Relationship between Bicycle and Pedestrian Access to Transit and Transit Performance
Focus Area
Environmental Considerations in Planning
Subcommittee
All
Status
Archived
Cost
Under $99k
Timeframe
Under 1 year
Research Idea Scope
In the near future, transit will have to play a key role in solutions to metropolitan traffic congestion and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. To fulfill this task most efficiently, ridership will need to increase and occupancy rates will need to be maximized. Several factors determine transit ridership and occupancy rates, such as convenience of and access to service, travel time, network and population density, among others.
This research proposal suggests reviewing the knowledge on how walking and bicycling infrastructure or the lack thereof in the vicinity of transit systems affects ridership and occupancy rates of transit. In many cities worldwide high mode shares for transit seem to correlate with those of walking and bicycling. Some European transit systems perform two to four times more energy efficiently than
Urgency and Payoff
This Synthesis may provide transit service providers, planners, and funding institutions with a crucial piece of information when considering investments into improved access to transit by pedestrians and cyclists as a potentially cost effective alternative to increasing network density for the purpose of improving transit performance. Alternatively, if the Synthesis would be inconclusive on the issue it may lead to a problem statement to evoke further research.
Suggested By
Thomas Gotschi, PhD, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Telephone: 202-974-5110
Submitted
05/13/2008