IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/transp/v49y2022i5d10.1007_s11116-021-10215-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Eliminating barriers to nighttime activity participation: the case of on-demand transit in Belleville, Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Yixue Zhang

    (University of Toronto)

  • Steven Farber

    (University of Toronto Scarborough)

  • Mischa Young

    (Université de l’Ontario français)

Abstract

Demand-responsive technologies are rapidly changing the transportation landscape. The City of Belleville, Ontario has recently replaced its evening and nighttime fixed route bus service with an on-demand transit (ODT) service. Preliminary reports have found a 300% increase in nighttime bus ridership since the implementation of this service, yet to fully understand the social return on the investment in on-demand services, we must also quantify whether and for whom these new services have enabled time savings and increased levels of activity participation. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether riders are satisfied with the service, and whether satisfaction levels have an impact on activity participation. As such, this study explores the determinants of activity participation of ODT users using a custom ridership survey instrument. We collect information on travel experience, satisfaction, and perceived changes in activity participation due to ODT. We then performed a factor analysis and estimated structural equation models to identify the relationships between aspects of the ODT service and activity participation. Our results show that reliability and service quality are the most important aspects of the ODT services in terms of positively influencing activity participation, and that shorter wait times, are most likely to lead to an increase in activity participation. Our findings further suggest that Belleville can eliminate barriers to nighttime activity participation by providing reliable and affordable ODT service, and that ODT can be an effective solution to provide transit services for transport-poor in low demand areas or during low demand periods of the day.

Suggested Citation

  • Yixue Zhang & Steven Farber & Mischa Young, 2022. "Eliminating barriers to nighttime activity participation: the case of on-demand transit in Belleville, Canada," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(5), pages 1385-1408, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:49:y:2022:i:5:d:10.1007_s11116-021-10215-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-021-10215-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11116-021-10215-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11116-021-10215-2?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Morris, Eric A., 2015. "Should we all just stay home? Travel, out-of-home activities, and life satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 519-536.
    2. Grisé, Emily & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2018. "Where is the happy transit rider? Evaluating satisfaction with regional rail service using a spatial segmentation approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 114(PA), pages 84-96.
    3. Evelyn Blumenberg & Gregory Pierce, 2014. "A Driving Factor in Mobility? Transportation's Role in Connecting Subsidized Housing and Employment Outcomes in the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) Program," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 80(1), pages 52-66, January.
    4. Coutinho, Felipe Mariz & van Oort, Niels & Christoforou, Zoi & Alonso-González, María J. & Cats, Oded & Hoogendoorn, Serge, 2020. "Impacts of replacing a fixed public transport line by a demand responsive transport system: Case study of a rural area in Amsterdam," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Thigpen, Calvin & Handy, Susan, 2018. "Driver's licensing delay: A retrospective case study of the impact of attitudes, parental and social influences, and intergenerational differences," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 24-40.
    6. Liang Ma & Jason Cao, 2019. "How perceptions mediate the effects of the built environment on travel behavior?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 175-197, February.
    7. Morris, Eric A. & Blumenberg, Evelyn & Guerra, Erick, 2020. "Does lacking a car put the brakes on activity participation? Private vehicle access and access to opportunities among low-income adults," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 375-397.
    8. Jonas De Vos & Tim Schwanen & Veronique Van Acker & Frank Witlox, 2013. "Travel and Subjective Well-Being: A Focus on Findings, Methods and Future Research Needs," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 421-442, July.
    9. Liu, Rick & Palm, Matthew & Shalaby, Amer & Farber, Steven, 2020. "A social equity lens on bus bridging and ride-hailing responses to unplanned subway disruptions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Matthew Roorda & Antonio Páez & Catherine Morency & Ruben Mercado & Steven Farber, 2010. "Trip generation of vulnerable populations in three Canadian cities: a spatial ordered probit approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 525-548, May.
    11. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt3hc6m2vj is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Currie, Graham, 2010. "Quantifying spatial gaps in public transport supply based on social needs," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 31-41.
    13. Currie, Grahama & Richardson, Tony & Smyth, Paul & Vella-Brodrick, Dianne & Hine, Julian & Lucas, Karen & Stanley, Janet & Morris, Jenny & Kinnear, Ray & Stanley, John, 2010. "Investigating links between transport disadvantage, social exclusion and well-being in Melbourne - Updated results," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 287-295.
    14. repec:cdl:uctcwp:qt2bm7b38n is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Richard A. Marottoli & Carlos F. Mendes de Leon & Thomas A. Glass & Christianna S. Williams & Leo M. Cooney & Lisa F. Berkman, 2000. "Consequences of Driving Cessation," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 55(6), pages 334-340.
    16. Farber, Steven & Mifsud, Anika & Allen, Jeff & Widener, Michael J. & Newbold, K. Bruce & Moniruzzaman, Md, 2018. "Transportation barriers to Syrian newcomer participation and settlement in Durham Region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 181-192.
    17. Lin, Tao & Wang, Donggen & Guan, Xiaodong, 2017. "The built environment, travel attitude, and travel behavior: Residential self-selection or residential determination?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 111-122.
    18. Antonio M. Bento & Maureen L. Cropper & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak & Katja Vinha, 2005. "The Effects of Urban Spatial Structure on Travel Demand in the United States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(3), pages 466-478, August.
    19. Alan C. Acock, 2013. "Discovering Structural Equation Modeling Using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LLC, number dsemus, July.
    20. Graham Currie & Alexa Delbosc, 2010. "Exploring public transport usage trends in an ageing population," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 151-164, January.
    21. Lucas, Karen, 2012. "Transport and social exclusion: Where are we now?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 105-113.
    22. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt7fh6d5m6 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt7md478jk is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Steven Farber & Antonio Páez & Ruben Mercado & Matthew Roorda & Catherine Morency, 2011. "A time-use investigation of shopping participation in three Canadian cities: is there evidence of social exclusion?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 17-44, January.
    25. Zhao, Pengjun & Zhang, Yixue, 2018. "Travel behaviour and life course: Examining changes in car use after residential relocation in Beijing," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 41-53.
    26. Ding, Chuan & Wang, Donggen & Liu, Chao & Zhang, Yi & Yang, Jiawen, 2017. "Exploring the influence of built environment on travel mode choice considering the mediating effects of car ownership and travel distance," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 65-80.
    27. Peter Roberts & Julie Babinard, 2004. "Transport Strategy to Improve Accessibility in Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Reports 17685, The World Bank Group.
    28. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven, 2020. "Planning transport for social inclusion: An accessibility-activity participation approach," SocArXiv ap7wh, Center for Open Science.
    29. Wei, Ran & Liu, Xiaoyue & Mu, Yongjian & Wang, Liming & Golub, Aaron & Farber, Steven, 2017. "Evaluating public transit services for operational efficiency and access equity," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 70-79.
    30. Rafael H. M. Pereira & Tim Schwanen & David Banister, 2017. "Distributive justice and equity in transportation," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 170-191, March.
    31. Karner, Alex, 2016. "Planning for transportation equity in small regions: Towards meaningful performance assessment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 46-54.
    32. repec:cdl:uctcwp:qt9c14p6d5 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Mattioli, Giulio & Lucas, Karen & Marsden, Greg, 2017. "Transport poverty and fuel poverty in the UK: From analogy to comparison," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 93-105.
    34. Farber, Steven & Páez, Antonio, 2009. "My car, my friends, and me: a preliminary analysis of automobility and social activity participation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 216-225.
    35. Mattioli, Giulio & Anable, Jillian & Vrotsou, Katerina, 2016. "Car dependent practices: Findings from a sequence pattern mining study of UK time use data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 56-72.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:cdl:itsdav:qt1pf307sp is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Sergei Dytckov & Jan A. Persson & Fabian Lorig & Paul Davidsson, 2022. "Potential Benefits of Demand Responsive Transport in Rural Areas: A Simulation Study in Lolland, Denmark," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Bonner, Taylor & Miller-Hooks, Elise, 2023. "Achieving equitable outcomes through optimal design in the development of microtransit zones," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    4. Alex Karner & Rafael H. M. Pereira & Steven Farber, 2025. "Advances and pitfalls in measuring transportation equity," Transportation, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1399-1427, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2019. "Transport poverty and subjective wellbeing," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 40-54.
    2. Haseeb, Attiya & Mitra, Raktim, 2023. "Do environmentally sustainable travel behaviours contribute to transportation-related social exclusion?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven, 2020. "Suburbanization of transport poverty," SocArXiv hkpfj, Center for Open Science.
    4. Mouratidis, Kostas, 2025. "Transport and quality of life: The car and its link to subjective well-being, health, and life domains," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 101-111.
    5. Lucas, Karen & Bates, John & Moore, José & Carrasco, Juan Antonio, 2016. "Modelling the relationship between travel behaviours and social disadvantage," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 157-173.
    6. Zhu, Le & Lucas, Karen & Hess, Martin, 2024. "Understanding the relationship between perceived accessibility, housing and transport equity of different types of residents: A structural equation modelling approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    7. Haseeb, Attiya & Mitra, Raktim, 2024. "Travel behaviour changes among young adults and associated implications for social sustainability," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    8. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven, 2020. "Planning transport for social inclusion: An accessibility-activity participation approach," SocArXiv ap7wh, Center for Open Science.
    9. Alex Karner & Rafael H. M. Pereira & Steven Farber, 2025. "Advances and pitfalls in measuring transportation equity," Transportation, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1399-1427, August.
    10. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven, 2019. "Sizing up transport poverty: A national scale accounting of low-income households suffering from inaccessibility in Canada, and what to do about it," SocArXiv ua2gj, Center for Open Science.
    11. Morris, Eric A. & Blumenberg, Evelyn & Guerra, Erick, 2020. "Does lacking a car put the brakes on activity participation? Private vehicle access and access to opportunities among low-income adults," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 375-397.
    12. Pot, Felix Johan & van Wee, Bert & Tillema, Taede, 2021. "Perceived accessibility: What it is and why it differs from calculated accessibility measures based on spatial data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    13. Muhammad Adeel & Anthony Gar-On Yeh & Feng Zhang, 2016. "Transportation disadvantage and activity participation in the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65025, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven, 2019. "Sizing up transport poverty: A national scale accounting of low-income households suffering from inaccessibility in Canada, and what to do about it," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 214-223.
    15. Mwesigwa, Leonard & Yin, Zehui & Farber, Steven, 2024. "Evaluating the level of access and equity of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system: The case of Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    16. Costa, Cayo & Ha, Jaehyun & Lee, Sugie, 2021. "Spatial disparity of income-weighted accessibility in Brazilian Cities: Application of a Google Maps API," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    17. Li, Shengxiao (Alex) & Guan, Xiaodong & Wang, Donggen, 2022. "How do constrained car ownership and car use influence travel and life satisfaction?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 202-218.
    18. Zhao, Pengjun & Bai, Yu, 2019. "The gap between and determinants of growth in car ownership in urban and rural areas of China: A longitudinal data case study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-1.
    19. repec:osf:socarx:ua2gj_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven & Greaves, Stephen & Clifton, Geoffrey & Wu, Hao & Sarkar, Somwrita & Levinson, David M., 2021. "Immigrant settlement patterns, transit accessibility, and transit use," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    21. Bantis, Thanos & Haworth, James, 2020. "Assessing transport related social exclusion using a capabilities approach to accessibility framework: A dynamic Bayesian network approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:kap:transp:v:49:y:2022:i:5:d:10.1007_s11116-021-10215-2. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.