Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Gregory L. Newmark / At Kansas State University, there is not an issue of opposition to public bus services. Instead, there is a perception that taking the bus is too complicated to figure out or cannot appropriately serve the community’s needs. This, combined with dependence and attachment to the automobile, caused local buses to become unpopular mode choices. Since the service is still relatively new, it has not been engrained into campus culture and ridership is very low. This study looked at the local bus system, ATA bus, used to access the Manhattan, KS campus of Kansas State University (KSU). According to the ATA Annual Report from 2014, 75% of off-campus students at KSU and 35% of employees live within five minutes of ATA city-wide routes (FHATA 2014). Ideally, all those students and employees would take the bus to class or work, but in reality, most walk or drive. A very small minority of students use the fixed route service, and many are unfamiliar with how the system works. A campus access survey distributed in March 2017 to the KSU community aimed to ascertain familiarity with the system, current level of use, as well as attitudes towards the existing public transportation system. The data recovered from the survey contradicts the hypothesis that the disuse of the bus system was due to an active opposition to public buses. Conversely, it pointed to the conclusion that disuse resulted from a lack of information about the bus service and a deep-set attachment to private automobiles. This research aimed to increase ridership by identifying attitudes towards transit among the KSU community and suggesting strategies for improving service.

O sistema de transporte público por ônibus no Brasil tem sido afetado por influências variadas que exigem do setor uma maior eficiência e redução de custos. A queda da demanda de passageiros nos centros urbanos e o aumento do preço dos insumos das empresas de transporte acima da inflação oneram significativamente o sistema de transporte. Considerando que o ativo operacional mais importante da empresa é o ônibus, uma política de substituição destes equipamentos viabiliza uma gestão mais eficiente e econômica da empresa. O objetivo desta Dissertação é o de desenvolver uma sistemática para Política de Substituição de Frotas de Ônibus para Transporte Coletivo Urbano, integrando aspectos econômico-financeiros, quantitativos e qualitativos com o uso da Engenharia Econômica e da Análise Multicritério. A metodologia do estudo foi baseada na pesquisa-ação, no sentido de desenvolver a sistemática com a participação dos colaboradores da empresa estudada e de validar a mesma com a sua aplicação. A sistemática foi implementada em uma empresa pública de transporte coletivo urbano por ônibus, a Companhia Carris Porto-Alegrense. A Vida Econômica da frota foi calculada assim como os benefícios intangíveis através de um método híbrido multicritério, combinando MAUT, AHP e QFD. Gerou-se um índice benefício/custo, o qual classificou o modelo ideal de ônibus para a empresa e a faixa ideal de substituição em função do tipo e nível tecnológico do ônibus. A análise dos resultados revelou que quanto mais avançado tecnologicamente, mais curta é a vida econômica do ônibus. Os resultados da análise econômica e multicritério da aplicação da sistemática proposta indicam que a empresa deveria adquirir tecnologia compatível com a sua prestação de serviço. Veículos com alta tecnologia, mas inadequados a determinados itinerários das linhas da empresa, podem provocar uma operação ineficiente e um aumento substancial nos custos de manutenção e operação dos mesmos. Portanto, os resultados enfatizam a necessidade de um processo de aquisição que priorize principalmente os custos de operação e manutenção do veículo e não apenas o custo de aquisição do mesmo. / The public bus transportation system in Brazil has been affected by varied influences, which in turn have created a demand for higher efficiency and cost reduction from the sector. The decrease in the number of passengers in the urban centers, plus the price increase of the inputs of transportation companies above the inflation rate burdens the transportation system significantly. Considering that the most important operational asset of the company is the bus itself, an Equipment Replacement Policy makes it possible to have a more efficient and economic management of the company. The main purpose of this Dissertation was to develop a systematic procedure for a Fleet Replacement Policy for public buses, thus integrating economic-financial, quantitative and qualitative aspects coupled with the use of Engineering Economy and Multicriterial Analysis. The methodology of the study was based upon the action research approach, since company employees participated in the development of the systematic procedure that was implemented in an urban public bus transportation company, the Cia. Carris Porto-Alegrense. The Economic Life of the fleet was calculated as well as the intangible benefits with the use of a hybrid multicriteria method, combining MAUT, AHP and QFD. A benefit/cost index was determined, based upon which the ideal bus model for the company and the timing of replacement according to type and technological level of the buses were determined. The results disclosed that the more advanced technology of the equipment, the shorter is the economic life of the bus. The economic and multicriteria analysis of the application indicate that the company should acquire compatible technology with its rendering of services. High technology vehicles assigned do inadequate itineraries or campany routes, can result in an inefficient operation and a substantial increase in the maintenance costs and operation of the same ones. Therefore, the results emphasize the need for an acquisition process that mainly prioritizes the costs of operation and maintenance of the vehicle and as well as the cost of its acquisition.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T17:10:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JuciaraCF_DISSERT.pdf: 3946586 bytes, checksum: 7a6024e71c31330eb9465c6e3366198a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-15 / This paper focuses public bus service as an essential component to urban dynamics in Natal, RN. Thereby, the approach of public bus service in Natal City, capital of Rio Grande do Norte State, has as analytical category the concept of territory used, in which techniques are seen as space elements allowing man and nature interact together. The result of this interaction, systematically analyzed in different historical phases, makes space to a geographical assessment of the theme. On a second moment, it is investigated how public bus system came to be and how it functions today in Natal City. In this sense, this paper looks for the main elements that contributed to explain the subject under investigation. For example, how public bus service has accompanied Natal s socio-spatial changes, and eventually, the use of territory carried out in the context of public bus system. These questions are highlighted in this paper because they play a fundamental role to an explanation about public bus circulation, urban vehicle policies and how they affect the use of territory nowadays. / Este trabalho apresenta como tema o transporte coletivo como elemento fundamental da din?mica urbana em Natal-RN. Nesse sentido, o sistema de transporte coletivo na capital potiguar, ? abordado tendo o territ?rio usado como categoria anal?tica, no qual as t?cnicas s?o consideradas como elemento do espa?o que possibilita a rela??o entre o homem e a natureza; e seus usos, analisados de forma sistem?tica, em momentos hist?ricos distintos, permitem realizar uma abordagem geogr?fica do tema proposto. Esta disserta??o apresenta como objetivo analisar o processo sob o qual se organizou o transporte coletivo em Natal e sua atual configura??o territorial. Nesse sentido, foram resgatados os contextos que propiciaram o surgimento e a consolida??o do servi?o de transporte coletivo por ?nibus em Natal; da mesma forma, foi analisado o modo como o sistema de transporte coletivo acompanhou a expans?o socioespacial da cidade; e por fim apresenta como ocorre o uso do territ?rio de Natal a partir do transporte coletivo por ?nibus. Acredita-se que as quest?es apontadas neste estudo s?o fundamentais para uma reflex?o acerca da import?ncia da an?lise geogr?fica sobre a circula??o e o transporte em diversas escalas, sobre quais pol?ticas de transporte urbano foram adotadas at? ent?o, e de que forma repercutem no uso do territ?rio atualmente.

O sistema de transporte público por ônibus no Brasil tem sido afetado por influências variadas que exigem do setor uma maior eficiência e redução de custos. A queda da demanda de passageiros nos centros urbanos e o aumento do preço dos insumos das empresas de transporte acima da inflação oneram significativamente o sistema de transporte. Considerando que o ativo operacional mais importante da empresa é o ônibus, uma política de substituição destes equipamentos viabiliza uma gestão mais eficiente e econômica da empresa. O objetivo desta Dissertação é o de desenvolver uma sistemática para Política de Substituição de Frotas de Ônibus para Transporte Coletivo Urbano, integrando aspectos econômico-financeiros, quantitativos e qualitativos com o uso da Engenharia Econômica e da Análise Multicritério. A metodologia do estudo foi baseada na pesquisa-ação, no sentido de desenvolver a sistemática com a participação dos colaboradores da empresa estudada e de validar a mesma com a sua aplicação. A sistemática foi implementada em uma empresa pública de transporte coletivo urbano por ônibus, a Companhia Carris Porto-Alegrense. A Vida Econômica da frota foi calculada assim como os benefícios intangíveis através de um método híbrido multicritério, combinando MAUT, AHP e QFD. Gerou-se um índice benefício/custo, o qual classificou o modelo ideal de ônibus para a empresa e a faixa ideal de substituição em função do tipo e nível tecnológico do ônibus. A análise dos resultados revelou que quanto mais avançado tecnologicamente, mais curta é a vida econômica do ônibus. Os resultados da análise econômica e multicritério da aplicação da sistemática proposta indicam que a empresa deveria adquirir tecnologia compatível com a sua prestação de serviço. Veículos com alta tecnologia, mas inadequados a determinados itinerários das linhas da empresa, podem provocar uma operação ineficiente e um aumento substancial nos custos de manutenção e operação dos mesmos. Portanto, os resultados enfatizam a necessidade de um processo de aquisição que priorize principalmente os custos de operação e manutenção do veículo e não apenas o custo de aquisição do mesmo. / The public bus transportation system in Brazil has been affected by varied influences, which in turn have created a demand for higher efficiency and cost reduction from the sector. The decrease in the number of passengers in the urban centers, plus the price increase of the inputs of transportation companies above the inflation rate burdens the transportation system significantly. Considering that the most important operational asset of the company is the bus itself, an Equipment Replacement Policy makes it possible to have a more efficient and economic management of the company. The main purpose of this Dissertation was to develop a systematic procedure for a Fleet Replacement Policy for public buses, thus integrating economic-financial, quantitative and qualitative aspects coupled with the use of Engineering Economy and Multicriterial Analysis. The methodology of the study was based upon the action research approach, since company employees participated in the development of the systematic procedure that was implemented in an urban public bus transportation company, the Cia. Carris Porto-Alegrense. The Economic Life of the fleet was calculated as well as the intangible benefits with the use of a hybrid multicriteria method, combining MAUT, AHP and QFD. A benefit/cost index was determined, based upon which the ideal bus model for the company and the timing of replacement according to type and technological level of the buses were determined. The results disclosed that the more advanced technology of the equipment, the shorter is the economic life of the bus. The economic and multicriteria analysis of the application indicate that the company should acquire compatible technology with its rendering of services. High technology vehicles assigned do inadequate itineraries or campany routes, can result in an inefficient operation and a substantial increase in the maintenance costs and operation of the same ones. Therefore, the results emphasize the need for an acquisition process that mainly prioritizes the costs of operation and maintenance of the vehicle and as well as the cost of its acquisition.

O sistema de transporte público por ônibus no Brasil tem sido afetado por influências variadas que exigem do setor uma maior eficiência e redução de custos. A queda da demanda de passageiros nos centros urbanos e o aumento do preço dos insumos das empresas de transporte acima da inflação oneram significativamente o sistema de transporte. Considerando que o ativo operacional mais importante da empresa é o ônibus, uma política de substituição destes equipamentos viabiliza uma gestão mais eficiente e econômica da empresa. O objetivo desta Dissertação é o de desenvolver uma sistemática para Política de Substituição de Frotas de Ônibus para Transporte Coletivo Urbano, integrando aspectos econômico-financeiros, quantitativos e qualitativos com o uso da Engenharia Econômica e da Análise Multicritério. A metodologia do estudo foi baseada na pesquisa-ação, no sentido de desenvolver a sistemática com a participação dos colaboradores da empresa estudada e de validar a mesma com a sua aplicação. A sistemática foi implementada em uma empresa pública de transporte coletivo urbano por ônibus, a Companhia Carris Porto-Alegrense. A Vida Econômica da frota foi calculada assim como os benefícios intangíveis através de um método híbrido multicritério, combinando MAUT, AHP e QFD. Gerou-se um índice benefício/custo, o qual classificou o modelo ideal de ônibus para a empresa e a faixa ideal de substituição em função do tipo e nível tecnológico do ônibus. A análise dos resultados revelou que quanto mais avançado tecnologicamente, mais curta é a vida econômica do ônibus. Os resultados da análise econômica e multicritério da aplicação da sistemática proposta indicam que a empresa deveria adquirir tecnologia compatível com a sua prestação de serviço. Veículos com alta tecnologia, mas inadequados a determinados itinerários das linhas da empresa, podem provocar uma operação ineficiente e um aumento substancial nos custos de manutenção e operação dos mesmos. Portanto, os resultados enfatizam a necessidade de um processo de aquisição que priorize principalmente os custos de operação e manutenção do veículo e não apenas o custo de aquisição do mesmo. / The public bus transportation system in Brazil has been affected by varied influences, which in turn have created a demand for higher efficiency and cost reduction from the sector. The decrease in the number of passengers in the urban centers, plus the price increase of the inputs of transportation companies above the inflation rate burdens the transportation system significantly. Considering that the most important operational asset of the company is the bus itself, an Equipment Replacement Policy makes it possible to have a more efficient and economic management of the company. The main purpose of this Dissertation was to develop a systematic procedure for a Fleet Replacement Policy for public buses, thus integrating economic-financial, quantitative and qualitative aspects coupled with the use of Engineering Economy and Multicriterial Analysis. The methodology of the study was based upon the action research approach, since company employees participated in the development of the systematic procedure that was implemented in an urban public bus transportation company, the Cia. Carris Porto-Alegrense. The Economic Life of the fleet was calculated as well as the intangible benefits with the use of a hybrid multicriteria method, combining MAUT, AHP and QFD. A benefit/cost index was determined, based upon which the ideal bus model for the company and the timing of replacement according to type and technological level of the buses were determined. The results disclosed that the more advanced technology of the equipment, the shorter is the economic life of the bus. The economic and multicriteria analysis of the application indicate that the company should acquire compatible technology with its rendering of services. High technology vehicles assigned do inadequate itineraries or campany routes, can result in an inefficient operation and a substantial increase in the maintenance costs and operation of the same ones. Therefore, the results emphasize the need for an acquisition process that mainly prioritizes the costs of operation and maintenance of the vehicle and as well as the cost of its acquisition.

Artificial intelligence has become a hot topic in the past couple of years because of its potential of solving problems. The most used subset of artificial intelligence today is machine learning, which is essentially the way a machine can learn to do tasks without getting any explicit instructions. A problem that has historically been solved by common knowledge and experience is the planning of bus transportation, which has been prone to mistakes. This thesis investigates how to extract the key features of a raw dataset and if a couple of machine learning algorithms can be applied to predict and plan the public bus transportation, while also considering the weather conditions. By using a pre-processing method to extract the features before creating and evaluating an k-nearest neighbors model as well as an artificial neural network model, predicting the passenger count on a given route could help planning of the bus transportation. The outcome of the thesis was that the feature extraction was successful, and both models could successfully predict the passenger count based on normal conditions. However, in extreme conditions such as the pandemic during 2020, the models could not be proven to successfully predict the passenger count nor being used to plan the bus transportation.

The past decades New Public Management (NPM) reforms in the public sector have changed how the mechanisms of accountability work. One type of reform is the privatization of public service provision. These services are today often procured with extensive regulations involved. Many academics argue, under the concept of juridification, that legal institutions have a bigger impact than policies in these activities today (Magnussen & Nilssen, 2013; Blichner & Molander, 2008; Laughlin & Broadbent, 1993) and that the legal contract plays an important role in governing them (Camén, 2011; Brown & Potoski, 2005). In this study we explore how the actors involved in provision of public services perceive accountability. We do this by investigating how politicians, civil servants and service providers involved in the provision of public bus services in Sweden perceive their roles, the procurement regulations’ roles and the legal contracts’ roles. We conclude that, in the case where the service provider is a private company, the legal contract plays an important role in how the accountability is perceived by the actors involved. Further research is needed to see if our results also apply to the contexts of other provisions of public services.

The self-driving public bus (SDPB) holds the potential to replace human-operated driving with more eco-friendly means and is therefore a valuable mobility solution for our future. The SDPB is based on the innovative technology of autonomous driving, which can only be guaranteed future market success with broad enough user acceptance. This acceptance is thus an essential factor for the growth of SDPB services. In this context, the travel behavior of young people is particularly interesting, as its development will continually demonstrate future mobility behavior trends. However, little research has been conducted regarding the best methods for motivating young people to accept SDPBs as a viable mode of travel. To address this topic, we first conducted a literature review, identifying factors that potentially influence SDPB acceptance. Subsequently, we developed a comprehensive research model based on the life-oriented approach and the technology acceptance model. This conceptualization was validated by a survey of 268 SDPB riders in real-world traffic. The results reveal several novel factors influencing the acceptance of SDPBs, in particular regarding differences in age. Our research contributes to existing research on both the life-oriented and travel behavior approaches by highlighting age differences and their importance in the field. For instance, our findings demonstrate a vital need to account for age differences when deriving policy implications for future mobility solutions.

This thesis is occupying with transport services and it's financing. Main goal is appraisal of financial resources for transport services in South Bohemia region. At the beginning, work charakterize transport. It's talking about what role is transport playing in national economy, what is it's meaning and how it's influencing society. Then it's talking about regulation and controlling sphere of transport by transport government policy and shortly describing it's basic strategic documents. Definition of transport services and factors and meanings, which are influencing it, is necessary. In the end theoretical part describing three methods of financing transport services and talking about terms like compensation or provable loss, which are closely related to financing. Practical part is focused on South Bohemia region. It is describing transport services and analyzing financial resources. Public bus transport and regional train transport are solved separately. For analyze were used chosen statistic methods. In the end work is occupying with secondary goal of research, which is suggestion of yet unused method of financing transport services.

Indian cities rely predominantly on buses for public transport. The issues of performance measurement and efficiency analyses for the bus company have been gaining significance due to severe operating conditions and financial constraints in which these bus companies provide the service. Performance is defined as the levels of success of the service with respect to different parameters such as quality of service, cost effectiveness and safety. Performance is measured in terms of operational efficiency and financial efficiency. Operational Efficiency of an organization is the ability to utilize its available resources to the maximum extent. Financial Efficiency is a measure of the organization’s ability to translate its financial resources into revenue. Public bus transportation plays a pivotal role in India in bringing about greater mobility both within and between urban and rural areas. Through increased mobility, road transport also contributes immensely to social and economic development of different regions of the country. Public transport is provided by surface road transport using buses by the State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs) and by private operators. In this thesis, scientific analysis of the performance of SRTUs is carried out at different levels considering physical and financial parameters through multivariate techniques, non-parametric techniques and qualitative techniques. A comprehensive study on all the SRTUs of Karnataka at depot, division level are done and determined which quantitative method is suited for depot level and division level studies. From quantitative and qualitative studies of SRTUs strategies are developed and recommendations are made to improve the performance of SRTUs. Further, in addition to Bangalore metropolitan transport corporation (BMTC) performance analyses, the routes are analyzed to reduce the dead kilometer. Major contributions from this work: 1. Both inter and intra city operations of the public transport corporation in the state of Karnataka have been exhaustively analysed using operational and financial parameters. 2. Large amount of data over a long period has been collated from State road transport units and a standard format has been developed for collecting both operational and financial parameters for SRTU’s. 3. A generic framework and plan for performance evaluation of SRTU’s has been developed using ratio and benchmarking analysis, and, non-parametric and multivariate techniques like DEA (constant return to scale (CRS) and variable return to scale (VRS)), DEA-principal component analysis (PCA), DEA- bootstrapping. These analyses have been carried out at different levels, like transport corporations level (KSRTC NEKRTC, NWKRTC, BMTC), division level (33 divisions), and Depot level (193 depots). 4. Non parametric and multivariate Models have been developed and validated using DEAP and GAMS software before embarking on the above detailed analyses. 5. Analytical hierarchy approach (AHP), which is multi criteria structured technique, has been adopted to evaluate and analyze performance of the SRTU’s, divisions and depots based on qualitative and quantitative data. 6. User and operator perception studies of different SRTU’s of Karnataka have been done to evaluate the performance of these corporations from qualitative techniques. 7. From these comprehensive non parametric techniques, the efficiency of the SRTU’s have been evaluated and found that KSRTC has been the best operating unit among the SRTU’s considered for the study. The same has been observed from the AHP as well as perception surveys carried out as part of this thesis. 8. Operation and financial performance including profitability studies of Mysore urban transportation (Mysore city transport division) has been carried out before and after implementation of intelligent transport system (ITS). 9. The dead kilometer minimization model was formulated, which is a mixed integer programming problem, to get the optimal solution considering the capacity of the depot and time period of operation for the chosen network. An optimization technique has been developed for solving the dead kilometer problem in the operations of BMTC buses for the Volvo division (division operates 794 schedules). The alternative depot locations have been identified to reduce the dead kilometer, leading to large amount of savings for the corporation. 10. From the detailed analyses using non parametric techniques, multivariate and multi-criteria techniques along with perception surveys, strategies and recommendations have been arrived at to improve performance of the public transport corporations. This thesis consists of nine chapters and they are as below; Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction of public bus transport systems in India, their problems and need for performance evaluation of SRTUs. The impacts study of Mysore ITS, dead kilometer minimization problem for BMTC along with evaluating the performance of SRTUs by quantitative and qualitative data. This chapter provides the objective of the work and scope of the work. The main objectives of this research are 1. To develop a generic framework and plan for evaluation by identifying the performance indicators and data sources for evaluation.