Understanding Pedestrian Access to Public Transport

Public transport journeys include a substantial amount of walking. Around 90 per cent (90%) of public transport users walk to stops and spend about 45 per cent (45%) of the travel time outside of public transport vehicles. The time spent on foot outside in the city shapes the impression of a public transport journey more extensively than the public transport ride itself. However, walking is rarely considered as an integral part of a public transport journey (p. 177).  

This dissertation questions how the urban surroundings influence walking and the use of public transport and how urban environments can improve the convenience and pleasantness of pedestrian access to public transport (p. 177). The investigations aim to understand how environments can jointly support walking and the use of public transport and, specifically, to understand: 

1. The relationship between pedestrian behaviours and the environment. 

1. Why some urban surroundings encourage pedestrians to walk longer distances to public transport stops (p. 178). 

By understanding that public transport does not provide mobility from door to door and, instead, most often, includes two walking trips before and after the public transport ride, it can be understood that the quality of the physical environment for walking influences the public transportation journey (p. 3). Attractive pedestrian access to public transport completes a high-quality public transport service and, by associating walking with expensive public transport infrastructure investments, unattractive conditions for walking only reduce the value of costly public transport (p. 4). The presented data show how walking and public transport can complement each other to maximize access to public transport systems. 

Supporting evidence

Interviews investigate how walking environments influence the pleasantness of walking – in Zürich, 596 tram passengers were interviewed and asked to describe the environment along walk to stop, with the help of pictures (p. 82).

The 16-question questionnaire had three parts: 

• Walked trip to stop. 
• Characteristics of the remembered environment along walk to stop. 
• Further details about walk to stop (p. 83).

Observations measure pedestrians’ visual stimulation in different urban surroundings – 892 pedestrians were captured with video cameras to study the influence of 18 different urban walking environments in Copenhagen (DK), Zürich (CH), Biel (CH), and Brighton (UK).

The following pedestrian behavioural patterns were quantified: 

• Head movements 
• Time people look down to the pavement 
• Step frequency 
• Activities performed while walking
• Walking alone, in pairs, or in groups (p. 89).

Observations study access to facilities, resources for detoured walking routes, the effect of street crossings, and preferred walking routes – 444 pedestrians were observed using mounted wide-angle cameras in Copenhagen, Zürich, and Brighton while walking toward or away from stops.

Observations were formulated into topics: 

• General data 
• Behavior along walking route 
• Environmental characteristics along walking route  
• Walked distances, detours, and times 
• Behavior at street crossings (p. 102)

Key findings

The urban environment influences if we walk and how far we walk. Results show that public transport users walk up to 70 per cent longer distances in pedestrian-oriented urban areas (p. 170) – which in theory can triple a catchment area (p. 38). 

Characteristics for pedestrian access to public transport stops were found, including: 

• Eighty per cent (80%) of approaching pedestrians choose walking routes that do not require them to walk against the direction of their bus or tram. Pedestrians on the way to the stop cross the street as early as possible (p. 180). 
• Car-dominated stop surroundings lengthen walking routes to public transport on average by 19 to 20 per cent (p. 181).  
• Crossing one busy street at traffic lights or informally lengthens the duration of a 2.5-minute walk to a public transport stop on average by 10 to 11 per cent (p. 181).  
• Forty-five per cent (45%) in the study area would access shops or services along a public transport journey and would walk 15 to 25 per cent longer distances to save an extra journey (p. 181). 
• Walking on hilly terrain can increase energy used by 30 to 50 per cent (p. 183). 
• Socially active pedestrian areas with shop windows raise stimulation levels by about 70 to 90 per cent, compared to surroundings with large-scale buildings, monotonous facades, and wide streets (p. 182). 
• Urban walking environments influence the amount of stimulation that pedestrians receive from their surroundings and the pleasantness of walking varies with environmental characteristics. The sensory experience of walking environments alters the acceptable walking distance by around 30 per cent between extremes (p. 182). 
• Walking environments measurably influence pedestrians’ emotions and, where walking results in negative emotions, people will not walk far, or they may not walk at all (p. 182).