Many transportation models assume that people choose the shortest (or least cost) path connecting them from point A to point B. But this isn’t how individuals actually behave—or so confirms one recent study based on bikeshare trip data. This affects how we model travel behavior, but also our understanding of people’s travel preferences and the ways in which we accommodate them.
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Low-Stress Bicycling and Network Connectivity (Mineta Transportation Institute, 2012)
For a bicycling network to attract the widest possible segment of the population, its most fundamental attribute should be low-stress connectivity, that is, providing routes between people’s origins and destinations that do not require cyclists to use links that exceed their tolerance for traffic stress, and that do not involve an undue level of detour. The objective of this study is to develop measures of low-stress connectivity that can be used to evaluate and guide bicycle network planning.
Decentralized by design: When should we consider ditching exclusive radial bus routes?
In the past, development and commute patterns required transit to bring commuters into densely developed central cities. Dispersal of residential and employment destinations has made serving choice transit riders while still maintaining urban core service a tricky balancing act. How can transit agencies best serve both suburban and urban needs?