Potential demand for bus commuting trips in metropolitan corridors through the use of real-time information tools

Abstract

Mobility in metropolitan rings is often more car-dependent than in urban cores. Buses are emerging as an efficient option to promote sustainable mobility in metropolitan corridors, although they are perceived as being less reliable than rail or the car. The adoption of real-time information (RTI) tools for passengers can mitigate this issue. This paper aims (i) to explore the potential bus demand in metropolitan corridors, and (ii) to understand how bus passengers use RTI public transport mobile applications. Both aims are oriented to attract more passengers toward public transport. A two-step methodological framework has been established to perform this analysis in the Madrid Region. Data from the 2014 Household Mobility Survey reveal that metropolitan bus potential is three times the current bus ridership, and almost double in transport corridors linked to motorways than in transversal and other metropolitan trips. An ad-hoc survey of bus travelers was conducted in one corridor to capture the use of RTI mobile apps. The results show that multimodal commuters tend to consult several apps, since none of the main apps integrates all the multimodal RTI for their trips. Non-regular bus passengers are more likely to consult a general-purpose app such as Google Maps, while frequent bus commuters prefer to use the official public transport authority app. Improving the multimodal information passengers receive through transit apps could ease their trips and help materialize some of the potential bus demand in metropolitan areas.

Keywords:

• Bus passengers
• metropolitan corridor
• real-time information
• transit apps

Disclosure statement

The authors certify that they have no affiliations with any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the CEF’s HARMONY project financed by INEA (Innovation and Networks Executive Agency) under Action number 2014-ES-TM-0674-S. The first author is the recipient of a grant from the Fundación Agustín de Betancourt under the “Beca para el fomento de la Investigación entre doctorandos (2019)”.