This 'classification of transport supply' offers a categorisation of the complete range of passenger transport available, which can serve as a base for the design and evaluation of multimodal passenger transport networks. This classification is based on functional characteristics that are directly relevant to the traveller and carries on a classification developed in another study. The complete transport supply is built up from door-to-door-service (service for the entire trip), and from transport systems: services, vehicles and infrastructure that enable the traveller to actually make the trip. Relevant to the traveller is where he can enter the network of a certain transport system (the access points) and how the access points of a certain system are connected (the network). Every access point is also a transfer point between transport systems: it joins at least two transport systems. The functional definition of transport systems is based on the type of organisation (individual, collective or intermediary), and on the average speed (based on the scale level on which a system functions). By consistently combining two transport systems a functional division in access points is achieved. There are still many forms within a functionally defined transport system, dependent on the characteristics of the used vehicles and infrastructure (the transport technique) and the transport services offered. Technological developments generally have a positive influence on the quality of transport systems, but in the competitiveness of transport systems big changes are not expected.
Abstract