• Citer

The impact of transfers on public transport travel times: An extrapolation to disabled persons

par Dupriez, Maël ;Dobruszkes, Frédéric
Référence 10th EUGEO Congress – Geographies of a Changing Europe (10: 2025-09-08/2025-09-11: Vienna, Austria)
Publication Non publié, 2025-09-09

Communication à un colloque

• Détails
• Contenu

Résumé :

The design of a public transport (PT) networks - e.g. long routes from one city edge to another city vs. short routes from the city edge to a trunk line - influences whether PT users would experience direct or indirect routing (i.e. without/with transfer(s), respectively). Transfers can add time to journeys. They are also known to be painful to a certain extent, depending on the concrete conditions (e.g. stop design, horizontal and vertical distance between stops, PT frequency, etc.) and the characteristics of travellers (age, physical condition, etc.). In other words, transfers induce "disutility", which can be estimated (typically through revealed or stated preferences) and ultimately translated into so-called perceived travel time (as opposed to real or theoretical travel time). It is also known that of all the barriers that prevent disabled people from using public transport, transfers are key, as they cause even more inconvenience and create more risks of not being able to board or disembark. The design of PT networks is thus far from neutral for PT users.In this context, this research proposes an investigation using Brussels as a case study. PT routes will be estimated between 724 districts to about 20 points of interest spread over the city. This will be done thanks to 5R software fed by GTFS files (PT network and timetables) and OpenStreetMap for walking in public spaces. The estimated itineraries will make it possible to correlate travel time with the number of transfers. Travel times will then be analysed from three perspectives: 1) Real or theoretical travel times; 2) Perceived travel times (based on parameters provided by the regional administration); 3) Extrapolation of perceived travel times to disabled people with physical impairments (through interviews with their representatives).