Articles

Sustainable transport is one of the key challenges of the UN and EU to ensure to meet society’s economic, social and environmental needs whilst minimising undesirable impacts. Sustainability planning may require changing the way we solve transportation problems. From the perspectives of the sustainability, we may assume that the emphasis should move in direction to changing the practice: but exactly what practice and who’s practices are to be changed? One way is to investigate gendered mobilities. The main differences in mobility patterns between women and men at a general level, are found in modal choice and travel distance. Women’s practices tend to be related to the most sustainable means of transport, while men’s practices are related to more un-sustainable transport. Relying on studies on transport planning including focus groups, interviews and workshops in Sweden, this paper ties the concepts of gender equality, to contemporary planning and sustainable “smart” mobility, and investigates in what way knowledge about gender equality is elaborated in regional planning practice. It appeared from the interviews that both gender equality and diversity were perceived as difficult in regional transport planning and that more knowledge and experience were needed. It was pointed out that there existed some knowledge but that there were no structures for how it could be incorporated into the planning process. Noticeable are conflicting practices, while policy on gender equality are attached to the planning there are still beliefs that transport planning can be gender neutral and free from social impacts. The smart mobility approach promises improvements of mobility and access opportunities for all.

New and emerging technologies, such as connected sensors, smartphones and smart cards, offer new possibilities to collect rich real-time information about travelers. Moreover, smartphones also enable travelers to actively share information, for instance, about their intended travel plans. This type of information can be used to improve public transport disturbance management. In this paper, the potential gain of collecting different types of information about travelers is explored to support action decisions made by public transport actors, during unplanned disturbances. Based on interviews and workshops, the paper provides a mapping between different information types and possible action decisions that can be supported. Furthermore, based on a literature review focused on current and potential technical solutions, a guidance to which solutions support which type of action decisions, is also provided. Amongst others, the results show that automated fare collection, which is one of the most commonly implemented systems providing real-time information about the traveler, can support a large number of action decisions relevant in unplanned disturbance scenarios. The technical solution providing the most extensive information, and thereby providing the best support for the action decisions, involves smartphone apps delivering user-generated information. The drawback with this solution is that it might violate privacy, and that it typically relies on the travelers providing relevant information voluntarily.

Spatial distribution information on population density is essential for understanding urban dynamics. In recent decades, remote sensing techniques have often been applied to assess population density, particularly night-time light data (NTL). However, such attempts have resulted in mapped population density at coarse/medium resolution, which often limits the applicability of such data for fine-scale territorial planning. The improved quality and availability of multi-source remote sensing imagery and location-based service data (LBS) (from mobile networks or social media) offers new potential for providing more accurate population information at the micro-scale level. In this paper, we developed a fine-scale population distribution mapping approach by combining the functional zones (FZ) mapped with high-resolution satellite images, NTL data, and LBS data. Considering the possible variations in the relationship between population distribution and nightlight brightness in functional zones, we tested and found spatial heterogeneity of the relationship between NTL and the population density of LBS samples. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) was thus implemented to test potential improvements to the mapping accuracy. The performance of the following four models was evaluated: only ordinary least squares regression (OLS), only GWR, OLS with functional zones (OLS&FZ) and GWR with functional zones (GWR&FZ). The results showed that NTL-based GWR&FZ was the most accurate and robust approach, with an accuracy of 0.71, while the mapped population density was at a unit of 30 m spatial resolution. The detailed population density maps developed in our approach can contribute to fine-scale urban planning, healthcare and emergency responses in many parts of the world.

The study focuses on mapping spatiotemporal patterns and detecting the potential drivers of traffic congestion with multi-source data. First, based on real-time traffic data retrieved from an online map, the k-means clustering algorithm was applied to classify the spatiotemporal distribution of congested roads. Then, we applied a geographical detector (Geo-detector) to mine the potential factors for each spatiotemporal pattern. The results showed six congestion patterns for intra-regional roads and inter-regional roads on weekdays. On both intraregional and inter-regional roads, congestion density reflected by building height was the strongest indicator during the morning peak period. Public facilities such as hospitals, tourist sites and green spaces located near areas of employment or residential areas contributed to congestion during and off-peak hours. On intra-regional roads, the sparse road network and greater distance from the city center contribute to congestion during peak hours. On inter-regional roads, the number of bus stops contributed most to the early evening peak congestion, while the design of the entrances to large buildings in mixed business areas and public service areas increased the level of congestion. The results suggest that land use should be more mixed in high-density areas as this would reduce the number of trips made to the city center. However, mixed land-use planning should also be combined with a detailed design of the microenvironment to improve accessibility for different travel modes in order to increase the efficiency of traffic and reduce congestion. The innovative approach can be potentially applied in traffic congestion and land use planning studies elsewhere based on real-time multi-source data.

Despite some incremental policy shifts accounting for transport equity concerns, the norms within which transport systems worldwide currently function are still implicitly exclusive. Older people constitute a group which is particularly susceptible to issues within the transport system. However, this susceptibility is not evenly distributed, partly due to the considerable heterogeneity in circumstances among this group. The aim of this study is to advance the methods informing the transport equity policy agenda by conducting an empirical investigation of disparities in capabilities based on Sen's Capability Approach. This is done by identifying which resources and characteristics among those aged 65–79 are associated with fewer opportunities relative to their peers. By focusing on capabilities (instead of proxies), the disparities reflecting equity concerns can be more clearly depicted. The research material comprises 1149 interviews with those living in Sweden's large metropolitan regions: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Several analyses were developed in order to address the research questions: a multivariate multinomial logistic regression, multivariate binary logistic regressions and a basic analysis of frequencies. Clear links were identified between social resources, holding a driving license, access to public transport, income, health condition and age and capabilities. These results call for a greater focus on capabilities in travel surveys and a more fine-grained approach to equity analyses and policies by accounting for intersectionality effects. As such, more targeted and holistic policy measures can be developed.

The purpose of this article is to analyse quality attributes of regional public transport and their influence on modal choice, demand, and customer satisfaction through a literature review. The review is based on a working definition of regional public transport with boundaries toward local as well as interregional public transport: Regional public transport (i) targets passengers travelling between separate urban areas or to rural areas and (ii) a majority of the trips are made on a regular basis. Our results suggest that preferences of regional travellers mainly conform to the preferences of local travellers, but some important differences have been revealed. Most notably, on-board comfort is a higher priority for regional travellers and is increasingly important with longer travel times. Network coverage and coordination are also more prominent features of regional public transport, presumably due to the more dispersed nature of regional public transport networks. These differences, and the fact that the prerequisites for regional public transport are in general substantially different compared to local and interregional public transport, support continued use of this categorisation in public transport research. We also conclude that there is a requirement for more knowledge about the specifics of regional public transport, as public transport research, thus far, has been largely focused on local travel. Research areas of particular interest are on-board comfort, operational aspects, travel time improvements, how the environmental impact of public transport services affects modal choice, and the influence of trip length on passenger preferences.

In the contemporary city, access to urban opportunities requires the possession, by the social actor, of more resources useful to manage the de-synchronization of social times. The capacity to be mobile and to access urban opportunities is hindered by the necessity to perform less predictable, multidirectional and 24/7 mobilities. In particular, the process of colonization of time, which brings to the progressive extension of working activities in the night, generates a potential risk of temporal disadvantage for those working and moving at night, and especially for women. Data from the Italian Labour Force Survey by Istat show how, between 2005 and 2015, female night-workers increased by 18% versus a decrease of 8% of male night-workers (which are anyway the majority). Furthermore, research show how women are more and more interested in night-time leisure activities. The lower sense of safety experienced by women during night-time transfers emerges as a crucial factor in limiting their social participation and in shaping forms of spatio-temporal inequality. The paper, through the elaboration and analysis of data collected during a survey in the city of Milan, which was answered by about 100 women, aims at understanding the features of women’s night-time mobility, focusing on the activities performed, the modal choices and the perception of safety.

In order for people to choose public transport over private car usage, public transport systems must be both reliable and accessible, which is not always the case today. Based on interviews with public transport actors, this paper investigates the missing information and communication flows during unplanned disturbances in the public transport system of southern Sweden. Two potential solution approaches to supply the missing information are also identified: an information system common for all public transport actors in the region, and a traveler check-in system, providing traveler specific information to the actors. The information requirements of both systems, and their potential benefits, are presented. The primary objective of the study is to improve the possibilities for both actors and travelers to act during unplanned disturbances by more efficient information sharing and better traveler information.

The public sector is showing increased interest in Mobility as a Service (MaaS), as its introduction and market penetration is proposed to potentially disrupt the personal transport system. However, involved public actors are approaching MaaS very differently. This paper applies a neo-institutional perspective to study the activities of public actors in the ongoing development of MaaS in Finland and Sweden. To this end, it maps what policy instruments public actors are applying to govern the processes and discusses how this might relate to their perceived action spaces and roles. The contribution to the MaaS literature is twofold. Firstly, the analysis shows that public actors are applying a wide range of both hard and soft policy instruments in order to gove rn the development of MaaS.
Secondly, a comparison across Finland and Sweden suggests that the perceived action spaces and the roles taken
by public actors on regional and local levels are influenced by the activities of public actors on state-level. The
paper concludes that public actors and pol icy instruments should not be studied in isolation. Rather, perceived
action spaces and roles need to be analyzed in a mul ti-level setting, where processes of enabling and promoting
can vary between societal levels, and where the roles of the public sector are negotiated not only between public
and private actors, but also between different public actors.

Goals concerning reduced car traffic are found in most European cities, indicating a potential change in local transport policy and land use planning, which have traditionally been very car-centric. This paper analyses goals and measures to reduce car traffic in Swedish municipalities’ long-term transport and land use plans. Theoretically, the paper is based on an understanding of policies as parts of ‘problem representations’ that create particular ways of understanding car traffic as a policy problem, which in turn influence the measures seen as appropriate or inappropriate. The results indicate that changes are underway. At the heart of these changes are narratives about city development in which municipalities understand the ‘attractive city’ as one where cars are defined as a problem to be addressed. However, the dominant policy problematisation produce several ‘blind spots’. Regional car trips, including travel to out-of-town shopping areas, are left unproblematised in this representation of the problem, meaning that measures addressing such trips are ignored in policy making. The paper builds our understanding of how policy practices influence the potential for change towards sustainability by discussing whether municipalities are doing enough to address the big problems with cars.