The issue of what it is that makes a public transport system successful is very important. Conventional indicators can be used to substantiate claims that a public transport system is unsuccessful because they have failed in achieving a particular indicator, without any discussion or examination of the underlying reasons behind such apparent failure. As the research for this paper has found, simply stating that a public transport system is unsuccessful because it doesn't achieve a set indicator rarely means that the public transport system in question is unsuccessful, more often it means that there are other factors at play that influence the success or other wise of the system. This paper looks at the meaning of success in public transport systems, the literature that has attempted to define such a concept, and what factors influence success. The paper explores the public's desire for personal mobility and then examines the available statistics taken from the four cities of Vancouver, Portland, San Diego and San Jose. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214666.
Samenvatting