Framework for Public Transport Integration at Railway Stations and Its Implications for Quality of Life

Abstract

Integration of public transport modes has been cited by many as one of the primary factors that enhances public transport ridership and makes public transport investments more viable. Asian cities are witnessing huge investments in high-speed rail (HSR) infrastructure, which will be instrumental in inter-city travel. The HSR station should serve as a multimodal hub, providing users with a seamless interface to various transport modes of the city, thus enabling in the provision of a sustainable transportation solution to the urban area. This paper focuses on the public transportation integration at railway stations by drawing upon existing literature along with specific case studies from Asian cities. First, a generalized framework for integration is developed based on literature sources. Second, six Asian railway stations were reviewed to identify the components essential for developing the public transport integration framework. Finally, the implication of such integrated transport nodes is addressed with reference to the urban quality of life. Results reveal that a framework with three levels of integration-physical, informatory, and monetary, is required to achieve successful public transport integration at railway stations. These levels of integration also need to be supported by additional interventions, such as those that enhance user perception of transit service quality, provides contextual information of the surroundings, and garners active participation of the stakeholders, which will, in turn, enhance the sense of belonging and aid in augmenting users' quality of life.

Place quality in high-speed rail station areas: Concept definition

“…Even though the basic functional spatial layout and the transport integration within HSR show a high degree of similarity with research on conventional train station areas, the difference appears in the form of additional service upgradation (Nag et al, 2019). More and more studies thus have noticed insufficient attentions on the experience lens.…”

“…This section reviews the notions of place quality developed by previous studies, focusing on HSR station areas, as particular mobility infrastructures that is a hybrid of transport, service, and multi-cultural public space (Nag, et al, 2019), but recognize also that many of the characteristics of place quality in conventional station areas also apply to HSR station areas. Thus, we draw on established models from TOD and node-place theory proposed by Bertolini (1999), to develop our theoretical framework based on the three perspectives mentioned above, namely the spatial, the economic and the experiential.…”

Analyzing User Behavior in Selection of Ride-Hailing Services for Urban Travel in Developing Countries

“…The mode choice of any individual is influenced predominantly by three sets of factors, namely individual characteristics, trip characteristics, and the level of service provided by the transport infrastructure/service [7,8]. In addition, various qualitative factors, such as perceived safety and security [9], comfort and convenience, and ability to multi-task during the trip, are also considered to be significantly influential in terms of mode choice [10].…”

“…Growing research in this field is showing that RHS may not change user's personal attitude when it comes to the desire of owning a car [14]. RHS might lead to a greater number of cars on the road while reducing public transit ridership [30], as they are attracting passengers from public transport [14,31] and not so efficient integration with public transport [8]. In another study by Tirachini and Rio [20], the findings were similar in the city of Santiago de Chile, where RHS caused around 11% reduction in the ridership of public transport and thus, significantly worsening the congestion level.…”

Evaluating Sustainability of Mass Rapid Transit Stations in Dubai

“…In spite of that, an agreed group of drivers has not yet been identified, and the indicators of sustainability fluctuate among companies, projects, and researchers [24][25][26]. Key drivers of sustainability that have been broadly mentioned include the punctuality of rail stations [27][28][29], willingness to pay for maintenance, repair, and operations activity [30][31][32], confidence in the transport authority [33], involvement of the citizens in the construction [34][35][36], and perception of property of infrastructure [37][38][39].…”