The purpose of this study was to address the need for a straightforward and practical tool for evaluating public transit accessibility to places of employment. The need for such a study stems from the widespread adoption of planning policies by Canadian municipalities seeking to promote public transit commuting as part of their broader efforts to develop environmentally and socially sustainable transportation systems. To date, planners have not had any practical methods for identifying barriers to public transit commuting nor for evaluating the extent to which stated goals and objectives are being achieved. <p> The study was conducted in three stages. First, a Comprehensive Definition of Public Transit Commuter Needs was developed by means of a literature review, a survey questionnaire, and consultations with sustainable transportation advocacy groups. In the second stage, the Comprehensive Definition of Public Transit Commuter Needs was used as a framework for creating the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit. Through a six-step process that involves the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data, this tool provides planners with a means of identifying any potential obstacles or deterrents to public transit travel within the context of actual spatio-temporal commuter flows. The practical utility of the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit was tested in the third stage by means of two case studies conducted in the City of Ottawa, Canada. <p> This study has shown that commuters require a broad array of infrastructure, facilities and services in order for public transit to represent a viable travel option. It has also revealed that responsibility for promoting public transit commuting rests not only with transit agencies, but also with land use and transportation planners, private developers and employers. Furthermore, the case studies successfully demonstrated that application of the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit can provide a preliminary indication of problem areas where direct planning interventions may be required, where municipal planning policies may need revision or more aggressive implementation, or where new policies may be necessary in order to increase the viability of public transit commuting.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-06232004-060831 |
| Date | 23 June 2004 |
| Creators | Fullerton, Christopher Adam |
| Contributors | Reed, Maureen, Huq, M. Mobinul, Andrey, Jean, Akkerman, Abraham, Williams, Allison |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-06232004-060831/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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