Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Study of buses and fare-free scenarios in Bangalore, India

Transportation is seen as an economic enabler in a city, but there is another critical role played by transportation in social mobility that is mostly ignored. Transportation connects communities to employment, education, and vital services which promote social mobility1.
 http://fieldsofview.in/publications/BMTC_FareChangeScenarios_Report2020.pdf

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Traffic congestion leads to domestic violence

We find that extreme traffic increases the incidence of domestic violence, a crime shown to be affected by emotional cues, but not other crimes. The result is robust to a variety of specifications and falsification tests. The results represent a lower bound of the psychological costs of traffic congestion, since most drivers stuck in traffic do not commit domestic violence but still bear some emotional costs.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272718300422 

Friday, February 21, 2020

Transportation a barrier to healthcare access

Overall, the evidence supports that transportation barriers are an important barrier to healthcare access, particularly for those with lower incomes or the under/uninsured.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4265215/#idm139883264389968title 

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Study on how car culture is oppression for poor people in Canada

Millions of Canadians rely on public transportation to conduct daily activities and participate in the labour force. However, many low-income households are disadvantaged because existing public transit service does not provide them with sufficient access to destinations. Limited transit options, compounded with socioeconomic disadvantage, can result in transport poverty, preventing travel to important destinations, like employment opportunities.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967070X18304736 

Monday, January 27, 2020

Give employees #freepublictransit, not free parking

A 2018 report from the Parking Authority of Baltimore City (PABC) states that in 2017, Baltimore City agencies paid $853,620.72 for parking for 700 employees at a cost of approximately $1,200 per employee per year.1 Anywhere from several hundred to several thousand additional employees are provided free or subsidized parking that is not formally documented. Examples of this include: parking in lots on the properties of specific facilities that are not controlled by PABC, specially designated on-street reserved spaces, and at parking meters where costs are waived for vehicles bearing a certain decal in the window.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SNHFyn7E-JNR36LRDvl1PfomN_Ik6sAl/view

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Study shows public transit users get more exercise

A New York City Department of Health study evaluated the health benefits of active transportation. The results, summarized in Figure 2, indicate that people who commute by walking, cycling or public transit achieve about twice the total (transportation and recreational) exercise as automobile commuters, and so are much more likely to achieve public health targets of thirty or more daily minutes of moderate physical activity. This study can be a model for use in other communities interested in tracking physical fitness and health.
https://www.vtpi.org/tran_health.pdf 

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Public transit users walk more

Although overall North Americans only walk about 6 daily minutes on average, public transit users spend a median of 19 daily minutes walking, which nearly achieves the target of 22 daily minutes of moderate physical activity (Besser and Dannenberg 2005; Weinstein and Schimek 2005). Using pedometers and surveys to track walking activity, Wener and Evans (2007) found that train commuters averaged 30% more walking, more frequently reported walking for 10 minutes or more, and were 4 times more likely to achieve the 10,000 daily steps recommended for fitness and health, than car commuters. Rundle, et al. (2007) found that New York City residents’ Body Mass Index (BMI) ratings tend to decline significantly with greater subway and bus stop density, higher population density, and more mixed land use in their neighborhood. Analysis of walking activity by Lachapelle, et al. (2011) found that public transit commuters average 5 to 10 more minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, and walked more to services and destinations near home and near the workplace, than transit nonusers, regardless of neighborhood walkability.
https://www.vtpi.org/tran_health.pdf 

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

In Poland, 66 municipalities committed to promoting fare-free public transit

A policy instrument promoting a free fare public transport policy (FFPT) has recently been put into practice in 66 municipalities across Poland.



A third, and probably the most practical approach is found among the individual tools of urban planning and transportation strategies, whose aim is to make the transportation system more efficient by changing the current condition in a given area and set ting a new path for their development. From restrictive measures such as zero emission zones, tolls and parking charges, through designating pedestrian/bike zones and separate lines for public transport, to incentive measures such park & ride systems, an integrated public transport system or abolishing fares.