京市首批建设的重点新城之一,城市公共交通是支撑社会经济发展、人民生产生活的重要基础设施。构建高效、便捷、先进的公共交通系统是推进新城建设平稳、快速发展的重要保障。为此,应理顺管理体制、恢复公共交通的公益性、全面落实公交优先发展政策,实现公共交通规范化发展。     

The 2008 New Zealand public transport management act: Rationale, key provisions, and parallels with the United Kingdom

In January 2009, following a lengthy industry review and consultation process, the New Zealand Public Transport Management Act (PTMA) came into force. The Act allows Regional Transport Authorities, as the primary procurers of public transport services, to place either a control or a contracting requirement upon services that are registered as commercial requiring no subsidy. The imposition of either the control or the contracting requirement is designed to facilitate greater system integration, improve service continuity and enhance services to the customer, andallow the Authority to invest in key strategic projects, such as integrated fares and ticketing, so as to grow patronage.The PTMA’s other objective is to ensure improved value for public subsidies. Recent years have seen significant subsidy inflation for seemingly little commensurate benefits. The Act will allow the Regional Transport Authority to achieve greater value for money through improved farebox, a shift to longer, larger contracts to increase competition in the market, a more appropriate allocation of risk, and the removal of the ability of operators to ‘game’ the current system by using strategically placed commercial services as barriers to competition.Similar concerns have also stimulated new legislation in the UK and this paper illustrates the parallels in the environment and proposed response.     

Changing public transport governance in Dutch metropoles: To tender or not to tender

With winds of change from the European Commission reaching the Netherlands, the national government altered the Law on Passenger Transport in 2000 to best reflect European demands. This new law meant competitive tendering became obligatory. At first, the metropolitan transport authorities in the three largest cities (Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam) were granted an extended deadline for tendering. However, due to shifting winds from Brussels, in 2007 the Dutch national government dropped the obligation to tender for the three cities. Suddenly the authorities had to decide for themselves whether or not to tender. This article describes the different routes and outcomes of the three metropolitan authorities. Where the metropolitan authority in Rotterdam aimed at conservation of their existing model, the authorities of Amsterdam and The Hague embraced change. In The Hague conformation to the letter of the law seemed an important driver, whereas confrontation between different interests in the region was the starting point for change in Amsterdam.     

衡水市冬季公交免费乘坐政策实施效果评估

优先发展公共交通,倡导绿色出行方式,可以缓解交通拥堵,减少交通污染。河北省衡水市在国内率先实施了冬季公交免费乘坐政策,政策出台的初衷是为了改善衡水市空气质量,经综合评估后,该政策在提高公交乘客满意度、增强公共交通吸引力和缓解交通拥堵等方面取得了明显成效,为国内三、四线城市的公共交通优先发展提供了有益的经验借鉴。