Approach Methodology for Comprehensive Assessing the Public Passenger Transport Timetable Performances at a Regional Scale

Abstract

The paper is focused on the issue of assessing the quality of transport connectivity on a predesignated transport network in regular public passenger transport at a regional scale. Comprehensively, using the defined key qualitative indicators, it assesses the performance of passenger transport timetables, in both ways of ex ante, as well as ex post. Existing methodologies in a given issue have only dealt with a partial assessment of the transport connectivity quality on specific transport network. However, unlike them, the objective of this manuscript was to propose a new unified methodology to assess the passenger transport timetables in terms of transport connectivity, and subsequently to complexly evaluate the whole predesignated regional transport network from a qualitative point of view. In this paper, the proposed methodology is demonstrated on a particular regional transport network, specifically an existing railway network in the Slovak Republic, whereby the data related to regional passenger transport timetables for a certain day is an input factor. The purpose of this study was to design and verify a draft methodological procedure to assess the quality of transport connectivity on a certain transport network, thus moving towards more effective evaluation of integrated transport systems. Its practical applicability consists in comparison of existing and proposed timetables, which is considered one of the crucial factors in terms of public passenger transport quality.Sustainability 2019, 11, 3532 2 of 18 in the Slovak Republic is poor, in particular in regard to demands placed on it. Regional differences in the quality of transport network, which has far-reaching consequences in terms of increasing economic and social disparities among individual parts of the country, are also apparent [4][5][6][7]. Previous research studies [8][9][10][11][12] have confirmed that the quality of transport infrastructure is considered a crucial element which makes decisions about the foreign investment allocation very often. The offered quality of transport network connectivity is considerably related to services provided within transport sector [4].The main task of transport is to satisfy the customers' requirements for quality, flexible, fast, and safe transportation of passengers and cargo [1,3]. Quality is differently perceived from the transport user [12], transport services provider, or transport organizer point of view, but also from the society-wide point of view. This is caused due to the fact that assessing the quality of transport network connectivity is performed in a non-systematic manner, regardless of the interaction of carried passengers with traffic or transport system [12,13]. Customers' needs and expectations are monitored by establishing procedures in accordance with the Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on rail passengers' rights and obligations [14][15][16].Based on the previous research studies [17][18][19][20][21], it can be declared that on...

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