School of Civil, Environmental and Land Management Engineering
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
DEMAND RESPONSIVE CONNECTOR: A SUSTAINABLE FEEDER
SERVICE FOR NEW MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
SUPERVISOR: PROF. ROBERTO MAJA
JOAO FELIPE DE ALMEIDA MARINS ID: 877868
MILAN 2019
JOAO FELIPE DE ALMEIDA MARINS ID: 877868
DEMAND RESPONSIVE CONNECTOR: A SUSTAINABLE FEEDER
SERVICE FOR NEW MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
Thesis presented to the examination board of Politecnico di Milano as a requisite for obtaining the Master of Science degree.
Supervisor: Prof. Roberto Maja
MILAN 2019
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” Henry Ford
I dedicate this thesis to my family, especially my parents, for always supporting me in each challenge I face.
This research aims to evaluate the financial and operational feasibility of a Demand Responsive Connector (DRC) to feed the new Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) that is being built in Campinas, Brazil. Through the detailed analysis of a case study, the authors expect to bring to light the most important aspects that should be addressed when evaluating this type of service and, consequently, offer a useful starting point for future improvements on the transport networks performance in major cities of developing countries.
The study consisted on the analysis of previous experiences with demand responsive transport, investigating its strengths and weaknesses, followed by the assessment of a real case in an important city in Brazil. The case study evaluation involved the definition of the potential service demand, the operational parameters of the service and, finally, its financial balance for a time horizon of ten years. The demand was obtained through a modal choice model, properly calibrated using the maximum likelihood criteria and stated preferences surveys, while the operational parameters were defined based on literature.
Besides the economic perspective, public transport ridership and DRC ridership were also considered in order to choose between the 14 proposed scenarios. In this way, it was possible to identify the scenario with better sustainability and accessibility levels, which could support the improvement of the quality of life and resilience in the studied area.
KEY WORDS: Demand Responsive Transport; Feeder Services; Financial Feasibility; Developing Countries
L’obbiettivo di questa ricerca è quello di valutare la fattibilità finanziaria ed operativa di un Demand Responsive Connector (DRC) per alimentare il nuovo Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) in costruzione a Campinas, in Brasile. Attraverso l'analisi dettagliata di un caso di studio, gli autori si aspettano di portare alla luce gli aspetti più importanti che dovrebbero essere affrontati per la valutazione di questo tipo di servizio e, di conseguenza, offrire un punto di partenza rilevante per futuri miglioramenti delle prestazioni delle reti di trasporto nelle grandi città dei paesi in via di sviluppo.
Lo studio consiste nell'analisi delle esperienze precedenti con il trasporto a domanda, studiando i suoi punti di forza e di debolezza, seguito dalla valutazione di un caso reale in una città importante in Brasile. La valutazione del case di studio ha comportato la definizione della domanda potenziale del servizio, dei parametri operativi del servizio stesso e, infine, il suo bilancio finanziario per un arco temporale di dieci anni. La domanda è stata ottenuta attraverso un modello di scelta modale, opportunamente calibrato utilizzando i criteri di massima verosimiglianza e le indagini sulle preferenze dichiarate, mentre i parametri operativi sono stati definiti in base alla letteratura esistente.
Oltre alla prospettiva economica, sono stati presi in considerazione anche le percentuali risultanti del trasporto pubblico e del DRC sulla ripartizione modale al fine di scegliere tra i 14 scenari proposti. In questo modo, è stato possibile identificare lo scenario con livelli di sostenibilità e accessibilità migliori, che potrebbe contribuire più col miglioramento della qualità della vita e della resilienza nell'area di studio.
For all the support and assistance provided throughout my years in Italy and, especially, during the development of this thesis, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to:
To my mother, Renata Maria Ruas de Almeida Marins, my father, Cláudio Luiz Gonçalves Marins, and my brother, Pedro Henrique de Almeida Marins, who made this experience abroad possible and supported me emotionally during this period far from home; To my role family, who offered me energy and motivation on the few moments we could be together during this period;
To Ana Júlia Silva Ribeiro, who understood my dream of living this experience and showed an enormous strength to deal with all the difficulties created by the distance;
To my friends in Milan, with whom I shared my best moments in Italy but also all my difficulties and fears. I am sure our friendship will last forever;
To Giovane Medeiros Canato, who taught me that you can feel at home anywhere if you choose the right people to surround you. I miss our Sunday afternoons together, dear friend;
To my friends in Brazil, with whom I learned that friendship is able to overcome any distance if you really care about the other;
To all my professors, who offered me their knowledge since I was a child until the end of this Master’s degree;
To the Politecnico di Milano, for offering me the best higher education in Italy and allowing me to discover my life purpose as engineer;
To Roberto Maja, for accepting being my thesis’ supervisor, even though I had my constraints and limitations.
SINTESI ... 7
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS ... 8
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ... 15
CHAPTER 2 – SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY ... 18
2.1 EXTERNAL COSTS OF TRANSPORT ... 18
2.2 REDUCING ROAD TRANSPORT EXTERNAL COSTS ... 24
2.2.1 FISCAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS ... 25
2.1.2 REGULATORY INSTRUMENTS ... 26
2.1.3 INVESTIMENTS ... 26
2.1.4 URBAN PLANNING ... 27
2.3 TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT ... 28
2.4 FLEXIBLE TRANSPORT SERVICES ... 30
CHAPTER 3 – DEMAND RESPONSIVE TRANSPORT (DRT) ... 32
3.1 DEFINITIONS ... 32 3.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT ... 32 3.3 ORGANIZATIONAL SCHEMES ... 34 3.4. TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS ... 36 3.4.1 DRT CONTROL CENTRES ... 37 3.4.2 CUSTOMER DEVICES ... 37 3.4.3 VEHICLE LOCATIONING ... 38 3.4.4 FARE COLLECTION ... 38
3.4.5 TRAVEL INFORMATION SYSTEMS ... 38
3.4.6 COMMUNICATION NETWORK ... 39
3.4.7 DATA PROCESSING ... 39
3.5 CATEGORIES OF DRT SYSTEMS ... 40
3.5.4 NIGHT BUSES AND DISTRICT DRT ... 43
3.5.5 OPEN ACCESS DRT ... 46
3.5.6 FEEDER DRT ... 53
3.6 BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION OF DRT SERVICES ... 55
3.6.1 INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES: POLICY, LEGISLATION AND REGULATION ... 56
3.6.2 ECONOMIC ISSUES: FUNDING, FARES AND COSTS TO USERS ... 57
3.6.3 OPERATIONAL ISSUES: FLEET, ROUTES AND SCHEDULE ... 59
3.6.4 CULTURAL ISSUES: ATTITUDES, PERCEPTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS ... 60
3.6.5 INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND PROMOTION ISSUES ... 61
3.6.6 ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION ... 62
3.7 MOBILITY AS A SERVICE ... 63
CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDY ... 68
4.1 CITY EVALUATION ... 69 4.1.1 OVERVIEW ... 69 4.1.2 HISTORY ... 73 4.1.3 DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS ... 74 4.1.4 SOCIAL ASPECTS ... 77 4.1.5 ECONOMIC ASPECTS ... 79
4.1.6 OCCUPATIONAL ASPECTS: WORK AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES ... 84
4.2 DISTRICTS OF INTEREST ... 85
4.2.1 OURO VERDE ... 85
4.2.2 CAMPO GRANDE ... 86
4.3.2 MODAL SHARE ... 89
4.3.3 AVERAGE TRIP DURATION ... 90
4.3.4 DAILY PROFILE OF TRIPS ... 91
4.3.5 TERRITORIAL ANALYSIS ... 92
4.4 PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM ... 98
4.4.1 OPERATION ... 98
4.4.2 TRANSPORT NETWORK ... 99
4.4.4 INTELIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS (ITS) ... 100
4.4.5 FARE POLICY ... 101
4.4.6 TAXI SERVICE ... 102
4.4.7 CHARTERED SERVICES ... 102
4.4.8 SCHOOL TRANSPORT ... 102
4.4.9 ACCESSIBILITY FOR DISABLED OR ELDERLY USERS ... 102
4.4.10 PAI-SERVIÇO ... 103
4.5 ROAD AND TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE ... 104
4.5.1 ROAD NETWORK ... 104
4.5.2 PRINCIPLES FOR ROAD POLICY ... 107
4.5.3 FREIGHT TRANSPORT ... 107
4.5.4 CYCLING MASTER PLAN ... 107
4.6 NEW BRT SYSTEM ... 109
4.6.1 CAMPO GRANDE CORRIDOR ... 110
4.6.2 OURO VERDE CORRIDOR ... 110
4.6.3 INTEGRATION CORRIDOR ... 110
4.6.7 PROJECT FUNDING ... 112
CHAPTER 5: STATED PREFERENCES SURVEY ... 113
5.1 STATED PREFERENCES SURVEY DESIGN ... 113
5.1.1 DEFINITION OF THE ATTRIBUTES’ VALUES ... 114
5.1.2 FATORIAL DESIGN ... 117
5.1.3 STATED PREFERENCES SURVEY ... 119
5.2 RESULTS OF THE SP SURVEY... 120
5.3 MULTINOMIAL LOGIT MODEL ... 124
5.3.1 BEHAVIOURAL MODELS ... 124
5.3.2 MULTINOMIAL LOGIT MODEL ... 125
5.3.3 UTILITY FUNCTIONS ... 127
5.4 MODEL CALIBRATION ... 127
5.4.1 MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD CRITERIA ... 127
5.4.2 BIOGEME SOFTWARE ... 128 5.5 MODEL VALIDATION ... 130 5.5.1 INFORMAL TESTS... 130 5.5.2 FORMAL TESTS ... 131 5.6 VALIDATED MODEL ... 133 5.6.1 REALITY CHECK ... 133 5.6.2 SENSITITY ANALYSIS ... 134
CHAPTER 6: PROPOSED SCENARIOS FOR THE DRT SERVICE ... 137
6.1 ATTRIBUTES DEFINITION ... 137
6.1.1 PRIVATE VEHICLE TRAVEL TIME - 𝐶𝐴𝑅𝑇𝑇 ... 137
6.1.5 BUS COST - 𝐵𝑈𝑆𝐶𝑂 ... 140
6.1.6 BUS WALKING TIME - 𝐵𝑈𝑆𝑊𝑇 ... 140
6.1.7 DRT TRAVEL TIME - 𝐷𝑅𝑇𝑇𝑇 ... 141 6.1.8 DRT COST - 𝐷𝑅𝑇𝐶𝑂 ... 142 6.1.9 DRT WALKING TIME - 𝐷𝑅𝑇𝑊𝑇 ... 142 6.2 IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS ... 143 6.2.1 DEMAND EVALUATION ... 143 6.2.2 FLEET ESTIMATION ... 144 6.2.3 IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE ... 147 6.3 PROPOSED DRT SCENARIOS ... 147 6.3.1 PRICING STRATEGY ... 147
6.3.2 SCENARIOS MODAL SHARE ... 148
6.4 FINANCIAL EVALUATION OF SCENARIOS ... 152
6.4.1 DEMAND ESTIMATION ... 152
6.4.2 FLEET SIZING ... 154
6.4.3 TRAVELLED DISTANCE AND LABOUR FORCE ESTIMATION ... 155
6.4.4 REVENUE ESTIMATION ... 156 6.4.5 COSTS ESTIMATION ... 157 6.4.6 FINANCIAL BALANCE ... 159 6.4.7 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE ... 160 6.5 SCENARIOS CHOICE ... 161 6.5.1 FINANCIAL ASPECT... 161
6.5.2 CAR RIDERSHIP X PUBLIC TRANSPORT RIDERSHIP ... 163
ANNEX 2: STATED PREFERENCES DESIGN ... 172
ANNEX 3: SAMPLE OF THE STATED PREFERENCES SURVEY ... 190
FIGURES INDEX ... 195
TABLES INDEX ... 197
GRAPHS INDEX ... 199
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
The main goal of this study is to evaluate the utility of a Demand Responsive Transport as a feeder service for the BRT system being implemented in Campinas, Brazil. By doing so, it is expected to bring to light relevant aspects that should be addressed when designing similar services, especially in developing countries as Brazil. Improving the transport system efficiency is a key action for these countries in order to overcome poverty and elevate their standards of living. A demand responsive feeder service, in its turn, has the potential to increase accessibility contributing to the general performance of the transport networks.
The case study analysis will include the definition of the service potential demand, through a modal choice model considering four transport alternatives for people to reach the BRT terminals. From the potential demand, it will be possible to design the service itself and finally to evaluate the proposed the scenarios in order to choose, between those economically sustainable, the one that better matches the municipality goals for the city transport system. The fast urbanization process in developing countries is creating great challenges for public authorities. Economic fragility, weak governance and lack of stronger public policies lead the major cities in these regions to experience disordered urban growth. The impacts of such process can be perceived on the lower quality of life and resilience to disasters. Both are actually the symptoms of bad performing services as transportation, health and security.
Transportation plays an essential role on cities’ dynamics, enabling economic development, ensuring people’s freedom to move and providing accessibility to services and goods. For this reason, quality of life and resilience in urban settlements are directly related to the quality of their transport systems.
On the other hand, they strictly depend on the road infrastructure and people distribution over the territory. As consequence, citizens of sprawling cities usually have to deal with bad performing transport systems, characterized by traffic, longer trip duration and crowding. In developing countries, the situation is frequently worse due to lower investments on infrastructure improvements and fleet renewal.
Besides that, the transportation has impacts over its scope. Being one of the greatest consumers of fossil fuels, the transport sector is crucial when fighting against air pollution and
climate change. These aspects, as well as soil and water contamination, accidents and landscape modification, for example, consist on transport externalities.
Considering all aspects exposed above, this research aspire to propose a sustainable solution to feed mass transit projects flourishing on developing countries. Aiming to solve the bad performance of their transport networks, many big cities of low-income regions are adopting the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). This system is able to bring bus services to higher levels of demand with lower implementation costs when compared to rail systems. In many cases, however, new mass transit projects are not enough to achieve the standard of transport services in developed countries due to the lack of accessibility. Feeder services, therefore, assume a fundamental role.
The case study developed on this research is feeder service to the new BRT being implemented in Campinas, one of the most important cities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Campinas has a population over 1.1 million inhabitants and does not rely on any major transit system, which results on high car ridership and consequently, traffic congestion and bad performing public transport services.
Campinas also experienced a rapid urbanization process, as described previously, which resulted on districts far from the city centre. Two of them, Campo Grande and Ouro Verde, present an especial combination of characteristics: high population spread over a wide area and a single road axis linking them to the city centre. This particular network configuration concentrates the demand spread over the territory into the single axis, which creates the demand to justify the implementation of a mass transit system.
At the same time, the community living on those districts complain that the conventional bus service to move people inside the districts to the future BRT terminal has low frequency and are not reliable. Additionally, people complain that they do not feel safe to walk from their houses to the bus stops and wait long periods for the bus.
Considering the previous aspects, it was decided to evaluate the feasibility of a Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) as feeder service to the BRT, also called Demand Responsive Connector (DRC). It would be able to manage different levels of demand throughout the day, offer a more comfortable and safer service and increase the accessibility
to the new BRT, improving, therefore, the overall performance of Campinas’ public transport network.
First of all, the DRT services will be deeply explored in order to better understand their historical development, the technology that enabled the dissemination of such services as well as the strengths and weaknesses revealed by previous experiences. This step of research was important to identify potentialities of DRT systems, particularly when applied to realities similar to the one experienced in Campinas.
The second step will be a detailed analysis of all aspects that could influence the urbanization process, the transport infrastructure situation, the transport network operation and, finally, the mobility behaviour of city dwellers. This was relevant to match the mobility needs in Campinas with the characteristics of DRT services.
Afterwards, a Multinomial Logit Model will be implemented using a Stated Preferences Survey. This will enables the determination of the potential demand for the proposed DRC, a key step on the operational and financial analysis that will define if it is a sustainable feeder service for the BRT system being implemented in Campinas. It is expected to provide though this research indications on how to improve the accessibility of mass transit in developing countries, especially using demand responsive feeder services, and thus, contribute to the improvement of the quality of life and the resilience of cities in low and middle-income countries like Brazil.
CHAPTER 2 – SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
In September 2015, in New York, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all the United Nations Member States. This Agenda establishes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which “balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental”[1]. Although Transport and Mobility are not included as one of the 17 SDGs, sustainable transport systems are critical to reach some of their targets, as highlighted by Mohieldin and Vandycke from the World Bank Group in the article “Sustainable Mobility for the 21st Century” [2].
The SDG 7 and SDG 13 on energy and climate change, respectively, are directly influenced by transport once it represents an important consumer of fossil fuels. By 2030, it is expected an increase of 50 percent of passenger traffic and 70 percent of freight volume [2], which shows the relevance of searching new sustainable solutions to move people and goods. The SDG 9 talks about building resilient and sustainable infrastructure, which certainly includes transport infrastructure, due to its potential to support economic development. Finally, the SDG 11 focuses on the quality of life, resilience and sustainability of cities and human settlements. From this perspective “access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems” is considered one of its main targets, aiming to “improve road safety, notably by expanding public transport”.
It is clear, then, that if United Nations members aim to respect the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve its Sustainable Development Goals, it is necessary to dedicate part of their efforts on the transport sector. Creating a sustainable mobility network is essential to face the new social, economic and environmental challenges generated by the rapid urbanization, especially in developing countries.
2.1 EXTERNAL COSTS OF TRANSPORT
Transport activities, besides contributing to economic growth and human development, is responsible also for relevant side effects as congestion, air pollution and accidents, for example. Such effects can be expressed in terms of cost: time costs of congestion, health costs caused by air pollution and productivity losses due to lives lost,
respectively. Once these costs are not borne exclusively by the transport user but by the entire society, they can be named external cost of transport. [3]
Investing in public transport and encouraging active modes, like walking and cycling, are almost always considered the better decisions to take when it aims at more sustainable cities. Both options have the great benefit of reducing automobile dependence which results in decrease of total external costs of transport since road transport is responsible for the largest share of them.
A study published in November 2011 by CE Delft, INFRAS and Fraunhofer ISI provides important data about the total and average external costs of transport in the EU-27 (EU excluding Malta and Cyprus + Norway and Switzerland) in 2018. These data confirm the greatest influence by far of road transport in total costs and show the relevance of transport costs on an economic perspective. The total external costs of transport amount to more than € 500 billion, or 4% of the total European GDP, while road transport delays, caused by congestion, cost to the EU between € 146 and 243 billion (1 to 2% of the total GDP). [4]
The study provides average external costs for nine different cost categories, each one associated to the cost elements presented in the following table. Once the average external costs are determined, they can be combined with transport volume data obtaining the sum of total external costs caused by the transport sector.
Table 1 - Overview of the main cost elements of the different cost categories
Cost Category Cost Element
Accidents Medical costs, production losses, loss of human life.
Air Pollution Health/medical costs (VLYL), crop losses, building damages
Climate Change (high scenario) Avoidance costs to reduce risk of climate change, damage costs
of increasing average temperature.
Noise Annoyance costs, health costs.
Up- & Downstream Processes (high scenario) Climate change and air pollution costs of energy consumption
and GHG emissions of up- and downstream processes.
Nature & Landscape Repair cost and restoration measures (e.g. unsealing,
renaturation, green bridges)
Biodiversity Losses Damage or restoration costs of air pollutant related
biodiversity losses
Soil & Water Pollution Restoration and repair costs for soil and water pollutant.
Urban Effects Time losses of non-motorised traffic in urban areas.
Congestion and delay costs Time and additional operating costs; for scheduled transport:
delay costs.
The share of the different cost categories, excluding congestion, on total external costs can be seen at graph 1. Accidents contribute for 43% of the total external costs which is absolutely on the other hand of the SDG 11 that target safe transport systems to improve sustainability and resilience of cities. The other relevant share is correlated to emissions (air pollution, climate change and up- & downstream processes) and accounts for almost 50% of the costs, again in contradiction with the SDG adopted by the United Nations Member States that intend to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Graph 1 - Share of the different cost categories on total external costs 2008 for EU-27 (excluding congestion) Source: CE Delft, Infras, Fraunhofer ISI - External Costs of Transport in Europe (November, 2011) [4]
According to the report, road transport modes - Car, Bus & Coaches and Motorcycles for passenger transport; LDV (Light Duty Vehicle) and HDV (Heavy Duty Vehicle) for freight transport - are responsible for 93% of the total costs, as shown in the following graph. This situation is due to the large share of them in the total transport volume but also due to their higher average external costs.
43.0% 10.4% 29.0% 3.5% 9.6% 1.0% 0.5% 0.9% 1.4%
Share of cost categries on total external cost of transport
Accidents Air Pollution
Climate Change (high scenario) Noise
Up- & Downstream Processes (high scenario)
Nature & Landscape Biodiversity Losses Soil & Water Pollution
Graph 2 - Share of the different modes on total external costs 2008 for EU-27 (excluding congestion) Source: CE Delft, Infras, Fraunhofer ISI - External Costs of Transport in Europe (November, 2011) [4]
In the table 2 and 3 are presented the average external costs 2008 for EU-27 by cost category and transport mode (excluding congestion). The data allow an intermodal comparison and highlight the greatest average cost of private road transport. It is important to observe that the most relevant differences are on the categories of greater impact - accidents and climate change – making the global results even worse. The average costs of private car transport per passenger-km can be four times bigger than those of rail transport and two times bigger than those of public road transport (buses & coaches).
Table 2 - Average external costs 2008 for EU-27 by cost category and transport mode (excluding congestion) Passenger Transport
Average external costs in €/1,000 pkm*a
Road Rail Aviation Total
Cost Category Passenger
Cars Buses & Coaches Moto Total Road Passenger Passenger Transport Passengers (within EU) Accidents 32.3 12.3 156.6 33.6 0.6 0.5 29 Air pollution 5.5 6 11.8 5.7 2.6 0.9 5.2
Climate change high scenario 17.3 9.1 11.1 16.3 1.5 46.9 17.6
Climate change low scenario 3 1.6 1.9 2.8 0.3 8 3
Noise 1.7 1.6 14.4 2 1.2 1 1.9
Up- and downstream high
scenario 5.7 2.8 3.6 5.4 8.1 7.1 5.7 Up- and downstream low
scenario 3.4 1.5 2.3 3.2 3.9 3.9 3.3 Nature & landscape 0.6 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.6 0.6
Biodiversity losses 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.2 0 0.1 0.2
Soil & water pollution 0.3 0.9 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.4
Urban effects 1 0.4 0.8 0.9 0.6 0 0.8
Total (high scenario) 64.7 33.8 199.2 65.1 15.3 57.1 61.3
Total (low scenario) 48.1 24.9 188.7 49.4 9.8 15 44.3
Source: CE Delft, Infras, Fraunhofer ISI - External Costs of Transport in Europe (November, 2011) [4]
61.1% 3.6% 5.6% 9.4% 12.7% 1.2% 0.7% 5.2% 0.3%
Share of the different transport modes on total external costs
Car Bus/Coach MC LDV HDV Rail Pass. Rail Freight Air Pass. IWW
When the analysis focuses on freight transport, the impact of road modes in terms of external costs is bigger in all the cost categories considered in the study, which leads to a global result more than six times bigger than rail mode and almost five times bigger then waterborne.
Table 3 - Average external costs 2008 for EU-27 by cost category and transport mode (excluding congestion) Freight Transport
Average external costs in €/1,000 tkm*a
Road Rail Waterborne Total
Cost Category LDV HDV Total Road Freight Freight Transport Freight Transport Accidents 56.2 10.2 17 0.2 0 13.4 Air pollution 17.9 6.7 8.4 1.1 5.4 7.1
Climate change high scenario 44.5 9.8 14.9 0.9 3.6 12.1
Climate change low scenario 7.6 1.7 2.6 0.2 0.6 2.1
Noise 6.3 1.8 2.5 1 0 2.1
Up- and downstream high
scenario 14.3 3 4.7 4.2 1.3 4.4 Up- and downstream low scenario 8.4 1.7 2.7 2.4 0.8 2.5
Nature & landscape 0.9 0.7 0.7 0 0.4 0.6
Biodiversity losses 0.6 0.5 0.5 0 0.5 0.4
Soil & water pollution 1.8 0.8 1 0.4 0 0.8
Urban effects 3.1 0.5 0.9 0.1 0 0.7
Total (high scenario) 145.6 34 50.5 7.9 11.2 41.7
Total (low scenario) 102.8 24.6 36.1 5.3 7.7 29.7
Source: CE Delft, Infras, Fraunhofer ISI - External Costs of Transport in Europe (November, 2011) [4]
The tables 4 and 5 contain the total external costs of transport showing their relevant magnitude. As said before, the externalities of transport correspond to 4% of total EU-27 GDP, which reinforces the importance of this sector when you talk about sustainable mobility and its economic feasibility.
The table 4 presents also the external costs related to road congestion. Passenger cars are responsible for more than 160 billion euros of the total delay cost (172. 9 billion euros). Meanwhile collective modes, like buses & coaches, represent less than 5% of the total.
Table 4 - Total external costs 2008 for EU-27 by cost category and transport mode – Road transport
Total external costs inMio €/a
Road
Cost Category Passenger
Cars Buses & Coaches Moto LDV HDV Total Road Passenger Total Road Freight Accidents 157,105 6,839 22,584 18,677 19,604 186,528 38,282 Air pollution 26,636 3,347 1,696 5,933 12,995 31,678 18,928
Climate change high
scenario 84,135 5,060 1,597 14,787 18,845 90,791 33,632 Climate change low
scenario 14,407 866 273 2,532 3,227 15,546 5,759 Noise 8,201 865 2,076 2,094 3,537 11,143 5,631
Up- and downstream
high scenario 27,679 1,568 523 4,765 5,802 29,770 10,567 Up- and downstream
low scenario 16,621 855 325 2,777 3,270 17,800 6,047 Nature & landscape 3,008 149 75 284 1,293 3,232 1,577
Biodiversity losses 1,152 212 20 208 893 1,384 1,101
Soil & water pollution 1,582 485 40 601 1,629 2,107 2,230
Urban effects 4,814 232 116 1,035 965 5,162 2,000
Total (high scenario) 314,310 18,757 28,727 48,384 65,564 361,794 113,948
Road congestion
(delay costs) - min. 98,416 4,836 2,439 13,827 26,695 105,691 40,522
Road congestion
(delay costs) - max. 161,331 7,729 3,841 27,633 42,660 172,901 70,293
Source: CE Delft, Infras, Fraunhofer ISI - External Costs of Transport in Europe (November, 2011) [4]
Table 5 - Total external costs 2008 for EU-27 by cost category and transport mode – Other modes
Total external costs in Mio €/a
Rail Aviation Waterborne
Cost Category Passenger
Transport Freight Transport Passenger (within EU) Freight Transport Accidents 238 71 223 0 Air pollution 1,092 483 426 782
Climate change high scenario 630 435 22,166 516
Climate change low scenario 108 74 3,796 88
Noise 477 476 457 0
Up- and downstream high scenario 3,354 1,975 3,356 194
Up- and downstream low scenario 1,633 1,099 1,849 113
Nature & landscape 75 21 296 64
Biodiversity losses 1 1 40 69
Soil & water pollution 220 164 0 0
Urban effects 229 59 0 0
Total (high scenario) 6,318 3,686 26,964 1,625 Source: CE Delft, Infras, Fraunhofer ISI - External Costs of Transport in Europe (November, 2011) [4]
Considering the data presented previously for the EU and that, in a brief examination, this trend is similar in almost any country, it is clear the importance of reducing the external costs of transport if governments intend to promote more sustainable mobility to their communities. Furthermore, focusing especially in passenger transport, the data give good indications that shifting travels from private car to other modes should be a priority, since it has the second highest average cost (64.7 €/1,000pkm*a), is the main cause of congestion and, as consequence, represents by far the biggest share in the total external costs of the transport sector.
2.2 REDUCING ROAD TRANSPORT EXTERNAL COSTS
There is a wide range of policies and measures to reduce road transport externalities. According to Timilsina and Dulal [5], these policies can be divided in three different types: Fiscal policy instruments, Regulatory policy instruments and Planning & Investment, as shown in the figure 1.
Figure 1 - Classification of Policies and Measures to Reduce Urban Road Transport Externalities
2.2.1 FISCAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS
Some of these policies are based on the concept of internalizing external costs. The internalization enables to equalize the taxes paid for the travel and the total costs supported by the entire society making the transport users consider these costs during the decision process. As examples of fiscal policies, we can mention:
- Fuel Taxes: initially adopted to increase government revenues has shown its potential to reduce vehicle mileage and to make people switch to smaller and more efficient vehicles;
- Vehicle Taxes: aims to discourage car ownership; - Emission Taxes
- Congestion charges: systems as the one adopted in Milan (Area C) can achieve great results in reducing traffic congestion in specific urban areas, like city centre. - Parking charges: system like the Milanese “strisce blu” (Blue Lines), according to
which an hourly rate must be paid, and the exchange car parks in the suburban area of Milan are examples of parking charges
Subsidies are another commonly adopted policy. Instead of creating additional charges for transport users to make them avoid undesirable modes, subsidies aims to directly encourage people to choose more sustainable mobility solutions. The subsidies usually are headed to clean fuels (Ethanol, Biodiesel), clean vehicles (Electric and Hybrid vehicles) and public transport. The first and second choices allow reducing emissions thanks to more sustainable technologies, while the last one has the potential to reduce also congestion through the modal shift from private to public transport.
Public Transport, most of the time, has to be subsidized. In developing countries, a relevant part of the population has no financial means to pay the fare without the governmental support. Thus, the public transport subsidy, besides reducing congestion and emission related to traffic, can be considered a mechanism of social and economic inclusion. Meanwhile, in developed countries, even if this mechanism is not socially determinant, incentives to public transport have the potential to induce an important modal shift from individual to collective passenger transport.
2.1.2 REGULATORY INSTRUMENTS
Regulatory instruments aims to stimulate the development of new mobility solutions through restrictive technical requirements. These mobility solutions, then, must be designed to meet limit of emissions and efficiency standards of fuel consumption. Both requirements demand from traditional automobile industry improvements on the combustion process inside internal combustion engines. Regulatory mechanisms can be applied also to fuel industry by the definition of quality levels to the fuel produced, which has direct impact on the subsequent emissions
Another example of regulatory instruments is the definition of “car free” areas usually in the city centre, as in many European cities. In Sao Paolo, the Brazilian most populous city, it was adopted twenty years ago a vehicle rotation inside the expanded city centre during the weekdays based on the last number of the car plate.
2.1.3 INVESTIMENTS
If governments intend to reduce transport externalities through modal shift, the transport mode that will absorb an increasing demand has to offer high quality services to be considered appealing by the potential users. An attractive transport service is the one that, at the same time, is compatible with the citizen’s willingness to pay and meet their requirements in terms of comfort, reliability, coverage and safety. To reach a satisfactory level of service in each of these requirements, it is necessary to invest in all the aspects that influence transit operation: infrastructure, vehicles, employees, and user information.
Investments in infrastructure can be destined to implementation of new mobility systems, as BRT, railways, trams and electric bus systems, and to the improvement and maintenance of the existing infrastructure as transport stops, sidewalk, bike lanes, roads and railways in order to upgrade the service performance. In the case of vehicles, their maintenance is crucial to the service reliability, while purchasing more technological ones can directly reduce the external costs related to emissions. Employees training is important to ensure the respect of procedures and thus meet safety standards. Finally, user information is important to facilitate the access to the public transport network and favour the integration of the different services available. [6]
2.1.4 URBAN PLANNING
The correlation between urban density and automobile dependence is broadly accepted. Unlike most of the European cities, many places, especially in the United States and in some developing countries, experienced a rapid urban sprawl characterized by the segregation of land uses and the emergence of residential suburbs. The abyss generated between residences and city centralities - workplaces, educational centres, commercial centres and other service areas – has an enormous impact in travel distances and consequently in fuel consumption with its external costs related to emissions.
Besides the increase of energy consumption caused by longer travels, the urban sprawl phenomenon is always followed by the emergence of low-density areas, which creates hard obstacles to public transport, notably the traditional systems. These transit services need a minimum demand to become economically feasible, and this limit sometimes shows to be incompatible with the typical urban density of suburbs. The result usually is a mobility offer with poor quality in these areas, particularly in terms of frequency and coverage, which contributes to the automobile dependence and therefore to congestion, with all the additional costs common to road transport.
Both aspects presented in the last two paragraphs, distance of commuting travels and low-density areas, not accidentally, were considered as the dependent variables in the studies of Young et al (2016) [7]: “Transportation costs and urban sprawl in Canadian metropolitan areas”.
In this way, it is clear the importance of governmental strategies that prevent urban sprawl and how they can be important to control transit externalities. Some of the typical solutions usually proposed to reduce this phenomenon are presented in Habibi and Asadi (2011) [8]:
- Create urban boundaries;
- Citizen participation in providing infrastructure costs; - Betterment of low-income household’s living conditions; - Redevelopment of inner-core regions;
- Control growth and protection of lands; - Urban consolidation
Considering all the strategies presented before, from fiscal to urban planning, it is possible to claim that the right combination of these tools to each local reality, can generate a positive impact on external cost of transit services, reducing the private car dependence, especially through a relevant modal shift to public transport.
2.3 TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
The concept of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) was created by Peter Calthorpe and became widely known when he published “The New American Metropolis” in 1993 [9]. At that time, it was considered a solution for many typical American cities addressed to reduce urban sprawl, traffic congestion, increasing air pollution and as consequence to a more sustainable transport modal share.
TOD was defined by Still (2002) as “a mixed-use community that encourages people to live near transit services and to decrease their dependence on driving” [9]. This definition is partially shared with the California Department of Transportation (2001), which presents TOD as a “moderate to higher density development, located within an easy walk of a major transit stop, generally with a mix of residential, employment, and shopping opportunities designed for pedestrians without excluding the auto. TOD can be new construction or redevelopment of one or more buildings whose design and orientation facilitate transit use”
Bernick and Cervero (1997) went further and defined TOD more precisely as “a compact, mixed-use community, centered around a transit station that, by design, invites residents, workers, and shoppers to drive their cars less and ride mass transit more. The transit village extends roughly a quarter mile from a transit station, a distance that can be covered in about 5 minutes by foot. The centrepiece of the transit village is the transit station itself and the civic and public spaces that surround it. The transit station is what connects village residents to the rest of the region.”
Regardless the definition, some aspects are typical of TOD and were considered, by Cervero et al. (2002) [11], the core of the concept:
- Mixed-use development
- High quality transit services available
Other two important aspects that can be included are compactness and pedestrian- and cycle-friendly environs.
Even if the TOD approach seems to provide the answers to induce modal shift to public transport, reduce automobile dependence and improve cities’ environment, it presents its own limitations.
A critique, presented in Deboosere et al. (2018) [12], is that the TOD approach “only considers access to transit, but not the accessibility that is provided by transit”, which represents how easy is to reach different destinations using the transport service. To the authors, the Accessibility-oriented development would be able to solve the “connection between transit investment and land use at both local and broader spatial scale” that sometimes is overlooked by the TOD approach.
Another limitation that constantly emerges is how to deal with consolidated low-density areas, where strategies to increase urban low-density are not compatible. Small towns, suburbs of metropolitan areas and heritage areas – whether natural, historical or cultural – are examples of contexts where the TOD approach can face challenges due to density restrictions.
According to Nigro et al. (2019) [13], TOD application in high-density areas usually focus only the walkable area around the main transit point of access, which becomes problematic in the case of low-density areas, where the expansion of transit catchment area is essential. Walking, cycling, private car and other feeder services, thus, must be considered when defining the TOD strategies for these urban contexts. The study highlights the potential of feeder transport strategies also for metropolitan areas, since they promote improvements in transit accessibility and consequently improvements of the overall quality of service.
Besides the active modes – walking and cycling - and private car, the typical solutions of feeder services are fixed bus routes. This kind of service faces great challenges to be economic feasible due to low-demand, requiring high subsidies and generating repetitive losses to public administrations. The ordinary decision, then, was to reduce frequency and coverage of the service in order to control the economic unbalance. The result is inevitably poor quality mobility to the area, which makes the service less attractive to potential users and finally reduce bus ridership. We can say that it creates a vicious circle that at the limit will
lead to the suspension of the transit service. Exactly in these situations, Flexible Transport Services (FTS) can play an important role to maintain the supply of high quality public transport and to curb increase of private car travels. Flexible Transport Services, therefore, constitute a relevant alternative to contain external costs of transport and consequently to achieve the goal of more sustainable transport systems.
2.4 FLEXIBLE TRANSPORT SERVICES
According to Mulley et al. (2012) [14], Flexible Transport Services can be defined as “passenger transport which covers a range of mobility offers where services are flexible in one or more of the dimensions of route, vehicle allocation, vehicle operator, type of payment and passenger category. The following figure illustrates how these flexibility dimensions can vary:
Figure 2 - Dimensions of flexibility in public transport services
Source: Brake et al. (2006) [15]
The flexibility of FTS allows providing more accessible and efficient transit systems in low-density areas.
As said before, conventional bus services, in these contexts, usually operate with high and constrained subsidies forcing trade-offs between coverage area and frequency. The results of this economic limitation are different accessibility gaps, presented by Mulley et al. (2012):
- Spatial gap: lack of service related to coverage area
- Time gap: no service offer at the time required by the user or journeys longer than expected by users
- Physical gap: some groups of users cannot access conventional vehicles - Information gap: essential information is not provided to the user - Economic gap: services are more expensive than the users can afford - Cultural/Attitudinal gap: issues around the use of transit services
Especially the first three accessibility gaps can be solved by the introduction of FTS. Solving these obstacles means direct improvements of the overall level of service. Consequently, more appealing transport system will be offered to the citizens contributing to growth of transit ridership instead of continuous growth of private car travels.
In this way, FTS demonstrate its potential to integrate a more sustainable transport policy. Moreover, the sustainability of FTS contemplate whether social, economic or environmental aspects: social, once it has the ability to respond to special needs of disabled and elderly users; economic, since it can be viable even in low-density areas and, finally, environmental, because of its potential to increase public transport patronage.
CHAPTER 3 – DEMAND RESPONSIVE TRANSPORT (DRT)
3.1 DEFINITIONS
Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) is a typology of the Flexible Transport Services presented before. Researchers responsible for the Review of Demand Responsive Transport in Scotland (2006) [16] defined DRT as “any form of transport where day-to-day service provision is influenced by the demands of users”.
Even though FTS is a wider concept compared to DRT, these systems get confused many times. Hence, for the scope of this study, demand responsive transport will be considered as a transit service whose operation is directly influenced by the users’ requests, possibly in real-time.
3.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
According to Riley et al. (2014) [17], the first DRT systems were part of rural transport experiments in the United Kingdom in the 1960’s. A second push was generated by the bus deregulation in the UK, following the Transport Act 1985. An important implication of this governmental movement was the emergence of non-conventional dial-a-ride transport systems to support special mobility needs of elderly and disabled groups.
As said in the last chapter and in Mulley and Daniels (2012) [18], public transport has a relevant social value of ensuring equality. A high quality transit system should be able to offer to all city dwellers similar opportunities of access to urban services and educational, economic and cultural activities. Moving in this direction, Sweden was the first country to adopt an inclusive transport policy. Later on, the same attitude was taken by UK, according to the Transport Act 1985 cited before, and, finally, in the United States in 1990 following the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The conventional transport systems usually were not adapted to the special needs of people with disabilities. Neither low floor buses that facilitate boarding nor appropriate space to handicapped people were available in the traditional vehicles. Elderly people used to face similar difficulties to access transit services because of their impaired mobility. In order to
overcome these obstacles, public authorities invested in DRT running in parallel with ordinary systems.
DRT systems addressed to users with special needs, in the United States, are commonly named Paratransit. According to the report Creative Ways to Manage Paratransit Costs, prepared by the Centre for Urban Transportation Research of the University of South Florida [18], the typical costs of providing paratransit services include, for example:
- Specialized training for service operators that will assist special passengers - Purchase of specialized vehicles (low floor buses, lift-equipped vans) - Technologies and employees dedicated to the reservation process
- Technologies to establish the best schedule, coordinating travel routes, pick-up and drop-off locations and respecting users time requests.
Considering all these elements, the total cost of providing paratransit can become excessively high, sometimes 7 to 10 times more expensive per trip than a conventional fixed bus route.
Another aspect concerning traditional paratransit systems, cited in Nelson et al. (2010) [20] was the rapid aging of the population. The growth of elderly people percentage compared to the total population increases the pressure on dedicated services since they have to contemplate more and more people.
The governmental response to this scenario of general increasing costs has been strategies like reducing duplicated offer, best service coordination and open access DRT. The first strategy aims to shift part of the demand of dedicated systems to conventional ones when the routes derived from special users’ requests coincide with the routes of the traditional transport option. This is possible only if transport operators improve service accessibility – low floor vehicles in conventional routes, trained staff, etc. The second strategy will be illustrated hereafter and it is directly related to the organizational scheme adopted by transport agencies and to technological solutions that enable operational costs reduction. Finally, the last strategy was to move from special services, dedicated to elderly and disabled riders, to open access DRT. This meant a break with the idea that mostly contributed to the dissemination of flexible transport systems.
The hypothesis behind DRT systems opened to general customers was that, once a larger number of users would support the operational costs, this would allow reducing the need of subsidization. Open access DRT services ideally have the advantage of increasing vehicle occupation. It is not uncommon to observe DRT systems running with empty or almost empty vehicles and filling these spots with general users would help to make the service economically feasible.
3.3 ORGANIZATIONAL SCHEMES
The development of creative organizational schemes is determinant to produce conditions of maximum efficiency of DRT systems and, as consequence, it is crucial to face the economic challenges of providing door-to-door service. The DRT coordination process involves different procedures, especially reservation, scheduling and dispatching. These procedures evolved over time and allowed identifying three different coordination schemes.
Initially, DRT systems used to operate in dial-a-ride schemes. Potential riders should make their requests some days before the desired travel and then the transport operator would be in charge of planning the service – route and schedule – most of the times manually, and considering other eventual requests. These services faced strong criticism because of their low flexibility.
As presented in Mageean and Nelson (2003) [20], an evolution of the traditional dial-a-ride systems were telematics based DRT. Travel Dispatch Centres (TDC) were, then, responsible to manage passenger travel demand. These TDCs used to operate with “booking and reservation systems which have the capacity to dynamically assign passengers to vehicles and optimize the routes”. Once established the best schedule and route, this information was sent to the driver before the trip. The figure 2 shows the scheme of telematics based DRT.
Figure 3 - Schematic representation of telematics-based DRT services.
Source: Brake et al. (2006) [15]
A further development of Demand Responsive Transport was its integration with other transport systems. By that time, DRT services were conducted by single operators and without coordination with the whole transport offer. The possibility of exploring the benefits of a better coordination was analysed during the FAMS Trial Project. The acronym FAMS means Flexible Agency for Demand Responsive Collective Mobility Services.
According to FAMS Final Report [21], the Flexible Mobility Agency would be responsible for providing “DRT services in a multi-service and multi-operator context”. FAMS aimed, thus, to enable well-coordinated provision of DRT services by “improving communication, integration and cooperation amongst all the actors involved in the DRT domain, e.g. transport service planners, transport providers and end-users”. The organizational scheme of this Flexible Mobility Agency is presented figure 4.
The next table shows a correlation between the DRT organizational schemes previously discussed and the evolution of DRT systems presented on the FAMS Final Report [21]:
Table 6 - Evolution of DRT organizational systems
Level Category Description Organizational Scheme 1 Basic Dial/write-in flexible transport service, all bookings and assignment
manual - no ITS support. Dial-a-ride
2 Stand-alone Real-world commercial system with ITS supported services. Ranges from one to many services through a single TDC.
Telematics Based
3 Expanded
agency
Collaboration of multiple service providers to provide integrated service from user viewpoint. Reduces tasks and overheads for operators. Exploits synergies and optimizes resource utilization.
Flexible Mobility Agency
Figure 4 - The organizational reference model for the FAMS Flexible Mobility Agency
Source: FAMS Final Report (2004) [21]
3.4. TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
The organizational evolution of DRT systems was followed by technological developments, especially of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Data Processing.
According to the Review of Demand Responsive Transport in Scotland [16], the major benefit of ICT is that “higher numbers of journey requests and short or real time requests can be made direct to vehicles”. Generally, it is possible to say that these technologies created a transport system able to manage large number of requests and immediately respond to users’ demands. The high responsiveness in a context of multiple agents means an important competitive advantage to DRT systems. The possibility of continuous adaptation towards user requests makes the service more appealing to potential riders, promoting higher patronage.
The publication Demand Responsive Transport Services: Towards the Flexible Mobility Agency (2003) [22] provides a complete compilation of technologies for DRT systems in its Chapter 4. DRT control centres, Customer devices, On-board units and Long-range communication network are presented with their applications to the transport sector. The
Good practice guide for demand responsive transport services using telematics, published by Brake et al. (2006) [15] also dedicates part of its focus to technologies employed in Flexible Transport Systems.
3.4.1 DRT CONTROL CENTRES
The DRT Control Centre is responsible for:
- Order management: trip acceptance, refusal and modification;
- Service planning and scheduling: routes, stop time delay, trip time estimation and vehicle assignment;
- Service monitoring
Technological development of DRT Control Centres was strictly related to the evolution of the organizational schemes previously presented. Initially, all the procedures cited were done manually. The evolution to Travel Dispatch Centres meant the substitution of manual operations by software systems able to process travel requests automatically, establishing the optimum route and schedule based on a large travel demand. The last evolution enabled integration of different operators and represents the basis for the development of a concept currently known as Mobility as a Service (MaaS). This concept will be resumed later on.
3.4.2 CUSTOMER DEVICES
Travel booking, eventual cancellations and information requests are common reasons for users to contact the DRT operators. Traditionally, the devices used to access DRT services were telephone and web-based services. Nowadays, both were broadly replaced by smartphones with “apps” similar to private e-hailing systems.
Thanks to the great diffusion of smartphones, each user, through his own device, is able to book a trip using a simple “mobile app”, like Uber, Lyft, Easy Taxi or another e-hailing service. The basic procedure consists of:
1. Pick-up location: instantly determined by mobile GPS or informed by the user; 2. Drop-off location: informed by the user;
3. Payment: user must choose between cash, credit card or online payment platforms; 4. Real-time monitoring of the vehicle location;
3.4.3 VEHICLE LOCATIONING
On board devices that continuously inform vehicle location and status are essential for service planning and vehicle assignment when a new travel request arrives. These systems evolved from manual to automatic procedures, like:
- Dead reckoning methods based on odometers
- Stop recognition based on door sensors and odometers - Global Positioning System (GPS) installed in vehicles
- Map-matching methods based on collected data and a network model
Once determined the vehicle position, it is necessary to communicate this information to the service management center that will establish the next destination and route. As cited before, the vehicle position is informed nowadays also to the user, which can control instantly the arrival of the vehicle assign to him.
3.4.4 FARE COLLECTION
Initially, a specific employee used to carry out the payment operation manually. Afterwards, smart cards that can be charged by public transport users and fare collection devices on buses were adopted once “they allow automated management of payment operations and additional functions such as customer validation or passenger counting” (Brake et. Al – 2006) [15]. Finally, recent financial solutions – credit cards and online payment platforms - opened great opportunities to improve DRT payment procedures and were integrated to transportation smartphone apps.
3.4.5 TRAVEL INFORMATION SYSTEMS
In a situation of complex transport network, integrated by different transit modes, it is crucial to provide information about the other services and the possibility of connections between the conventional service and DRT service. Initially the only possibility was to rely on paper timetables of fixed-route transport and the time forecasts provided before the departure of a DRT trip. The advances on vehicle positioning instruments and congestion assessment allowed providing more accurate information about both conventional and flexible transport systems.
3.4.6 COMMUNICATION NETWORK
The technological developments presented lately were responsible for many improvements on DRT systems:
- Increased responsiveness towards passengers requests; - Facilitated booking procedures;
- Users’ control of vehicle location before arrival; - Possibility of immediate feedback after a trip; - Simplified payment operations;
- Best coordination with other transport services.
It is important to highlight, however, that all these improvements depend on a working communication network. Making these potential improvements truly generate a better service to the passengers it is only possible if the information can be exchanged between the three fundamental agents involved: passenger, vehicle and control centre.
Aiming to provide a high quality network, the communication sector has to invest great amounts of financial resources to maintain the existing network, expand its coverage area and increase its data transfer capacity, since more and more information is generated and has to be processed. Thanks to these investments, the communication network used in transport operations evolved from telephone network to Internet and, finally, to mobile communications systems - GSM, GPRS, 3G and 4G.
3.4.7 DATA PROCESSING
As cited previously, the continuous digitization of transport systems creates an increasing amount of information. Each one of the technological components generate different types of data that together are able to describe users’ mobility behaviours and, thus, are able to indicate how to successfully manage transit operational parameters influencing users’ decision towards a wide range of transport options. Indeed, this attribute of digital devices opened a new branch of scientific knowledge generally known as Big Data Analysis.
According to Gartner’s definition, presented on its IT Glossary [23], Big Data is “high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets”. In fact, as stated in the study Big Data and Transport: Understanding and assessing options, published by the International
Transport Forum composed by OECD countries [24], Big Data emerged thanks to “rapidly decreasing costs for collecting, storing and processing, and then disseminating data”.
Associated with Machine Learning tools, the increased availability of data allows great development of Intelligent Transport Systems. As presented on the chapter Machine Learning in Transportation Data Analytics, by Bhavsar et al. [25], this technological framework allows identifying traffic flows, drivers’ behaviour and public transport ridership patterns in real time. The most impacting advantages, however, are its aptitude to predict traffic congestion, operational coordination, making the service more attractive to users and reducing general costs of providing it.
3.5 CATEGORIES OF DRT SYSTEMS
3.5.1 ELDERLY AND DISABLED DEDICATED DRT
As presented at the section about the historical development of flexible transport services, responding to special needs of elderly and disabled citizens was one of the main motivations for the emergence of such systems, since the first dial-a-ride schemes. They represented important instruments of social inclusion, following new legislations about disabled people rights.
According to the European Commission, can be considered disabled person or person with reduced mobility “any person whose mobility when using transport is reduced due to physical disability, intellectual disability or impairment, or any other cause of disability, or age”. Typically, the first DRT services were dedicated exclusively to this user segment and were characterized by special vehicles - low floor and lift-equipped – and specialized staff.
Despite the current trend of making the transport network completely accessible for all users, exclusive services are still relatively widespread, particularly in developing countries, where budget constraints limit the heavy investments required to reach improved levels of accessibility.
In the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a special mobility service free of charge named “ATENDE SP” has been operating for more than 20 years serving exclusively users with autism spectrum disorder, deaf blindness or severe mobility restrictions and their companions. The service is coordinated by the municipal transport company (SPTrans) and operated by private collective
transport companies or cooperatives of wheelchair accessible taxis. The service is operated between 07:00 and 20:00 from Monday to Sunday. The potential users must register themselves and from this moment are allowed to book up to 6 regular trips per week plus eventual trips for medical visits or cultural/sports activities [26]. The origins and destinations of all journeys must be inside the municipal territory of Sao Paulo. Currently, the service includes 450 adapted vehicles, illustrated in the following figure. In 2015 ATENDE SP had a budget of R$71.0 million (approximately 15.8M€ considering the exchange rate of 15th May, 2019) and in May, 2015 operated more than 125,000 trips totalizing a travelled distance of more than 1.5 million kilometres [27]. According to the city hall, the service is positively evaluated by its users, with 98% of approval rating, and received national and international recognition awards.
Figure 5 - ATENDE SP adapted vehicle
Source: SPTrans
3.5.2 RURAL DRT
Rural areas are another common context suffering with lack of public transport systems and poor accessibility. As well as low density suburbs, transport authorities have to deal with high operational costs originated by longer travelled distances and low ticket revenue due to insufficient ridership. As a result, many rural communities and small villages in the countryside remain socially excluded.
Aiming to overcome this accessibility gap, a DRT service called Ring a Link in 2001 was implemented in the southeast of Ireland, in the counties of Kilkenny, Carlow and Wicklow. Besides fighting against social exclusion of rural communities, Ring a Link aimed to optimize resources integrating the rural network to the conventional transport structure, with some services designed as feeders of main transport systems, and improving the route choice and trip combining procedures using IT technologies presented previously.
As stated in a report of the European project named SMARTA (“Smart Rural Transport Areas”) about the Ring a Link service [28], it covers an area around 5,000km² and serves a rural population of almost 140,000 people. Even if the counties present a consistent intercity and regional transport offer, the internal transit network should be improved.
Ring a Link is one of the 17 Transport Coordination Units that receive financial support of the National Transport Authority of Ireland. Besides the service coordination, Ring a Link is also responsible for the operation of 30 vehicles running as fixed-route services or DRT services. The DRT services operate as flexible routes, 21 in total, available essentially once a week ensuring at least one opportunity to travel for anyone without private vehicle.
Since the main goal of the service is to combat social exclusion and isolation, the fares are kept as low as possible - €3 per one-way trips for adults, €2 for under 16s and free for under 5. Elders, people with disability and other people owning the Free Travel Pass can travel for free. The entity is classified as not-for-profit and receive, apart from the ticket revenue, financial support mainly from the National Transport Authority and funds from the Department of Social Protection.
The service results over more than 15 years of operation are solid and the total ridership in 2017 reached 143,000 trips. The success factors highlight in the report [28] are the strong connection with the community, which allowed to better understand the priorities and needs of each area and to communicate the service offer to the potential users, and the stability of funding that allowed to hire competent managers and to invest in IT technologies to improve operational standards. The difficulties, on the other hand, are related to the lack of formal policies and targets for rural mobility systems and the restricted resources that limited service expansion or improvement even in increasing demand scenarios.
