Exploring first-mile on-demand transit solutions for North American suburbia: A case study of Markham, Canada

Johanna Bürstlein, David López and Bilal Farooq

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2021, vol. 153, issue C, 261-283

Abstract: On-demand transit system designs are explored for the first-mile commuting in Markham, a suburb in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Operational scenarios are analysed using different types of on-demand solutions that can complement the existing GO Transit commuter train system. Various use cases of demand-responsive vehicles are explored in terms of vehicle capacity and fleet-size. It is assumed that the existing car-based trips to the four train stations in Markham would be replaced by an on-demand rideshare transit system. The on-demand transit system is simulated using the PTV MaaS Modeller in combination with a mesoscopic simulation, involving 1,865 trip requests within the morning peak from 7AM to 10AM. Wait-time, travel time, demand served, cost, and environmental impact are used as indicators to rate various options. Evaluating the results we came to the conclusion that three cases using vans are providing favourable outcomes. The van-based scenario using 75% of an optimal fleet size and a low detour factor turned out to be very appropriate with regard to the case study. A passenger in this scenario would at an average spend 3 min waiting for the service to arrive and 10 min in the vehicle, costing 7CAD for the ride. With a typical level of public transit subsidies applied, a 7% monthly saving is expected compared to using a private car and paying for parking fees. The scenario also results in 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to current personal vehicle based trips. Based on the simulation, policy suggestions for implementing the on-demand transit in Markham are presented.

Keywords: On-demand; Ridesharing; First-mile transit; Simulation; Scenario analysis; Greenhouse gas emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2021.08.018

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