Modelling Public Transport Accessibility with Monte Carlo Stochastic Simulations: A Case Study of Ostrava

Jiri Horak, Jan Tesla, David Fojtik and Vit Vozenilek
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Jiri Horak: Department of Geoinformatics, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 70800 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Jan Tesla: Department of Geoinformatics, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 70800 Ostrava, Czech Republic
David Fojtik: Department of Control Systems and Instrumentation, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 70800 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Vit Vozenilek: Department of Geoinformatics, Palacky University Olomouc, 77147 Olomouc, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 24, 1-25

Abstract: Activity-based micro-scale simulation models for transport modelling provide better evaluations of public transport accessibility, enabling researchers to overcome the shortage of reliable real-world data. Current simulation systems face simplifications of personal behaviour, zonal patterns, non-optimisation of public transport trips (choice of the fastest option only), and do not work with real targets and their characteristics. The new TRAMsim system uses a Monte Carlo approach, which evaluates all possible public transport and walking origin–destination (O–D) trips for k-nearest stops within a given time interval, and selects appropriate variants according to the expected scenarios and parameters derived from local surveys. For the city of Ostrava, Czechia, two commuting models were compared based on simulated movements to reach (a) randomly selected large employers and (b) proportionally selected employers using an appropriate distance–decay impedance function derived from various combinations of conditions. The validation of these models confirms the relevance of the proportional gravity-based model. Multidimensional evaluation of the potential accessibility of employers elucidates issues in several localities, including a high number of transfers, high total commuting time, low variety of accessible employers and high pedestrian mode usage. The transport accessibility evaluation based on synthetic trips offers an improved understanding of local situations and helps to assess the impact of planned changes.

Keywords: journey to work; public transport; simulation; gravity modelling; accessibility; trip distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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