The Association of Media and Environmental Variables with Transit Ridership (original) (raw)
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Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2018
Public transport ridership has been steadily increasing since the early 2000s in many urban areas in North America. However, many cities have more recently seen their transit ridership plateaued, if not decreased. This trend in transit ridership has produced a lot of discussion on which factors contributed the most to this new trend. While no recent study has been conducted on this matter, understanding the levers that can be used to sustain and/or increase transit ridership is essential. The aim of this study is, therefore, to explore the determinants of public transport ridership from 2002 to 2015 for 25 transit authorities in Canada and the United States using a longitudinal multilevel mixed-effect regression approach. Our analysis demonstrates that vehicle revenue kilometers (VRK) and car ownership are the main determinants of transit ridership. More specifically, the results suggest that the reduction in bus VRK likely explains the reduction in ridership observed in recent years in many North American cities. Furthermore, external factors such as the presence of ridesourcing services (Uber) and bicycle sharing, although not statistically significant in our models, are associated with higher levels of transit ridership, which contradicts some of the experts' hypotheses. From a policy perspective, this research suggests that investments in public transport operations, especially bus services, can be a key factor to mitigate the decline in transit ridership or sustain and increase it. While the results of this study emphasize that fare revenues cannot support such investments without deterring ridership, additional sources of revenues are required. This study is of relevance to public transport engineers, planners, researchers, and policy-makers wishing to understand the factors leading to an increase in transit ridership.
Title: The Factors Influencing Transit Ridership: A Review and Analysis of the Ridership Literature
What explains transit ridership? The answer to this simple question is both obvious and complex. Public transit systems carry large shares of person travel in older, larger metropolitan areas around the globe, but in most places -old and new, large and small -transit is losing market share to private vehicles. Nationally, only 2.1 percent of all trips were on public transit in 2001, compared to 85.8 percent by private vehicle, 9.9 percent by foot and bicycle, and 2.2 percent by other means (2001 National Household Travel Survey).
Rising Gas Price and Transit Ridership
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2009
In July 2008, gas prices peaked at unprecedented levels in both nominal and real dollars. Americans also took more transit trips in 2008 than in any year since 1956. Past research has demonstrated a correlation between increases in gas price and increases in transit ridership. Using the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area as a case study, this research confirms and provides new insight into this relationship. Multivariate linear regressions were developed both to demonstrate and to measure the correlation while accounting for seasonal differences and to provide insight into what future gas price scenarios could mean for a transit system in a city like Philadelphia. One set of models was developed for the Regional Rail system and another was developed for the City Transit system. Both models demonstrated correlations of statistical significance. Comparison of the models showed that the price of gas had both a more significant correlation with and a higher impact on Regional...
The relationship between recent gasoline price fluctuations and transit ridership in major US cities
Journal of Transport Geography, 2010
The unprecedented increase in gasoline costs between August 2005 and July 2008 has become a major public issue in the US. Of the contentions and potential solutions surrounding higher gasoline costs, one receiving relatively little attention has been the role of public transit. This research examines that question by analyzing the relationship between gasoline prices and transit ridership from January 2002 to April 2008 in nine major US cities. Regression analysis is used to assess the degree to which variability in rail and bus transit ridership is attributable to gasoline costs and fluctuations in gasoline cost, controlling for service changes, seasonality, and inherent trending. The results indicate that a small but statistically significant amount of ridership fluctuation is due to changes in gasoline prices. The results are discussed in light of the policy and practical implications of higher gasoline prices for mass transit and the potential for long term changes in US travel behavior.
BMC public health, 2014
Media content can increase awareness of, and shape interactions with, public health interventions. As part of a natural experimental evaluation of the travel, physical activity and health impacts of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, we analysed print and social media discourse and interview data to understand the nature of new transport infrastructure and how it was experienced. Newspaper articles were systematically retrieved from the LexisNexis database and tweets were identified from an online archive. Interviews were conducted as part of the larger evaluation study with 38 adults. Inductive thematic analysis was performed and comparisons were drawn between datasets. The findings are discussed in relation to five themes. First, an understanding of the intervention context and how the intervention was experienced was developed through accounts of events occurring pre and post the busway's opening. Second, the media captured the dynamic nature of the intervention. Third, the me...
Journal of Public Transportation, 2022
This paper reports on the study of public support for transit in Southeast Michigan. The goal was to assess Willingness to Support Public Transit (WTST) among likely voters in the region. The study developed a new tool (WTST Index) that would allow planners, policy makers, and advocates to measure the likelihood of support for transit based on a reduced set of questions, through a formula that captures the gradient from attitudes (opinion) to behaviors (action). The study investigated how sociodemographic, sociopolitical, geographical, and opinion related variables impact WTST Index. The results highlighted how wealth, education, and political and ideological beliefs impact willingness to support transit. The U-shaped distribution of the WTST Index shows the divisiveness in support and uncovers the political and ideological dimensions of transit. The results provide guidance for understanding support for transit in comparable regions where transit initiatives and policies seek to expand or improve underused transit systems.
Non-commitment bias in public opinion on transit usage
Transportation, 1983
Estimation of ridership on a new transit system in an area where no comparable service existed before is a difficult task of transit planning. Traditional modal split models cannot be used in these cases, because no data or basis for developing a new model or adjusting a "borrowed" model are available. One of the techniques which can be used in this type of situation, is to perform a "concept test" based on public opinion. This approach, however, is plagued with the phenomenon of non-commitment bias of interviewees, and tends to overestimate the ridership.