Neste trabalho são apresentados os resultados de avaliação do transporte público urbano por ônibus na cidade de São Carlos, sob a ótica da qualidade dos serviços. O primeiro método de avaliação consistiu na aplicação de pesquisa aos usuários do sistema, onde foram avaliados o desempenho e a importância dos principais fatores de qualidade. A segunda forma de avaliação considerou a metodologia utilizada pela Prefeitura Municipal de São Carlos no acompanhamento do serviço prestado pela empresa operadora do transporte. No terceiro método foram entrevistados três especialistas que procederam a avaliação dos fatores considerando os padrões estabelecidos por Ferraz e Torres. Com base nessas avaliações, sobretudo nos resultados da pesquisa de opinião com os usuários, foram identificados os principais aspectos positivos e negativos do transporte coletivo. À luz desses fatos, é apresentado um conjunto de ações para melhoria do sistema. Essas ações, basicamente, se resumem no seguinte: regularizar o pavimento das vias por onde circulam os coletivos, melhorar a sinalização vertical e horizontal, instalar mais abrigos com bancos, disponibilizar informações das linhas e horários nos pontos de embarque, colocar maior quantidade de ônibus no horário de pico e fazer um reestudo no traçado das linhas atuais diminuindo o intervalo entre atendimento em alguns locais específicos / The results of a three-step level of service evaluation of the public transportation service by bus in the city of São Carlos are presented in this work. The first evaluation was carried out directly with the system users through a field survey, in which the performance and the weights of the main level of service indicators were quantitatively measured. A second evaluation strategy made use of a methodology applied by the municipality of São Carlos to assess the quality of the service provided by the private bus operator. The third and final evaluation was based on quality standards specifically defined by Ferraz and Torres to assess the bus service in medium-sized cities. In that case, interviews with three experts were conducted. The analysis of the three evaluation methods provided elements to identify the main positive and negative aspects of the transit service in São Carlos and also suggestions for the system improvement. Those suggestions can be summarized as follows: improvement of street signs (vertical and horizontal), installation of more bus shelters with seats, up-to-date posting of transit routes and schedules at bus stops, more buses operating in peak periods, and redesign of the current routes for reducing the bus headways in specific areas of the city

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:22:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Lima Bezerra.pdf: 7556402 bytes, checksum: 4a0cece86e7dd56a37a0e36f92f0c14c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-28 / This thesis aims to analyze the accessibility of the São Paulo Metro, as well as the mobility of persons with disabilities in the Metro Company stations. It is analyzing the stations and their surroundings, with all the architecture and equipment that make up the road system Subway cars and visual communication that is intended to guide users. The study will serve as a benchmark for future projects and road building complex company of Metro, as part of public policy affecting the mobility and accessibility for all users. The paper makes a comparative analysis of buildings, equipment, stations, trains and visual communication of the Company's existing Metropolitan, compared to existing accessibility laws in Brazil as the NBR-9050/04 and DEC. FEDERAL 5296/04. The importance of this research lies in the fact identify and analyze the main problems of accessibility of the Metro Company, showing the differences between the Brazilian and norms determine what is actually being designed and built. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal analisar a acessibilidade no Metrô de São Paulo, bem como a mobilidade das pessoas com deficiência nas estações da Companhia do Metropolitano. Trata-se de analisar as estações e seu entorno, com toda a arquitetura e equipamentos que compõem o sistema viário, os carros do Metrô e a comunicação visual que se destina a orientar os usuários. O estudo servirá como parâmetro para futuros projetos e construção de complexos viários da companhia do Metrô, como parte das políticas públicas que envolvam a mobilidade e acessibilidade para todos os usuários. O trabalho faz análise comparativa entre as construções, equipamentos, estações, comunicação visual e trens da Companhia do Metropolitano existentes, frente às leis de acessibilidade vigentes no Brasil como a NBR-9050/04 e o DEC. FEDERAL 5.296/04. A importância desta pesquisa está no fato de identificar e analisar os principais problemas da acessibilidade da Companhia do Metrô, demonstrando as diferenças entre o que as normas brasileiras determinam e o que realmente está sendo projetado e construído.

For more than a century, public transportation has played a significant role in society. Transit agencies, like other service industries, are intent on improving their quality of service so as to increase transit ridership and attract passengers from other modes. In recent years transportation technologies have been improved which increase safety, mobility for people and goods, and reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. An evaluation of the impacts of these operational and technological advancements is required for transit agencies to capture the potential benefits for their systems. The Region Municipality of Waterloo (RMOW), a mid-size region in Ontario has implemented an express transit service (iXpress) in Sept, 2005. The service has longer distances between stops and incorporates advanced technologies. The goal is to increase transit ridership and, as a result, to reduce GHG emissions. This research has been conducted to study the iXpress service and to develop several methods to determine the impacts of high speed transit service on passenger attraction, operational efficiency, and regional air quality. In this research, the change in total cost of travel between origin destination pairs is correlated to changes in observed ridership. Further, several surveys were conducted in the RMOW to evaluate the travel pattern changes of residents who switched from other modes to iXpress. Based on fuel consumption data, a model of GHG emissions as a function of route and vehicle characteristics has been developed to capture the operational impacts of a new iXpress service. The iXpress service of Grand River Transit (GRT) has been successful in attracting riders despite delays in technology implementation. The cost analysis presented in this research shows that the introduction of iXpress resulted in approximately 30% reduction in overall cost of travel by transit. As a result, ridership (boardings) has increased by 11% and 46% in the northern and southern sections of the iXpress service area respectively, while accounting for overall growth in the system. An analysis of travel patterns and mode shifts suggest that travelers switching from auto mode to iXpress have resulted in annualized reduction of approximately 530 tonnes of GHG. A fuel consumption analysis indicates that buses on the iXpress route have an average fuel consumption rate of 0.54 L/km while, buses serving local route consumes fuel of a rate of 0.62 L/km.

Bus stops are interwoven into the urban landscape, providing direct access to the transit system and offering upfront information to users. This contact creates an ever-present opportunity for transit agencies to market their services to the public and attract ridership. The purpose of this thesis is to help transit agencies exploit this opportunity through the development and deployment of user information. The thesis examines how agencies are leveraging bus stop infrastructure in the United States and Canada. Site visits were conducted at twenty-nine transit agencies across the continent with observations photographed and processed into matrices. The photographs provide examples of innovative ways in which agencies have employed elements, while the matrices reveal the current state of the practice. The thesis concludes with recommendations for the conceptualization and development of bus stop signage that integrate many of these innovative elements as well as ADA regulations to improve user information at transit agencies. The findings of this thesis may be of interest to transit agencies that are seeking to construct a new or improve upon an existing user information system as well as to those interested in or studying public transit, wayfinding, or environmental graphic design. While there exists a large degree of difference as to the level of information that is made available to users in different transit agencies, all agencies have room to improve.

For more than a century, public transportation has played a significant role in society. Transit agencies, like other service industries, are intent on improving their quality of service so as to increase transit ridership and attract passengers from other modes. In recent years transportation technologies have been improved which increase safety, mobility for people and goods, and reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. An evaluation of the impacts of these operational and technological advancements is required for transit agencies to capture the potential benefits for their systems. The Region Municipality of Waterloo (RMOW), a mid-size region in Ontario has implemented an express transit service (iXpress) in Sept, 2005. The service has longer distances between stops and incorporates advanced technologies. The goal is to increase transit ridership and, as a result, to reduce GHG emissions. This research has been conducted to study the iXpress service and to develop several methods to determine the impacts of high speed transit service on passenger attraction, operational efficiency, and regional air quality. In this research, the change in total cost of travel between origin destination pairs is correlated to changes in observed ridership. Further, several surveys were conducted in the RMOW to evaluate the travel pattern changes of residents who switched from other modes to iXpress. Based on fuel consumption data, a model of GHG emissions as a function of route and vehicle characteristics has been developed to capture the operational impacts of a new iXpress service. The iXpress service of Grand River Transit (GRT) has been successful in attracting riders despite delays in technology implementation. The cost analysis presented in this research shows that the introduction of iXpress resulted in approximately 30% reduction in overall cost of travel by transit. As a result, ridership (boardings) has increased by 11% and 46% in the northern and southern sections of the iXpress service area respectively, while accounting for overall growth in the system. An analysis of travel patterns and mode shifts suggest that travelers switching from auto mode to iXpress have resulted in annualized reduction of approximately 530 tonnes of GHG. A fuel consumption analysis indicates that buses on the iXpress route have an average fuel consumption rate of 0.54 L/km while, buses serving local route consumes fuel of a rate of 0.62 L/km.

Despite the continued interest in transportation accessibility, it is still unclear how different types of accessibility measures relate to one another and which situations are best for each. The current study undertakes a statistical comparison among six transit accessibility measures (representing three main categories of accessibility models) to determine whether they are comparable and/or interchangeable. Specifically, this analysis considers a case study to measure individuals’ access to healthcare via paratransit. Results indicate that the three categories of accessibility measures provide drastically different interpretations of accessibility that cannot be duplicated by each other. Furthermore, the more closely accessibility models capture individuals’ perceptions and true access to activity opportunities, the more consistent and evenly distributed the results. / text

Transportation planning initiatives are assumed to further the development of growing cities across the globe. Latin American cities, especially, suffer from a deficit of infrastructure that presents greater challenges to the efficient movement of people and goods, which makes transportation one of the biggest hindrances to development in Latin America. Throughout the twentieth century, development projects in the Dominican Republic were carried out in the contexts of foreign military occupation and state repression, whereby processes of technical modernization arrived alongside state-led violence. Meanwhile, grandiose infrastructure projects were paired with narratives of national greatness. Decisions regarding land use and distribution of public services remained inattentive of the poorest residents, causing enormous inequalities in increasingly urbanized cities. President Leonel Fernández campaigned for his third term promising to break from old forms of corruption, and has symbolically delivered this promise of progress through the construction of a new subway system. The Santo Domingo Metro revolutionizes transportation options in key areas of a chaotic and congested road system, where many public transportation vehicles are old and dilapidated. Metro can save hours in commute times, provide safe, reliable transit at low cost, and promote sustainability. However, critics note that billions of dollars invested on Metro expansion preempt the funding of health and education. Construction processes displace neighborhoods, while many communities situated near the stations still face daily hardships associated with inadequate housing and lack of sanitation. My paper blends the perspectives of technical transportation planning and critical development theory to understand whether the Metro will serve these communities by improving their access to services, schools, and job sites, or simply drain scarce funds from these very areas. This paper also critically evaluates the way that the current administration‘s symbol of progress at times mirrors the top-down political culture of the past. The Metro thus elucidates larger theoretical and practical questions regarding the interactions of transportation planning and political culture, and their impacts on spatial hierarchies and growth within urban spaces. / text

Public transit is considered a cost-effective alternative to mitigate the effects of traffic gridlock through the implementation of innovative service designs, and deploying new smart systems for operations control and traveller information. Public transport planners use transit assignment models to predict passenger loads and levels of service. Existing transit assignment approaches have limitations in evaluating the effects of information technologies, since they are neither sensitive to the types of information that may be provided to travellers nor to the traveller’s response to that information. Moreover, they are not adequate for evaluating the impacts of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) deployments on service reliability, which in turn affect passengers’ behaviour. This dissertation presents an innovative transit assignment framework, namely the MIcrosimulation Learning-based Approach to TRansit ASsignment – MILATRAS. MILATRAS uses learning and adaptation to represent the dynamic feedback of passengers’ trip choices and their adaptation to service performance. Individual passengers adjust their behaviour (i.e. trip choices) according to their experience with the transit system performance. MILATRAS introduces the concept of ‘mental model’ to maintain and distinguish between the individual’s experience with service performance and the information provided about system conditions. A dynamic transit path choice model is developed using concepts of Markovian Decision Process (MDP) and Reinforcement Learning (RL). It addresses the departure time and path choices with and without information provision. A parameter-calibration procedure using a generic optimization technique (Genetic Algorithms) is also proposed. A proof-of-concept prototype has been implemented; it investigates the impact of different traveller information provision scenarios on departure time and path choices, and network performance. A large-scale application, including parameter calibration, is conducted for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) network. MILATRAS implements a microsimulation, stochastic (nonequilibrium-based) approach for modelling within-day and day-to-day variations in the transit assignment process, where aggregate travel patterns can be extracted from individual choices. MILATRAS addresses many limitations of existing transit assignment models by exploiting methodologies already established in the areas of traffic assignment and travel behaviour modeling. Such approaches include the microsimulation of transportation systems, learning-based algorithms for modelling travel behaviour, agent-based representation for travellers, and the adoption of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This thesis presents a significant step towards the advancement of the modelling for the transit assignment problem by providing a detailed operational specification for an integrated dynamic modelling framework – MILATRAS.

Public transit is considered a cost-effective alternative to mitigate the effects of traffic gridlock through the implementation of innovative service designs, and deploying new smart systems for operations control and traveller information. Public transport planners use transit assignment models to predict passenger loads and levels of service. Existing transit assignment approaches have limitations in evaluating the effects of information technologies, since they are neither sensitive to the types of information that may be provided to travellers nor to the traveller’s response to that information. Moreover, they are not adequate for evaluating the impacts of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) deployments on service reliability, which in turn affect passengers’ behaviour. This dissertation presents an innovative transit assignment framework, namely the MIcrosimulation Learning-based Approach to TRansit ASsignment – MILATRAS. MILATRAS uses learning and adaptation to represent the dynamic feedback of passengers’ trip choices and their adaptation to service performance. Individual passengers adjust their behaviour (i.e. trip choices) according to their experience with the transit system performance. MILATRAS introduces the concept of ‘mental model’ to maintain and distinguish between the individual’s experience with service performance and the information provided about system conditions. A dynamic transit path choice model is developed using concepts of Markovian Decision Process (MDP) and Reinforcement Learning (RL). It addresses the departure time and path choices with and without information provision. A parameter-calibration procedure using a generic optimization technique (Genetic Algorithms) is also proposed. A proof-of-concept prototype has been implemented; it investigates the impact of different traveller information provision scenarios on departure time and path choices, and network performance. A large-scale application, including parameter calibration, is conducted for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) network. MILATRAS implements a microsimulation, stochastic (nonequilibrium-based) approach for modelling within-day and day-to-day variations in the transit assignment process, where aggregate travel patterns can be extracted from individual choices. MILATRAS addresses many limitations of existing transit assignment models by exploiting methodologies already established in the areas of traffic assignment and travel behaviour modeling. Such approaches include the microsimulation of transportation systems, learning-based algorithms for modelling travel behaviour, agent-based representation for travellers, and the adoption of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This thesis presents a significant step towards the advancement of the modelling for the transit assignment problem by providing a detailed operational specification for an integrated dynamic modelling framework – MILATRAS.

In virtually all rural areas in Ontario the limited transportation alternatives means that rural residents without access to a personal vehicle are at great risk of transportation disadvantage. The primary research method for this research involved testing a transportation disadvantage framework using fourteen Key Informant Interviews undertaken with service providers operating within the case study of Huron County. The research found that residents within five demographic groups are at risk of transportation disadvantage within Huron County: older adults, those with physical or mental disabilities, youth, low-income households, and women. The research confirmed that transportation disadvantage exists on a continuum with some groups more disadvantaged than others, but also within groups with some accessibility needs more attainable than others. The research concludes with suggestions for a public transportation system to improve unmet transportation needs in Huron County along with recommendations for improving transportation access within the county.