This episode’s guest is Associate Professor Jan-Dirk Schmöcker from the Department of Urban Management at Kyoto University in Japan. Jan-Dirk has been in Japan for 15 years, 12 of them at Kyoto University. He is part of the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) group at the university and has a background in transportation planning and assignment modelling. 

In this episode Jan-Dirk explains his research about hyperpaths on the transit. These relate to the range of options available to transit riders, representing a set of paths through the network. Together with understand a strategy (such as boarding the first arriving bus), these hyperpaths can be used to better understand how passengers make choices. Jan-Dirk also describes some of his research into bus bunching and the choices passengers might have between boarding an overcrowded first bus or a second, relatively empty bus. 

Graham and Jan-Dirk also discuss Jan-Dirk’s research into the benefits of unreliability. This relates to the way that users might learn other parts of the network when there are service disruptions, crowding or other problems that force them to seek an alternate route. This may result in users discovering better options to their usual route. In unreliable transportation systems travellers also arguably experience their environment more.

Towards the end of the episode Jan-Dirk describes some of his work on transit fares. This has included looking at trends in fare structures, with some cities moving towards flat-fare pricing (which is easier to understand) while others are moving towards pricing that better reflects the marginal cost each passenger imposes on the system. Jan-Dirk discusses how much of the focus has been on the spatial dimension: whether to have a flat-fare, or a zonal or other distance-based pricing structure. In contrast, there has been less attention paid to other aspects of fare policy-making, such as the impacts of discounts for frequent users and daily/weekly/monthly/yearly passes, special pricing for particular user groups, and the impact of transit operators obtaining significant amounts of their revenue from non-transit businesses. 

Finally, Jan-Dirk discusses some of his work using Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) data to understand passengers’ origins and destinations. He also discusses his current research into using big data and crowd sourcing to better understand travel and activity patterns. Among others he is using Google Popular Times data and Twitter data to understand how tourists are using public transport in Kyoto.
 
Find out more about Jan-Dirk and his work at:
His biography on the Kyoto University website at: https://trans.kuciv.kyoto-u.ac.jp/its/Schmoecker.html
His publications at:
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=DIFXh60AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
ResearchGate:  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jan-Dirk-Schmoecker
World Transit Research: https://www.worldtransitresearch.info/do/search/?q=Jan-Dirk%20Schm%C3%B6cker%20&start=0&context=1060035&facet=
and a recent project on using crowdsourced data at: https://concert-japan-daruma.github.io/

Have feedback? Find us on twitter and Instagram @transitpodcast or using #researchingtransit
Music from this episode is from https://www.purple-planet.com

RT 48 – Jan-Dirk Schmöcker –Hyperpaths and the benefits of unreliability

We talk to Mort Downey, Washington Metro board member, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation and leader of President Obama's review of transport, about the current state of urban transport development in the United States of America.

LR Podcast #1: Talking Urban Transport in the USA with Mort Downey

1500 electric school buses in Virginia will power the grid when parked, in the first US commercial application of vehicle to grid technology. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

School Bus Plus

Dr Lorelei Schmitt now works as Principal Multimodal Advisor at Waka Kotahi, Māori for ‘travelling together as one’(1), and the name of the  New Zealand Transport Agency. In today’s show, Lorelei discusses the importance of first impressions on public transport and the collaborative ways NZTA is building the agency’s capability to integrate different modes of transport.

Lorelei completed a PhD as a member of the Public Transport Research Group. Her research focused on unfamiliar travel, among new users, visitors or users changing routes or modes in public transport networks. Leveraging her psychology training, Lorelei explored the ways in which unfamiliar trips differ from familiar trips. Unfamiliar travel has a primacy effect, conjuring more vivid recollections than for habitual trips. The way people perceive a network is important for shaping future behaviours. Visitors also form opinions about cities based on their unfamiliar journeys. In addition, new users have a higher cognitive load. She highlights the importance of providing clear signage and real-time information, since not all travellers have access to smart devices. Interventions can be targeted around locations or times when unfamiliar journeys often occur, such as sporting events or university semesters to ensure new users have a positive and efficient experience. 

As a multi-modal planner in New Zealand, Lorelei’s responsibilities include developing national public transport design guidelines collaboratively with local and regional agencies who deliver transit. The first iteration of the Public Transport Design Guidelines (2) provides advice on public transport infrastructure, including bus stop design and corridor clearance. They are designed to promote national consistency in the delivery of public transport, tailored to the New Zealand regulatory environment. Developing a tool that is useful for a wide range of stakeholders with different expertise was an unexpectedly complicated process. 

 “Trying to get solutions that are really passenger-centric, user-friendly, but also meet all the different requirements of different transport planners of different modes hasn’t been a simple exercise”

Multi-modal integration inherently complicates the transport planning process. A key challenge is enabling people to realise that what’s good for one mode isn’t necessarily best for the system as a whole. Much of the formal training for transport planning has a vehicle throughput focus. In the interest of achieving better multi-modal integration, Lorelei’s team explored the project funding and delivery Lifecyle to identify key stakeholders pivotal in shaping projects. Training modules developed by Waka Kotahi is provided to these stakeholders to lift the multimodal capability and unlock multimodal potential of projects.  

One key area that has benefited from collaboration between planners with different modal expertise is that of safety. Interestingly, Lorelei’s multi-modal responsibilities extend to that of Te Araroa, a 3000km walking trail that runs the length of New Zealand (3). Working with the road engineers improved the safety outcome for walkers at an intersection where Te Araroa crossed a major highway. Lorelei stresses the need for empathy, patience and collaboration when challenging status quo for modes. Multi-modal planning also fosters consideration of a wider range of access and mobility needs across the community. The process of collaborative planning therefore allows for accessibility to be provided more equitably.

Visit our website for the full notes from today's show.

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Music from this episode is from https://www.purple-planet.com

Researching Transit

RT16 - Dr Lorelei Schmitt - First trips and multi-modal integration matter

Most humans now live in growing cities where increasing traffic congestion risks liveability, the environment and economic productivity.  Public transport is now widely seen a solution for mega-city growth due to its social, economic and mass travel efficiency.  However the industry faces significant challenges.  Infrastructure, systems and even thinking in the industry is old and out of date.  Policy and regulatory structures are ‘path dependent’ on historical approaches and lack progressive thinking.  There is a global need to revitalise  public transport with new knowledge and thinking to build a progressive future for the industry.

Researching Transit introduces listeners to the latest thinking in global public transit research.  It aims to engage the industry, researchers and the wider community in shared learnings about the latest innovations in public transport research providing a platform for research communication.    Professor Graham Currie and Laura Aston talk to some of the world's leading researchers in a podcast series brought to you by the Monash University Public Transport Research Group.

RT 48 – Jan-Dirk Schmöcker –Hyperpaths and the benefits of unreliability

Researching Transit

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