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The Current and Future Role of Public Transport in Delivering Sustainable Cities

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2016) | Viewed by 62477

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wijnand Veeneman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Department of Multi-actor Systems, Section of Policy, Organization, Law and Gaming (POLG), Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: public transport; governance; complex projects management; gaming
Dr. Eefje Cuppen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Technology, Policy & Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: governance of sustainability transitions; stakeholder and public engagement; responsible innovation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world of public transport is changing rapidly. It has been a robust instrument for more sustainable mobility in cities. However, the role public transport plays is changing. This Special Issue includes papers that deal with the changing role of public transport, its relation to technological innovation enabling new modes of transport, and the implications for sustainable cities.

Technological innovation impacts the role of public transport in at least two ways. First, ICT technology has led to the emergence of hybrid modes of transport, such as car sharing, ride sharing, dial-a-ride and app-a-ride. In developed, as well as developing, countries, participation is becoming the new norm: citizens are more and more involved in organising their own mobility systems. This hybridization raises questions with regard to the traditionally relatively clear dichotomy of private car transport on one and public transport on the other, with public transport performing better on a wide range of public values, like sustainability, but also safety, liveability, and others. Additionally, bicycles have, more and more, become a hybrid mode, escaping its local character though electrification and its private character by sharing systems. Second, with innovation new forms of coordination between operators and travellers have emerged. Location and communication technology allows for on-the-fly coordination, putting pressure on the value of scheduled services and standard long-term coordination between supply-by-operator and demand-by-traveller. Third, traditional public transport holds the promise of large-step innovation, by moving fleets of buses to electricity, developing tram and metro systems, driving to improve the sustainability performance of the mobility system.

The Special Issue addresses the challenges and questions that come with these developments based on analyses and case studies from different continents. It want to give special attention to governance issues in this field.

Dr. Wijnand Veeneman
Dr. Eefje Cuppen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Environmental sustainability
  • Economic sustainability
  • Social sustainability
  • Mobility policy
  • Governance and sustainability
  • Transport related development
  • Governance of public transport

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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20 pages, 1698 KiB  
Article
Quantifying a Financially Sustainable Strategy of Public Transport: Private Capital Investment Considering Passenger Value
by Yunqiang Xue, Hongzhi Guan, Jonathan Corey, Heng Wei and Hai Yan
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9020269 - 15 Feb 2017
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6820
Abstract
Releaving traffic congestion by developing public transport as an alternative mode of travel is a common practice all over the world. However, the increasing public transport subsidies have created a financial burden for governments. Encouragingly, private capital supplies an opportunity for public transport [...] Read more.
Releaving traffic congestion by developing public transport as an alternative mode of travel is a common practice all over the world. However, the increasing public transport subsidies have created a financial burden for governments. Encouragingly, private capital supplies an opportunity for public transport in sustainable finance. Previous research mainly focuses on qualitative analysis and money-for-value (MFV) analysis. In this paper, a new investment model is proposed based on the concept ‘passenger value’, and a bi-level programming model (BLPM) is constructed as a quantitative analysis tool. The upper target of BLPM is the total surplus (including the value of time (VOT) of passengers) of the public transport system and the upper constraint is the ticket price. The lower target of BLPM is passenger’s surplus, the lower constraints are service capability and the lowest return rate of the private sector. The public transport of Jinan City, China is taken as a case to quantify the impacts of private capital investment in public transport. Results show that the proposed investment model considering passenger value is superior to the traditional one, and effective private capital investment could increase the total societal benefit of the transportation system. The proposed investment strategy satisfies economic viability and is a financially sustainability strategy. Additionally, travelers should be encouraged to use public transport through improving the service quality and passenger returns. Only in this way can the success rate of the private sector investment in public transport be improved efficiently. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Current and Future Role of Public Transport in Delivering Sustainable Cities)
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21 pages, 645 KiB  
Article
Sustainability Measures of Urban Public Transport in Cities: A World Review and Focus on the Asia/Middle East Region
by Chris De Gruyter, Graham Currie and Geoff Rose
Sustainability 2017, 9(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010043 - 28 Dec 2016
Cited by 67 | Viewed by 10813
Abstract
Previous studies of public transport sustainability in cities have been very limited to date, particularly in more developing countries located throughout Asia and the Middle East. This paper assesses the sustainability of urban public transport systems in cities by adopting a quantitative measurement [...] Read more.
Previous studies of public transport sustainability in cities have been very limited to date, particularly in more developing countries located throughout Asia and the Middle East. This paper assesses the sustainability of urban public transport systems in cities by adopting a quantitative measurement framework containing 15 public transport sustainability indicators. It compares aggregate sustainability performance of urban public transport in international regions of cities, and then examines the relative sustainability of selected cities in the Asia and Middle East region. The world region analysis shows that Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America achieve the highest aggregate normalised scores for sustainable public transport, in that order. In general, the results suggest that western developed countries (Western Europe, North America, and Oceania) have better performance on environmental and social indicators but poorer performance on system effectiveness and economic indicators. Asia and Latin America perform the other way round; better on economic and system effectiveness and worse on social and environmental indicators. Eastern Europe is one of the few regions with higher level performance all round. The city-based analysis of Asia/Middle East suggested that out of the 26 cities studied, the top 3 cities in terms of sustainable public transport in the Asia and Middle East Region are: 1st, Manila (Philippines); 2nd, Tokyo (Japan); and 3rd, Chennai (India). Dubai (United Arab Emirates (UAE), rated 26th), Shizuoka (Japan, rated 25th) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, rated 24th) were the lowest rated cities. The paper explores the implications of the findings and makes suggestions for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Current and Future Role of Public Transport in Delivering Sustainable Cities)
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16 pages, 222 KiB  
Article
The Fourth Wave of Digitalization and Public Transport: Opportunities and Challenges
by Paul Davidsson, Banafsheh Hajinasab, Johan Holmgren, Åse Jevinger and Jan A. Persson
Sustainability 2016, 8(12), 1248; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8121248 - 30 Nov 2016
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 13639
Abstract
We investigate the opportunities and challenges of the forth wave of digitalization, also referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), with respect to public transport and how it can support sustainable development of society. Environmental, economical, and social perspectives are considered through [...] Read more.
We investigate the opportunities and challenges of the forth wave of digitalization, also referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), with respect to public transport and how it can support sustainable development of society. Environmental, economical, and social perspectives are considered through analysis of the existing literature and explorative studies. We conclude that there are great opportunities for both transport operators and planners, as well as for the travelers. We describe and analyze a number of concrete opportunities for each of these actors. However, in order to realize these opportunities, there are also a number of challenges that needs to be addressed. There are both technical challenges, such as data collection issues, interoperability, scalability and information security, and non-technical challenges such as business models, usability, privacy issues, and deployment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Current and Future Role of Public Transport in Delivering Sustainable Cities)
16 pages, 232 KiB  
Article
The Role of Public Transport in Society—A Case Study of General Policy Documents in Sweden
by Vanessa Stjernborg and Ola Mattisson
Sustainability 2016, 8(11), 1120; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8111120 - 1 Nov 2016
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 16881
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to study how local governments in Sweden view the role of public transport in society, and to investigate how public transport is used in a strategic capacity. By studying general policy documents, the ambition is to gain [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to study how local governments in Sweden view the role of public transport in society, and to investigate how public transport is used in a strategic capacity. By studying general policy documents, the ambition is to gain a wider understanding of the role of public transport based on the societal context it is situated in. Documents from 15 regions and 27 municipalities have been analysed by a qualitative content analysis. Results show that public transport is regarded as an important factor towards achieving other goals and other public values, particularly those related to economic and environmental issues; and that the social dimension is not as prioritised. Rail-bound public transport is often advocated, as are collaboration between organizations and integrated land-use and transport planning. However, the studied documents showed large overall differences in how counties and municipalities address public transport issues. It should be a priority in Sweden’s main steering documents to treat public transport consistently and give it the same priority as other societal functions—not least because Sweden’s treatment of public transport is a reasonable reflection of its overall society and can influence prioritisations and considerations in counties and municipalities across the country. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Current and Future Role of Public Transport in Delivering Sustainable Cities)
27 pages, 9377 KiB  
Article
Optimization of an Improved Intermodal Transit Model Equipped with Feeder Bus and Railway Systems Using Metaheuristics Approaches
by Mohammad Hadi Almasi, Ali Sadollah, Seungmo Kang and Mohamed Rehan Karim
Sustainability 2016, 8(6), 537; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060537 - 6 Jun 2016
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6136
Abstract
One of the serious concerns in network design is creating an efficient and appropriate network capable of efficiently migrating the passenger’s mode of transportation from private to public. The main goal of this study is to present an improved model for combining the [...] Read more.
One of the serious concerns in network design is creating an efficient and appropriate network capable of efficiently migrating the passenger’s mode of transportation from private to public. The main goal of this study is to present an improved model for combining the feeder bus network design system and the railway transit system while minimizing total cost. In this study, the imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) and the water cycle algorithm (WCA) were employed to optimize feeder bus and railway services. The case study and input data were based on a real transit network in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Numerical results for the proposed model, including the optimal solution, statistical optimization results and the convergence rate, as well as comparisons are discussed in detail. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Current and Future Role of Public Transport in Delivering Sustainable Cities)
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15 pages, 223 KiB  
Review
The Qualities Needed for a Successful Collaboration: A Contribution to the Conceptual Understanding of Collaboration for Efficient Public Transport
by Robert Hrelja, Fredrik Pettersson and Stig Westerdahl
Sustainability 2016, 8(6), 542; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060542 - 8 Jun 2016
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 7444
Abstract
The creation of an efficient public transport system requires collaborations between formal independent organizations. This paper examines collaborations between public and private organizations and passengers, with the aim of contributing to the conceptual understanding of collaborations on public transport. The study begins by [...] Read more.
The creation of an efficient public transport system requires collaborations between formal independent organizations. This paper examines collaborations between public and private organizations and passengers, with the aim of contributing to the conceptual understanding of collaborations on public transport. The study begins by describing previous research on collaboration in the public transport area and in other research fields analytically relevant for public transport. Accordingly, collaboration is defined as an attempt to overcome problems with collective action and to transform a situation in which the various organizations operate independently into a situation where they act in concert to achieve shared objectives. The collaboration process involves the establishment of joint rules and structures that govern the relationship and behavior of the organizations. According to this definition, collaboration is a more sophisticated form of collective action than is indicated by terms such as “co-operation” or “coordination”. Fully-functioning collaboration can be described as a form of “co-action”, as opposed to “individual action”. In co-action, formal independent organizations together reap the benefits of working together and achieve more than if they had acted alone. Co-action can be regarded as a gradual trust-building process that requires qualities such as mutual confidence, an understanding of other organizations’ motivations, and joint problem formulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Current and Future Role of Public Transport in Delivering Sustainable Cities)
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