01629767

Component

Choice and captive riders represent the two conceptual extremes of transit market demand, with agencies expected to provide services to both. Transit providers attempt to balance the needs of choice light rail transit (LRT) patrons with captive bus riders. Scholars agree that LRT and buses, however, serve different markets; compared to rubber-based services social equity benefits are lower for rail-based systems. This paper investigates social equity impacts on bus patrons in relation to LRT riders by examining mode-specific variation using four concentric rings of development that capture central city through suburban demand. Relying on an on-board rider survey from Edmonton, Canada, the analysis focuses on the decision to start a trip on transit, whether on bus or LRT, and jointly models the trip-start location using a mixed logit specification. The models indicate that, compared to LRT patrons, social equity increases for senior/youth bus riders, traveling in the morning peak, and walking to/from transit. The analysis suggests that social equity of riders is better served by improving bus over LRT services, particularly in the second and third development rings.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP025 Standing Committee on Public Transportation Planning and Development.

01618707

17-04992

English

17p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Maps; References; Tables

Bus transit; Cities; Equity; Light rail transit; Mode choice; Ridership

Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-04992

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:55AM