IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v178y2023ics0965856423002574.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Demand-responsive transport for students in rural areas: A case study in Vulkaneifel, Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Lu, Chengqi
  • Maciejewski, Michal
  • Wu, Hao
  • Nagel, Kai

Abstract

In rural areas with low population density, demand-responsive transport (DRT) is considered a promising alternative to conventional public transport (PT). With a fleet of smaller vehicles, DRT provides a much more flexible and convenient service. This characteristic makes DRT also a potential mode of transport to serve students in rural areas. If DRT vehicles are used to serve students, then the funding for conventional school buses (or adapted public transport schedules) can be reinvested in the DRT system. This may help to relieve the financial burden experienced by DRT operators and enable the operation of a large-scale DRT service in rural areas. In this study, a demand model for school commutes based on real-world, open-source data for Landkreis Vulkaneifel, a rural region in Germany, is built. Then a feasibility study is carried out using an agent-based transport simulation framework. In the feasibility study, various setups and operational schemes are explored, which are followed by a systematic cost analysis. Based on a conservative estimation, an annual budget of around 1600 Euro per student will be needed to maintain and operate a fleet of DRT vehicles that can transport all the students in the region from home to school on time in the morning. During the remaining time of the day and on school holidays, the vehicles can be used for conventional DRT service for the public.

Suggested Citation

  • Lu, Chengqi & Maciejewski, Michal & Wu, Hao & Nagel, Kai, 2023. "Demand-responsive transport for students in rural areas: A case study in Vulkaneifel, Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:178:y:2023:i:c:s0965856423002574
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2023.103837
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856423002574
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103837?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:178:y:2023:i:c:s0965856423002574. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.