Evaluation Index of Urban Public Bus Stops: Case Study of Passo Fundo/RS-Brazil

　　Abstract: Bus stops are key elements of public transport system performance and in attending the population. The general objective of this article is to evaluate the physical conditions of public bus stops in the city of Passo Fundo/RS. Methodologically, statistical analysis of linear regression was used to elaborate the index of functionality of the bus stops, using the city of Passo Fundo/RS as a case study. Results report the conditions of urban public bus stops and discuss assessment and subsidy parameters for public policies for urban restructuring, aiming at improving the quality of public transport in medium-sized cities on a national and international scale.

　　Key words: Public transport, buses, linear regression.

　　1. Introduction?

　　Sustainable urban mobility has as criteria the population’s access to any and all public spaces in a given city [1], significantly contributing to the development of socioeconomic system of cities [2].

　　Public transport has the function of facilitating access to the city, contributing to mass displacement of the population from the most varied social classes [3].

　　Despite its importance, Brazilian public urban transport system has received few incentives for commuting along urban roads. They are often oppressed in order to not interfere with the circulation of private vehicles, which are increasingly widespread [4]. This dispute over road spaces made traffic slower and, consequently, public transport system became less satisfactory and less reliable to users [5].

　　Road characteristics and distance between bus stops have a direct influence on travel time of urban buses through the city’s road network [6]. Public lack

　　Corresponding author: Alcindo Neckel, doctor of philosophy in geography, research fields: technology, project and management for the built environment.

　　of assistance in maintaining the road system increases commuting time, resulting in very long waiting times between boarding and disembarking in urban buses [6, 7].

　　Bus stops are key elements in the performance of the public transport system and in attending the population. According to Ref. [7], bus stops of urban public transport are places of great importance to the transport system, as they are where the trips start (departure) and end (arrival). They should follow the guidelines for location, spacing and performance, lighting, safety and adequate stop signaling [3, 6].

　　Performance of public transport system, in terms of speed of travel, is also linked to stops [6]. In cities that do not have bus terminals and exclusive lanes, bus stops should preferably be located in the middle of the block [3]. Otherwise, the reductions in the speed of vehicles that make right turns, force buses to wait to return to the lane, causing delays and making traffic more congested on arterial roads [7].

　　City planning, as Ref. [2] affirms, must be thought on a human scale, with distances between stops easily reached by pedestrians. These distances can vary from 250 meters (recommended) to at most 400 meters (not recommended) [2]. It is complemented that stops must meet accessibility guidelines established by the Technical Standard NBR 9050, relating not only to the stops specifically, but to the entire route in which the passenger must make the public walk (sidewalks) until arriving at the stop [8-12].

　　The route should provide universal access for all people from sidewalks to stops. With ramps, tactile floor and elevated crossings provide security and ease of movement, as these are complementary elements [2, 13], which make the public transport system more attractive, promoting social inclusion of people with disabilities (PWDS), such as people with reduced mobility, wheelchair users or visually impaired [2, 3, 10, 13].

　　One of the criteria of the “Right to the City” is safety for the population in all parts of the city, especially on streets or stops of public transport [8]. The safer a city is, the greater the incentives for public transportation use or walking as a means of transportation, because the more people on the streets, the greater the feeling of security [12].

　　Thus, this study is justified by the need for adaptations in the entire public transport system of the city of Passo Fundo (Brazil), as public transport has lost operational efficiency and has seen operational costs grow exponentially [14]. The first part of these adaptations is focused on the requalification of urban furniture and adjustments to meet the requirements of accessibility and comfort standards for users [15]. The purpose of this manuscript is to assess the physical conditions of public bus stops in the city of Passo Fundo/RS (Brazil). Flow, service and bus stop structure guidelines were analyzed.

　　2. Methods and Materials

　　The city of Passo Fundo is located at latitude 28°15‘46“ S, 52°24’25” W of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and it is considered the largest city in the North of the state, with an area approximately 783 km2

　　and with 201,767 inhabitants [16].

　　It has 95 neighborhoods, being grouped in twenty-two municipal sectors distributed throughout the city. This division of the city sectors, as Ref. [14] affirms, is characterized by the union of one or more neighborhoods in zones, allowing a greater understanding of the city spatiality. This division increases the agility of identifying possible problems and, thus, facilitates the maintenance of urban infrastructures, determining the main issues that need interventions and ensuring a more effective inspection and control of the city [15].

　　In the twenty-two municipal sectors of Passo Fundo, avenues and streets with the largest or the most important flows within these sectors and which had public transport lines to assess the bus stops were identified. Thus, 36 bus stops were evaluated throughout the city.

　　The analyzed variables were selected according to the research variables of Refs. [1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 13] and are presented below: positioning of stops (PP)； distance between stops (DP)； time between arrivals (TA)； transit flow (FT)； number of stopping spaces for buses (VO)； accessibility (AS)； lighting (IL)； benches (BC)； dumpsters (LI)； public surveillance cameras (CV)； signposts (PS)； bus shelter (AB)； user information (UI).

　　These parameters were classified using the Likert Scale (1-3) [16, 17], verifying levels of functionality (NF) of bus stops analyzed using a questionnaire. The application of the questionnaire was intended for public bus stops in the direction of the bus displacement, on streets or avenues of all municipal sectors that have a bus line, considering stops in both directions (if applicable), in order to estimate the functionality of the stops in these places with the greatest movement (Table 1).

　　The linear regression modeling that will be applied to this study is characterized as a way of improving the process by obtaining mastery of collected data and understanding the positive and negative aspects that influence the process of obtaining results [16]

　　This formula generated the P-value for each of the independent variables: positioning of stops (PP)； distance between stops (DP)； time between arrivals (TA)； transit flow (FT)； number of stopping spaces for buses (VO)； accessibility (AS)； lighting (IL)； benches (BC)； dumpsters (LI)； public surveillance cameras (CV)； signposts (PS)； bus shelter (AB)； user information (UI). The P-value is more significant considering values less than < 0.05 “... variables with statistically significant coefficients (p ≤ 0.05) [19].

　　Thus, the variable with the greatest significance was the distance between stops (DP) with p = 0.099.

　　For the definition of indicators values of the level of functionality of public bus stops in the city of Passo Fundo, Eq. (2) was elaborated. This equation consists of the sum of the indicators and independent variables multiplied by the P-value contained in the linear regression statistics for each of the independent variables [16, 18]. ∑ ∑35=13= )*(=kI

　　IDP valuePAPD (2)

　　where k = number of observations； I = number of independent variables； IDP = performance evaluation of urban public bus stops； APD = aspects of bus stops and displacement； P-value = P-value of significance of the linear regression analysis.

　　This equation consists of the sum of the indicators and independent variables multiplied to the P-value contained in the linear regression statistics for each of the independent variables, to quantitatively measure conditions of bus stops in Passo Fundo, which resulted in the macro evaluation of IDP = 348.76.

　　IDP = ((PP = 83*0.624) + (DP = 73*0.099) + (TA = 72*0.412) + (FT = 95*0.648) + (VO = 59*0.171) + AS = 70*0.206) + (IL = 44*0.698) + (BC = 60*0.157) + (LI = 42*0.691) + (CV = 42*0.592) + (PS = 44*0.124) + (AB = 77*0.968) + (IU= 36*0)) = IDP= 348.76.

　　100*=IDPNDPDPTC (3)DPTC = performance of public bus stops； IDP = performance evaluation of urban public bus stops； NDP = potential performance level.

　　The application of the formula resulted in the DPTC (performance of public bus stops) of 24.84%.

　　Evaluated stops presented a level and performance considered to be unsatisfactory in relation to the 22 sectors evaluated in the city of Passo Fundo.

　　It is suggested to standardize all urban public bus stops, obeying accessibility rules and performance indicators. Security cameras should be implemented in all bus stops or near them, but especially in those with less flow of people, since cameras have the ability to inhibit or facilitate identification of possible lawbreakers [9].

　　Bus stops must have information about route lines, buses and timetables displayed in an easy way to understand, since bus stops must be accessible, and with adequate information for the population. Furthermore, according to Ref. [8], they should “supply urban and community facilities, transport and public services suited to the interests and needs of the population and local characteristics”. Lack of information regarding itineraries and schedules causes overall disapproval regarding public transport users, which makes it less attractive compared to other modes of transport [4, 9].

　　3. Conclusions

　　Through this study, it was possible to elaborate an index for evaluating the functionality of urban public bus stops on a national and international scale. It was found that the majority of public bus stops from Passo Fundo suffer from a disregard of public authorities, lacking adequate sidewalks, security, shelters, benches and dumpsters. This carelessness ends up reducing users’ satisfaction of public transportation and discouraging its use.

　　According to Ref. [12], as the population does not feel confident and safe to walk through urban streets and avenues, the flow of people on them reduces, which reflects in a lesser use of the urban bus stops in Passo Fundo, since the simple fact of waiting at a bus stop can become risky, due to users’ vulnerability to crime.

　　Promoting the improvement of public bus stops is an important opportunity for promoting and encouraging the use of the public urban transport system, since the population need to feel safe from the beginning to the end of the journey. In this way, public bus systems tend to attract more users. Finally, strategic actions and urban control in the Urban Mobility Plan (PMU) for the city of Passo Fundo can enable improvements in the transport system. This assessment can serve as a subsidy for public policies for urban restructuring aimed at improving the quality of public transportation in a given city.

　　Acknowledgments

　　The authors would like to acknowledge Funda??o Meridional (IMED) for enabling the financial means that made possible to develop this research.

　　References

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　　Guilherme dos Passos Morigi, Mauricio Marcon, Alcindo Neckel, Thaísa Leal Da Silva, Henrique Aniceto Kujawa and Lauro André Ribeiro

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