Performance measures for public transport accessibility: Learning from international practice
Carey Curtis
Curtin University
Jan Scheurer
School of Global, Urban and Social Studies RMIT University & School of Built Environment Australia Curtin University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2015.683
Keywords: Accessibility, Public Transport, Land Use-Transport Integration, Benchmarking
Abstract
There is a growing recognition by city policymakers that urban public transport systems can be developed in such a way that travelers can be offered an alternative to car-based travel. How to evolve the public transport system for this purpose is a significant challenge and raises questions of accessibility and quality largely absent from current planning evaluation. This paper explores the use of accessibility performance measures, both to assess the extent of current public transport accessibility and as a potential metric for future planning and investment. The Spatial Network Analysis for Multimodal Urban Transport Systems (SNAMUTS) tool is employed for analysis of accessibility. A sample of 21 international cities is assessed, representing a range of transport and land-use policy contexts from best to ordinary practice, including those held up as exemplars in public transport infrastructure, service planning, and delivery in Europe and North America. The findings show that the incidence of successful metropolitan public transport systems, as measured by patronage, can be linked to accessibility performance measures of network and service configurations.References
Bernick M, Cervero R (1997) Transit Villages in the 21st Century. McGraw Hill, New York (NY), USA
Cervero R (1998) The Transit Metropolis. A Global Inquiry. Island Press, Washington (DC), USA
Curtis C, Low N (2012) Institutional Barriers for Sustainable Transport. Ashgate, Aldershot, UK
Curtis C, Scheurer J (2009) Network City Activity Centres. Developing an Analysis, Conception and Communication Tool for Integrated Land Use and Transport Planning in the Perth Metropolitan Area. Research Monograph, Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) and Curtin University of Technology, Perth (WA), available online at www.abp.unimelb.edu.au/gamut/pdf/perth-snamuts-future-scenarios-19june09.pdf
Curtis C, Scheurer J (2010) Planning for Sustainable Accessibility. Developing Tools to Aid Discussion and Decision Making. Progress in Planning, Vol 74 - pp.53-106
Curtis C, Scheurer J, Burke M (2010) The dead end of demand modelling: supplying a futures-based public transport plan. 24th AESOP Congress, Helsinki, Finland, June
Curtis C, Renne J L, Bertolini L (2009, Eds) Transit-Oriented Development – Making it Happen. Ashgate, Farnham, UK
Dittmar H, Ohland G (2004) The New Transit Town. Best Practices in Transit-Oriented Development. Island Press, Washington (DC), USA
Gleeson, Curtis & Low (2003) Barriers to Sustainable Transport in Australia. Chapter 12 in Low N, Gleeson B (2003, Eds) Making Urban Transport Sustainable. Palgrave Macmillan, New York (NY), USA
Kenworthy J, Laube F (2001) The Millennium Cities Database for Sustainable Cities. Union Internationale des Transports Publics (UITP), Bruxelles, Belgium and Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), Murdoch University, Perth (WA), Australia
Laube F (1998) Optimising Urban Passenger Transport. PhD Thesis, Murdoch University, Perth (WA)
Mees P (2000) A Very Public Solution. Transport in the Dispersed City. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne (VIC), Australia
Mees P (2010) Transport for Suburbia. Beyond the Automobile Age. Earthscan, London, UK
Mees P, Dodson J (2011) Public Transport Network Planning in Australia: Assessing current practice in Australia’s five largest cities. Research Paper 34, Urban Research Program, Griffith University, Brisbane (QLD), Australia
Newman P (2009) Planning for Transit-Oriented Development: Strategic Principles. Chapter 2 in Curtis C, Renne J L, Bertolini L (2009, Eds) Transit-Oriented Development – Making it Happen. Ashgate, Farnham, UK
Newman P, Beatley T, Boyer H (2009) Resilient Cities. Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change. Island Press, Washington (DC), USA
Newman P, Kenworthy J (1999) Sustainability and Cities. Overcoming Automobile Dependence. Island Press, Washington (DC), USA
Nielsen G, Nelson J D, Mulley C, Tegnér G, Lind G, Lange T (2005) Public Transport – Planning the Networks. HiTrans Best Practice Guide 2, Civitas Consultants, Oslo, Norway
Oxford Dictionary, from http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/benchmark?q=benchmarking#benchmark__4 - accessed 17 May 2012
Online Reference Dictionary, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/benchmarking?s=t accessed 17 May 2012
Scheurer J (2010) Benchmarking Accessibility and Public Transport Network Performance in Copenhagen and Perth. 33rd Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), Canberra (ACT), Australia, September 2010
Scheurer J (2011) Spatial Network Analysis for Multimodal Urban Transport Systems (SNAMUTS): Scenarios for future land use-transport integration for the City of Melbourne (and beyond). A background report for the City of Melbourne, February 2011
Scheurer J, Straatemeier T (2011) Measuring Spatial Accessibility in the Dutch Randstad Region: Understanding the geographical layers of daily urban systems. World Planning Schools Congress, Perth (WA), Australia, July 2011
[SSCRRAT] Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport (2009) Investment of Commonwealth and State Funds in Public Passenger Transport Infrastructure and Services. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra (ACT), Australia, August
Vigar G (2002) The Politics of Mobility: Transport, the Environment and Public Policy. Spon, London, UK
Vuchic V R (2005) Urban Transit: Operation, Planning and Economics. Wiley, Hoboken (NJ), USA
