Published: September 2013 | Category: Sustainable land transport , Research programme , Research & reports | Audience: General
This research was undertaken in 2010–11 to appraise evidence from three New Zealand cities (Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton) and four Australian cities (Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth) on the market impacts of improvements in urban bus services at off-peak periods. The primary focus was on the estimation of patronage changes and the corresponding demand elasticities in response to service frequency changes.
Particular attention was given to the following aspects of service frequency impacts, as measured through elasticities: impacts in the various off-peak periods (principally weekday interpeak, weekday evening, Saturday, Sunday); progressive impacts over time following the service change; and variations in elasticities according to initial service frequency, extent of service change, direction (increase/decrease) of service change, and other service and market characteristics.
Recommendations have been made on the most appropriate set of service frequency elasticities, for the various off-peak periods, to be used in New Zealand and Australia for assessing the impacts of bus service improvement schemes over the short and medium terms.
Keywords: Australia, bus services, elasticity, headway, New Zealand, off-peak, patronage, public transport (PT), ramp-up, service frequency, service level
