Workshop 6 report: Better service delivery through modal integration

Workshop 6 of Thredbo 16 builds on Workshop 1 of Thredbo 15 which focused on integrating across different transport modes for a better and more seamless user experience. In Thredbo 16, the intention was to develop the discussion by including more widespread connectivity of the public transport system and to investigate how greater seamlessness of integration for an enhanced user experience can be achieved. The discussions in this Workshop extended discussions on better service delivery through modal integration by consideration of different transport modes, first and last mile issues, and the connectivity of the public transport system. It also contributes additional case studies providing detailed evidence on factors influencing integration. The evidence from papers in this Workshop fell broadly into six areas. The first considered public transport efficiency and governance issues, the second the contribution of BRT to urban public transport, the third specific issues around integrating transport systems, the fourth considering how vulnerable people travelled in multimodal transport systems and the role of integration in this, the fifth specifically considering first and last mile issues with the final one looking at public transport service types and improvements. In addition to the detail provided by the evidence in papers, the Workshop discussion identified a tension between many aspects of delivering integration and broadly defined, governance issues. The Workshop developed four areas of further research including the improvement of understanding the benefits of different integration options as opposed to their costs, understanding if there is a ‘best’ governance arrangement to achieve modal integration, investigating how different interchange experiences impact on the interchange penalty and finally, to investigate how quality of first and last mile and interchange aspects might be assessed.