JournalTOCs

Journal of Transport Geography
Journal Prestige (SJR): 1.571

Citation Impact (citeScore): 3
Number of Followers: 28

Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
ISSN (Print) 0966-6923 - ISSN (Online) 0966-6923
Published by Elsevier

[3203 journals]

Regional disparity and driving forces of CO2 emissions: Evidence from
China's domestic aviation transport sector
- Abstract: Publication date: April 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 76Author(s): Chuntao Wu, Xiaohe He, Yi Dou
High impact prioritization of bikeshare program investment to improve
disadvantaged communities' access to jobs and essential services
- Abstract: Publication date: April 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 76Author(s): Xiaodong Qian, Deb NiemeierAbstractBikeshare programs are increasingly popular in the United States and they offer an important alternative mode choice for many types of last-mile trips. Bikeshare systems have not captured high levels of ridership from disadvantaged populations, but there is some evidence that current bikeshare systems have specifically targeted certain populations to ensure sufficiently high demand for profitability. Far less attention has been paid to bikeshare programs' potential to provide greater access to jobs and essential services for disadvantaged communities. This paper uses two case study cities (Chicago and Philadelphia) to first, examine whether bikeshare systems have targeted specific populations, and to second, quantitatively assess the potential for bikeshare systems to provide greater accessibility for disadvantaged communities. Our results demonstrate that a well-designed bikeshare system can generate greater accessibility improvements for disadvantaged communities than the same system would produce for other populations. Using a newly developed spatial index that combines the potential for increased access to jobs and essential services, the level of bike infrastructure, and the disadvantaged population shares, we also find evidence that existing bikeshare systems have been specifically designed to target certain ridership. We find that locating stations in proximity to disadvantaged communities has the potential to increase household access (by bike and by bike-to-transit) to jobs and essential services and can close accessibility gaps between mobility constrained populations and critical services. The spatial index can be applied to identify potential locations to locate bikeshare stations (dock-based bikeshare systems) or rebalance bikes (dockless bikeshare systems) to address bikeshare equity issues.
The potential for coordinated logistics planning at the local level: A
Norwegian in-depth study of public and private stakeholders
- Abstract: Publication date: April 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 76Author(s): Astrid Bjørgen, Hanne Seter, Terje Kristensen, Kelly PiteraAbstractTransport is strongly linked to cities and affected by planning related to their future. Trends such as population growth and aging, liveable cities, infrastructure resilience, and changes in land use patterns are reshaping how people and goods move across urban areas. In Norway, local authorities are primarily responsible for facilitating these trends by incorporating related issues into their planning processes. In contrast to personal travel, freight transport and logistics have been neglected by local authorities in urban planning. Thus, in order to address freight transport in decision-making processes, local authorities need to have an increased understanding of urban freight and to pay more attention to freight transport and city logistics. The aim of the paper is to understand the potential for coordinated logistics planning at the local level. Interviews were held with representatives of public authorities and private stakeholders within the logistics supply chain in three Norwegian cities. It is necessary for local authorities to understand stakeholders' operations, perspectives, and attitudes in order to ensure that their involvement in urban planning will be constructive. The findings show that there are no overall strategies for urban freight or city logistics in the studied cities, although public authorities are concerned with issues related to urbanisation and sustainability that indirectly affect freight deliveries. Furthermore, there is poor capacity in planning and policymaking regarding freight. Local authorities comprise a number of fragmented departments and appear to lack resources dedicated to urban freight. However, such authorities realise the need for their contribution in the process of establishing urban logistics plans.
Segregation through space: A scope of the flow-based spatial interaction
model
- Abstract: Publication date: April 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 76Author(s): Yao ShenAbstractPeople are socially divided through urban space, where they experience segregation dynamically. By conceptualising mobilised social inclusion as the gravitational interactions between urban human flow patterns, this article introduces a framework for measuring the extent to which two trajectories interact with one another in daily activity space, in which a series of indices, theoretically equivalent to those developed in segregation research, are produced to capture the interaction potentials among various social groups from different perspectives. These scopes include absolute, relative and multi-group using pairs of places as analysis units, as well as place-based measurements that are very sensitive to the spatial configuration of the flow-based spatial interaction potentials. The application in the case of Greater London implies that the relative indices capture the spatial differentiation among various modes of interactions, portraying the between-domains exposure levels might be experienced by different occupations when they commute across places. The study demonstrates that mobilised interaction is influenced by between-domains mobility, and the proposed approach can provide a network understanding of social exposure through the edges between every two place nodes, going beyond existing place-based measurements. In addition, the changes between place-based results aggregated by origins and those determined by destinations showcase the dynamic shift of in-site exposure during peak hours. Though only commuting behaviours are demonstrated in this work, the framework introduced can be easily extended to the spatial interactions between any flow trajectories for any spatial unit, e.g., place (point-wise), place pairs (pair-wise), or specified routes (path-wise), within the activity space defined by time geography or the life-course domain approach.
Gender gap generators for bike share ridership: Evidence from Citi Bike
system in New York City
- Abstract: Publication date: April 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 76Author(s): Kailai Wang, Gulsah AkarAbstractBike-sharing is one of the rapidly growing transport services around the world. This study aims to identify the factors that affect gender differences in bike share ridership. Using data from New York City's Citi Bike Share system, we investigate the environmental correlates of bike share usage for males and females. We also model the influences of bicycle facilities, land use factors, and public transit services on the share of trip arrivals made by females. The results suggest that the environmental correlates of bike share usage for males and females are broadly similar. However, the estimated magnitudes suggest that our variables of interest may influence males and females differently. For example, installing more bicycle racks are positively associated with bike share ridership for both genders. We further find that this factor affects women more than men. Specifically, a 1% increase in the number of bicycle racks is correlated with a 1.18% increment in the share of trips arrivals made by women. The findings can be used to assess the effectiveness of future infrastructure investments aimed at minimizing the gender gap in bike share usage. The findings also offer valuable insights into the ways of increasing the overall bike share ridership, thereby promoting local bicycling culture.
Preferences for sustainable mobility in natural areas: The case of Teide
National Park
- Abstract: Publication date: April 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 76Author(s): Rosa Marina González, Concepción Román, Juan de Dios OrtúzarAbstractWe conducted a stated choice experiment with visitors to the Teide National Park (TNP), where a hypothetical park shuttle bus connecting its main points of interest was simulated. Using these data, we estimated a model focused on capturing systematic and random heterogeneity in the park visitors' preferences. We obtained visitors' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for saving time while searching for a parking space (when using cars), and also visitors' WTP for reducing the waiting time required to start the visit in the shuttle bus. Moreover, regarding the environmental impact of the visit, we obtained individuals' WTP for reducing CO2 emissions.Our results suggest that visitors would be willing to pay nearly 11€ for reducing the time spent finding a parking space and 9€ for reducing the waiting time to start the visit, in one hour; further, they would be willing to pay 3€ for reducing in 20 g the CO2 emissions per occupant. These values are higher for females, for German visitors and for those who are regular bike riders at their home location. Moreover, we found that visitors aged between 55 and 60 had the highest WTP.These results may be used to design transport management policies for relieving visitors' dependence on personal vehicles, helping to increase the visit quality and reduce the negative externalities associated with current mobility patterns in the park.
Forecasting Urban Travel: Past, Present and Future. David Boyce.
University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University, USA and Huw
Williams. Cardiff University, Edward Elgar Publishing, (£126.00
(Hardback), £32.00 (Paperback and eBook), ISBN: 978-1-84844-960-2
(Hardback), ISBN: 978 1 78471 360 7 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-78471-359-1
(eBook))
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 23 February 2019Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Greg Marsden
How does the built environment at residential and work locations affect
car ownership' An application of cross-classified multilevel model
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Chuan Ding, Xinyu CaoAbstractAlthough many studies investigate the connection between the residential built environment and car ownership, the literature offers limited evidence on the effect of work locations. Using data from the Washington metropolitan area, this study develops a cross-classified multilevel model to examine the influences of the built environment at both residential and workplace locations on car ownership, while controlling for spatial dependency arising from spatial aggregation. We found that built environment characteristics at work locations, particularly bus stop density and employment density, influence household car ownership. They explain one third of the total variation of car ownership across work locations. The residential environment appears to impose a stronger influence than the workplace environment. Density, diversity, design, transit access around residences and distance from home to the city center affect car ownership.
Container terminal potential hinterland delimitation in a multi-port
system subject to a regionalization process
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Tiago A. Santos, C. Guedes SoaresAbstractThis paper presents a methodology for delimiting the potential hinterland of container terminals that consists in calculating the minimum generalised costs from load centers to different container terminals, using one of a set of possible intermodal or unimodal transportation solutions. Generalised costs include transportation costs, handling costs and transit time costs. The models of the transportation infrastructure network (roads, railway lines, ports, intermodal terminals) and of transportation and handling costs are described, including the definition of nonlinear unitary transportation costs. The methodology and models are implemented in a computer code and applied in a case study focused on the characterization of container terminal potential hinterlands across the western Iberian Peninsula. The results allow the identification of the main hinterland of different terminals in a multi-port system and the analysis of the effects of intermodal terminals in promoting a regionalization process, enabling the characterization of ‘island formations’. A hinterland contestability index is proposed and used to evaluate the degree of competition between container terminals.
Land use and public health impact assessment in a supply chain network
design problem: A case study
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Sun Olapiriyakul, Thi T. NguyenAbstractThe establishment of freight transport facilities and logistics operations in urban areas tends to create substantial public health and land use burdens, due to the high concentration of people and the limited availability of land. This paper proposes a tri-objective supply chain network design model, to address the economic, public health, and land use impacts, associated with an urban freight transport network. The capability of the proposed model and methodologies are illustrated using a case study of the freight transport network in Can Tho city, which involves the selection of raw material sourcing and product distribution locations across rural and urban areas. The metric of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) is used to represent the overall public health impact of the transport emissions exposure in people living within 5000 m of the transportation routes. Geographical information system (GIS) tools are used to explore the population density distribution across transport network areas and to estimate the number of exposed people. The land use impact due to the presence of warehouses and plants is taken into account, using the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method. The obtained design solutions under single- and multi-objective optimization are presented. The trade-offs among the contradictory objectives are also analyzed to obtain various alternative solutions, allowing geographers to understand how to design environmentally benign, urban freight transport networks, based on sustainable development preferences.
Estimating bicycle trip volume for Miami-Dade county from Strava tracking
data
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Hartwig H. Hochmair, Eric Bardin, Ahmed AhmoudaAbstractSports and fitness apps on GPS enabled cell phones and smart watches have become a rich source of GPS tracking data for nonmotorized traffic, including walking, running, and cycling. These crowd-sourced data can be analyzed to better understand the cycling behavior of a large user community. Using Strava tracking data from the Miami-Dade County area, this study identifies which transport network measures, characteristics of the built environment, and sociodemographic factors are associated with increased or decreased bicycle ridership in census block groups. For this purpose, a set of linear regression models are estimated to predict non-commute and commute bicycle kilometers travelled per block group, as well as bicycle kilometers travelled on weekends and weekdays. Eigenvector spatial filtering is applied to explicitly model spatial autocorrelation and to avoid parameter estimation bias. Results suggest that Strava data, due to its high spatial resolution and coverage, can identify in detail how the influence of explanatory variables on estimated bicycle trip volume varies between different trip purposes and days of the week. Based on the regression results, the paper presents a set of guidelines for practical design detailing which groups of cyclists would benefit most from specific bicycle infrastructure improvements.
The opposite of ubiquitous: How early adopters of fast-filling alt-fuel
vehicles adapt to the sparsity of stations
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Michael KubyAbstractTransportation is proving to be the most difficult sector for reducing U.S. carbon emissions. With 86% of American commuters continuing to drive to work, meeting the urgent climate-change challenge requires a pronounced shift to alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs). Standing in the way of this transition, however, is the dearth of conveniently located refueling and recharging stations. This paper argues that we cannot generalize from the refueling habits of people driving gasoline cars, or from their stated preferences for where they would need or want stations, because they formed those habits and preferences while using a ubiquitous network of gasoline stations. We also must distinguish among the different behaviors engendered by slow and/or home charging of electric vehicles, flexible refueling and recharging of hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles, and fast refueling/charging AFVs. Therefore, this paper reviews the limited literature on the revealed preferences of where actual early adopters of single-fuel, fast-filling AFVs choose to refuel or recharge when faced with the reality of a sparse network of stations. Refueling preferences have been revealed by (1) surveys asking drivers where they usually refuel, (2) intercept surveys at stations, and (3) GPS and card-swipe data. The few existing studies suggest that drivers adapt by focusing more on convenience of locations than price. Drivers refuel more frequently at the same stations, at higher tank or battery levels, more on work-anchored trips, more in the middle of trips, less often near home, more often on their way, and take larger detours compared with drivers of gasoline and diesel vehicles. To put these results in a broader context, the paper compares them briefly with revealed-preference results for slow charging of electric vehicles and with stated-preference results for hydrogen and similar fuels. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for the initial rollout of fast-refueling station infrastructure and identifies gaps in what we know about actual AFV refueling and recharging behavior.
Simultaneous location of firms and jobs in a transport and land use model
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): David A. Hensher, Chinh Q. Ho, Richard B. EllisonAbstractThe majority of transport planning model systems used in forecasting travel demand as input into project evaluation treat the location of firms as a given, and hence the best these model systems can do in terms of assessing the response of firms to improvements in transport systems is to redistribute the number of existing workers (as a proxy for the number of jobs) between zonal locations, holding the total number of jobs and firms constant (with the exception of an overall growth in jobs). Some exceptions assume an inducement response based on simple rules of firm response as a way of approximating induced trip demand attributable to the change in the number of firms. What is typically missing is an endogenous treatment of firm location choice through a formal model that is integrated into a transport and land use model system in a way that allows for feedback between travel and firm location. This integration is critical to capture the change in the total amount of business activity in each location and overall, that is not simply based on an-across-the-board assumption on the annual growth in jobs. This paper presents a jointly estimated aggregate zonal model of the number of firms and jobs in which the number of jobs is influenced by the number of firms at a specific location, together with elasticity estimates of each influencing effect in each industry sector. The employment model predictions for each industry sector can be input into a workplace location choice model in any integrated transport and location model system to obtain predictions of the impact of transport policies on the location decisions of firms. The Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area (SGMA) is used as a case study to estimate the systems of firm and employment location models.
A case study in spatial-temporal accessibility for a transit system
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): John C. Handley, Lina Fu, Laura L. TupperAbstractWe show the impact on transit network connectivity of a major network redesign using a comprehensive connectivity measure. This measure captures the quality of service impact – the difference between the actual accessibility and the designed accessibility as a function of space and time. The former is influenced by on-time performance and ability to make transfers. The measure is unique in that it incorporates both spatial and temporal aspects of the transportation network, so that the effects of the network geometry, transportation services schedules, and operational performance (in the form of service reliability / schedule adherence) are all appropriately reflected in this unified measure. We employ a spatial statistical model to tie aggregate ridership to average connectivity across transportation analysis zones. The statistically significant relationship indicates that, at least in aggregate, connectivity and demand are linked. Using spatio-temporal clustering, we show where, when, and how accessibility is impacted by a significant network redesign.
The impact of temporal resolution on public transport accessibility
measurement: Review and case study in Poland
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Marcin Stępniak, John P. Pritchard, Karst T. Geurs, Sławomir GoliszekAbstractIn recent years there has been a significant increase of temporally variable analyses of accessibility by public transport as a result of the increased availability of open and standardized time table information in the form of GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) data. To date, very little attention has been paid to systematically analyze the impact of temporal resolutions on the results. Different authors have applied different standards, often in an ad-hoc manner. In this study, we address the loss of precision associated with a stepwise reduction of the temporal resolution of travel time estimations based on GTFS data for the city of Szczecin in Poland. The paper aims to provide guidance to researchers and practitioners on the selection of appropriate temporal resolutions in accessibility studies. We test four sampling methods in order to analyze four different public transport frequency scenarios, three types of accessibility measures (travel time to the nearest provider, cumulative opportunities measure and potential accessibility) and seven types of destinations ranging from high to low centrality. Additionally, the impact on spatial disparities is explored using the Gini coefficient.We find that a reduction of temporal resolution is associated with a decrease in precision of public transport accessibility measurement. However, with up to 5-min resolutions this reduction is negligible, while computational time is reduced fivefold, compared to a 1-min resolution benchmark. Lower temporal resolutions still provide relatively precise estimations of travel times and accessibility measures. However, further resolution reductions are associated with decreasing reductions of computational time. As a result, we argue that 15-min temporal resolution provides a good balance between precision and computational time while providing very precise estimations of Gini coefficients (errors ≤0.001).A non-linear relationship is found between the public transport frequency and the loss of precision, with lower frequencies leading to a greater loss in precision. More attention should be paid to highly centralized services, in particular when analyzed using proximity and cumulative opportunities measures. Finally, the cumulative opportunities measure is found to be highly sensitive to changes in the temporal resolution and not suited for time-sensitive accessibility analysis.
Transport geography and geopolitics: Visions, rules and militarism in
China's Belt and Road Initiative and beyond
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Weiqiang LinAbstractTransport geography has made significant progress since the 2000s, attending now not only to transport's spatial properties, but also its economic, developmental, and, most recently, environmental intersections. As its eponymous journal celebrates its twenty-fifth year, this article seeks to introduce another dimension—geopolitics—by which the field can make further breakthroughs. Despite a few similar calls in the early-2010s, research contextually grounded in the mutual imbrications between transport and geopolitics has remained scant. This diverges from how the field used to countenance states' geopolitical strategies much more rigorously in the early-twentieth century, gracing topics such as imperial corridors, civilising missions through mobility, and the establishment of world transport orders. Using China's Belt and Road Initiative as a prompt and exemplar, this paper argues for more sustained research on three broad geopolitical strands in the future. These strands are: transport visions and imaginations, rule-making in transport, and militarism in transport. Demonstrating the centrality of geopolitical discourses and practices in China's Belt and Road Initiative and other large-scale transport projects, this paper argues that geopolitics is not merely a background fact ‘out there’ affecting transport. Rather, it is an integral part of the asymmetrical production, organisation and impedance of transport's geographies.
Exploring air network formation and development with a two-part model
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Yu-Chen Wang, Jinn-Tsai Wong
Relative accessibility analysis for key land uses: A spatial equity
perspective
- Abstract: Publication date: February 2019Source: Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 75Author(s): Keone Kelobonye, Gary McCarney, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia, Mohammad Shahidul Hasan Swapan, Feng Mao, Heng ZhouAbstractThere is an on-going interest in measuring land use accessibility in urban areas. The transport geography and land use planning literature often tend to focus on job accessibility, and by a specific (usually motorised) travel mode, with little effort being made towards understanding the accessibility of other key destinations and their spatial equity within the urban structure. Furthermore, a lot of these studies use complex measures that are difficult to interpret and incorporate into planning and transport policies. This study employs a simple but powerful, policy friendly ‘accessible-opportunities’ approach to examine the relative accessibility and spatial equity of five key urban land uses in Perth, Australia. Comparisons are drawn between the accessibility of different land uses, as well as between access by private car and public transport, the two major travel modes in the Perth metropolitan region. The results show that jobs have the highest accessibility compared to other destination types, but poor spatial equity as outer suburbs are very poorly served (low/no job accessibility). Primary & secondary education and shopping are the most spatially equitable destinations. The results also highlight the poor accessibility provided by public transport and its inability to compete with the private car regardless of the trip purpose. Generally, the outer suburbs are under-served as services are concentrated in inner city areas. Given that more new developments have occurred in fringe areas than inner areas in recent years, increasingly more people are being disadvantaged.
Introduction to special section on logistics sprawl
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 23 January 2019Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Laetitia Dablanc, Michael Browne
Theorising informality and social embeddedness for the study of informal
transport. Lessons from the marshrutka mobility phenomenon
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 15 January 2019Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Lela Rekhviashvili, Wladimir SgibnevAbstractThis paper builds upon recent post-structuralist writings on informal economic practices, using most importantly a Polanyian institutionalist framework, to discuss formal/informal and market/non-market practices in the transport sector. The article proposes a critical reading of the literary canon of informal transport, which largely assumes a naturalness and omnipresence of markets. We illustrate how reductionist definitions of informal transport marginalise analytically important empirical detail, and furthermore, lead to misleading theoretical conclusions. In contrast, we analytically de-couple informality and markets, showing that formal and informal economic practices can be embedded in diverse social-cultural institutions. Such a theoretical framework allows for consistent evaluation and empirical examination of transport options, as substantiated by evidence from the marshrutka mobility phenomenon in Bishkek and Tbilisi. We observe marketisation, dis- or re-embedding, formalisation and informalisation as dynamic, inter-dependent and conflictual processes. On these grounds, the article argues for a critical re-appraisal of other forms of informal transport, old and emerging, both in the Global South and the Global North.
Logistics sprawl in the Brussels metropolitan area: Toward a
socio-geographic typology
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 3 January 2019Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Mathieu StraleAbstractLogistics activities are concentrated around cities, for the purpose of accessing and serving these important markets. However, at a more refined level, because of land prices, availability and modern logistics schemes, suburban locations are preferred. This trend, the so-called logistics sprawl, creates land consumption, longer supply chains and jobs shifts. This article analyses the geography of logistics in the Brussels metropolitan area and highlights this suburbanization, notwithstanding the fact that some particularities appear, due to the Brussels, Belgian and European contexts. In a second step, we construct a spatial typology to understand the fine evolution of the Brussels metropolitan logistics space. These results reinforce our knowledge of logistics geography and add a frequently neglected institutional dimension to the extant literature on the subject – wholesale trade activities.
Why do warehouses decentralize more in certain metropolitan areas'
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 19 October 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Sanggyun KangAbstractOver the last decade, warehousing and distribution centers have decentralized to the urban peripheries where land is cheaper and readily available. This change in location patterns has been driven by the demand to build more modernized and larger facilities to accommodate an ever-increasing influx of freight. Since efficient freight movement is essential for the smooth functioning of metropolitan areas, decentralization should occur everywhere. However, this is not necessarily true. It is hypothesized that depending on the volume of goods movement and the spatial distribution of land prices, the extent of decentralization varies across metropolitan areas. This hypothesis is tested using 48 US metropolitan areas. Results provide robust evidence that high land prices push large warehouses away from central locations. When freight demand and land prices are not as high, the effect becomes insignificant. Indeed, not only is decentralization linked with large metro areas but also with very large warehouses.
How can GPS/GNSS tracking data be used to improve our understanding of
informal transport' A discussion based on a feasibility study from Dar
es Salaam
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 9 October 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Mirko Goletz, Daniel EhebrechtAbstractInformal transport is an important factor for people's daily mobility in most developing countries, in urban as well as in rural areas. It has grown rapidly in recent years and influences cities' appearances all around the world. But little is known about its operation, as informal transport is highly dynamic and its operation mostly unregulated by the state. This paper discusses how informal transport can be better understood by using GPS tracking data. The methodology is exemplified using results from a feasibility study from Dar es Salaam. The results show that GPS tracking has great potential to provide insights into the functionality of informal transport, such as its role as a feeder mode in the transport system, as well as into the comparative advantages and disadvantages of different modes of transport. Moreover, by delivering spatially locatable information on mobility developments, it can deliver important information for integrated planning with regard to better coordinating the interwoven developments of urban settlements, growing mobility demand, and transport supply.
Role of user's socio-economic and travel characteristics in mode choice
between city bus and informal transit services: Lessons from household
surveys in Visakhapatnam, India
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 12 September 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Ravi Gadepalli, Geetam Tiwari, Nomes BoliaAbstractInformally operated paratransit or Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) systems provide demand responsive transit in many developing countries, often competing with formal public transport systems. Literature on the relative user characteristics of the two modes and their choice behaviour between the systems is limited. This article addresses the gap by presenting a methodology to derive a comprehensive understanding of socio-economic and travel demand characteristics of all transit users in a city. The household survey based data collection and analysis framework is demonstrated for the case of Visakhapatnam, a medium sized Indian city. The variables impacting users' choice between the formal and informal modes were derived through binary logistic regression. It was observed that gender, income and travel time have a significant influence on users' choice between the modes, with waiting time having the maximum impact on mode choice. Therefore, the high frequency services offered by paratransit attract users making shorter trips.
Anatomy of a new dollar van route: Informal transport and planning in New
York City
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 10 September 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Eric GoldwynAbstractDespite nearly eight million rides per day on formally planned and legally sanctioned buses and subways, dollar vans provide service that shadow some of the busiest bus lines in Brooklyn and Queens. Dollar vans are an informal transport service that occupy an awkward liminal space between legal and illegal—some are licensed and some are not, but all dollar vans operate illegally. It is this legal confusion that renders them informal. It is because of this informality that dollar van operators and drivers can also adapt their routes and service as they deem necessary. This “generative” mode of planning introduces a second dimension of informality; however, I argue that dollar van operators follow a similar logic as formal transportation operators when planning service. I demonstrate this by examining the case of a dollar van operator in Brooklyn developing a new route. I juxtapose his method with that of bus planners from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to show how both groups of planners rely on prompts they encounter, be it anecdotal stories about West Indians in Flatbush moving away or an angry letter from a state legislator, rather than a systematic approach that is taught in classrooms. By examining the planning of a new dollar van route in Brooklyn, I trace the operator's planning process and compare his data against quantitative datasets to show that his generative planning process is supported by the quantitative data and deepens its meaning when combined with his local knowledge. Seen in this light, it is clear that the distance between informal and formal transit is artificial rather than inherent.
Warehouse location choice: A case study in Los Angeles, CA
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 24 August 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Sanggyun KangAbstractThe purpose of this research is to understand how and why warehouses have changed location over time from central urban areas to the urban periphery: spatial decentralization. Over the last decade, the logistics industry has been restructured to transport large volumes of goods more quickly and reliably. Concurrently, the warehousing industry experienced changes in facility size and location: large warehouses have been built on the urban outskirts. This spatial shift is attributed to inventory and transport cost trade-offs: the gains from lower land prices and scale operation outweigh the increase in transport costs as warehouses decentralized from central urban areas. As a case study, I examine location choices of 5364 warehousing facilities in Los Angeles, CA. I hypothesize that (a) the location choice varies by facility size and (b) the location choice logic has changed over time. Results suggest significant differences in the effect of location choice factors over facility size and over time. For warehouses built before 1980, the most influential factors are local market, labor, and seaport/intermodal terminal proximity. In contrast, for warehouses built after 2000, lower land price and airport/intermodal terminal proximity have the greatest effects.
Big data: A new opportunity for transport geography'
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 23 August 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Emmanouil Tranos, Elizabeth Mack
Spatial data analytics of mobility with consumer data
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 1 August 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Mark BirkinAbstractConsumer data arising from the interaction between customers and service providers are becoming ubiquitous. These data are appealing for research because they are frequently collected and quickly released; they cover a wide variety of attitudes, lifestyles and behavioural characteristics; and they are often dynamically replenished and longitudinal. It is demonstrated that consumer data can make important contributions to understanding problems in transport geography and in solving applied problems ranging from migration, infrastructure investment and retail service provision to commuting and individual mobility. However more effective exploitation of these data depends on the construction of bridges to allow greater freedom in the transfer of data from the commercial to the academic sector; it requires development of frameworks for privacy and ethics in the secondary use of personal data; and it is contingent on the emergence of effective strategies for the amelioration of selection bias which impairs the quality of many consumer data sources.
Intrapersonal mode choice variation: Evidence from a four-week
smartphone-based travel survey in the Netherlands
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 2 July 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Tom Thomas, Lissy La Paix Puello, Karst GeursAbstractThis paper examines mode choice variation in the Netherlands based on the trip data of 432 respondents from a four-week smartphone-based travel survey. Trip characteristics, including origin and destination location, arrival and departure time, mode and trip purpose, were automatically recorded, but checked and if necessary revised in a web-based prompted recall survey. Statistical analyses and mixed logit mode choice models were used to explore intrapersonal variation and its effect on mode choice. We found relatively much intrapersonal variation for short trips (
Big data and understanding change in the context of planning transport
systems
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 19 April 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Dave Milne, David WatlingAbstractThis paper considers the implications of so-called ‘big data’ for the analysis, modelling and planning of transport systems. The primary conceptual focus is on the needs of the practical context of medium-term planning and decision-making, from which perspective the paper seeks to achieve three goals: (i) to try to identify what is truly ‘special’ about big data; (ii) to provoke debate on the future relationship between transport planning and big data; and (iii) to try to identify promising themes for research and application. Differences in the information that can be derived from the data compared to more traditional surveys are discussed, and the respects in which they may impact on the role of models in supporting transport planning and decision-making are identified. It is argued that, over time, changes to the nature of data may lead to significant differences in both modelling approaches and in the expectations placed upon them. Furthermore, it is suggested that the potential widespread availability of data to commercial actors and travellers will affect the performance of the transport systems themselves, which might be expected to have knock-on effects for planning functions. We conclude by proposing a series of research challenges that we believe need to be addressed and warn against adaptations based on minimising change from the status quo.
Smart card data-centric replication of the multi-modal public transport
system in Singapore
- Abstract: Publication date: Available online 7 March 2018Source: Journal of Transport GeographyAuthor(s): Xiaodong Liu, Yuan Zhou, Andreas RauAbstractThis paper proposes an innovative method of replicating the multi-modal public transport system in Singapore with high precision using smart card database. It replicates the operation of public transport system with known exogenous passenger demand and provides many operational details, including passenger inter-modal trip chains, operational timetable, and detailed transfer behaviour. The paper elaborates on the methodology of the replication including data cleaning, filtering, processing and converting the collected data to meaningful information such as bus journey trajectories and metro system timetable. Thereafter, actualised passenger trip chains are directly assigned to the replicated public transport supply. The resulting replication covers almost 96% of trips made in public transport in Singapore. It provides solid quantitative information on several aspects to support decision making, including precise temporal and spatial travel demand analysis, transfer pattern analysis, traffic condition investigation and bus utilisation analysis.