TRB Annual Meeting 2020

2020 POSTER WINNERS

ABSTRACTS

Exploring the Effects of the Built Environment on Two Transfer Modes for Metros: Dockless Bike Sharing and Taxi 

Jiaqi Chen, Tongji University

Yixin Li, Tongji University School of Transportation Engineering

Ying Ni, Tongji University

Bicycles and taxis play an important role in the first-and-last mile connection when walking and bus services are inaccessible. The rapid expansion of dockless bike sharing (DBS) has a further revival of bicycle commuting for metro transfer. However, limiting regulations of DBS may force commuters to shift back to taxi mode in some areas, resulting in the unsustainable metro transfer. Therefore, it is necessary to find the influential built environment factors of the transfer modes to support a proper policy. In this study, we collect dataset from the one-week trip data of DBS and compare with the taxi-metro integration extracted from the GPS data of taxis during a concurrent period in Beijing. The paper applies K-means clustering to visualize the transfer patterns of DBS and taxi near metro stations, and spatial lag models to incorporate the effects of the spatial autocorrelation. The comparative results show that DBS is favored by commuters living in less economically developed suburban areas, with poor public transit services, high density of secondary roads and less signalized intersections. Moreover, people tend to use DBS as metro transfer in the morning, whereas people in the central areas with high housing price and developed arterial road network tend to take a taxi, especially during evening peaks. We suggest that governments and transport planners should implement the partial-positive policies for DBS to ensure and improve DBS services at specific areas, such as large residential areas in the suburbs, and enhance bicycle facilities for both riding and parking. 

20-01959 

Spatial Characteristics of Transit-Integrated Ridesourcing Trips and their Competitiveness with Transit and Walking Alternatives 

Jacob Terry, University of Waterloo

Chris Bachmann, University of Waterloo

Municipal transit agencies are exploring integrations with ridesourcing vehicles to extend the reach of their fixed-route transit networks. Ridesourcing integrations have been piloted in some regions, but these pilots tend not to be externally evaluated because of an inability to access the trip data. The primary objective of this paper is to determine the types of trips passengers are taking through a transit-integrated ridesourcing pilot, and their competitiveness with transit and walking alternatives. The analysis focuses on the 903 Flex pilot operated by the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. A set of 585 completed ridesourcing trips (rides) are studied and compared with the alternative transit and walking trips. Each ride was assigned a type, based on its proximity to transit and walking alternatives, for calculation and comparison of trip attributes. Terminology for types of rides is introduced and the categorization process is applied to the ridesourcing pilot. Trip categories include: feeders, transit replacements, inconvenient trips, and remote trips. Results suggest that most trips in the study operate on an indirect feeder-like system (65%), which bring passengers between virtual ridesourcing stops and a transit stop, but not the transit stop closest to them. The alternative transit trips mainly operate on 30-minute headways, and alternative walking times were often long. The trips are found to mostly support or maintain transit usage, but the transit agency should be cautious of cases where rides occur alongside transit (18%), instead of bringing people to it. 

20-02232 

Assessing Physical Activity Achievement by Using Transit 

Judith Mageau-Béland, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Catherine Morency, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Sedentary lifestyle is an important public health issue. To prevent this problem, major health organizations promote the inclusion of physical activity in the daily life. Active modes are therefore a well know way of achieving the health recommendations but walking to transit also has been studied recently. The goal of this study is to assess the level of physical activity achieved by using transit to verify its contribution in reaching the recommendations. This article aims to assess the energy expenditure associated with transit use by analyzing the related Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET). This allows to express trips as physical activity expenditures and to integrate them in the daily pool of physical activities. For this study, only the main variables affecting the intensity of physical activity are considered. These are the walking time and slope encountered during the walking portion. This estimation allows to estimate the level of physical activity reached by transit users and assess the potential physical activity drivers could achieve if they were switching to transit. Finally, an application of the method is also exposed on a current transportation issue in Montreal. Results show that the transit users living in the Montreal area can achieve 54% of their physical activity recommendation only by using transit. For the current users of motorized modes, if they were changing to transit, they could achieve 85% of the recommendation. 

20-04605 

Use of Shared Automated Vehicles for First-Mile Last-Mile Service: Micro-Simulation of Rail-Transit Connections in Austin, Texas 

Yantao Huang, University of Texas, Austin

Kara Kockelman, University of Texas, Austin

Venu Garikapati, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Lei Zhu, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Stanley Young, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Fully-automated vehicles (AVs) coupled with ride-sharing and drivetrain electrification have the potential to provide sustainable transportation. The initial hype around AVs has subsided, with cities and vehicle manufacturers seeing low-speed shared AVs (SAVs) as a more practical mode for near-term AV deployments. SAVs may be an attractive way to experience first-mile last-mile (FMLM) connections to existing and future transit systems, replacing walk-to-transit, drive-to-transit, or even drive-only trips. Using the SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility) toolkit, this paper tests this hypothesis by micro-simulating two fleets of SAVs providing FMLM ride-sharing service to 2.5% of central Austin’s trip-makers along five stations of Austin’s light-rail transit Red Line. The geofenced areas around several SAV-serviced stations are called Automated Mobility Districts (AMDs). With Red Line rail-service headways of 15 minutes, and 15 SAVs serving FMLM connections to and from each AMD, simulations suggest that 15.8% of the AMD travel demands would shift from drive-along to transit thanks to the convenient station-based FMLM SAV services. AMD-area VMT is predicted to rise 26% in 5 miles × 8 miles central Austin area with average vehicle occupancy falling 30% (from 1 to 0.7 persons), due to empty SAV driving (between riders). Private car VMT also falls in the AMD areas, possibly alleviating congestion along network links outside the AMD areas. Providing frequent transit service or enlarging SAV fleet sizes would significantly reduce passenger wait times, but coordination of train schedules and SAV fleet routing plans is important to achieve cost-effective and delay-minimizing on-demand service. 

20-05811 

Built Environment Criteria for Polycentric Developments: To Reduce Vehicle Use and Increase Walking and Transit Use 

Keunhyun Park, Utah State University

Reid Ewing, University of Utah Hospital

Sadegh Sabouri, University of Utah Hospital

Dong-ah Choi, University of Utah Hospital

Shima Hamidi, University of Texas, Arlington

Guang Tian, University of New Orleans

Compact development can result in many benefits for communities and residents. Regional planning agencies working with localities can connect compact developments through high-quality transportation modes, creating a network of centers, or a “polycentric” region. This development pattern is becoming popular in many countries, especially in Europe. In the U.S., regional transportation plans provide examples of what planners can strive for with a polycentric structure. We have reviewed 126 RTPs in the U.S. and found that polycentric development has become the dominant vision for a majority of them. What is missing from RTPs with very few exceptions are quantitative criteria for designating centers. In no case are the quantitative criteria empirically based on proven transportation benefits. That is the unique contribution of this paper. In this paper, we investigate how the built environment characteristics of centers are associated with people’s travel mode choices and vehicle use. We employ visual and exploratory approaches through a generalized additive model (GAM) to identify non-linear relationships between different travel mode choices and D variables within centers. The model and plots help us reach to recommendations for built environment characteristics of centers. The study results provide practical implications and guidelines for planning and development of centers. The built environment thresholds and relevant tools provided in this paper can enable planners to make informed decisions about future growth patterns, set realistic—yet visionary—goals, and improve the overall health of its residents and communities. 

Workshop: "Emerging mobility services for the transportation disadvantaged" taking place this Sunday at 1.30pm.  AP025, ABE60, and ADD50(1) are co-sponsoring.