The impact of socio-economic factors on the demand for demand responsive transport (DRT) in Greater Manchester: a multilevel modelling approach

Providing public transport in areas of low demand has long proved a challenge to policy makers and practitioners, and with developing economic, social and environmental trends then the pressure for alternative solutions to subsidising conventional bus services. One potential solution is to adopt more flexible routes and/or timetables to better match the required demand. Therefore such on-demand, or ‘Demand Responsive Transport’ (DRT) services (known as paratransit in the U.S.) have been adopted. This paper seeks to explore the effects of area-wide factors on the demand of DRT by reporting the results of a quantitative analysis of DRT service provision in the metropolitan region of Greater Manchester, the public transport authority of which offers one of the largest and most diverse range of DRT schemes in the UK. Specifically, this paper employed a multilevel modelling approach to investigate the impact of various socio-economic factors on the DRT trip generation. It is found that the demand of DRT service was high in areas with low population density, high proportion of white people and high levels of deprivation.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD20 Social and Economic Factors of Transportation
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Wang, Chao
  • Quddus, Mohammed
  • Enoch, Marcus
  • Ryley, Tim
  • Davison, Lisa
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2012-1-22 to 2012-1-26
• Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 21p
• Monograph Title: TRB 91st Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demand responsive transportation; Paratransit services; Quantitative analysis; Socioeconomic factors; Transportation disadvantaged persons; Travel demand
• Geographic Terms: Manchester (England)
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01371534
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 12-3706
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 30 2012 3:02PM