Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the actual walking distance to public transport (PuT) stations and to report passenger perceptions on route choice. Design/methodology/approach A systematic case study has been conducted after administrating a tailor-made paper-based intercept survey in a German city (Munich). It can determine the interrelation between the accessibility of the transit service and evaluation on walking distance acceptance. Statistical analysis and geo-spatial approach were completed for obtaining major findings. Findings Statistical and geo-spatial analysis shows that respondents living in low-density areas walk longer than residents living in nearby inner city areas. In terms of PuT modes, residents walk longer for suburban train and subway/metro (U-Bahn) than for bus/tram services. Transit users accept a longer walking distance to reach a train station than other PuT modes and they choose the most direct and quickest route to reach PuT stations. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study would help to formulate future strategies and standards for the sustainable planning of public transportation systems in the context of Munich and many other cities around the globe with similar conditions. However, future research should be conducted using a large-scale survey for evaluating the comprehensive picture of walking patterns to PuT stations. Accessibility to PuT stations can also be modeled and evaluated by adopting open data and voluntary social media information. Unfortunately, this study only presents a partial evaluation of walking focused on accessibility at selected PuT stations in different settings of the urban fabric. Social implications This empirical study can be considered as an initial finding in the favor of the city transport authority to provide a design scale for improved accessibility of transit users; however, further investigation should be conducted using a large-scale survey for evaluating the comprehensive walking patterns. Originality/value A systematic case study has been conducted after administrating a tailor-made paper-based intercept survey in a German city (Munich). Findings of this study would help to formulate future strategies and standard for the sustainable planning of the public transportation system in the context of Munich and many other cities in the globe with similar conditions.

The traditional practice of transit information provision considers operators as active communicators of information, while transit users are considered as passive, only receiving information. Encouraging reciprocity and active involvement of users by enabling them to share information may increase transit information quality and ridership. Nowadays, active user participation is starting to take shape with the development of new apps with commercial market potential. This study focuses on willingness to share travel information as part of daily routine transit app use. The applied behavioral framework is the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology adapted to the context of information sharing. The empirical analysis consists of estimating a structural equation model on a data set including 1,369 people from Innsbruck and Copenhagen as cities differing in size and general social trust. The results show that the most important motivational factors for information sharing are pro-sharing social norms and self-actualization weighted against effort expectancy, which is more closely related to the logistic effort of using the platform than to network familiarity. Trust in the information provided and social network engagement are secondary motivational factors, with perceived information quality and need of communication being less influential. Greater transit use and interest in level-of-service and real-time information are correlated with greater information sharing motivation. Women and generation Z had higher motivation for information sharing as well as people who reside in Denmark, a country with high social trust.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract