Ceder, Avishai; Public Transit Planning and Operation: Modelling, Practice, and

Behaviour (2016).

Transit Connectivity Measures

A well-connected transit path could be described as: an advanced, attractive transit

system that operates reliably and relatively rapidly, with an ease of synchronized
transfers, as a part of door-to-door passenger chain. With this definition, various
interpretations may occur for its definition. However, the definition itself holds the basic
component that values transit connectivity.

Attractiveness in this context means more to physical elements that are available within
the transit space themselves. Information's availability about the trips, simple
communication, clear service meeting-point characteristics such as signage, vehicle
color and logo, boarding/alighting/riding comfort in a sense of spatial experience within
the activities, simple payment and supportive amenities could potentially bring an
attractive experience to be offered for any passenger. Reliability means a small variance
of measures of concern to a passenger (total travel time, waiting time, seat availability),
followed by small variance of measures of concern to transit vehicles (schedule
adherence, headways, delays), and also small variance of measures of concern related to
pre-trip communication. Rapidly described as an easy access/egress and comfortable
stops, transit vehicle preference at un-signalized intersections as well as on signaled
intersections, active priority using actuated transit vehicle signals and purchase of valid
tickets. Smoothness or ease is defined as a comfortable routing, which essentially
includes maximum criterion for walking distance, round-trip deviation from designated
route in bad weather, evolution of flexible routing and scheduling. This component also
includes the ease that is offered throughout the service design in a transit supportive
design such as a specialized entrance for transit vehicle, passenger entrance with
comfortable stairs or elevator going in and out the station and as well as waiting space
for both passenger and transit vehicles. Last component would be synchronized as in the
communication between all modes of transit vehicles.

Furthermore, there are common denominators for transit services in measuring its
quality of connectivity attributes. These attributes however are classified into two
different terms, quantitative (one that can be measured) and qualitative, which cannot
be measured or hard to quantify. Quantitative attributes include walking time, waiting
time, travel time, and scheduled headway. These attributes are to be measured on both
its average and variance numbers. Meanwhile, the qualitative attributes include the
smoothness or ease of transfer, availability of easy to observe and easy to use
information channels, and overall intra and interagency connectivity satisfaction.
Smoothness of transfer was estimated by four major points: Distance between the stops,
Presence of stairs, sloping ground, elevator, and other amenities supporting the transfer,
length of transfer, and timetable display. The second qualitative attribute, availability
and easy to use information channels, were derived by several dimensions: Presence of
electronic signs indicating the expected waiting time, Presence of the station's
directory/map and timetable display (existence and clarity). Finally, two main things
estimated the last qualitative attribute: Presence of bus shelters and Presence of shops
within the station. One thing to note is that these qualitative attributes always measured
on a given discrete scale. However, these all attributes may be perceived differently on
each passenger, even more it could also differ by the same passenger given on a
different condition.

Though these principles and attributes may explain the quality of transit connectivity
themselves, there is one thing that we must not miss out during the measurements.
Transit is intended and well purposed for human to be used in their daily course.
However, each human has its own way on perceiving space and creates their desirable
habits. Therefore, one important thing to consider is that the psychological factors that
influence passengers intention to make transfers. In this case, intention is viewed as the
resultant of three antecedents: attitude, social norm, and perceived behavioral control.
Respectively, the strength of human intention provides an indication on how much
people are willing to try or how much effort they are willing to exert. Meanwhile,
individuals create beliefs about behavior by associating it with certain attributes. These
beliefs are named behavioral beliefs, working as the base of attitude, which later on
made the concept of intention.

Then the question arises: "How does these human behavior affects the quality of a
transit?" Once users create their behavior using the space, this was the result of an
individual's positive and negative evaluation of performing the intended action. From
this point, assessment on both user behavior and the space could be combined to find
order and disorder that might appear on site.