Public transport equity in Shenyang: Using structural equation modelling

Prelims

THE POLICY OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT IN PURWOKERTOABSTRAKPotensi kemacetan telah terlihat Purwokerto sebagai salah satu kota transit di Indonesia. Potensi ini terjadi akibat lonjakan jumlah kendaraan pribadi, sementara angkutan umum kian ditinggalkan karena kualitas layanannya yang kurang memadai dan tidak mampu menjawab tuntutan publik. Hal ini mengindikasikan gagalnya kebijakan tata kelola transportasi publik yang diselenggarakan pemerintah daerah. Untuk itu, sebuah alternatif kebijakan diperlukan guna mengatasi masalah transportasi publik. Pengembangan alternatif kebijakan dilakukan dengan teknik participatory policy analysis dalam paradigma analisis kebijakan deliberaitf. Teknik analisis kebijakan yang menekankan pada pengembangan alternatif kebijakan dengan melibatkan unsur masyarakat yang terkait dengan kebijakan dalam proses dialog untuk mengembangkan alternatif kebijakan. Proses dialog untuk pengembangan alternatif kebijakan tersebut dilakukan dengan memerhatikan aspek reciprocity, relationship, learning dan creativity di antara aktor kebijakan. Penelitian dilakukan dengan pendekatan penelitian kualitatif, dengan pemilihan informan menggunakan teknik pusposive sampling terhadap mereka yang dianggap berkompeten dan mewakili setiap unsur masyarakat yang terkait dengan kebijakan transportasi publik di Purwokerto. Penelitian berhasil bahwa pilihan kebijakan reformasi pengelolaan transportasi publik merupakan alternatif ideal untuk menjawab tuntutan publik akan transportasi publik yang berkualitas dan dapat diandalkan. Berdasarkan temuan penelitian, meskipun proses dialog kolaboratif mampu menghasilkan alternatif kebijakan, namun proses dialog itu sendiri tidak terjadi tanpa ada fasilitative leadership dan civil society. Komitmen elit pemerintah yang memfasilitasi (fasilitative leadership) dan adanya kesadaran serta wahana bagi masyarakat menyuarakan kepentingannya (civil society) menjadi aspek yang melengkapi model collaborative policy making.ABSTRACTThe potency of traffic density and congestion is already visible in Purwokerto as one of the city transit in Indonesia. It occurs due to the surge in the number of private vehicles, while public transportation is increasingly abandone, because the public transportation is no longer able to fulfill the public demand with its inadequate quality service. This indicates the failure of public transportation management policy organized by local government. Therefore, an alternative public transportation is needed to address the problem. The problem that arises in this research is what is the alternative policy that can be taken by local government? The development of policy alternative is carried out with Participatory Policy Analysis (PPA) technique. PPA was a deliberative policy analysis technique emphasize on the effort of alternative policy development by involving the public elements associated with public transportation policy were involved in the dialogue process to develop policy alternative. The dialogue process to develop the policy alternative was carried out by observing the aspect of reciprocity, relationship, learning, and creativity among the policy actors. This research was carried out using qualitative approach, with the selection of informant using purposive sampling technique. This research has found the public transportation reform policy are the most likely alternative to solve public interest about quality of public transportation. This research also has successfully developed the model of collaborative policy making based on the research finding, although the process of collaborative dialogue is able to produce the alternative policy; however this process of dialogue itself is not going to happen without the facilitative leadership and civil society. The commitment of government in facilitating (facilitative leadership), the awareness and a place for people to voice their interest can be the aspects that complete the model of collaborative policy making.

Successful implementation of public transportation reform cannot be achieved without studying transportation behavior of citizens. The results of an empirical analysis of the behavior of St. Petersburg residents presented in this article make it possible to assess what transportation policies will be successful in attracting car users to travel by public transport. The aim of the study was to identify the patterns of transportation behavior in St. Petersburg: attractiveness of various transportation modes, mode choice factors as well as satisfaction with public transport and transportation policies aimed at stimulating the use of public transport. The research methodology includes survey of the population and the analysis of descriptive information from the data obtained. In addition, principal component analysis was applied for travel factors grouping. The results of this study may be used in elaboration of transportation policies aimed at changing transportation behavior of the citizens. The main finding of this study is the relative importance of trip time for public transport in contrast to private car.

Introduction: This study assesses the economic feasibility of implementing electric buses in Juiz de Fora - MG, considering acquisition, operation, and maintenance costs compared to diesel models. The methodology is based on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis, considering factors such as charging infrastructure, energy consumption, government incentives, environmental impact, and public policies related to electromobility.The results indicate that, although electric buses present 24% lower maintenance costs and up to 88.9% reduction in electricity expenses when combined with solar energy, the high initial acquisition cost and the need for structural investments compromise their economic feasibility in the short term. Additionally, implementing charging infrastructure represents a significant financial challenge for public transport operators. However, the analysis shows that alternative financing models, such as battery leasing and public-private partnerships (PPPs), can mitigate some of the financial challenges. Furthermore, more robust public policies, such as government subsidies, tax exemptions, and differentiated electricity tariffs, are essential to enable the energy transition in the public transport sector. Thus, this study reinforces the need for economic and regulatory strategies to facilitate fleet electrification, making urban transport more efficient, sustainable, and economically accessible in the long run. Objective: This article aims to analyze the economic feasibility of implementing electric buses in public transport in Juiz de Fora - MG, considering acquisition, operation, and maintenance costs compared to diesel buses. To achieve this, factors such as energy efficiency, charging infrastructure, government incentive policies, and available financing models will be evaluated. Additionally, the study seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities associated with transitioning to an electric fleet in the city, providing subsidies for decision-making by public managers and transport companies. Theoretical Framework: The study highlights the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis, financing models for electromobility, public policies for sustainable transport, and environmental impacts of fleet electrification, providing a solid foundation for understanding the research context. Method: The methodology adopted in this research follows a quantitative approach, based on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis and the economic feasibility assessment of fleet electrification. Data was collected from operational cost surveys, energy consumption analysis, and investments in charging infrastructure, supplemented by information from case studies and secondary sources, such as technical reports and industry regulations. Results and Discussion: The results revealed that, despite up to 24% lower maintenance costs and up to 88.9% electricity savings when using solar energy, the high initial cost of electric buses and charging infrastructure compromises their economic feasibility in the short term. In the discussion section, these results are contextualized within the theoretical framework, emphasizing the importance of government subsidies, tax incentives, and alternative financing models to enable fleet electrification. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the findings can influence sustainable mobility and electromobility practices. These implications include public policy planning for urban transport, the adoption of financing models for electric fleets, and the feasibility of integrating renewable energy into the sector. Additionally, the findings may contribute to strategies that reduce economic barriers and encourage the transition to a more efficient and sustainable public transport system. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the economic feasibility of fleet electrification in a medium-sized city in Brazil, a topic still underexplored in local contexts. The innovative approach includes the integration of solar energy as an alternative to reducing operational costs, expanding the debate on sustainability in public transport. The relevance and value of this research are highlighted by its potential impact on public policy formulation, urban planning, and the adoption of more accessible financial models for energy transition in the mobility sector.

The Quality-of-Service (QoS) criteria for public transport are not consistently met for all passengers, particularly vulnerable groups such as women, older adults, and people with disabilities. Women frequently travel for caregiving, carry heavy items, and travel with children, underscoring the need for improved accessibility conditions and customer care. Additionally, they face risks of assault and harassment, particularly in overcrowded environments, which have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older public transport users prioritize safety, accessibility, and comfort, with key concerns including easy access, comfortable seating, and little noise. Fear of falling and anxiety, exacerbated by factors like high steps and poor design, can discourage the use of public transport. People with disabilities encounter substantial obstacles when using public transport due to physical barriers, including narrow sidewalks and steep inclines that may increase the risk of falling. Common issues include inadequate shelters, poor lighting, and the inaccessibility of vehicles. Many individuals with disabilities prefer short waiting times at bus stops due to vulnerability, but they often experience bullying and stigma on public transport. Public transport is vital for achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Expanding public transport must meet the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, children, older adults, and persons with disabilities (Target 11.2). In this paper, we have highlighted the QoS factors that influence passenger waiting experiences at bus stops, which often significantly affect the choice of public transport as a travel option. We identified the QoS criteria pertinent to bus stops and outlined methods for evaluating quality based on established public transport standards. In accordance with the latest strategic objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, which seeks to establish inclusive public transport that offers accessible and comfortable services for vulnerable users—including women, older adults, and individuals with disabilities—we associated each QoS factor at bus stops with specific quality assessment checks. Additionally, we created a mystery shopping survey instrument in the form of a structured checklist. This checklist comprises 15 categories of QoS evaluations and clear instructions for conducting pertinent audits by trained researchers. The design and content of the mystery shopping checklist make it a useful tool for assessing QoS at bus stops. It also enables the documented recognition of service shortcomings, facilitating the rational prioritization of investments to improve service quality in public transport, particularly for integrating vulnerable groups within the community.

User Perception of Paratransit System Characteristics in the Context of Public Transport System

BackgroundSocial engagement and social isolation are key determinants of mental health in older age, yet there is limited evidence on how public policies may contribute to reducing isolation, promoting social...

Urban public transport plays a critical role in stimulating economic development of any nation since most of the revenues come from cities. The majority of the city dwellers of any country use public transport. The evaluation of public transport service quality provides a valuable feedback to commuter operators to ensure continuous improvement of level of service and to the government to take appropriate measures for enhancing the quality of public transport service. This paper analyses and evaluates service quality of Road Public Transport (RPT) (i.e. minibuses and buses) and Urban Rail Transport (URT) in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania. Since service quality and its attributes are intangible and vague, a fuzzy evaluation model is developed and applied. The formulated model is composed of Fuzzy Entropy Method (FEM) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The overall evaluation procedure is as follows: initially, an intensive literature search and experts’ opinions are employed to establish criteria for evaluating the service quality of public transport in Dar es Salaam City. The developed FEM is used to obtain criteria weight. Lastly, the formulated TOPSIS is used to provide an overall ranking of urban public transport service quality. The overall evaluation shows that urban rail transport outperforms road public transport in terms of service quality. Nevertheless, the urban rail transport service in Dar es Salaam City is currently not well developed as it is provided on very limited routes. Thus, the Tanzania government, the rail transport operator i.e. Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) and the agency responsible for the provision of rail infrastructure i.e. Reli Assets Holding Company (RAHCO) are advised to design and employ Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) schemes i.e. concession contracts to invest more in rolling stocks, locomotives and rail wagons so that the rail transport service is available on many routes of the road public transport to bring fair competition between the two operators.

The need to move is an inherent feature of every human life. Public transport should be one of the means of transport available to every human being. A fare-free public transport (FFPT) policy is under constant debate. Research among residents in rural areas provides an opportunity to discover whether FFPT is a key element of socially equitable development and understand the role of price, which can, at the same time, reduce car dependency. This research aims to understand the role of public transport fares in the travel decisions of people living in non-metropolitan rural areas in Poland. The primary data source used in this study is a survey conducted with the residents of 12 peripheral communes. This study revealed that price might not be as crucial in mobility strategies regarding free or paid public transport in non-metropolitan locations. This is mainly due to the poor quality of public transport.

Equal access to opportunities has emerged in public transport planning as a social objective that many transport agencies are trying to achieve. Yet in practice, not all public transport agencies are currently providing urban residents with comparable levels of service due to physical barriers in the public transport network that can significantly hinder the ability of individuals with physical disabilities to access opportunities. In countries without a strong federal accessibility act and/or with major financial constraints, some public transport agencies fall behind in applying universal access design principles, making it even harder for people with a physical disability to access opportunities. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology that can be used by public transport agencies or disability advocates to clearly highlight and quantify the performance of the public transport network in a region, in terms of providing transit services to people in a wheelchair and compare that to the service offered to an individual not in a wheelchair. In this study we use accessibility, the ease of reaching destinations, by public transport as the key performance measure in two major Canadian Cities (Montreal and Toronto). Furthermore, we focus on job accessibility in the most socially vulnerable census tracts in both cities, to evaluate levels of job accessibility for wheelchair users residing in socially vulnerable areas. The findings from our study show striking contrasts between the numbers of accessible jobs by public transport for wheelchair users compared to the general population. On average, wheelchair users in Toronto have access to 75% of jobs that are accessible to users that are not in a wheelchair, whilst their counterparts in Montreal have access to only 46% of the jobs accessible to other users. This research is expected to highlight for public transport engineers, planners, policy makers and advocates for those with disabilities, the importance of universal access in a region, especially along public transport networks, using a widely used land use and transport performance measure.

The right to transportation means the right of all citizens to move freely and safely regardless of economic, regional, physical, or social conditions. This, of course, includes the right to use public transportation and the right to move for the transportation vulnerable. Regarding public transport legislation as part of the right to transport, Germany is often cited as the country with the most well-established public transport system in Europe. The characteristics of Germany's public transport legislation can be summarized as follows. First, the German public transport legislation is responding quickly to the trend of the times. Second, public transport policy in Germany is, in principle, under the jurisdiction of the cantons. Third, the provision of financial support in German public transport laws is essential. Fourth, public transportation in Germany is integrated and maintained. Fifth, the German public transport law guarantees the right to move for the disabled. In order for all citizens to enjoy a universal level of transportation service, the right to transportation must first be a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. Based on this, a full-scale review of public transportation-related laws and regulations should be conducted. The case of Germany gives us many suggestions in this respect.

The current socio-economic conditions of some developed and developing countries are not favorable for the development of the public mass transport services. Most of the residents of large and medium-sized cities, but also smaller towns, use their own passenger car on mandatory trips. This phenomenon perfectly reflects the constantly growing of motorization index in such countries. The consequence of this is, of course, the decreasing number of passengers carried by means of public mass transport, in particular operating outside of large urbanized areas. This causes and unfortunately will cause not only further problems of automotive congestion on the transport networks of urban areas, reduction of the road safety level, but also adverse environmental effects in the form of pollution. The authors of the article analyzed the results of transport surveys, which were carried out in recent years among the public transport passengers. The surveys concerned the assessments and postulates and expectations of passengers. The research was carried out in one of the typical in terms of socio-economic conditions of Polish voivodships (a country dynamically developing in the passenger transport sector, in terms of both mobility, as well as the quantitative and qualitative status of transport means and transport infrastructure). The voivodship subjected to such analysis was the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship, located in the central part of Poland. The respondents were asked to speak on topics related to, among others, transport infrastructure, means of transport, access to services of public transport systems, comfort and safety of traveling. The analysis also included assessments and postulates related to tariff systems, travel information systems, and transport integration systems - functioning in the voivodship. The results of the research were analyzed by the rail passenger transport and bus passenger transport as part of the voivodship public transport system. In the majority of cases, passengers’ assessments were not satisfactory. The most frequently issued evaluations fluctuated only around the average (on a scale from 1 to 10). The authors have thoroughly analyzed the results of the transport survey, confronting the results obtained and trying to find out their causes depending on the characteristics of the area under analysis.

Is Socialization Through Digital Media Effective? A Study On Public Transportation Policy In Jakarta

Purpose The chapter presents experiences of volunteers to organise and operate public transport services in Germany. A brief overview of the practical issues and a discussion of the possibilities and limitations is given. Design/methodology/approach The work is based on the author’s experience as a consultant and researcher in the field. Findings Approximately 250 Bürgerbus presently exist, mainly in rural areas where everyday operations are carried out by a group of volunteers. Service planning is done in partnership with local authorities and transport providers, and benefits from the volunteers’ local knowledge. The services use small vehicles and have a complementary function in the transport system. They primarily cater to local shopping and leisure journeys and, although available to the general public, are predominantly used by pensioners. In recent years, the original concept has evolved and a much greater variety can now be seen. Social implications Beyond providing mobility, the establishment of a Bürgerbus service is an important community achievement and contributes to social cohesion. Variations in the general popularity of volunteering can also be seen in the differing numbers of Bürgerbus schemes in the German regions. Originality/value Civic engagement is an important resource for community life, which can also be used for improving mobility. However, experience shows that the professional public transport industry and transport policy must understand the volunteers’ motivations, provide a suitable framework and support to develop concepts tailored to local needs.

Developing the quality of public transport has an efficient impact to attract more users to switch modes from private vehicles to public transport, which has a tremendous capability in reducing the traffic congestion, noise and CO2 emissions the urban areas. For this reason, policy makers and scholars aim to enhance the supply quality of public transport system, where involving citizens along with experts and decision makers in the decision process will reflect the existed and future demand to provide more sustainable solutions which provide efficient solutions to achieve positive impacts on the local environment. This study intends to determine the preference of decision-makers and operators for the importance of the supply quality elements of urban bus transport services in Mersin city, Turkey. For this aim, decision makers and experts are involved in the evaluation process to provide feedback on public transport quality with the view of increasing the satisfaction and thus usage, with positive impacts on increased public transport modal share and dropped CO2 emission transport. In total we have formed list of three main criteria: transport quality, service quality and traceability which contains in total 21 sub-criteria. For determining all criteria weights we have formed in total 112 models using IMF SWARA (Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) method and for final determining criteria weights Fuzzy Bonferroni operator (FBO) has been used. Applying such model we have ensured stability in final values of criteria and have obtained optimal results based on preferences decision makers. The adopted results show that the most significant attribute in the system is the “Traceability” with highest weight score (0.398), followed by the “Transport quality” with weight score (0.334), however, the service quality rank as the last significant attribute with weight score (0.264). The originality of our work is conducting IMF SWARA method for improving the service quality of the public transport system.