Where Is My Bus? Impact of mobile real-time information on the perceived and actual wait time of transit riders
01 Oct 2011-Transportation Research Part A-policy and Practice (Pergamon)-Vol. 45, Iss: 8, pp 839-848
TL;DR: The OneBusAway transit traveler information system provides real-time next bus countdown information for riders of King County Metro via website, telephone, text-messaging, and smart phone applications.
Abstract: In order to attract more choice riders, transit service must not only have a high level of service in terms of frequency and travel time but also must be reliable. Although transit agencies continuously work to improve on-time performance, such efforts often come at a substantial cost. One inexpensive way to combat the perception of unreliability from the user perspective is real-time transit information. The OneBusAway transit traveler information system provides real-time next bus countdown information for riders of King County Metro via website, telephone, text-messaging, and smart phone applications. Although previous studies have looked at traveler response to real-time information, few have addressed real-time information via devices other than public display signs. For this study, researchers observed riders arriving at Seattle-area bus stops to measure their wait time while asking a series of questions, including how long they perceived that they had waited. The study found that for riders without real-time information, perceived wait time is greater than measured wait time. However, riders using real-time information do not perceive their wait time to be longer than their measured wait time. This is substantiated by the typical wait times that riders report. Real-time information users say that their average wait time is 7.5 min versus 9.9 min for those using traditional arrival information, a difference of about 30%. A model to predict the perceived wait time of bus riders was developed, with significant variables that include the measured wait time, an indicator variable for real-time information, an indicator variable for PM peak period, the bus frequency in buses per hour, and a self-reported typical aggravation level. The addition of real-time information decreases the perceived wait time by 0.7 min (about 13%). A critical finding of the study is that mobile real-time information reduces not only the perceived wait time, but also the actual wait time experienced by customers. Real-time information users in the study wait almost 2 min less than those arriving using traditional schedule information. Mobile real-time information has the ability to improve the experience of transit riders by making the information available to them before they reach the stop.
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TL;DR: The concept of urban computing is introduced, discussing its general framework and key challenges from the perspective of computer sciences, and the typical technologies that are needed in urban computing are summarized into four folds.
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Book•
10 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the policy relevance of behavioral science to our social and political lives, to issues ranging from health, environment, and nutrition, to dispute resolution, implicit racism, and false convictions, and call attention to what policymakers might learn from this vast body of groundbreaking work.
Abstract: In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in behavioral research on a wide variety of topics, from behavioral finance, labor contracts, philanthropy, and the analysis of savings and poverty, to eyewitness identification and sentencing decisions, racism, sexism, health behaviors, and voting. Research findings have often been strikingly counterintuitive, with serious implications for public policymaking. In this book, leading experts in psychology, decision research, policy analysis, economics, political science, law, medicine, and philosophy explore major trends, principles, and general insights about human behavior in policy-relevant settings. Their work provides a deeper understanding of the many drivers--cognitive, social, perceptual, motivational, and emotional--that guide behaviors in everyday settings. They give depth and insight into the methods of behavioral research, and highlight how this knowledge might influence the implementation of public policy for the improvement of society. This collection examines the policy relevance of behavioral science to our social and political lives, to issues ranging from health, environment, and nutrition, to dispute resolution, implicit racism, and false convictions. The book illuminates the relationship between behavioral findings and economic analyses, and calls attention to what policymakers might learn from this vast body of groundbreaking work. Wide-ranging investigation into people's motivations, abilities, attitudes, and perceptions finds that they differ in profound ways from what is typically assumed. The result is that public policy acquires even greater significance, since rather than merely facilitating the conduct of human affairs, policy actually shapes their trajectory.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a passenger survey and video-recorded waiting passengers at different types of transit stops and stations to investigate differences between survey-reported waiting time and actual waiting time.
Abstract: Waiting time in transit travel is often perceived negatively and high-amenity stops and stations are becoming increasingly popular as strategies for mitigating transit riders’ aversion to waiting. However, beyond recent evidence that realtime transit arrival information reduces perceived waiting time, there is limited empirical evidence as to which other specific station and stop amenities can effectively influence user perceptions of waiting time. To address this knowledge gap, the authors conducted a passenger survey and video-recorded waiting passengers at different types of transit stops and stations to investigate differences between survey-reported waiting time and video-recorded actual waiting time. Results from the survey and video observations show that the reported wait time on average is about 1.21 times longer than the observed wait time. Regression analysis was employed to explain the variation in riders’ reported waiting time as a function of their objectively observed waiting time, as well as station and stop amenities, weather, time of the day, personal demographics, and trip characteristics. Based on the regression results, most waits at stops with no amenities are perceived at least 1.3 times as long as they actually are. Basic amenities including benches and shelters significantly reduce perceived waiting times. Women waiting for more than 10 min in perceived insecure surroundings report waits as dramatically longer than they really are, and longer than do men in the same situation. The authors recommend a focus on providing basic amenities at stations and stops as broadly as possible in transit systems, and a particular focus on stops on low-frequency routes and in less safe areas for security measures.
152 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an overview of research in public transport and tourism since 2000, identifying main topics and issues including how PT is used for tourism purposes in different contexts and recommending policies and strategies for a modal shift to PT in tourism.
Abstract: Understanding tourists' use of public transport (PT) at the destination is important for sustainable mobility, destination satisfaction, PT management and destination management. This paper provides an overview of research in PT and tourism since 2000. The review identifies main topics and issues including how PT is used for tourism purposes in different contexts. It also recommends policies and strategies for a modal shift to PT in tourism, and identifies potential areas for future research. The review indicates that there are differences in the level of PT use by visitors between rural and urban destinations. PT is often not favoured by visitors in remote areas, although the situation is more promising in urban destinations. However, the overall potential of PT as an alternative mode for travelling is unclear, given tourist motivations and behaviours, and provision of visitor-oriented PT services including the need for appropriate communication and social marketing strategies.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the effect of real-time information provided via web-enabled and mobile devices on public transit ridership in New York City and found that the increase in weekday route-level ridership may appear modest.
Abstract: In the past few years, numerous mobile applications have made it possible for public transit passengers to find routes and/or learn about the expected arrival time of their transit vehicles. Though these services are widely used, their impact on overall transit ridership remains unclear. The objective of this research is to assess the effect of real-time information provided via web-enabled and mobile devices on public transit ridership. An empirical evaluation is conducted for New York City, which is the setting of a natural experiment in which a real-time bus tracking system was gradually launched on a borough-by-borough basis beginning in 2011. Panel regression techniques are used to evaluate bus ridership over a three year period, while controlling for changes in transit service, fares, local socioeconomic conditions, weather, and other factors. A fixed effects model of average weekday unlinked bus trips per month reveals an increase of approximately 118 trips per route per weekday (median increase of 1.7% of weekday route-level ridership) attributable to providing real-time information. Further refinement of the fixed effects model suggests that this ridership increase may only be occurring on larger routes; specifically, the largest quartile of routes defined by revenue miles of service realized approximately 340 additional trips per route per weekday (median increase of 2.3% per route). Although the increase in weekday route-level ridership may appear modest, on aggregate these increases exert a substantial positive effect on farebox revenue. The implications of this research are critical to decision-makers at the country’s transit operators who face pressure to increase ridership under limited budgets, particularly as they seek to prioritize investments in infrastructure, service offerings, and new technologies.
119 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the potential significance of travel time use within past, present and future patterns of mobility and explore how travel time can be, and is, being used "productively" as activity time, and what enhancements to time use might be emerging in the information age.
Abstract: This paper, focused primarily on UK data and debates, considers the potential significance of travel time use within past, present and future patterns of mobility. In transport scheme appraisal, savings in travel time typically represent a substantial proportion of the benefits of a scheme—benefits used to justify its often enormous financial costs. Such benefits are founded on the assumption that travel time is unproductive, wasted time in-between ‘real’ activities and which should be minimised. Travel demand analysis treats travel time and activity time as separate, albeit acknowledging an interdependency. The paper challenges these approaches by exploring how travel time can be, and is, being used ‘productively’ as activity time, and what enhancements to time use might be emerging in the ‘information age’. Such undermining of the division between activities and travelling, and between activity time and travel time, may have major implications for future levels of mobility, for the modal distribution of travel, for the validity of current transport appraisal methodology and for the analysis of travelling within the information age. These issues are considered.
447 citations
01 Oct 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted a cross-sectional analysis of transit use in 265 US urbanized areas, and tested dozens of variables measuring regional geography, metropolitan economy, population characteristics, auto/highway system characteristics, and transit system characteristics.
Abstract: Public subsidy of transit services has increased dramatically in recent years, with little effect on overall ridership. Quite obviously, a clear understanding of the factors influencing transit ridership is central to decisions on investments in and the pricing and deployment of transit services. Yet the literature about the causes of transit use is quite spotty; most previous aggregate analyses of transit ridership have examined just one or a few systems, have not included many of the external, control variables thought to influence transit use, and have not addressed the simultaneous relationship between transit service supply and consumption. This study addresses each of these shortcomings by (1) conducting a cross-sectional analysis of transit use in 265 US urbanized areas, (2) testing dozens of variables measuring regional geography, metropolitan economy, population characteristics, auto/highway system characteristics, and transit system characteristics, and (3) constructing two-stage simultaneous equation regression models to account for simultaneity between transit service supply and consumption. We find that most of the variation in transit ridership among urbanized areas – in both absolute and relative terms – can be explained by factors outside of the control of public transit systems: (1) regional geography (specifically, area of urbanization, population, population density, and regional location in the US), (2) metropolitan economy (specifically, personal/household income), (3) population characteristics (specifically, the percent college students, recent immigrants, and Democratic voters in the population), and (4) auto/highway system characteristics (specifically, the percent carless households and nontransit/non-SOV trips, including commuting via carpools, walking, biking, etc.). While these external factors clearly go a long way toward determining the overall level of transit use in an urbanized area, we find that transit policies do make a significant difference. The observed range in both fares and service frequency in our sample could account for at least a doubling (or halving) of transit use in a given urbanized area. Controlling for the fact that public transit use is strongly correlated with urbanized area size, about 26% of the observed variance in per capita transit patronage across US urbanized areas is explained in the models presented here by service frequency and fare levels. The observed influence of these two factors is consistent with both the literature and intuition: frequent service draws passengers, and high fares drive them away.
292 citations
TL;DR: The seven main effects described in this paper are: reduced wait time, positive psychological factors, such as reduced uncertainty, increased ease-of-use and a greater feeling of security, increased willingness-to-pay, adjusted travel behaviour, mode choice effects, and higher customer satisfaction.
Abstract: Dynamic at-stop real-time information displays are becoming more and more ubiquitous in modern public transport. Reactions and attitudes towards these systems are very positive. But there is a need to provide a comprehensive framework of the possible effects that these kinds of displays can have on customers. The seven main effects described in this paper are: (A) reduced wait time, (B) positive psychological factors, such as reduced uncertainty, increased ease-of-use and a greater feeling of security, (C) increased willingness-to-pay, (D) adjusted travel behaviour such as better use of wait time or more efficient travelling, (E) mode choice effects, (F) higher customer satisfaction and finally (G) better image. Two studies are presented in this paper. Study I supports and proves that perceived wait times can be reduced by 20% by employing a before-after implementation evaluation study with questionnaires on a tramline. Study II shows the effects of real-time displays on behaviour in the form of adjusted walking speeds, by using a behaviour observation method in a subway station. The effect framework does not claim completeness and many effects are related to each other. However, the framework is a useful basis for designing evaluation studies and provides arguments in favour of at-stop real-time information displays.
249 citations
01 May 2001
TL;DR: In this article, the authors document the growth of congestion levels on the major roads systems of 68 U.S. urban areas over the last 18 years and conclude that the need for new roads exceeds the funding capacity and the ability to gain environmental and public approval.
Abstract: The 18 years of data presented in this report document the growth of congestion levels on the major roads systems of 68 U.S. urban areas. Major transportation system improvements require time for planning, design and implementation, and often a significant amount of funding as well. Communicating the condition and the need for improvements is a goal of this report. Some of the broad conclusions drawn from this research include the following. 1. Congestion is growing in areas of every size. The 68 urban areas in this report range from New York City down to those with 100,000 population. 2. Congestion costs can be expressed in a log of different factors, but they are all increasing. The total congestion "bill" for the 68 areas in 1999 came to $78 billion, which was the value of 4.5 billion hours of delay and 6.8 billion gallons of excess fuel consumed. 3. Road expansions slow the growth in congestion. In areas where the rate of roadway additions were approximately equal to travel growth, travel time grew at about one-fourth to one-third as fast as areas where traffic volume grew much faster than roads were added. 4. By themselves, however, additional roadways do not seem to be the answer. The need for new roads exceeds the funding capacity and the ability to gain environmental and public approval. 5. The "solution" is really a diverse set of options that require funding commitments, as well as a variety of changes in the ways that transportation systems are used. These options and changes include more roads and more transit, more efficient operations, and modifications to the way in which travelers use the transportation network to accommodate more demand. 6. Improving the reliability of the transportation system is an important aspect of the programs in most large cities.
236 citations
10 Apr 2010
TL;DR: Results from a survey of OneBusAway users show a set of important positive outcomes: strongly increased overall satisfaction with public transit, decreased waiting time, increased transit trips per week, increased feelings of safety, and even a health benefit in terms of increased distance walked when using transit.
Abstract: Public transit systems play an important role in combating traffic congestion, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting compact, sustainable urban communities. The usability of public transit can be significantly enhanced by providing good traveler information systems. We describe OneBusAway, a set of transit tools focused on providing real-time arrival information for Seattle-area bus riders. We then present results from a survey of OneBusAway users that show a set of important positive outcomes: strongly increased overall satisfaction with public transit, decreased waiting time, increased transit trips per week, increased feelings of safety, and even a health benefit in terms of increased distance walked when using transit. Finally, we discuss the design and policy implications of these results and plans for future research in this area.
228 citations