Distributions of walking access to public transport in Melbourne, Australia – Evidence on acceptable and tolerable walking distances
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
2024
Subject Area
place - australasia, place - urban, mode - pedestrian, planning - service level, infrastructure - station, infrastructure - stop, operations - service span
Keywords
Acceptable walking distance, Burr distribution, trip length frequency distribution, walking access
Abstract
The international literature indicates a wide interest in the distances public transport users walk to access their services. Urban and transport planners seek information on acceptable walking distances (AWD) in the provision of minimum levels of service coverage. This study uses a large database from Melbourne, Australia, to analyze trip length frequency distributions (TLFD) of walking access and egress to consider AWD in a multimodal public transportation system and to examine tolerable walking distances (TWD). AWD provides a guide to planners about stop/station locations for desirable minimum service coverage. TWD is a representative maximum walking distance for assessing the effectiveness of that service provision and can be used in conjunction with AWD. A statistical distribution function for walking distances can facilitate the use of regional values for AWD and TWD in transit service planning. The Burr Type XII distribution is shown to provide a good fit to the observed data. This provides a valuable tool for the analysis of percentile walking distances and suggests a general framework for the study of AWD and TWD in any city or region.
Rights
Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Taylor&Francis, copyright remains with them.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, M. A., & Somenahalli, S. (2024). Distributions of walking access to public transport in Melbourne, Australia–Evidence on acceptable and tolerable walking distances. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 18(7), 576-588.
