Unpacking Service Management Issues in Intermediate Public Transportation Toward Sustainable Mobility

Abstract

How can intermediate public transportation (IPT) benefit from a service management emphasis to envision the sustainable mobility of the future? Answering this question, this paper reviews IPT, which includes modes such as the Access Link and Kutsuplus schemes, auto-rickshaws, and e-bike taxis. These modes represent new mobility services that have emerged in both developed and developing countries in the wake of evolving travel demands, soaring private vehicle ownership, and declining public transit ridership. Despite the emerging nature of IPT, however, it remains underrepresented and poorly understood in transportation frameworks, and so is generally excluded from transportation reforms. With this premise, this review accentuates how IPT services can be improved and made more attractive to users by mainstreaming service management issues. Further, this review outlines how improvement of IPT can help in unlocking the sustainable mobility of the future. This research therefore stems from a multidisciplinary review set involving scholarship in engineering management, operations management, operations research, transportation engineering, and transportation management. The paper outlines diverse facets of service management from which IPT can benefit. Furthermore, the paper theorizes on how IPT can contribute to sustainable mobility.