Journal: European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research

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TU Delft OPEN

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1567-7133
1567-7141

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Publications 1 - 10 of 12
  • Searching for the rail bonus
    Item type: Journal Article
    Axhausen, Kay W.; Haupt, T.; Fell, B.; et al. (2001)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    The inherent superiority of rail-based public transport options over bus-based alternatives, all other things being equal, has been stipulated in the literature and in the public policy discussion for some time. The exact strength of any such rail bonus is important to a public transport operator which has to consider the replacement of rail-based services by bus services. The public transport operator of the city of Dresden (DVB), while generally upgrading its services, has to consider this option, in particular where the continuing tram operation would require a costly rehabilitation of the tracks. The measurement of any such systematic preference for rail-based modes is difficult, as is requires either a before-and-after study of such a switch, controlled for the other relevant service attributes, e.g. frequency, speed, reliability, price, route, etc., or a study of a network, in which rail- and road-based modes offer comparable types of services, with bus services in particular not restricted to feeder services to rail/tram lines. Both are rare for obvious reasons. A recent service change of the DVB offered the opportunity to look at the issue in detail. A series of surveys were undertaken for this purpose before and after: A one-day travel diary (including a household questionnaire) A survey of the image of the services A between-mode stated preference exercise focusing on the choice between public transport and private motorised transport where public transport was provided by either bus or tram (7 choice situations) A within-mode stated preference exercise looking at the trade-offs between public transport modes, in particular levels of comfort, travel times and transfers (7 choice situations). The paper reports detailed results from this study addressing the differences in preferences between the waves (effects of familiarity with an alternative) from both separate and joint stated preference and stated preference/revealed preference models. The modelling so far indicates a consistent, but weak preference for the rail option through a higher value-of-time for rail usage, higher valuation of new rail vehicles in comparison to new busses, although they are partially balanced by a higher transfer penalty.
  • Special issue: Built environment and travel behaviour
    Item type: Journal Article
    Heinen, Eva; Steiner, Ruth L.; Geurs, Karst T. (2015)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    The current special issue has been inspired by a selection of papers presented at the World conference of transport research (WCTR), held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2013. Selected papers focus on relations between the built environment and travel behaviour. The contributions complement each other as they come from different geographical origins, apply different methodological approaches and address travel behaviour with a focus on a variety in transportation modes. Together they address various interesting and subtle relationships between infrastructure and the built environment and the one hand and travel behaviour (mostly mode choice) on the other hand.
  • Subsidized ridesourcing for the first/last mile
    Item type: Journal Article
    Reck, Daniel Jan; Axhausen, Kay W. (2020)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    The first/last mile is a long known deterrent to public transportation use, yet difficult to solve with fixed route transit. Many transit agencies are exploring partnerships with ridesourcing companies to offer subsidized feeder services. Ridership, however, has been surprisingly low. We explore two conceptual explanations. First, ridesourcing fares are found to exceed travel time savings for all distances below 1 mile and annual household incomes below USD 30,000 (i.e., the majority of US bus-using households). Subsidies are thus necessary, yet common schemes (flat fees, flat value or percentage discounts) are inequitable as they particularly benefit high-income households (thus miss their main target group). Second, the disutility of the additional transfer (‘transfer penalty’) and wait times exceed travel time savings assuming modest values for all distances below 0.45 miles. Subsidized ridesourcing for the first/last mile is thus not the panacea often portrayed, particularly not for short first/last miles. Where first/last miles are longer, investments in first/last mile services only might miss their purpose as the private car often remains the faster, more convenient and cheaper option. A much more holistic set of policy changes is hence required. Where transit agencies decide to proceed with first/last mile subsidies, they are advised to integrate them into existing fares (offering first/last mile rides for free) as this is the most equitable approach.
  • Discussion note by Prof. Joop Evers: Profile of new intercity transport
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    Evers, Joseph J.M. (2007)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    The massive use of private cars causes serious problems. Despite parking problems and traffic congestions, for many the private car remains favourable. As an alternative, a new type of public intercity transport has been proposed, called Fast Transport on Request (FTR). Specific elements are: dedicated tracks for high speed bus driving between the cities; booking via Internet or intelligent telephone; intelligent logistics control reducing the number of stops and excluding detours; adaptive seats and digital facilities.
  • Efficiency of choice set generation methods for bicycle routes
    Item type: Journal Article
    Halldórsdóttir, Katrín; Rieser-Schüssler, Nadine; Axhausen, Kay W.; et al. (2014)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    The current study analyses the efficiency of choice set generation methods for bicycle routes and proposes the extension of cost functions to bicycle-oriented factors not limited to distance and time. Three choice set generation methods for route choice were examined in their ability to generate relevant and heterogeneous routes: doubly stochastic generation function, breadth first search on link elimination, and branch & bound algorithm. Efficiency of the methods was evaluated for a high-resolution network by comparing the performances with four multiattribute cost functions accounting for scenic routes, dedicated cycle lanes, and road type. Data consisted of 778 bicycle trips traced by GPS and carried out by 139 persons living in the Greater Copenhagen Area, in Denmark. Results suggest that both the breadth first search on link elimination and the doubly stochastic generation function generated realistic routes, while the former outperformed in computation cost and the latter produced more heterogeneous routes.
  • Drones in railways: Exploring current applications and future scenarios based on action research
    Item type: Journal Article
    Maghazei, Omid; Steinmann, Matthias (2020)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    Evidence shows that the applications of drones are increasing quickly in many industries. Railways are no exception. Due to fast advances in technology, drones are on the verge of breakthroughs that will affect future applications, implementations, and their consequences. Looking ahead, we elaborate on the potential for drones in railways. We use scenario planning and combine it with the findings of an action research project, which we conducted with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). First, we explore the applications and future trends of drone use in railway operations. Second, based on seven identified factors that may affect the future of drones in railways by 2030, we develop three future scenarios: pessimistic, realistic, and optimistic. The study results help practitioners make informed decisions regarding future drone programs in railways. We also contribute theoretical insights into how high-potential technologies can unleash new capabilities in railway operations.
  • Road safety and bicycle usage impacts of unbundling vehicular and cycle traffic in Dutch urban networks
    Item type: Journal Article
    Schepers, Paul; Heinen, Eva; Methorst, Rob; et al. (2013)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    Bicycle-motor vehicle crashes are concentrated along distributor roads where cyclists are exposed to greater volumes of high-speed motorists than they would experience on access roads. This study examined the road safety impact of network-level separation of vehicular and cycle traffic in Dutch urban networks, a strategy for which the term ‘unbundling’ is used. Unbundling vehicular traffic and cycle traffic in an urban network is operationalized as the degree to which cyclists use access roads and grade-separated intersections to cross distributors. The effect on the share of cycling in the modal split is also assessed as unbundling may affect the competitiveness of cycling compared to driving in terms of trip length. The analyses were conducted on Dutch municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Negative binomial regression was used to analyse the effect on the number of police-reported cyclist deaths and in-patients in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes. A mediation model was tested, with Structural Equation Modelling hypothesizing that unbundling corresponds positively with the cycling modal share via the length of car trips divided by those by bicycle. The results of this study suggest that unbundling improves cycling safety, and increases the share of cycling in the modal split. We recommend unbundling vehicular and bicycle traffic in urban networks, e.g. establishing large traffic-calmed areas with short cuts and standalone paths for cyclists (and pedestrians) and, where feasible, grade-separated intersections such as bicycle tunnels.
  • Implications of survey methods on travel and non-travel activities
    Item type: Journal Article
    Aschauer, Florian; Hössinger, Reinhard; Axhausen, Kay W.; et al. (2018)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    This paper contributes to the research on non-reporting effects in mixed-method household travel surveys (HTS) in two ways: Firstly, we compare travel activities reported in the established Austrian National HTS (ANTS) with an innovative survey approach, the so-called “Mobility-Activity-Expenditure Diary” (MAED), and secondly we extend the analysis to (i) additional travel estimates and to (ii) non-travel activities. The analysis addresses three main goals: (i) identification of non-reporting effects in the HTS for travel estimates, (ii) analysis of speed-of-response effects on travel estimates, (iii) assessment of the completeness and accuracy of non-travel activities inferred from the trip purposes in the HTS. Underreporting in HTS occurs both on person level and on the trip level, and mainly for peak-hour trips with either short distances or short durations of the subsequent non-travel activity. No significant underreporting was found on the tour level. Speed-of-response effects are small in both surveys but significant for the ANTS. The duration of non-travel activities per activity type corresponds well in the MAED-survey and in the ANTS but the information in the MAED-survey is much richer. The results can be used threefold: (i) to develop correction factors that account for systematic biases in HTS, (ii) to identify omitted items (trip frequency, duration, distance etc.) if HTS data are used without correction factors, and (iii) to demonstrate the importance of high quality field work and validation.
  • Interactions between travel behaviour, accessibility and personal characteristics
    Item type: Journal Article
    Simma, Anja; Axhausen, Kay W. (2003)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    This paper explores the impacts of personal characteristics and the spatial structure on travel behaviour, especially mode choice. The spatial structure is described among other things by accessibility measures. The models are estimated using structural equation modelling (SEM). The models are based on the 1992 Upper Austrian travel survey and the Upper Austrian transport model. The results highlight the key roles of car ownership, gender and work status in explaining the observed level and intensity of travel. The most important spatial variable is the number of facilities which can be reached by a household. The municipality based variables and the accessibility measures have rather little explanatory power. The reasons for this low explanatory power are considered. Although the findings in this study indicate that the spatial structure is not a decisive determinant of traffic, the results provide useful hints for possible policy alternatives.
  • Innovations in weather services as a crucial building block for climate change adaptation in road transport
    Item type: Journal Article
    Pilli-Shivola, Karolina; Nurmi, Väinö; Perrels, Adriaan; et al. (2016)
    European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
    The road transport sector is facing rising uncertainties in planning and operations due to climate change induced changes in weather variability and extreme events. However, because of the high level of uncertainty related to the future climate, adaptation measures should be robust so as to retain the option value of the portfolio of measures. As an example of such a measure, this paper evaluates how foreseen innovations in weather services could reduce weather sensitivity and, consequently reduce the negative effects of climate change in the sector. The study is based on a theoretical framework on climate change adaptation and valuation of weather and climate services using the Weather Service Chain Analysis. We apply these frameworks to the road transport sector with a special emphasis on drivers’ decision making before and during a trip. We show that improved weather information, including more accurate weather forecasts, new applications and information dissemination channels can decrease the vulnerability of the mode to projected shifts in extreme weather patterns due to climate change.
Publications 1 - 10 of 12