Analysis of BRT Systems and its Implications on Physical Activity Using  a Hurdle Model Statistical Approach

In recent years, researchers have explored the relationship between physical activity and public transit availability. While evidence suggests an increase in physical activity linked to public transit, research regarding this change to changes in transportation mode is scarce.Many studies focus on bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, popular among emerging economies. Using data from Rio de Janeiro's TransCarioca, and Mexico City's Metrobus, the auhors investigate the effects of a new BRT service on physical activity of catchment area residents. A problem related with traffic project evaluation research is that interviewed subjects in pre and post periods are not the same; hence, some research groups have applied propensity score matching techniques to reduce bias and achieve systematic concordance between treatment and control groups. A limitation of this methodology is that it does not consider zero-inflated responses, thus lacking accuracy while estimating the average treatment effect. The authors present a novel approach in which they conduct a matching process to build the after mentioned groups, and then they use a hurdle statistical model in which the two processes generating the zeros and the positives are not constrained to be the same. Preliminary results show a statistically significant effect of Mexico City's Metrobus system implementation over physical activity, while Rio de Janeiro experiences an increase in the same area after TransCarioca system implementation, although in this case the transport-mode change is statistically not-significant.

• Record URL:
  https://annualmeeting.mytrb.org/OnlineProgram/Details/15541
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AME70 Standing Committee on Transportation and Public Health.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Perez Villasenor, Alejandro
  • Lopez Castro, Marco A
  • Chang, Annie
  • Welle, Benjamin
  • Miranda-Moreno, Luis
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 100th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2021-1-5 to 2021-1-29
• Date: 2021

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 22p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus rapid transit; Nonmotorized transportation; Statistical analysis; Travel behavior
• Geographic Terms: Mexico City (Mexico); Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01764138
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: TRBAM-21-01316
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 4 2021 11:00AM