technische a Strategizi Transit-Oriented

System roug improvi Bus

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University of Duhok
College of Spatial Planning & Applied
Sciences
Department of Spatial Planning
Academic Year: 2018/2019
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B.Sc. Thesis by: Supervisor:

Aland Kamal Othman Dr. Shireen Y. lsmael

Co-Supervisor:
Dr. Basheer A. Saeed

External Examiner:
Dr. Bryce T. Lawrence
University of Duhok
College of Spatial Planning and Applied Sciences
Department of Spatial Planning

“Strategizing a Transit-Oriented System through

improving Bus System in Duhok city”

A Thesis Submitted to the University of Duhok, Department of Spatial Planning in Partial

Fulfilment of Requirements for the Degree of B.Sc. in Spatial Planning

Bachelor’s Thesis by:

Aland Kamal Othman

Supervisor:
Dr. Shireen Y. Ismael

Co-Supervisor:
Dr. Basheer A. Saeed

External Examiner:
Dr. Bryce T. Lawrence

Academic Year: 2018/2019

Declaration of Authorship:

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this bachelor thesis and that it is my own
unaided work. I certify that I have not used any sources other than the declared sources, and
that I have explicitly marked all material which has been quoted either literally or by content
from the used sources.
This paper was not previously presented to another examination board in the same or
a similar form.

Aland Kamal Othman

9th of May, 2019

I
Acknowledgments:

Thanks be to Allah Almighty for giving me the strength and wisdom to

complete this work.

Gratitude to my lovely Parents for being my source of support, happiness,

encouragement and love.

Thanks to my brothers who have always been there, supporting me

throughout my study.

Thanking my friends who have always been there with me and supporting
me throughout these years.

Special thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Shireen, for her continuous

guidance, knowledge and patience towards me.

Thanks to my advisors, Dr. Basheer and Dr. Bryce, for supporting and
helping me with the research.

And thanks to the Department of Spatial Planning for granting me the

opportunity to study this highly interesting and important field.
Abstract:
The following research followed the notion of Land use and Transportation
interactions occurring within urban areas as interacting concepts, each affecting the other
through the provision of activity sites that generate trips and attract transport access. The
concept of Public Transport as a means of transporting large number of people within shared
vehicles, the main focus of the research, was delved deep into particularly the bus transit
system and the serving bus stops and their usage quality.

The primary issues faced by the people within the chosen study area are related to
improper bus stop placement and quality leading to less usage. The random stopping of buses
and mini-buses at locations other than the designated bus stops and un-coordinated time
schedule between the vehicles arrival and departure leading to unreliably and inconvenience
of usage by the passengers. This led the research to question the most suitable approaches to
analyse and later on improve the location and usage of bus stops and the service quality of the
transit system. The aim oriented towards addressing the current public transport situation and
the perception of the people and key informants in helping to provide key points of
optimizing location of bus stops and quality usage of the transit service.

Various theoretical approaches were explored consisting of the essence of trip patterns
and the urban form and how land uses, as trip generators, bring forth the travel demand with
the nodes and links being the origins and destinations. Von Thunen’s Regional Land use
model (1826) being the oldest representation of land use and transport interaction. The
Concentric Model of Burgess (1925) investigating the spatial patterns containing social and
transportation abilities of urban areas. The Bus system being the most used transit modes and
being able to be introduced to streets easily. The tramway, as a light-rail system, can be
operated on streets with mixed traffic on special rail lines. Most importantly, the quality of
service criteria impacting bus stop location and transit usage depending on access
environment, service coverage, waiting and travel times, and operational frequency.

The methodological approach followed a Case Study Research Design consisting of

both qualitative and quantitative methods, with data collected through questionnaires,
interviews, observations, and document analysis. Sampling of the survey based on Cluster
Sampling on the basis of bus stop location as clusters for inquiry.

The findings indicate that the majority of the participants use private vehicles as the
main mode of transport. The bus and mini-bus users are 36 frequent and often users from 52
inquired participants. Also, the buffer zone proved to be an overestimation of the actual area
being served by bus stops which proved to be more accurate with the service area approach.
Moreover, the bus stop shelters are broken and vandalized and offer low protection from
externalities. More importantly the most impactful reason for deflecting the usage of transit
being the random vehicle stopping. This random act is leading to time delays and poor time
management with the majority disagreeing the ability of buses to help them arrive to
destinations on time.

In conclusion, a transit-based approach is necessary to be followed that integrates the

bus system with the proposed tramway project as the city has huge reliance on private
vehicles. The strategizing of such transit-oriented system helps in planning an enhanced and
multi-modal public transport system for the city aiding in providing alternative transport
modes and the exchange between different modes of transport. The degree of the
optimization of bus stops within the study area follows the adherence to the quality of service
criteria and developing time management, accessibility, travel behaviour and system design
of increasing desire for usage and overall transit ridership.
Table of Contents
Declaration of Authorship..........................................................................................................I
Acknowledgments:....................................................................................................................II
Abstract....................................................................................................................................III
Table of Figures:...................................................................................................................VIII
List of Tables:............................................................................................................................X
Chapter 1. Introduction..........................................................................................................1
1.1. Introduction:................................................................................................................1
1.2. Motivation:..................................................................................................................2
1.3. Research Area..............................................................................................................4
1.4. Problem Statements:....................................................................................................5
1.5. Research Question:......................................................................................................6
1.6. Aim of the Research:...................................................................................................6
Chapter 2. Literature Review.................................................................................................7
2.1. The Interaction between Land use and Transportation:..............................................7
2.2. The Essence of Trip Patterns and Urban Form:..........................................................8
2.3. Public Transportation:...............................................................................................11
2.4. Bus Transit System:...................................................................................................12
2.5. Tramway/Streetcar Transit System:..........................................................................14
2.6. Public Transport in Developing Countries:...............................................................16
2.7. Criteria for Station/Stop Location and Usage...........................................................17
2.8. Research Conceptual Framework:.............................................................................22
Chapter 3. Methodology:.....................................................................................................25
3.1. Research Strategy......................................................................................................25
3.2. Rationale of Study Area Selection:...........................................................................26
3.3. Methods.....................................................................................................................28
3.4. Sample Selection:......................................................................................................35
3.5. Participants:...............................................................................................................40
Chapter 4. Analysis and Findings:.......................................................................................41
4.1. Travel Behavior:........................................................................................................41
Main Mode of Transport:..................................................................................................41
Usual Travel Destination:.................................................................................................44
Bus/Mini-bus Usage.........................................................................................................46
Most impactful reason for reducing usage of Buses/Mini-buses:.....................................46
Usage of Buses/Mini-buses per Season:...........................................................................48
 Most Visited Destination by Bus:.....................................................................................49
4.2. Accessibility..............................................................................................................50
Accessibility to Bus Stops:...............................................................................................50
Obstructions faced to Bus Stops:......................................................................................50
Placement and Access Environment to Bus Stops:...........................................................51
Buffer Zone and Service Area..........................................................................................52
Connectivity with Sidewalk/Crosswalk:...........................................................................56
4.3. Time management:....................................................................................................57
Arriving to Destination on time:.......................................................................................57
Linkage to Desired Destination:.......................................................................................57
Operation and Routes of Buses and Mini-buses:..............................................................58
Waiting Time for Bus Arrival:..........................................................................................64
In-Vehicle Travel Time:...................................................................................................66
4.4. System Design:..........................................................................................................68
Safety and Security within Vehicles:................................................................................68
Fare Paid:..........................................................................................................................68
Comfort Level:..................................................................................................................69
Opinions on Bus Stop Shelters:........................................................................................71
Suggested Bus Stop Location:..........................................................................................72
Perception on Random Vehicle Stopping.........................................................................73
Suggestions for an improved Bus Transit System:...........................................................74
Chapter 5. Conclusion..........................................................................................................79
Chapter 6. Recommendations:.............................................................................................81
Short-Term Plan (6-12 Months, from 2019 to 2020):..........................................................81
Increasing People’s Awareness towards Public Transport:..............................................81
Policies to prevent Random Vehicle Stopping:................................................................84
Policies to prevent Vandalism of Bus Stop Shelters:........................................................85
Access to Bus Stops:.........................................................................................................86
Mid-Term Plan 1-2 years (2019-2021).................................................................................87
Bus Stop Coverage and Spacing:......................................................................................87
Routing and Linkages:......................................................................................................91
Coordination for Better Management:..............................................................................94
Long Term Plan 3-5 Years (2019-2024)..............................................................................95
Organization and Adherence to Schedule and Ticketing:.................................................95
Design of Bus Stop Shelters:............................................................................................99
 Improved Vehicle Quality:.............................................................................................102
Changes of Land Use over time......................................................................................104
Control of Cars:..............................................................................................................104
Integration with the Tramway Project............................................................................105
References..............................................................................................................................108
Appendices:............................................................................................................................110
Appendix (1) Questionnaire Form distributed to Sample Participants:.............................110
Appendix (2) Sample of Questionnaire form responses:...................................................114
Appendix (3) Interview Form distributed to Key Informants:...........................................116
Appendix (4) Sample of Interview form Answers:............................................................118
Appendix (5) Population number of quarters within Duhok city.......................................120
Appendix (6) Bus and Mini-bus routes and numbers within Duhok city...........................122
Appendix (7) Routes of Bus and Mini-bus operation within Duhok city..........................124
Appendix (8) Hand-drawn map of the location of bus stop and their waiting times within
the study area.......................................................................................................................126
Table of Figures:
Figure 1. Congestion time within the Bazaar.............................................................................3
Figure 2. Aerial Image of the Study Area Location...................................................................4
Figure 3. Transportation-Land use Interaction...........................................................................8
Figure 4. Burgess’s Urban Land use Model...............................................................................9
Figure 5.Von Thunen’s Regional Land use Model....................................................................9
Figure 6. The Hybrid Land use model: Transportation and the Formation of Landscapes.....10
Figure 7. Land rent and Land use.............................................................................................10
Figure 8. Transit and Urban Form............................................................................................10
Figure 9. Different Bus Vehicles: (a) Articulated bus, Dubai; (b) Double Articulated bus,
Sweden; (c); Typical Transit Bus, Atlanta, Georgia; (d) Double decker bus, Victoria, British
Colombia..................................................................................................................................13
Figure 10. Light Rail in Rotterdam..........................................................................................14
Figure 11. Different LRT Alignments.....................................................................................15
Figure 12. Bus Stop Location and Dimensions........................................................................21
Figure 13. Research Conceptual Framework...........................................................................22
Figure 14. Study Area Quarters Map.......................................................................................26
Figure 15. Land use Map of the Study Area............................................................................28
Figure 16. Diagram of Data Collection Sources......................................................................29
Figure 17. The Concept of Sampling.......................................................................................36
Figure 18. Illustration of the Cluster Sampling Process for the Study.....................................38
Figure 19. Graph of Most used Transport Modes within the Study Area of all the sample....41
Figure 20. Transport Modes within the Study Area.................................................................43
Figure 21. Usual Travel Destination and Purpose of Travel of all the sample........................44
Figure 22. Map of Active Destinations and Activity Sites within the Study Area..................45
Figure 23. Time in which Buses/Mini-buses are Used of the 36 users....................................46
Figure 24. Usage of Buses/Mini-buses in the Study Area of all the sample............................46
Figure 25. Graph of Impactful Reasons for reducing Buses/Minibuses usage........................47
Figure 26. Season of Bus/Mini-bus Usage according to People’s Perceptions of all the
sample......................................................................................................................................48
Figure 27. Graph of Most Visited Destinations by the Bus/Mini-bus of the 36 users.............49
Figure 28. Time spent for People to reach Bus Stops..............................................................50
Figure 29. Ease of Access of People to Bus Stops...................................................................50
Figure 30. Type of Obstructions Faced on the way to Bus Stops............................................51
Figure 31. Unavailability of Access to the Bus Stops within the Study Area..........................52
Figure 32, Bus Stops Buffer Zone within the Study Area.......................................................52
Figure 33. Bus Stops Service Area within the Study Area......................................................53
Figure 34. Difference between Buffer Zone and Service Area of the Bus Stops....................54
Figure 35. Bus Stop Spacing....................................................................................................55
Figure 36. Connectivity of People to the Bus Stops................................................................56
Figure 37. The degree which buses and mini-buses help people arrive to their Destination on
Time.........................................................................................................................................57
Figure 38. Linkages of People to their destinations by the Buses/Mini-buses........................58
Figure 39. Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses within the Study Area........................................61
Figure 40. Map of an Example of the Distance required to reach from Home to the
Emergency Hospital.................................................................................................................62
Figure 41. Map of an Example of the Distance required to reach from Home to the Duhok
Stadium....................................................................................................................................63
Figure 42. Waiting time required for Passengers to Arrive to Destinations............................64
Figure 43.Map of Observed Waiting Times and Frequency of Buses/Mini-buses within the
Study area.................................................................................................................................65
Figure 44. Bus Stop near Duhok Stadium................................................................................66
Figure 45. Malta Route Mini-bus Waiting at the Shorash Garage...........................................66
Figure 46. In-Vehicle Travel time for the Passengers..............................................................66
Figure 47. Safety of Passengers within the Buses/Mini-buses................................................68
Figure 48. Comfort Level within the Vehicles.........................................................................69
Figure 49. Facing Congestion within the Buses/Mini-buses...................................................69
Figure 50. Section of the Nissan Urvan Design.......................................................................70
Figure 51. Nissan Urvan Mini-bus within Shorash Garage.....................................................70
Figure 52. Design of the Nissan Civilian Bus..........................................................................70
Figure 53. Nissan Civilian Bus................................................................................................70
Figure 54. Toyota Coaster Bus.................................................................................................70
Figure 55. Opinions of People on Bus Stop Shelters...............................................................71
Figure 56. People’s Perception on Random Stopping of Buses/Mini-buses...........................73
Figure 57. Tram Section of the Red Line (T1).........................................................................76
Figure 58. Tram/LRT Network Map of the 5 Lines within Duhok.........................................77
Figure 59. Example of Environmental Benefits of Bus and Mini-bus usage for increased
awareness.................................................................................................................................82
Figure 60. Advertisement concept for increasing desire of Mini-bus usage within Duhok city.
..................................................................................................................................................83
Figure 61. Suggested Advertisement about time and cost of Mini-buses for increasing
people’s transit desire...............................................................................................................84
Figure 62. Suggested accessibility adingin elements to be added near bus stops....................86
Figure 63. Current spacing between bus stops.........................................................................87
Figure 64. Buffer zone of current bus stops.............................................................................87
Figure 65. Suggested placement of new bus stops...................................................................88
Figure 66. Spacing of Bus Stops after the placement of new bus stops...................................89
Figure 67. Service Area covered after the addition of new bus stops to the study area...........90
Figure 68. Current Route of Buses and Mini-buses operating within Duhok city...................91
Figure 69. Suggested Addition of Gali and Duhok routes to the city......................................92
Figure 70. Recommended Timetable for Bus and Mini-bus departure and Arrival with Malta
Route as an example.................................................................................................................96
Figure 71. Recommended Map to support the timetable for each station, with Shorash Station
as an Example..........................................................................................................................97
Figure 72. Public Transport Ticket Vending Machine in Berlin, Germany.............................98
Figure 73. Current situation of a bus stop within the study area..............................................99
Figure 74. The 3 bus stop placement locations......................................................................100
Figure 75. Proposed Design for Bus stops.............................................................................101
Figure 76. Blueprint Design of the Isuzu Turquoise..............................................................102
Figure 77. Suggested Isuzu Turquoise Bus to be added to the Transit System.....................102
Figure 78. Suggested Markings to be placed on the city’s buses...........................................103
Figure 79. The Integration of Bus and Tramway routes within Duhok City.........................106
Figure 80. 3D Scene illustration of the Integrated Public Transport Modes within the Study
Area........................................................................................................................................107

List of Tables:
Table 1. Bus Stop Spacing in Literature..................................................................................17
Table 2: 1st Main Research Questions and Methods................................................................30
Table 3: 2nd Main Research Question and Themes..................................................................32
Table 4: Demographic Characteristics of the Sample..............................................................40
Table 5: Results of Reasons for reducing desire of Bus/Mini-bus Usage................................47
Table 6: Reason for Non-usage per Season.............................................................................48
Table 7: Obstruction Faced to the Bus Stops...........................................................................50
Table 8: Duhok City Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses...........................................................59
Table 9: Number of Population served by Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses daily and monthly
..................................................................................................................................................60
Table 10: Fare Paid for the Bus/Mini-bus................................................................................68
Table 11: People’s Opinion on new Bus Stop Location..........................................................72
Table 12: Reasons for Supporting/Against Random Stopping................................................74
Table 13: Number of Population served by Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses daily and
monthly.....................................................................................................................................93
 Chapter 1. Introduction:
The introduction chapter of the research begins with explaining the topic in general
followed by the indication researcher’s motivation in choosing the topic. After that, the
location of the research area is indicated as well as the problem statement that explains the
issues faced by the area related to the selected topic. Afterwards, the research questions are
given whereby further data collection and analysis will follow upon, and also the aim that the
research is trying to reach and develop.

1.1. Introduction:
Transportation and Land use, two terms that are always in an interchange in terms of
their interactions with the surrounding urban form. Land use patterns are known to affect the
feasibility of many kinds of transportation options while the development of different
transportation improvements carries with it impacts in terms of development patterns
(Marshall and Banister, 2007). The connection between the two terms comes when the
transportation system considerations including commuter time, public transportation
availability, and parking availability, impact the decision of individuals on where to live and
work. The distribution of land use generates demand for transport and the supply of
movement enables the distribution of different land uses. Transport networks have links and
nodes and connect zones with them, indicating trip origins and destinations.

Public Transportation refers to the movement of large numbers of people in shared

vehicles. They are modes where the general public use through paying fares and are provided
by private and public agencies. Different modes of public transport include buses, light rail,
regional rail, and metro. Public transport offers accessibility and mobility for the people in
cities since they are able to carry large passenger volumes from different activity sites. Its
effect on land use patterns include increasing the vibrance and life quality, and the provision
of access to activity sites and reduction of private vehicles usage and their related
externalities (Meyer, 2016). Within Duhok city, the prominent form of public transport that
exists are the buses and mini-buses. They are known for having some indicated, but dynamic,
routes, no adherence with timetables or schedules, and incompliance with the established bus
stops along with the desires and needs of the private driver that has a great influence on its
operations.

1
1.2. Motivation:
The research is based on the ability to apply Land use and Transportation theories into
the real cases of Duhok city so as to develop and encourage the usage of a formalized and
linked transit-oriented system with the help of public transportation modes of Buses and
Mini- buses and the proposed Tram plan. The motivation for my research follows the fact of
how the currently available car-oriented trend within Duhok along with its low passenger
carriage has led to negative implications that are against the ongoing world shifts towards
sustainability and alternative modes of transportation (public and active).

It is well known that the city of Duhok, as with other parts of the linked region, faces
the issue of relying on a single mode of transport and that is the private vehicle. This proves
true based on a number of implications as it provides easy access for users, they are available
for usage all the time, and are more desired as the alternatives are not efficient and
competent. The buses and mini-buses are unreliable, inaccessible, have no proper stopping
and pick up locations, and do not serve the passenger's aspect of time management.

It is my personal field of interest to be an expert in the topic of Land use and

Transportation interactions and how they shape the overall form of the city and provide it
with life and activity, particularly the issues facing Duhok city. From that, understanding of
the buses and mini-buses system is desired that are currently part of the city's fleet in terms of
delivering the services to the people and its connections as a transit system and how to
develop a bus system that will be capable of meeting the people's needs so as to deliver
citizens in a managed manner, on time, and with ease of access from and to the point of
boarding and egress on the bus stops.

Since living in Duhok city for the past 5 years during my study period, using public
transport has always been desired to reach my destinations but the demand was not met due
to its lack in the city. My observations of the daily movement within the city' streets always
had the trend of over dependence on private vehicles leading to severe incidents of
congestion and high percentages of externalities (emissions). On top of that, the people's
usage of private vehicles has its low passenger carriage associated with it, further escalating
the issue of unsustainability and unsuitability with such mode of transport. As seen on figure
(1), the Bazaar area is one of the most active places in terms of traffic and pedestrian
movement and faces congestion in various times of the day with extensive private vehicles
and taxies. This lead to envision a developed system remote from the car-oriented system we
are having today. My
research expectations follow to adjust Duhok city to other similar cities that are using public
transportation in an effective and managed way in carrying its citizens across the streets of
the city.

Figure 1. Congestion time within the Bazaar.

Image taken by the Author.

Also, the Summer School of the department to Germany during the summer of 2018
had personal experiences of the Public Transport system in the country. It is known that
Germany has a complex and highly advance system of public transport in terms of trains,
buses, and more, and in terms of its management and operation effectiveness. The system’s
adherence to the timetable and how each vehicle has their designated routes and appropriate
stops and stations for passengers to wait at were inspired from. This gave me the further
desire to work on identifying the shortcomings of our system and apply their experience of
managing to our cities.

Another motivation to conduct such research is the participation within a project

proposal that is directed towards the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.
This covenant has a branch within Duhok governorate and the supervisor of my research is a
member. The vision of the government is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by
the year 2030, with transportation being one of the sources of those emissions. The proposal
is in accordance with other members of the Department of Spatial Planning in the University
of Duhok in collaboration with the General Directorate of Municipalities in Duhok. A
proposal was presented aiming at developing a bus system master plan with the city of
Duhok, which is the center of the Province, so as to have an efficient, attractive and well-
designed system of buses. The master plan will incorporate identifying appropriate locations
for stops, scheduling,
operation and management in a coordinated manner while also benefiting from existing bus
and minibus system in operation within the City. This will provide an opportunity of two-
sided benefits; one being a benefit for the thesis research which will be gained from such
activity; and the other being the transforming of the theoretical research into practical terms
in real world practices within Duhok city.

1.3. Research Area:

The study area that has been selected by the researcher for conducting this research is
the area in the center of Duhok city. Duhok city is located in Duhok governorate within
Kurdistan region of Iraq and is a city known for its location within a topographically
characterized site between mountains and the greenery and streams of the Hshkaro
watercourse running through it.

The area selected for the study can be seen on the satellite image on figure (2). The
total area of the study area is 1.6 km2 and contains 24,069 inhabitants (Directorate of
Statistics, 2019). It is a strategic area that hosts a variety of key locations that were deemed
important for the research topic since a lot of activities and movements are taken place there.
The study area is characterized by various activities that attract people from different parts of
the city, including the Bazaar, the Emergency Hospital, Duhok Stadium, and others which are
deliberated in the Rationale for Study Area selection (See Page 26).

Figure 2. Aerial Image of the Study Area Location.

By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop. Aerial Image acquired from the Municipality of Duhok (2019).
1.4. Problem Statements:
The following research addresses the primary issues that are being tackled within the
transportation system in the city, particularly the study area, in terms of the degree of quality
of services of the available public transportation modes of buses and mini-buses. The buses
and mini-buses are in operation by a cooperation between the Directorate of Transportation;
The Municipality of Duhok; and the Syndicate of Workers assigned for the Drivers. The city
currently is running through a car-oriented trend where dependence is completely on private
vehicles and no other modes can compete with it.

There are two garages for the buses and mini-buses and bus stop shelters have been
placed in various places within the city. The system, however, is known for its lack of
reliability and quality when serving the people of Duhok. The main issue of it being that the
vehicles are stopping at random locations for picking up and dropping off passengers within
their route and no importance is given to follow the established bus stops. The drivers only
start their trip from the garages when the vehicles are filled with passengers. There are no
timetables or schedules set by any side that indicates the departure and arrival times of the
city’s routes. These are the main issues that lead the system to being unreliable for people to
consider when the aspect of time management is concerned, not to mention the inorganization
and congestion caused by such random system. This unreliability also is present from the fact
that the routes are not covering all areas within the city and only certain routes are
continuously being cycled that offer low linkages and coverage. As was reported from the
Transportation Directorate in Duhok, these routes are also seen to be dynamic and subject to
random change according to driver’s needs and desires and no stable routes are ever seen to
be set. In terms of passengers, the access to bus stops and reliability that they offer is another
issue as the crossing can often be seen in-accessible and the waiting times not dependable.

All of these are seen to cause a system of public transport that is unreliable and
reduces people’s desire to use it, leading to the extensive usage of private vehicles and taxies
that, according to people’s perceptions, often offer higher linkages and higher reliability in
terms of time management.
1.5. Research Question:
The research will be focusing on addressing the following main questions:

“How to analyse the current situation of the location of bus stops and the service
quality of public transport in terms of time, frequency, routes, and service area?"

“What guidelines can be brought for improving the situation and usage of bus stop
and service quality so as to strategize a transit-oriented system in Duhok city?”

1.6. Aim of the Research:

As explained previously, the study area is a central node of movement and activity
site for attracting people from the whole of the city. With that, the traffic condition of the city
is facing huge loads of over dependence on private vehicles and taxies, and the role of public
transport has not been present enough to attract higher ridership. The absence of time
management, proper coordination, and random stopping at locations has led to low reliability
of the buses and mini-buses of the city.

Whittington (2003) defines Strategizing as practical actions that are done so as to

formulate plans, goals, and courses of action, through different timeframes, so as to achieve a
stated aim and development. By Strategizing a Transit-Oriented system it is meant for the
researcher to provide strategies, steps, and plans in order to find out the needed developments
to take place within the public transport system of the city, buses and mini-buses, so as to
allow the enhanced movement of people (passengers) between locations in shared vehicles.
Accordingly, the aim of the research is to further address the current situation of public
transport, particularly the location of bus stops and the usage of the buses, in terms of its
service quality and time management and analyse the perception of people and key
informants’ opinions on the available system. The results and findings will be further
deliberated that will help in providing key points so as to strategize an optimal location and
usage of bus stops and service within the study area.
 Chapter 2. Literature Review:
The following chapter includes literature sources and information related to the
concepts of Land use and Transportation and their theories. The trip patterns that affect the
aforementioned concepts are explained within a section, followed by explanations as to what
bus and tramway transit are and their benefits and usage within urban areas. Finally, the
criteria for service quality of public transport and bus stops location and usage are brought as
guidelines that will be followed later on to analyze the situation and provide guides for
further improvements to the public transport in the city.

2.1. The Interaction between Land use and Transportation:

The land use and transport interactions are a result of decisions made by people,
businesses and the government. Rodrigue et al (2006) explains that land use is regarded as the
most stable urban dynamics component by which the changes it has to modify the structure of
land use takes a very long time. Land uses’ main impact on urban dynamics are the function
to generate and attract movements. Transport Networks are also considered another stable
component since the infrastructure are constructed for the long term and the terminals and
systems can operate for longer periods of time. Marshall and Banister (2007) indicate that the
logic of transport geography is defined in terms in such that the distribution of land uses in
different locations has the ability to stimulate the demand for transport, and in the same way
the supply of transport can enable the distribution of land uses in various locations. Land uses
are often seen associated with attractive and productive activities that carry with them
benefits. This gives the desire for people to demand travel to that land use. That travel carries
with it costs; the costs necessary to take in order to reach those benefits residing at the
destination.

The contributing factor that transport systems have on urban dynamics are that they
provide accessibility. Movements are regarded as the most dynamic component of the system
because the passenger and goods movement changes are immediate. Everything that affects
the land use has with its transportation implications and every action caused by transportation
affects land uses. The state often will help shape land uses by providing infrastructure in the
aim of improving accessibility and mobility. Accessibility is measured by the number of
travel occasions and destinations within a particular radius of travel, whether travel time or
travel distance. Mobility is a measure of how it is able to move in an efficient manner
between the origins and destinations and is influenced by the transportation network’s layout
and its service level offered. Developments on land cause the need to travel, travel in turn
causes the need to
 establish new facilities and services, these new services increase accessibility and bring with
them further development attraction (See figure 3). The goal of transportation is to transform
the geographical qualities of people, goods, and information from points of origin to
destination, conferring with them the added value (Rodrigue et el, 2006).

Figure 3. Transportation-Land use Interaction.

Source: Giuliano, G. (1995).

Employment and Workplaces account for a considerable incentive effect on urban

dynamics since commuting is a direct result of the amount of jobs and workplace locations.
Population and Housing are regarded as the generators of movement since the source of
commuting are residential areas.

2.2. The Essence of Trip Patterns and Urban Form:

Conventionally, a transport system is considered as a network that contains with it a
collection of links and nodes by which zones are connected to it and represent origins and
destinations of trips. Within this context, land uses are regarded as trip generators as they
bring forth the demand for travelling, and the nodes and links are the supply side as they
connect the zones of land use, representing the origins and destinations. Marshall (2005)
indicates that Travel Behavior has been, in a long time, known as a derived demand and that
is, people travel not for the sake of transport but in order to consume goods and services
which require the act of travel, with an exception being recreational travel. People always
choose to move from location to another and choose the most suitable means to move. Every
trip that a person conducts carries with it the benefits that are expected to be met at the
destination against the costs that need to be taken to get there which is time, a limited and
finite resource for the many (Marshall, 2005).

According to Vuchic (2002), there are 3 basic classifications of urban transportation

modes according to their operation type and use: Private Transportation is one in which
private vehicles are used and operated by their owners for personal uses which include
private cars and
bicycles; Para-transit, or for-hire transportation, is one which is usually functioned by
operators and owners of vehicles and are hired by individuals for trips such as taxies and
rickshaws; and Public Transportation is the system that operates on fixed routes along with
their fixed schedules and fares to be used by the general people. Public transportation
includes bus, metro, regional rail and light rail. In many countries, Informal Public Transport
can be seen which is the result of a lack in public transport and the inability of the population
to purchase private vehicles.

When turning into the discussion of the Urban Land use models, it is obvious that the
relationship between land use and transport is rich in theoretical depictions and theories that
made regional sciences contributions. Because transportation is a distance changing
technology, the spatial organization is heavily impacted by distance and location concepts.
Many models, both descriptive and analytical, of urban land use were developed over time.
They all involve aspects and considerations of transportation in explaining the structure of
urban land uses. The Regional Land use model of Von Thunen, developed in 1826, can be
seen as the oldest representation by which is based on a central place and the concentric
affects it has on the surrounding land uses. It was designed to explain the analysis of
agricultural land use patterns and its activities for the usage of land. The Concentric Model of
Burgess, developed in 1925, investigated the spatial patterns at an urban level and analysed
social classes, transportation, and mobility’s ability to impact urban areas’ spatial
organization. The Land use models of Sector and Multiple nuclei, developed by Hoyt (1939)
and Harris and Ulman (1945) respectively, considered the influence of transportation axes on
land use growth, particularly the emergence of the impacts that motorization had on the urban

spatial structure.
Figure 4. Burgess’s Urban Land use Model.
Figure 5.Von Thunen’s Regional Land use Model. Source: Rodrigue et al. (2013).
Source: Rodrigue et al. (2013).

Hybrid Models were developed in an attempt to contain the previously mentioned

concentric, nuclei, and sector models in order to explain the urban land use. It mixes the
strengths of each approach including the concentric CBD effects and the transport radial
effects on the land use pattern. The Land rent theory by William Alonso (1964) places land
uses as
markets where by the different urban activities are competing to achieve usage of land at
particular locations. It is based on spatial competitions by which the actors are bidding to
maintain placement at locations, as a place is more desirable, its rent value will be higher.

Figure 6. The Hybrid Land use model: Transportation and

the Formation of Landscapes. Figure 7. Land rent and Land use.
Source: Rodrigue et al. (2013). Source: Rodrigue et al. (2013).

Because transit is a shared service, it can largely benefit from the agglomeration
economies that are related to high densities and from scale economies related to high
demands for mobility. As density of transit operation is lowered, the demand is lowered. Ever
since their start in the early 19th century, transit systems carried with them important impacts
on the spatial structure and the urban form. There are 3 main classes of cities that are seen
with the relationship they have with transit systems:

Adaptive Cities are those that have a true transit orientation since their urban form and
land use developments are properly integrated with public transport developments. The
central areas are effectively served by transit systems, are pedestrian friendly, and have
peripheries that orient around the transit lines. Adaptive Transit refers to cities where the
transit has a marginal and lower role and private vehicles are the dominant mode of
movement. They have decentralized and low dense urban forms. Hybrid cities have found a
balance between car dependency and transit development with central areas having sufficient
transit services and peripheries being car oriented (Rodrigue et el, 2006).

Figure 8. Transit and Urban Form.

Source: Rodrigue et al. (2013).
2.3. Public Transportation:
Public Transportation is a term referring to moving great numbers of people within
shared vehicles. It is the service that is provided by private and public agencies where by the
general public can use by paying a fare and obtaining tickets for usage. In urban areas, public
transportation systems include bus, light rail, regional rail, metro, and trolleybus which
operate on predefined routes with a publicized schedule (Vuchic, 2002). Most public
transport modes are provided by public or private operators where the operator and transport
authority in the city conduct medium-to long-term agreements in setting defined services,
enforcing legal protection against intruders, and are subsidized in case of losses from
environmental and social dimensions of the services.

Transit services are known to provide accessibility and mobility in cities and
communities since they are made to carry large volumes of trips that, otherwise, couldn’t be
efficiently handled by the other transport modes to and from the major centers of activity
(Meyer, 2016). Private vehicles, taxies, and vans face difficulties in serving large populations
of large cities since they have limited road networks and its travel amount. Meyer (2016)
explains that Urban areas have become vibrant because they have proper transit services
providing a convenient system of movement throughout the city. In middle-sized cities,
public transportation is able to facilitate access to many activity centers that contribute to
reducing private vehicle usage, traffic congestion and demand for parking.

Public Transport modes are broken down into specific types of services. Most transit
operate on fixed routes by which they work on a repetitive and pre-set schedule along a
particular route and their vehicles stop at designated stations or stops. The Fixed route transit
is made up of a system of various technologies that are varying by operating characteristics
for example speed and capacity. The larger the vehicle, the more space available for it to
carry passengers. The faster the service, the more frequent their trips will occur. The more
vehicles operated; the more passengers will be operated per time (Meyer, 2016).

When public transportation systems began to have presence in cities in the 19th and
20th centuries through, first; horse drawn omnibus and tramways; and later through rail
infrastructure, electrically run trains and tramway technologies, researchers began to study
land use and transportation interactions and what effects they have on where individuals and
firms wanted to locate. This trend of communal movement through urban areas however
changed in the 1920s as the production of automobiles increased and presented the people
with a new
movement mode around the cities. The competition between the two modes expressively
reduced public transport ridership and the increase of the car’s popularity carried with it
traffic congestion, air pollution, and accidents in cities. According to Wachs (1993), there has
been no other form of urban mobility that has affected land use is such a dramatic way as did
the invention and the extensive usage of private vehicles, with it the creation of the present-
day car-dependant culture existing in many world cities. This returns to the extreme
convenience of the private automobile, the availability of low-cost fuel, and supporting
policies which facilitated the suburban development trend through the dwellers locational
preference and outward migration from the cities.

2.4. Bus Transit System:

Buses are regarded as one of the most extensively used public transport modes. They
are considered as easy to be introduced and modified in transport systems. Buses require only
the services of purchasing vehicles, bus garages, service organization, assignation of routes,
and facilities for maintenance (Meyer, 2016). Placement of stops along the routes can be
made simple, and many large cities that own rail transit also have an extensive operation of
bus networks. Buses are considered one of the most economical public transport modes for
lines that have light travel. The flexibility of buses is an advantage for communities that seek
any changes in their transport system. The disadvantages that buses might have is that they
lack durability and the efficiency of serving heavy volumes of passengers.

They are suitable since they can be fitted on almost any streets with very low
infrastructure required which allows for buses to provide services over wide-ranging
networks. Bus transit is also useful to serve areas where rail transit doesn’t exist. Buses do,
however, face traffic conditions and are seen uncompetitive when compared to private
vehicles in relation to reliability and speed. Since they operate with low investment costs, bus
transit is regarded as the most economical mode. But they have less economies of scale than
rail. As passenger volumes increase, buses costs per passenger are seen to remain constant
which means for heavier volumes, buses are less economical. They also have a lower impact
on urban development that fixed transit systems. Figure (9) shows different articulations of
buses from different cities.
Figure 9. Different Bus Vehicles: (a) Articulated bus, Dubai; (b) Double Articulated bus, Sweden; (c); Typical
Transit Bus, Atlanta, Georgia; (d) Double decker bus, Victoria, British Colombia.
Source: Meyer (2016).

The Ticketing System for public transport is reaching universal operations of one-
person operated buses with revenue collection and ticket issuing being divided into two
approaches. One approach is that all passengers require to pass the driver, pay the money fare
and produce the ticket, or show a pass/travelcard. The other approach is that passengers have
already bought tickets before boarding the vehicle as passes or smartcards. Population density
has a significant effect on the demand for public transportation since places with high
population density carry with it a greater level of public transport service with lower fares.
These places can have longer operation times, daily and weekly, and even at nights. Followed
by the concentration of shops and working places, population density may be the most
important factor.

Buses operate mainly on surfaces streets and are often integrated with the mixed
traffic and are usually powered by fuel. Buses are considered to be easily altered with by
agencies
that can experiment with adding or taking away routes or stops in order to align with the
changing patterns of settlement and employment. They can be operated in exclusive or shared
rights of way, offering high flexibility of the mode. They are ideal for distributing passengers
on a local service that covers short distances and has frequent stops and lower speeds, as well
as conveying passengers from local areas to higher capacity systems.

2.5. Tramway/Streetcar Transit System:

Tramways, also called streetcars, were a dominant mode of transit in many cities until
the 1950s. Meyer (2016) explains that as the private vehicle usage was increasing, tramways
were declined and were replaced by bus transit systems. Tramways are most common in
European countries, and over the years their popularity has risen again and have been
retained and modernised to constitute a major public transport section. Street Tramways are a
type of Light Rail Systems that operate on streets of cities along with the mixed traffic,
common to the bus transit. One disadvantage is that they are usually obstructed by other
traffic on the road, similar to buses. While some tramways operate on streets, others can have
dedicated tracks either below or above the street level that offer full segregation from the
mixed traffic

Light Rail operate on surface streets with some degree of grade separation and are
usually electrically powered (Figure 10). Trolleys of light rail are considered those with the
shortest routes and the lowest capacity. They operate on fixed ways on the surface streets and
interact with the traffic, even though they have grade separations. They are able to carry
nearly 150 passengers and operate using electrical power on steel tracks.

Figure 10. Light Rail in Rotterdam.

Source: Meyer (2016).
 It is necessary for rail systems to have stations, stops and terminal as they are a
representation of points of contact between rail services and the area surrounding it and with
other modes such as private vehicles, walking, cycling, and other transit. The operation of
these locations heavily impacts the convenience, safety and comfort of passengers as well as
the reliability, line capacity, and operating speeds of the service.

The platforms for light rail can either be center platforms where two tracks are on
both sides, or two-sided platforms with a central track between them (Figure 11). At-grade
pedestrian access is usually provided for passengers. Waiting and Boarding Areas is another
consideration where most stations possess canopies on the platform or vertical surfaces to
cover from wind and precipitation.

Figure 11. Different LRT Alignments.

Source: Meyer (2016).

Fare Vending and Collection is another factor where by many countries use self-
service fare systems known as proof-of-payment where by free and paid areas exist in.
Passengers who enter the paid area must display valid tickets which helps operators check
tickets before boarding. Ticket Vending Machines can be placed in the free areas along with
good signage, and access requirements for passenger’s information. Validators can also be
used which are devices whereby tickets are inserted and stamps of the date and time are put.
For many systems, when peak-hour vehicle design load is more than two passengers per
square meter, inspection onboard the vehicle is less effective since the inspectors will have
difficulty in moving within the vehicle.

When pedestrian areas are introduced with transit services, the stops and stations were
placed in malls, shopping streets and squares where crossing is allowed since the vehicles
move at moderate speeds. Their tracks are usually embedded in the pavement. At-Grade
Transfer Stations located within pedestrian areas and separate from car traffic where short
distances of walking need to be provided (Meyer, 2016).
2.6. Public Transport in Developing Countries:
Road Transport is one of the first types of transport known. Within developing
countries, the transit system includes buses, taxies, informal paratransit vehicles, and human
and animal powered vehicles. Mass public transport is the type of transit available to multiple
passengers and is operating on a fixed and flexible route, while Individual public transport is
used by people who travel together and select the route of travel. Most road-based transit
share the road space with the mixed traffic while in other cases, exclusive lanes and ways can
be provided. Bus transit are the most flexible form of mass public transport suitable for urban
areas, long distances and rural transport. Buses are able to operate on any street or road with
minimum infrastructure. They are also flexible in terms of route capacity through changing
the operation frequency and the vehicle capacity used (Illes, 2005).

A very known form of transport in developing countries is the “Paratransit” or

“Informal” public transport. It is in ever increase as a known form of urban and rural
transport and usually competes with the formal transit. Also, in many cities and towns, they
are the only mean of mass public transport available to the public. They usually operate on a
less formal manner than normal bus transit and have smaller vehicles with owner-drivers.
Paratransit in its own refers to the collection of public transport modes that are operated in an
informal way and range from rickshaw to large sized buses. As explained by Illes (2005),
overtime, in developing countries, paratransit is becoming more and more accepted and form
a significant part of the public transport system. The reason for the flourishing in paratransit
is because their vehicles are usually cheaper to purchase and operate and have lower capital
investments. Mini-buses usually require lower skills to drive and are based on a mass-
produced vehicle model that are familiar to local mechanics. Their routes are usually flexible
and will stop according to the passenger’s requirements, which is known as personalized
mass transit or demand responsive transport. These modes are often seen more appropriate
than usual transit modes for people of lower incomes.

Individual Public Transport can also be seen as a contributing factor to the public
transport system in many towns and cities. The usual type of IPT is the taxi, which is a public
transport form available to be used by individuals or a group of people to travel between 2
points. They are often seen to provide a faster and better alternative to public transport as it
can fill gaps in areas where demand doesn’t justify the provision of mass transit and areas
that do not have access to these modes. It is also popular in areas of low dense population, in
low bus demand areas, and at time if the day or night that haven’t been served by bus transit.
2.7. Criteria for Station/Stop Location and Usage:
Bus stops are known as the first contact point offered between the bus and the
passenger. The performance and customer satisfaction of transit systems are heavily
influenced by the location, spacing and design of the bus stops. Overall, the following
categories are considered when designing locations for bus stops: Bus Operation, Land Use,
Safety of Passengers, Road Features, and Conditions of Traffic.

Aslan and Kocalan (2018) indicate that humans are adapted in moving from a location
to another and the help of public transport is an important factor in facilitating that
movement. It helps create important connections between points and forms a component of
the social economy and spatial relations. A distance of 400 meters is usually considered as a
comfortable distance that humans can walk as explained by Farewell and Marx (1996), who
advocate that transit can become more attractive when access distances are shortened. This
distance is also given by Meyer (2016) within the criteria of bus stop selection for urban
areas.

Bus transit has an important role within the urban traffic system, and its efficiency can
highly be improved through the optimization of bus stop locations within the transit network
and the pathways that will result in more social and economic advantages for the city. Xuebin
(2010) explains that this optimization is to be met when demands of the passengers are met
where acceptable walking distances and appropriate number of stops are considered within a
service coverage. The stops distance has direct impacts on the duration that passengers can
access stops and the in-vehicle travel times. More stops indicate shortened walking times and
distances. Uludağ (2010) explains that while it is the aim of passengers to minimize the
combination of the access and in-vehicle travel time, operators usually are aiming at reducing
operation costs and increase revenues. The major trip generators within cities can be used in
order to detect the location of stops. The TCRP (2016) identify standards for intervals of bus
stop spacing and location given in table (1) which are representations of prevailing practices.

Table 1. Bus Stop Spacing in Literature.

Source: Aslan and Kocaman (2018).
 In another study by Zheng et al (2014) based on the existing network of public
transport, the improvement of bus operational efficiency was studied to reduce the resident’s
cost of travelling by bus transit, and the spacing of bus stations is an important factor
impacting on passenger travel time since its placement and spacing has effects in reducing
travel time by passengers. The study aimed at analysing on the passengers leaving and
waiting time at the bus stations and the time cost of getting on and off the bus. That travel
time depends on the bus station or stop’s service area. It is indicated by the walking distance
of a usual 500-meter radius.

The level of attraction of passengers to transit is determined by the total time of travel
for trips, which include First, the time of access and egress to routes or lines; second, the
waiting time at stops and stations; and third, the travel time in vehicle when traveling from
the origin stop to the destination stop. These components of travel are regarded as functions
of the design and system operation of transit networks. Meyer (2016) identifies the service
quality criteria that public transport services can be analysed on.

Service availability (Access trip time): is known as the basic requirement for
passenger’s use of transit and are of direct influence to the passenger’s mode choice. It can be
measured through the proximity of the stations and stops to the passenger’s origins and
destinations. The desire of people to use transit services depends on not only distance from
transit, but also on access mode, service type offered and local conditions. Area coverage is
defined as the total access area where a transit stops or station attracts passengers. It is the
geography that particular transit companies and agencies cover in coincidence with
administrative and political units in the area. These service areas may be extended through
operating agreements and jurisdictions (Meyer, 2016).

Service Availability (Access Environment or the first and last mile): The nature of
the trip is always known as a sequence of passengers wanting to ride a transit service getting
first to the transit stop or station and then arriving at their destination when leaving the other
end of the trip. If passengers view the service as being unsafe and inconvenient in terms of
access and outlet, they will avoid using the transit system. Providing safety in the “first and
last miles” of trips is an important element in keeping the transit service attractive for
passengers.

Temporal Availability: The attractiveness of transit depends on the service

availability across the day, and the performance of a system is measured by its operation
hours. Many transit services are seen to operate on a 16 to 20-hour basis, while large cities
often have “owl services” from midnights till 5:00 AM, offering thus a 24-hour service.
 Headways: are known as the time between vehicles arrival. If a route has the
operation of a 20-minute headway, this means that the service frequency is three times an
hour. In the case that a passenger misses a vehicle, the headway will become their waiting
time and an additional 20 minutes will be added to their 20 minutes of in-vehicle time,
resulting a 40 minutes of total trip time, with all assuming that the stop of station was within
a short distance of walking. When headways are long, trips made by transit will take longer
times than taking the same trip by using a private vehicle, posing a problem if transit is to
compete with the car usage in a city.

Waiting Time: Waiting time of passengers depends on the frequency of the service
of the headways. It is the time that passengers spend waiting at the stations or stops to catch a
transit service. As a general rule, people dislike waiting and one of the main goals of transit
services is to minimize the time being spend waiting for next vehicles to arrive. Having
frequent services available can be of aid in minimizing the waiting time. Short headways less
than 10 minutes mean that random passengers will be arriving and so, the waiting time is half
of the headway. Headways of 10 minutes or longer mean that passengers are more likely to
plan their arrival according to the schedule. In the case of reliable services, the passengers are
able to plan their arrival time to have short waiting times for the short headways. For longer
headways, schedule usage is required. Transfers between trips causes passengers to
experience second wait times. Recent technological advancements in the form of applications
help provide information system to passengers on when the vehicles will arrive at stops
which helps to minimize wait times at stations and stops.

In-vehicle Travel Time: The travel speed of the vehicle and the travelled distance is
what determines the time spent in the vehicle. Buses and some other street transit forms have
speeds between 12 to 20 km/h in city centers and 15 to 25 km/h in suburbs. Light rail transit
has average speeds of 20 to 30 km/h. In-vehicle time is a term that refers to the amount of
time passengers will spend riding the vehicles.

Reliability: One of the most important characteristics of transit that concern

passengers is the on-time performance since the unpredictable and frequent delays of services
prevent people from using transit, especially those with strict schedules. Low reliability of
services results in longer travel times and cause transit to become uncompetitive and
influences the passenger’s negative perception of the transit system. System reliability is
measured by the adherence to the schedule and is defined as the percentage of transit
vehicles on a route that
arrive to their stops and stations within a predetermined limit by their scheduled time, which
for low-frequency services, is typically three to five minutes.

Security and Safety: Transit systems that are aiming at success must be able to have
plans and designs that instil within the passengers the sense of well-being during the trips.
The security and safety of the system are identified by the incident and accident frequencies
that occur per million passenger trips or also the vehicle kilometres. One important goal for
transit systems is to prevent or minimize these events.

Passenger Comfort and Convenience: The comfort for passengers is influenced by

three main aspects: Vehicle loading, vehicle conditions and the vehicle’s movement. Vehicle
loading, load factor and the maximum standing passengers number known as the most
quantifiable. The design of the vehicle, comfort of the ride, image and cleanliness are other
basics for attraction and comfort of the passengers. The ease to board vehicles, information
systems, luggage handling, access for disable persons, and integration of bicycles are all need
design considerations.

User Cost/Fares: Important measures to be considered with passenger satisfaction

include the out-of-pocket expenses for transit trips compared to cost of performing trips by
other modes. The fare of a transit system element that affects the satisfaction and decision
making of passengers to use the system. Many agencies for transit have developed “Open-
fare pass systems” that make transactions easier for people who have paid for a fare or are
using smart cards.

Timetables: Passengers usually refer to schedules, which is inaccurate. The public

have access to a Timetable, which illustrates the times for stopping at each location. A
Schedule is the document belonging to an agency that has details of all operating plans and
instructions for the revenue trips in order to help the drivers, dispatchers and supervisors
perform their jobs. Time Points located on schedules indicate the geographical location where
the vehicles should be arriving at before the stated time on the schedule. The transit stops and
stations serve as time points. Delays in travel occur for many reasons including traffic and
signal problems, driver illness, accidents, and errors of dispatch. The Passenger load can also
delay the transit service.

Planning for placing bus stops: For bus stop placement, location and spacing is
usually compromised to decide either to have stops located closer together thus having
shorter access time, or stops farther from another thus having higher operating speeds. The
spacing should reflect the origins and destinations location of the expected passengers. The
stops for
buses should be usually in a 400 to 600 meter spacing, in some cases in downtowns should
have 150 meters spacing but can often degrade service quality. The spacing choice is a
combination of technical and economic factors, experience, and local policies. There are three
types of locations for bus stops along streets: Nearside the intersection; Far-side the
intersection, and Mid-block away from the intersections (See figure 12). Factors that can
influence the choice of locations for stops include coordination of traffic signals, access of
passengers, pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and the turning and stopping geometry of buses.

Figure 12. Bus Stop Location and Dimensions.

Source: Meyer (2016).
2.8. Research Conceptual Framework:

Figure 13. Research Conceptual Framework.

By the Author using Adobe Photoshop.
 Figure (13) shows the conceptual framework by which the different research stages
will be following on. Within the Literature Review, various different concepts and theories
were explained related to the interactions between land use and transport. Those concepts
have effects on the following concepts of the research related to the current situation and the
stop location as well as the further required criteria and guidelines for site selection. The
distribution of land uses in locations stimulates the demand for transportation, and the supply
of transport enables land use distribution in many locations. Land uses provide activity
patterns that allow incentives for transportation to occur. In the same way, transportation’s
ability to provide accessibility through land uses eases the movement to access those
locations. An ongoing cycle is always present between the two inter-related topics.

The topics of urban land uses and transportation interactions carry with them notable
theories and models contributing to regional sciences. Von Thunen developed the Regional
Land use model in 1826 which is based on a central city and the concentric effects on land
uses to explain agricultural land use patterns and its land use. Burgess’s Concentric model,
developed in 1945, examined the urban spatial patterns and how social patterns,
transportation and mobility urban areas. The sectoral and multiple nuclei models reflected the
transportation axes’ influence on the growth of land use especially the emergence of
motorization impacts on the urban spatial structure. In order to contain the previous
concentric, nuclei, and sectoral models, the Hybrid model combined the strengths of each
approach through the inclusion of a CBD and the radial transport effect on land use patterns.
The bid-rent theory of Alonso is concentrated on the competition of bidders to achieve land
uses in shorter distances of travel. Transit and Urban form models considered three aspects of
cities according to their alignment with either more public transportation, more private
vehicles, or a balance between them.

Different specific implications can be seen included within the transportation theme.
Public transport being one of them since it is the focus of the research in a variable to study
the transit modes of bus and tramway and the different right-of-way categories which they
can be placed on the city streets. The improvement of the bus system is needed which is the
public transport mode that is extensively used, highly economical, and easily introduced
within transport systems of cities. Land use carries with it many interacting points including
the travel behaviour, which explains what people do and act over space and the transport
implications that are practiced, that is needed to be studied as it impacts activity patterns
through their distribution and demand for transportation, and the urban form of the city in
terms of trip generation and modal split of the transport system. These three aspects act as
gears of
movement that are impacted by the focal interest of the research which are the Current
location of stops within the study area and the and usage and service and routes of buses.
Criteria for site selection are based on different aspects of the current situation of the study
area such as the land use, demography, density, socio-economic status of the inhabitants, and
the environmental features present there. These can also be seen in the form of the walking
distance needed to reach transit stations and the service coverage being available to access
transit types. Other criteria focus on the waiting and travel time the passengers incur when
traveling through transit and the operational hours and frequency of services provided by
the transit operators.

All in all, they require further analysis and procedures so as to reach the results and
findings helpful in further developing the information related to the placement and location of
transit stops and stations. These will all lead to guidelines that will cycle the process again
and impact the desire to develop the location of bus stops and usage of transit which are
necessary to maintain in order to reach the overall goal which the establishment of a transit-
oriented system strategy for the selection of optimal stop location and spacing capable of
serving the inhabitants according to the criteria and guidelines.
 Chapter 3. Methodology:
The following chapter explains the research design and the different methods,
procedures, and sampling techniques used for the inquiry of data from participants and
observations within the research framework.

3.1. Research Strategy:

The research design used for the thesis is the “Case Study Research Design” which
according to Shuttleworth (2008), is a study approach that is detailed and in-depth that
studies a specific condition or situation. It is used for topics that were narrowed down from
comprehensive fields of research. The reason for selecting such research design is its ability
to provide the researcher to focus on a specific and interesting case needed in order to test
different theories and ask questions to participants in the aim of receiving related answers.
The researcher is knowingly able to separate a study group or area and perform research on
that subset, and this particularly works for the study area in concern to examine the theories
and models in hand previously described within the Literature Review chapter. By using the
Case Study approach, the researcher will be able to inquire the people of the study area and
the key informants related to the public transport system in Duhok city and develop further
findings and analysis for the location and usage of bus stops within the study area.

Research Designs are regarded as the procedures and plans for research whereby the
decisions are covered from comprehensive assumptions to detailed data collection and
analysis methods. Kumar (2011) explains that research designs are considered so as to obtain
answers for the questions and problems of the research. It is treated as an outline of what the
researcher will act from the hypothesis stage to the last stages of data analysis. It can also be
treated as a blueprint indicating how a study will be completed through the operationalization
of measurable variables, selection of a study sample, collection of needed data for hypothesis
testing, and analysing the results. Creswell (2014) indicates three types of designs:
Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods.

Qualitative research is described as a mean for understanding and exploring the

meaning that people assign to a problem. It involves developing procedures and questions
and the collected data is within the setting of the participant. The result is a flexible structure
of report focusing on individual meaning and translating the situation’s complexity.
 Quantitative research is one which is used for testing theories through the inspection
of the relation amongst different variables. The variables can be quantified on tools so that
numbered data would be analysed in a statistical way.

Mixed methods research is an approach that mixes qualitative and quantitative forms
of inquiry. It involves collecting and analysing both data sets and the usage of both together
to ensure a greater strength in the study. For the purpose of this research, Mixed Methods are
be used and will be further deliberated within the methods section.

3.2. Rationale of Study Area Selection:

The study area that was selected for this research has been chosen on the basis of
specific points that are of relevance for the research topic. The study area is a strategic
location within Duhok city whereby lots of activity takes place by the people living and
working in it, which is the reason that has drawn the researcher in selecting the site. The area
consists of five quarters: Bazar, Birayaty, Shele, Khabat, and Raza, each quarter with distinct
characteristics related to the location of activity centers. Figure (14) shows a map of the five
quarters that make up the study area along with their population and administrative borders.

Figure 14. Study Area Quarters Map.

By the Author using ArcMap.
 The Bazar Quarter located in the north is the city center of Duhok and is the location
where the majority of the people travel to for acquiring the daily needs of life and commuting
to their jobs during the day. The majority of commercial activities are located within the
quarter. It is a significant travel destination since the street flows shaped the form of the
quarter into having lots of activity from travelling inhabitants from different location of the
city, making it a lively and active commercial center for the city.

The Birayaty Quarter has an important section of the study area and that is Shorash
Garage, an important activity center. The Garage is the location where the majority of the
buses and mini-buses reside and serves as a station for the attracting passengers and
transporting them onto the different routes served by the vehicles within the city.

Within Raza quarter, two important locations within the city are located and they are:
Duhok Stadium and Azadi Park, which are sources of attraction for people seeking recreation
and leisure during events and free time, making the location another site of activity and travel
destination.

Khabat Quarter is another site of travel destination for the people of Duhok since it
contains the Emergency Hospital, a place most visited by people seeking health related
activities. These activity sites within the study area make it important to study the
implications that public transport modes of buses and mini-buses have in facilitating the
movement of people within it. The study area has been selected based on these different
activity centers that hold value of trip destinations for the city population and will allow
further study to be conducted on regarding the location and usage of bus stops and the
strategizing of a transit- oriented system within the city. Figure (15) shows the land use map
of the study area where the sites previously explained are shown.
Figure 15. Land use Map of the Study Area.
By the Author using ArcMap.

3.3. Methods:
In many cases, it is seen that the two words ‘Method’ and ‘Methodology’ are often
used interchangeably. Methodology is the knowledge branch that is concerned with dealing
with methods and applying it in particular fields of study (Evans, 2014). It is the foundation
for the approach of the research and can be seen as a lens through which analysis can occur.
It impacts which kinds of methods for research are selected in order to produce credible data.
A Method is the tool that is used by a researcher to answer the research questions and collect
data, such as interview, questionnaires, observations, etc. Using different methods helps to
provide strength and reliability to arguments within the thesis. Having many voices reporting
the same answers is not convincing.

Research Methods include the procedures of data collection, analysis and explanation
proposed by researchers for their studies. Researchers usually collect data through questions
or as observations. Data collection involves visiting a research area with the aim of
observing
individual’s behaviour or conducting interviews with participants. The type of data collected
and analysed can be numeric information or descriptive text information and recordings of
the participants. Qualitative Methods are emerging methods that depend on collection of data
from interviews, observations, documents, and audio and visual recordings. Quantitative
Methods have pre-determined and instrument-based questions collected from surveys and
censuses, performances, observations, and statistical analysis. Mixed Methods include both
emerging and pre-determined methods of collecting data from both open- and closed-ended
questions.

Most data collection methods have the capability of being used in quantitative and
qualitative research. They are mainly distinct through the levied restrictions on the
researcher’s structure, flexibility, depth, freedom, and sequential order during the research
process. These restrictions are in favour of quantitative methods but are advocated against by
the qualitative methods. Basically, there are two main approaches of information gathering
regarding people, situations, problems or phenomena. When undertaking a research, in many
situations the needed data needs to be collected, but sometimes that information may be
already available and only requires extraction. As seen on figure (16), there are two types of
data: primary data and secondary data. Primary sources have data collected from interviews,
questionnaires and observations; secondary sources include the data extracted from already
available documents such as publications, censuses and earlier researches and records.
Primary sources have first- hand data while secondary information have second hand data.

Figure 16. Diagram of Data Collection Sources.

Source: Kumar, R. (2011).
 Table (2) shows the analytical research question, the key questions (themes) and the
list of sub-questions focusing on how to analyse the situation and the method of collecting
them for the research.

Table 2: 1st Main Research Questions and Methods.

1st Main Key Questions Operationalized-Questions Data Collection Methods

Research
Questions
“How to Travel - What mode of transport is used the most? - Questionnaires
analyse the Behaviour: To - What is the usual origin? - Semi-Structured
current what level can - What is the usual travel destination and the Interview
situation of the the purpose of the travel to that destination? - Observations
location of bus understanding - How often are public transport modes of
stops and the of people’s Bus/Mini-bus used?
service quality travel - What are the most impactful reasons that
of public behaviour have reduces the motivation of using
transport in a role in the buses/mini-bus services?
terms of time, usage of public - During which season of the year are
frequency, transport? buses/mini-buses mostly used and not
routes, and used?
service area?" - What is the most visited destination by
bus/mini-bus?
- What are the usual routes of
Buses/Minibuses within the study area?
- What destinations and activity sites are
available that attract people?

Accessibility: - Are people accessible to bus stops? - Questionnaires

How much - How far are the bus stop from the origin? - Semi-Structured
coverage do the - What Natural/Topographical obstructions Interview
bus stops are faced when trying to reach the bus - Observations
within the stops?
system provide - Is there connectivity in reaching the bus
for people to stops in terms of available
access transit? sidewalks/crosswalks?
- How much service area does the system
cover?
- How is the access environment to the bus
stops?
- How is the current location/spacing of bus
stops within the area?
- What is the perception of the placement of
bus stops?
- What improvements can be done in terms
of placement and spacing of bus stops?
Time - Do the buses help people to arrive to the - Questionnaires
Management: destinations on time? - Semi-Structured
What - To what degree do the buses offer Interview
developments linkages to the desired destination? - Observations
are necessary - How long do people wait for the bus to - Document Analysis
for the system arrive?
so as to - How much time do passengers spend
enhance inside vehicles to reach the destination?
people’s time - How is the schedule of bus operation
management? managed between the vehicles and its
reliability in adherence to the
schedule/timetable?
- How many hours does the service operate?
(Temporal Availability/Operation Hours).
- What should be done to improve the
time management aspect of the bus
system?
- How much is the frequency/headway of
the service?

System - How much is the level of safety and - Questionnaires

Design: How security within the service? - Semi-Structured
can the transit - How are the costs/fares of the system? Interview
system design - How is the condition of comfort and - Observations
be reformed so convenience of the system? (Vehicle - Document Analysis
as to support Design, Load, Image, Access, Boarding).
public transport - Do people face congestion within the
ridership and vehicle?
services? - What do people think of the Bus stop
Shelter design? In terms of Protection from
Sun, Wind, Precipitation, Seating, etc.
- Where should a new bus stop be located?
- What is your perception of the random
stopping of buses/mini-buses at various
locations (other than bus stops) for people
to board and exit?
- What do you suggest should take place so
as to provide an improved Bus Transit
System within the city?
- What future plans are available in terms of
improving the design of the bus system?
31
 Table (3) shows the developmental-oriented research question and the related themes
and sub-themes that are followed focusing on development-oriented approaches for the future
plan.

Table 3: 2nd Main Research Question and Themes.

2nd Main Key Themes Operationalized Sub-Themes
Research
Question
“What Travel - Main Mode of Transport
guidelines can Behaviour - Travel Destination and Activity Sites
be brought for - Usage of Buses/Mini-buses
improving the - Impactful Reasons reducing Bus/Mini-bus Usage
situation and - Usage of Buses/Mini-buses per Season
usage of bus
stop and
service quality Accessibility - Accessibility to Bus Stops
so as to - Placement and Access Environment to Bus Stops
strategize a - Buffer Zone and Service Area
transit-oriented - Connectivity with Sidewalks/Crosswalks
system in
Duhok city?”
Time - Arrival to Destinations on Time
Management - Linkages to Desired Destination
- Operation Hours
- Routes of Buses/Mini-buses
- Waiting Time for Bus Arrival
- In-Vehicle Travel Time
System Design - Safety and Security within Vehicles
- Fare Paid
- Comfort Level and Passenger Capacity
- Opinions on Bus Stop Shelters
- Suggested Bus Stop Location
- Perception on Random Vehicles Stopping
- Suggestions for an Improved Bus Transit System

32
 Document Analysis: Document Analysis is regarded as a form of qualitative research
method by which the researcher interprets and analyses documents collected from credible
sources and uses them within the research to give further strength to the topic being discussed
(Bowen, 2009). These documents are often derived from sources deemed reliable within the
community in question and often further helps in development of the research since the
researcher initially lacks many information in the research writing phase. Some of the
documents that were collected included Government publications, records, and censuses that
were collected from different directorates within Duhok city.

The directorates that were visited were the Directorate of Statistics, Directorate of
Transportation, and the General Directorate of Municipalities in Duhok city. On the 3 rd of
March, 2019, a visit was made to the Statistics Directorate in Duhok in order to collect data
related to the demographics of the study area consisting of the total population of Duhok city
and the population of specific quarters for the years 2010 through 2018. On the 7 th of march,
2019, the Directorate of Transportation in Duhok was visited where data and tables were
collected regarding the number of buses and mini-buses, bus routes, and operation and shifts
of the vehicles within the city. Other data gained were in the form of narrative explanations
gained from key informants which were drivers and route heads working in the main garage
within the study area. The documents that were used can be seen attached in Appendices (5
and 6) on pages (121-124).

Observations: Observations are a data collection method of collecting primary data

which involves a selective and purposeful way of seeing and listening to a phenomena or
action when it takes place. Observations are useful for when researchers want to study
population patterns, learn about group interactions, and study individual behaviours. It is also
suitable for situations where questionnaires or interviews cannot help in deriving accurate
information. When a researcher is interested in the behaviour rather than individual
perceptions, or when the population cannot provide the objective information for the
research, observations are needed. There are two types of Observations: Participant
observation is when a researcher participates in the target population’s activities while Non-
participant Observation is when a researcher doesn’t participate in their activities and stays a
passive observer that watches and listens to the population’s activities.

During the data collection phase, the researcher performed both types of observations.
On the 17th of February, 2019, a Non-participant observation was made which consisted of a
visit to the Duhok Governorate building which was accompanied by the Main research
supervisor. The visit was to observe and note take the meeting taken place within the building
which covered different aspects within Duhok in general. The meeting was within the office
of the vice governor and consisted of different members namely: The Vice Governor,
Technical Representative of the Traffic Directorate, Director of the Environment Directorate,
Director of the Transportation directorate, Engineers from the Governorate Office, and two
Academics. The meeting covered various topics under the energy and sustainability theme.
Topics that were discussed within the meeting included the problems of CO2 emissions and
the shift to alternate energy sources, energy usage and reduction of externalities, issues of
traffic, and the proposal of the development of a bus system aiming at the reduction of private
vehicles usage within the city. Further details about the meeting will be further given in the
Analysis chapter on page (77).

On the 5th of March, 2019, Participant observations were conducted within the study
area with the aim of observing the entire neighbourhood related to the travel behaviour,
transportation, and situation of buses and minibuses, coverage area and location of bus stops
and usage by the people, as well as the travel and waiting times and the level of comfort and
security within vehicles. The observations were note taken and images were captured related
to the situations observed by the researcher. The majority of the observations were conducted
in near proximity of the bus stops and the surrounding areas. Some observations were also
made within the vehicles so as to gain further experience of the current situation of the buses
and mini-buses.

Interviews: Interviews are known as a commonly used data collection method. They
usually comprise of an interviewer asking questions to interviewees and recording their
answers and obtaining opinions and information from them. The interviewer has the freedom
of selecting the content of questions, the desired wording, and the order they want to ask.
According to their flexibility, interviews are divided to three types: Structure, Semi-
Structured and Unstructured. Semi-Structured interviews are the most common type used in
qualitative research. Within this interview type, the researcher aims at understanding the
specifics of participant’s opinions and compare them with other information gained in
previous interviews. A set of questions is already prepared to be asked, but flexibility still
exists as other related questions can be asked and further information can be added. The same
questions will be asked during each interview so as to receive different viewpoints. Open-
ended questions are the most common since they require more than one word of response
and help generate descriptive
answers and motivate discussion between the two sides. The interviews were planned to be
conducted with five key informants related to the study field. The key informants consist of
personnel, employees and staff of different related directorates and personnel from the bus
and mini-bus garage. One major challenge faced during the interviews was the planning
wording used for the questions since they required much further deliberation to be made to
the participant so as to receive the desired answers and the questions to be answered. The
Interview form consisted of seven open-ended question and can be seen in Appendix (3) on
page (116).

Questionnaires: Questionnaires are a written list of questions and statements where

the answers are recorded by the respondents who read the questions, understand the expected
outcome and write and tick the desired answers. Unlike interviews, the researcher cannot read
and explain the questionnaire statements and questions to the respondents. Because of that, it
is important that the questions are intuitive and the form is easy to read and follow. As will be
explained within the sampling section, the questionnaires were distributed to 50 participants
located within the study area according to their proximity of bus stops and stations within the
area. The questionnaire form consisted of 22 open- and closed-ended questions and
statements and can be seen in Appendix (1) on page (110). An issue faced with the
questionnaire distribution phase was that the large number of questions within the
questionnaire form often gave complaints to undesired of filling the forms. Another issue was
that the researcher had to frequently explain many of the terms within the form since they
were unfamiliar to the general public.

3.4. Sample Selection:

Sampling is known as the process of selecting a sample from a larger sampling
population so as to become the basis for the occurrence of unknown information or situations
of the larger group. A researcher takes a small portion of a large percentage in order to
represent the whole. That small portion will take part in the research. Elements within the
sample are the units where information is collected from. The Sampling unit is an element or
a collection of elements that are considered to be selected during sampling (Figure 17).
Sampling is useful since it allows the researcher to save time and resources. On the other
hand, it doesn’t help discover information about the population’s characteristics of interest
and only predicts or estimates them. This means that the possibility of error is always present.
Tolerance of error possibility is important to be considered within the sample selection.
 Sample selection for qualitative and quantitative research has two different
viewpoints. For quantitative research, the sample selected must be unbiased and
representative of the selected population. The sample selection depends on a predetermined
sample size. For qualitative research, the number considerations affect sample selection such
as how easy it is to access respondents and the selection of knowledgeable respondents. It
may not have a predetermined sample size as, during the data collection phase, the researcher
will reach saturation of data when no new information being received. Many sampling
strategies, including the non-probability, can be used for quantitative research, while for
qualitative research, only non-probability sampling can be used.

Figure 17. The Concept of Sampling.

Source: Kumar, R. (2011).

Since the research follows a mixed method of data collection, it is necessary to

indicate the sampling selection for both types of inquiries, for questionnaires and for
interviews.

For the questionnaire distribution, a Random/Probability Sampling has been

selected. For this sampling design, it is required that each element within the population
shares an equal chance of being selected within the sample. The probability of selection is the
same for all elements of the population and isn’t influenced by personal preferences of the
researcher.

A method used within probability sampling is the Cluster Sampling. It is based on

dividing the sample population into groups based on visible characteristics which are called
clusters. Then, elements are selected from each cluster through a simple random sampling
technique. The clusters can be made based on similar characteristics or geographical
proximity related to the main study variable. This is suitable to be applied to the study area
since clusters can be identified based on a 400-meter radius created by the bus stops, and the
participants can be enquired based on their proximality from the bus stops and station within
the study area.
 For every data enquiry to be accurate and reliable, a sample selection must be
conducted so as to ensure that the sample is representative of the entire population (The
inhabitants of the study area). For this procedure, the Qualtrics UK website developed a
standard formula for sample selection. The formula is the following:

𝑧 2 × 𝑝(1 − 𝑝)
𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒 = 𝑒2
𝑧 2 × 𝑝(1 − 𝑝)
1+( )
𝑒 2𝑁
Where N is the population number; z is the z-score; e is the margin of error; and p is
the standard of deviation. The sample selection procedure also requires that a confidence
level is given. The confidence level allows the researcher to measure certainty of how well
the sample is representative of the whole population in question. A larger confidence level
indicates that there is more accuracy, but at the same time it will require a larger sample. For
the purpose of this research, a confidence level of 85% was selected so as to aid in the
researcher in selecting a reasonably controllable sample that is handleable by a single student
to be inquired. The population number for the study area is equal to 24,069 inhabitants. Z is
the z-score which is calculated by using the z-table, which equals to 1.44 for a confidence
level of 85%. E is the margin of error, also known as the confidence interval. It is a
percentage of how close the results of the sample will be to the total population and indicates
the amount of error that the researcher allows to be available within the gained results. The
smaller the margin of error, the more accurate the results will be and lead to a larger sample
size. Danial (1999) indicates that a 5% (or 0.05) is usually used for this value, but for the
purpose of this research, a 10% (0.10) value was used to result in a more controllable sample
size. P is the standard of deviation and refers to how much variation the researcher will
expect from the responses, and most researchers set this value to 50% (or 0.5). By
substituting the numbers to their appropriate locations, the following calculation will result:

1.442 × 0.5(1 − 0.5) = 51.72 ≅ 52

𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒 = 0.10 2
2
1.44 × 0.5(1 −
1 + ( 0.5))
0.102 × 24,069
 The results indicate that a sample size of 52 participants is needed so as to provide a
representation for the study area population. The 52 participants are to be split into 26 males
and 26 females. This sample is to be divided into different clusters based on the location of
bus stops and stations within the study area. As seen on figure (18), eight locations were
selected. The buffer that is served by the bus stops, as previously explained, is a 400-meter
radius, and these buffer zones can be seen on the map. It was decided to enquire the 52
participants based on the clusters formed by those stops and stations. Since the buffers cover
areas outside the study area, it was stated to inquire 70% of the sample in areas within the
study area and 30% of the sample outside of the study area. There are six clusters formed
from the bus stops and are indicated by the color Red where six participants will be inquired
from each cluster. The two garage clusters indicated by the colors Blue and Green will
contain four participants each since they are larger than bus stops and attract more people to

them.
Figure 18. Illustration of the Cluster Sampling Process for the Study.
By the Author using Adobe Photoshop.

For the Interviews of the research, the approach selected was to inquire Key
Informants within the field related to the Thesis. The form of sampling that is used is Non-
random/non- probability Sampling. This sampling design can be used when the elements
number within a population cannot be identified individually and the selection will be based
on other considerations.
 A method within non-probability sampling is the Expert Sampling. In this procedure,
it is based on the researcher’s judgements to select respondents that are known experts in the
interest field by which the research is being studied on. The researcher must first identify the
people who are known experts in that area of interest, after that, their approval of
participation must be gained, and then, information can be collected from them. This is suited
for the research since it is required to interview the key informants made up of experts in the
field of public transportation within Duhok city. For this method, five interviews were
conducted with key informants working in three related locations to the research field. Semi-
Structured interviews were conducted with the participants, this allows for them to have more
open discussion related to the topics discussed. The interview form is made up of open-ended
question which can be seen in Appendix (3) on page (116).
3.5. Participants:
Since the research follows a mixed-method consisting of qualitative and quantitative
data collection, there are two sections of participants that took part within the research: Those
who were inquired by the questionnaire form; and those who were inquired by semi-
structured interviews. For the participants that took part within the survey, after the sampling
process was done, the required sample size was reached (52 Participants). The process of
inquiring the required participants took place between the 17th and 26th of March, 2019. Based
on the cluster sampling process explained earlier, the participants were selected based on the
proximity from selected clusters made up of bus stops and stations (See page 38). Both
genders were considered to be equally included and resulted in the inquiry of 26 males and 26
females. Also, during the form distribution, the Age factor was taken into consideration by
which people from different age groups were included so as to ensure as much diversity as
possible in the received responses. After completion of data collection, the participant’s
demographic characteristics could be showcased on a table seen on table (4) below.

Table 4: Demographic Characteristics of the Sample

N 52 52 52
Age Group Gender Occupation

Less Than 18 3 Male 26 College Student 16

18-29 26 Female 26 Employee 11
30-39 11 Engineer 3
40-49 6 School Student 4
50-59 2 School Teacher 3
60+ 4 University Lecturer 1
Housewife 1
Soldier 1
Shop Owner 11
Taxi Driver 1

For the participants that took part in the interviews, since the sampling process was a
Purposive Expert Sampling, the sample size will depend on the rate when the researcher feels
the required amount of information has been collected and no more participants are needed to
be inquired. The researcher reached a point of data saturation when conducting the open-
ended interviews and for this reason, five semi-structured interviews were conducted with
key informants in the research field: two of them were engineers at the Directorate of
Transportation; two Engineers at the Municipality of Duhok; and one Bus route head working
at Shorash Garage. The ages of the participants were 27, 31, 40, 43, and 62. All participants
were male.
 Chapter 4. Analysis and Findings:
The following chapter sets focus on the process of analysing the information and
responses that were collected by the researcher during data collection. These were retrieved
from the four methods of data collection namely; Questionnaires, Semi-structured Interviews,
Participant and Non-participant Observations, and Document Analysis. Analysis will follow
the pattern of showcasing in terms of graphs, statistical descriptions, qualitative descriptions,
maps, and figures of the complete set of collected data.

4.1. Travel Behavior:

The first theme explored and analysed is regarding the travel behaviour within the
study area and the perception of the participants to it. The contents of the theme explore the
role of understanding people’s travel behaviour to the usage of public transport within the
Study area and the city as a whole.

Main Mode of Transport:

The first sub-theme was part of the questionnaire that was asked to the people of the
study area. The participants were asked to indicate the most used mode of transport during
their daily travel. From a total of 52, the majority of the participants (31, or 60%) indicated
that they use private vehicles as the main mode of transport. This comes to no surprise as the
mode is seen in clear dominance in the whole of Duhok city. Walking came after that which
was reported by 10 participants (19%) and might be seen fair since the study area has the
Bazaar in the north part and the majority of the people might seek walking to reach their
destination, especially during proper weather conditions. Taxies came after which were used
by six participants, and finally buses/mini-buses that were used by five participants as their
main mode of transportation (see figure 19).

Walking, 10,
19%

Bus/Minibus,
5, 10% Private
Vehicle, 31,
60%

Taxi, 6, 11%

Figure 19. Graph of Most used Transport Modes within the Study Area of all the sample.
By the Author.
 Regarding the mode of transport used, the question of bus usage was given in the
semi- structured interviews that were conducted with the Key Informants. The participants
were asked whether or not they use buses and mini-buses in their daily travel and to explain
the reasons behind their answer. From the responses, three interviewees indicated that they do
not use buses and mini-buses only in rare times. They reported that since they own a private
vehicle, their usage of public transport isn’t needed. The low desire of bus and minibus usage
returns to the fact that they often cause delay for passengers, have small vehicle sizes and are
not adherent to a set schedule. Congestion is faced often and causes difficulties for the bus
driver to follow a complete lane or to have an efficient trip. Another participant said that the
people are indeed using them now, and he said that he would use them if the system was
timely managed and the routes were clear, without delay and intrusion. The final interviewee
indicated that he doesn’t use buses and minibuses and that the low-income people are the
most users of these services since they are more affordable than other modes of transport.

During the observation that was conducted by the researcher within the study area, the
travel behaviour in terms of transport modes was observed. As seen similar to the
questionnaire results, the major mode of transportation is always the private vehicle. This
mode is seen predominantly used in areas of high congestions such as near the Bazaar (Figure
20 A and B). These areas, particularly the Bazaar Street within section (B), witnesses
extensive amounts of taxies, with one lane being seen particularly dedicated to taxi traffic that
is done by the drivers themselves. Sections (C) was observed to contain routes of mini-buses
where Zrka route and Raza route pass through (See figure 39 on page 61). Section (D) was
observed to contain the buses belonging to Sarhildan route that is specialized for Baroshke
quarter. Walking was seen mostly dominant in areas of the Bazaar near sections (A) and (B)
where commercial density allows for more active areas of pedestrians.
Figure 20. Transport Modes within the Study Area.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
Usual Travel Destination:
The participants of the survey were asked to indicate their usual travel destination
which is originated from their homes. From the 52 respondents, 12 of them indicated that
their most visited location are the Directorates. This comes to show that a significant part of
the sample were employees working in different directorate within the city and their usual
commute is to their workplace in the directorates. The purpose of all trips is for working.
After that, 11 participants indicated that they visit the shops most frequently. Ten of those are
for the purpose of working which consist of shop owners working within the study area and 1
of those were for the purpose of shopping. The bazaar comes next as the most visited
destination with nine respondents heading to it the most. Of those visiting the bazaar, six are
for the purpose of shopping and three are shipowners working there. With the same number,
college comes equal with nine respondents, with eight heading there for study purposes and
one being a lecturer for teaching purposes. The rest of the destinations can be seen illustrated
with their numbers and percentages on figure (21) below.

Figure 21. Usual Travel Destination and Purpose of Travel of all the sample.
By the Author.
 During the observations process, the known activity sites within the study area were
observed and identified. As explained previously within the rational for case study selection
(See page 26), the study area has a significant amount of locations that made it interesting for
the researcher to select it. These locations are characterized by attractive services available
that enable it having high travel activity from people throughout Duhok city. The most
significant sites are mapped on figure (22).

The Bazaar, site A, is a known commercial node within the city and is the place where
the majority of people travel to for acquiring goods and services in a daily basis and is the
commercial location for the majority’s work places. This makes it the most popular
destination and most active in terms of people and vehicles available during various times of
the day as observed by the researcher. Another site that is highly attractive of people is
Shorash Garage (Site B) which is the station where people travel to take different mini-buses
and taxies, and is the location where all routes flow into after boarding their passengers in the
different areas of the city. Vajeen Hospital (E) and Duhok Emergency Hospital (F) are two
major sites that attract a lot of people seeking healthcare services.

Figure 22. Map of Active Destinations and Activity Sites within the Study Area.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
Bus/Mini-bus Usage:
The following question inquired the participants to select the frequency of their usage
of buses and mini-buses. This question is of importance to the researcher as it enables the
knowledge of knowing the degree of usage of public transportation within the study area.
From the 52 inquired sample participants, 14 of them indicated that they frequently use buses
and mini-buses. By this frequently, it is referred to people using it three to four times per
week and even more as reported by many of the respondents for that option. In a larger
degree, 16 participants indicated that they do not use buses and mini-buses as their travel
mode. The largest response, reported back by 22 respondents, was that of the buses and mini-
buses being used sometimes as their travel option. This sometimes is referred to usage once
per week and even once or two weeks as was indicated by the respondents of this answer. By
this it is meant that although they do not completely use it in the majority of the time, there is
some degree of usage. In total, there 36 users and 16 non-users of buses and mini-buses out of
the 52 participants.

When those that do use buses and mini-buses were asked about the time of usage, the
majority, 16 respondents, responded that they use them during the afternoons. This comes
into fact that this time of day is where most people either go to destinations for achieving
different purposes or that return from their travelled destinations to their origins (homes).

25 22,
(43%)
20
14,
16,
(30%)
8 12
15 (27%)
16
10

5
MorningAfternoonEvening
0
Frequently Sometimes Never
Figure 24. Usage of Buses/Mini-buses in the Study Area of all Figure 23. Time in which Buses/Mini-buses are Used of the
the sample. 36 users.
By the Author. By the Author.

Most impactful reason for reducing usage of Buses/Mini-buses:

The following statement inquired the participants the hierarchy of reasons which they
see as the most impactful in reducing people’s usage of buses and mini-buses. The statement
had the participants to number the reasons from 1 to 9, with 1 having the least impact and 9
having the highest impact on the usage of buses and mini-buses. The responses were all
added up to result in the sum for each reason and a corresponding average to indicate the
most and least impactful reasons as seen on table (5).

Table 5: Results of Reasons for reducing desire of Bus/Mini-bus Usage

Please Prioritize, from 1 to 9, the most impactful reason that deflects you and reduces your
motivation of using buses/mini-bus services, with 9 Being the most impactful and 1 the
least:
Number Average
Job Type/Income Reasons 109 2.096
Cultural Perceptions 222 4.26
Gender Issues 253 4.86
Location of Bus Stops 270 5.19
Safety of Crossing/Reaching/Accessing the Bus Stops 233 4.48
Linkages offered by the Service 329 6.32
Random Vehicle Stopping 344 6.61
Design of Bus Stop Shelters 298 5.73
Ownership of Private Vehicles 279 5.36

The most impactful reason for not using buses and mini-buses returns to the effects of
the Random stopping of buses and mini-buses in locations that aren’t their designated stops
which received a total score of 344. This is seen as a dominant phenomenon within the city as
the vehicles rarely pick up or egress their passengers at the bus stops and rather on any
random location where a passenger wishes to board or egress, the buses stop, causing huge
issues for the traffic and a delay in times. The next reason was the linkages offered by the
service receiving a score of 329. This is seen in Duhok city as their bus and mini-bus routes
do not reach all locations and all destinations that might have demand on by the passengers
and leading extra time to be taken either to walk there or use another mode of transport from
the stopping point. The east impactful reason for the participants was the job type and income
with a score of 109. This comes to fact that the fares of the buses might not cost much and the
usage of it doesn’t have relations with a person’s job type of their income level.

Job Type/Income Reasons

Ownership of Private Vehicles279Cultural Perceptions

222
109
298
Design of Bus Stop Shelters253 Gender Issues

Random Vehicle Stopping 270 Location of Bus Stops

344
233 Safety of
Linkages offered by the Service 329 Crossing/Reaching/Accessing the
Bus Stops

Figure 25. Graph of Impactful Reasons for reducing Buses/Minibuses usage.

By the Author.
Usage of Buses/Mini-buses per Season:
The next question inquired the research participants to indicate, according to their
perceptions, the season which buses and minibuses are mostly used and not used, and the
reason behind that. For the seasons which are mostly used, the responses were reached equal
between the seasons of summer and winter with each receiving 22 responses while spring
received 8. For the seasons which are not used, winter received the most responses with 27
out of 52 and resulted it being the seasons where buses and minibuses are used less.

Autumn 0
22 22
Summer
8 3
Spring 22 27
Winter 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Season UsedSeason Not Used

Figure 26. Season of Bus/Mini-bus Usage according to People’s Perceptions of all the sample.
By the Author.

When asked about the reason, the 27 participants who selected winter as the least used
season were in consensus that because of rain and the cold weather, the buses and mini-buses
are used less. For the 22 participants that voted summer as being less used in, 12 of them
gave the reason to be because of the hot weather as the vehicles that operate do not have the
proper air conditioning that will protect them against the intense heat temperatures of the
summer. The remaining 10 indicated that since in summer, the majority of schools and
colleges are in holiday, so the usage of buses are less. The remaining three participants that
selected spring as the least used season gave the reason to the spring holidays that occur
during march (two participants) and the weather of spring being fair enough to allow people
to walk rather than use vehicles, such as buses and mini-buses, especially as the study area
contains the Bazaar in the north whereby the majority of the people can walk to during fair
weather conditions.

Table 6: Reason for Non-usage per Season.

Not Used in Winter Not Used in Summer Not Used in Spring
Response Frequency Response Frequency Response Frequency
No. Percentage No. Percentage No. Percentage
Holiday for
Rain and Spring
27 52% School and 10 19% 2 4%
Weather Holiday
College
Hot Weather
Weather allows
(No Air 12 23% Walk 1 2%
Conditioning Rather
in Buses) than Bus
Most Visited Destination by Bus:
The following question inquired the most visited destination by buses and mini-buses
taken by the research participants. Since not all participants are using buses and mini-buses
during their travels, the question and a series of other questions were to be answered only by
those that actually used them, referring to those that answered frequently and sometimes in
the usage question (See page 46). As seen by the results, a total of 36 participants use buses
and mini-buses. From those 36, the most visited destination was selected to be the Bazaar
which was reported back by 27 respondents. This was seen predominant since the Bazaar is
located in the north of the study area and is the place where the majority of the people go to
for quiring goods and services as well as working there. Not to forget that the Main Shorash
Garage, the station where all mini-buses stop to egress their passengers, board new
passengers, or change working shift, is located in Birayaty Quarter (See figure 14 on page 26)
which is south of the Bazaar and people easily access it when leaving the vehicles.

1 1
1
1
4
1

27

Bazaar University School

Directorate Car Dealeships Organization
KRO Street

Figure 27. Graph of Most Visited Destinations by the Bus/Mini-bus of the 36

users.
By the Author.
 4.2. Accessibility:
The following theme explores the participants perception of their degree of access that
they see available when trying to reach the bus stops and the difficulties in terms of
obstructions faced on the way.

Accessibility to Bus Stops:

The following question asked the participants if they are accessible to the bus stops
that are located near them. By accessibility it is meant that they are able to and use the bus
stops. As seen on figure (29), the majority (33 Participants) indicated that they are accessible
to the bus stops, while the remaining 19 participants reported back that they aren’t accessible
to the bus stops in their area. When asked to indicate the time required to reach those bus
stops, the most reported back answer was that the bus stops are located in a distance of 1 to 5
minutes which was indicated by 24 of the 52 respondents. In a lesser degree, 10 participants
said that the bus stops are 5 to 10 minutes far, while nine reported a distance of 10 to 15
minutes to reach there. The remaining responses can be seen on figure (28).
19,
(37%)

33,
(63%) 20+ 3
minutes
15-20 6
minutes
10-15 9
YesNo minutes
5-10 1
minutes
1-5 0 2
minutes 0 51015202530 4
Figure 29. Ease of Access of People to Bus Figure 28. Time spent for People to reach Bus Stops.
Stops. By the Author.
By the Author.

Obstructions faced to Bus Stops:

The next question inquired that the participants indicate if they face any obstructions
during their walk to the bus stops. Out of the 52, 32 indicated that they do not face any
obstructions while 20 indicated that they do face them (Table 7).
Table 7: Obstruction Faced to the Bus Stops.
Are you faced with any Natural/Topographical
obstructions when trying to reach the bus stops?
Yes No
20 32

Those that answered with yes were required to indicate the type of obstructions that
are faced on their way to the bus stops. A total of 23 answered were given, and the most
reported obstruction, as indicated by eight participants, was the steep slopes of the terrain on
which the bus stops are placed. The next most reported answer indicated by five
participants was the
difficulty of crossing the street as many bus stops are located in the other side of the road and
crossing can be seen very difficult, especially for women and elderly. Figure (30) below
shows the remaining obstructions faced by the people.

Crossing the Street

5
Rain & Dirt Weather

1 1
3 3 No Concrete Surface; Dirt
Poor Shelter Seating
2 & Mud Surfaces

Sidewalk Issues Steep Slopes

8

Figure 30. Type of Obstructions Faced on the way to Bus Stops.

By the Author.

Placement and Access Environment to Bus Stops:

The key informant interviewees were asked to give their opinion regarding the current
placement of the bus stops within the study area. One interviewee working in the Directorate
of Transportation reported that the placement of the bus stops is right since it follows the
Density and places where people need it. Another participant within the same directorate
indicated that there was a project along with the Municipality of Duhok for locating and
placing the Bus stop shelters along the streets. They followed according to key locations near
schools and mosques where people would usually stop. The problem was that people kept
breaking and sabotaging them. Especially during football matches near Duhok stadium, those
shelters were subject to vandalism continuously. Another participant indicated that the elderly
is often the reason why the buses are randomly stopping since they perceive the bus stops as
far from their destinations and face difficulty walking there. The people do not follow the
stopping at those places and are randomly operating.

Regarding the access environment to reach the bus stops. The bus stops around the
study area are seen to be placed on the main streets. Passengers always seek services that
offer safe and convenient access and outlet when using bus stops. The first and last mile of
trips are important considerations that will help attract ridership. As seen on the images on
figure (31), the issue with some of the bus stops is that they are difficult to be accessed from
the other side of the road. No crosswalks or speed bumps are placed that will ensure
pedestrians a safe walk to and from the stops. This is a factor that causes less public
transport ridership and was
experienced by the researcher when trying to access those stops from different points of the
road.

Figure 31. Unavailability of Access to the Bus Stops within the Study Area.
Images by the Author.

Buffer Zone and Service Area:

The bus stops are designed to serve people that are surround by it. And the placement
of those stops should take into consideration the serving the entire population of as much as
possible so as to increase the public transport ridership. According to the sources by the
Federal Transit Administration (2003), the buffer zone for bus stops is measured at 400
meters starting from the center of the stop. The map on figure (32) shows the application of
that buffer zone on the bus stops, as well as the 2 garages, of the study area. As can be seen,
the stops do actually cover the majority of the area and that people are mostly accessible to a
5-minute walk to reach the bus stops that are close to them. The only areas that aren’t covered
can be seen in the center of the neighbourhood consisting of residential areas that are far from

any buffer zones.

Figure 32, Bus Stops Buffer Zone within the Study Area.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 However, this buffer zone created does not mean that all of the people within that
circular zone are actually covered and able to access it. This buffer is an overestimation of the
area of a short walk and the actual served area for the transit stops. People cannot just walk
straight from their origins in all direction and immediately reach the bus stops. Constraints
are always present geographical or man-made features such as buildings, vegetation, streams,
facilities, etc. which will force a person to walk in zigzag patterns along the streets and
sidewalks. This will cause that 400-meter distance to be expended before reaching the bus
stop.

A method that can solve this issue is to apply a Service Area Analysis, also known as
walk distance polygons (ESRI, 2016). The service area allows the illustration of the area that
is reachable from a point within a distance or time limit within a medium of road network.
The service area calculation of bus stops will allow much better accuracy of showing the
actual area served by the bus stops. Figure (33) shows the map of the service area analysis
applied to the bus stops and garages within the study area. As can be seen, much of the areas
that were previously covered through a Buffer Zone analysis ae not actually covered within
the more accurate Service Area analysis.

Figure 33. Bus Stops Service Area within the Study Area.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 The map on figure (34) below shows the difference that the two layers, Buffer Zone
and Service Area, have on the service provided by the bus stops and stations for the study
area.

Figure 34. Difference between Buffer Zone and Service Area of the Bus Stops.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.

Following the location and designation of buffer zones of the bus stops within the
study area, the spacing between bus stops can also be mapped. As can be seen on figure (35),
the bus stops are located each in a random spacing interval than the next, meaning there are
no standards spacing distances set when placement was done. Some can be seen placed in an
890 meters distance while others having a spacing of 405 meters apart. Some bus stops are
even as close as having a spacing of 98 meters in between.
Figure 35. Bus Stop Spacing.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
Connectivity with Sidewalk/Crosswalk:
The following question, also within the same field as the previous, inquired the
participants to indicate if they are connected to the bus stops via the sidewalks/crosswalks in
their area. In response, 29 participants indicated that they are connected while 23 said no
meaning they face difficulty of walking on improper surfaces and dangerous crossing of the
street. Un-connectivity is a factor that reduces people’s desire to use buses and prefer other
modes of transport.

No 23

Yes 29

0 10 20 30 40

Figure 36. Connectivity of People to the Bus Stops.

By the Author.

While remaining on the subject of bus stops placement, the interviewees were asked
about the perception of new improvements to be done in terms of placement and spacing of
bus stops. One interviewee suggested to use better materials for shelters that wouldn’t be
vandalized by the people. Another respondent indicated that the placement is appropriate, but
the usage by the people was bad. He suggested to make infrastructure developments to them.
A third participant indicated that if a special lane for buses is created it will offer better usage
of the stops. Tramway will also help since it allows stopping according to the stop locations
and the time managed aspect for the city. The next interviewee reported that the quality of the
buses must be improved. It also needs to have adherence to the schedule and time. The time
management aspect of schedules needs to be given so as to allow the people to follow them
correctly and manage their trips accordingly. There needs to be way-finding and maps and
information at various bus stops for giving better information about the system. The last
participant said that “More importance should be given in serving the people in many areas
and allowing them better service covered” indicating bus stops to be placed with more
linkages to areas in demand.
4.3. Time management:
The next theme is based on the aspect of time management of the public transport
system. This is of major importance as it is the key aspect affecting people’s commuting to
their destinations and how reliable the system is if passengers are to use them.

Arriving to Destination on time:

The 36 participants that reported back using the buses and mini-buses were asked to
indicate the degree of reliability which buses and mini-buses can help them to arrive to their
destinations on time. The majority of the participants (16) disagreed to the statement. This
proves that the vehicles suffer from time management and the people who use them will
arrive late. The unavailability of timetables which the vehicles where vehicles can follow and
the random operation of each vehicle is what causes this issue.

20
16
15

10 7 8

53 2

0
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral DisagreeStrongy Disagree
Figure 37. The degree which buses and mini-buses help people arrive to their Destination on Time.
By the Author.

Regarding the same topic of time management for the system, the Key informant
interviewees were asked about the way which the schedule of operation is managed between
the buses and minibuses of the city and how reliable the service is in terms of its adherence to
time. All five participants indicated that there are no schedules at all between buses and that
is considered as the prime problem in the city’s transportation. The vehicles only leave the
garage after being filled with passengers. One indicated that he can’t rely on them to travel
and that they aren’t reliable to be used. A respondent indicated that there is no timetable or
schedule of operation at all between the vehicles. It is mostly random and causes delays in the
time. The stopping and carrying is according to the passenger needs.

Linkage to Desired Destination:

The participants were afterwards asked to select the degree of linkages that the buses
and mini-buses offer to reach their destinations. By linkages, it is meant how much do the
vehicles help the passengers reach to their exact destinations without the need to travel
further
after the egress from the vehicle. Out of the 36 users, 23 indicated that they are somehow
linked to their desired destinations, indicating a fair linkage but not a complete one (Figure
38).

8 5

23

Highly LinkedSomehow LinkedUnlinked

Figure 38. Linkages of People to their destinations by the Buses/Mini-buses.

By the Author.

Some additional notes that were reported by some participants were that the routes are
not linked since bus stops are in far locations from their destinations where they have to walk
an additional distance to reach them and that other modes of taxies and private vehicles will
offer higher links to their desired destinations. Some informed that the vehicles only lead to
the Bazaar (meaning the Shorash Garage) and they often need to change between different
buses and pay extra charges and time so as to reach the destination desired.

Operation and Routes of Buses and Mini-buses:

The key informant participants were asked regarding the operation hours which the
buses and mini-buses have during the day. Although there is no single time range which is set
for the operation hours, responses were not very different between the respondents. One
engineer at the directorate of Transportation indicated that the vehicles usually work from
7:00 AM until 8:00 PM while others until midnight. A route head working at Shorash Garage
indicated that the majority of the system operate from 6:30 AM until 8:00 or 9:00 PM.
Another respondent indicated that it is according to people’s needs.

On the 3rd of March, 2019, a visit was made within the minibuses of Duhok city by the
Author. The activity was in the aim of gaining further understanding and deliberation of the
mechanism of how the bus and minibus system is operating within the city. The trip started
with taking a minibus near the University of Duhok which was travelling to the city center
garage (Shorash Garage). The waiting time for the minibus at the bus stops was calculated as
nearly 6 minutes. Within the city center garage, another minibus was taken that was waiting
for the return trip back to the University. The minibus vehicles have a carrying capacity of 15
passengers. The system is operated in such a way that the minibus drivers usually wait for
 passengers at the main garage until the vehicle has been filled. The waiting time was
calculated as more than 11 minutes until the vehicle was filled. Once filled, the vehicle will
start its trip. The fare for the trip is 500 IQD for areas within the city and 750 IQD for areas
outside the city (such as Tanahi complex). Different vehicles have different routes of
operation that are titled on boards above their stopping location in the garage. The driver
carries the passengers along the route and stops randomly at various locations according to
the need of the passenger, also known within Para-Transit as Personalized Mass Transit.,
although some locations have bus stops with shelters where people board or yield the
vehicles. The trip taken had an In-Vehicle Travel Time of nearly 14 minutes from the City
Center until the University of Duhok Campus, with multiple stops between the trip to carry
and egress passengers.

On the 7th of march, 2019, a visit was made to the Directorate of Transportation in
Duhok city. The directorate is responsible in arranging and organizing of transportation
related affairs within the City of Duhok. The aim of the visit was to gain data related to the
Bus and Minibus system within Duhok city in terms of Operation, Routing, Management, and
more.

The personnel responsible for the Bus and Minibuses section within the Directorate explained
some important information related to the system operation. First of all, the public buses system consists
of seven routes operating within the city’s streets, in addition to an 8 th route which consists of buses that
serve separately such as school and college buses. The has been set by a coordination between the
Directorate of Transportation, the Directorate of Traffic, and the Syndicate of Workers in Duhok. The
agreement coordinates the routing, vehicles, drivers affairs, and the pricing of the system. The manners
and affairs of the drivers is the responsibility of the Syndicate of Workers, and the directorate of
Transportation informs them of the regulations which are released from the Ministry of Transportation.
Table (8) below indicates the routes and vehicles of buses and mini-buses operating within the city.

Table 8: Duhok City Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses.

No. Route Name Number of Vehicles Type of Vehicle
1 Sarhildan 248 Bus
2 Raza 149 Mini-Bus
3 Malta 121 Mini-Bus
4 Zirka 74 Mini-Bus
5 Dyari 93 Mini-Bus
6 Doomiz 108 Mini-Bus
7 Shahida 99 Bus
8 Gerok (Private) 683 Mini-Bus
Total 1575
Source: Directorate of Transportation in Duhok (2019).
 The second Table, table (9), includes the number of vehicles that work according to the shifts
within the city. For example, the Dyari route which operates with 14-seater mini-buses. The route has a
total of 93 vehicles, with 35 vehicles operating each day. Each driver has the right to 3 shift per day after
which he must retract and another driver takes his shift until the day ends. This system makes sure that
each driver works 1 day and is replaced by another the next day. A single mini-bus within this route can
serve 42 passengers per day and 1260 passengers per month. In total, the Dyari route can transport an
estimate of 44,100 passengers per month for all 93 vehicles. The same calculation is applied to the buses
of Sarhldan and Shahida routes. The Shahidan route however, as informed by the personnel, has been out
of work ever since 2014 since the drivers complained of low demand and un-meeting economic gain.
Table 9: Number of Population served by Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses daily and monthly.
No. Route Number Number of Number Number Population Population Population being
Name of Drivers Vehicles of Seats of Driver being being transported per
operating in the Rides per transported transported month for total
per day Vehicle vehicle per day per per month per drivers
per day driver driver
(Shifts)
1 Sarhildan 248 180 25 2 25x2 =50 50x30=1500 180x1500=270,000
2 Raza 149 40 14 2 14x2=28 28x30=840 40x840=33,600
3 Malta 121 80 14 2 14x2=28 28x30=840 80x840=67,200
4 Doomiz 108 75 14 4 14x4=56 56x30=1680 75x1680=126,000
5 Shahida 99 33 25 2 25x2=50 50x30=1500 33x1500=49,500
6 Diyari 93 35 14 3 14x3=42 42x30=1260 35x1260=44,100
7 Zrka 74 55 14 4 14x4=56 56x30=1680 55x1680=92,400
Total 310 9300 682,800
Source: Directorate of Transportation in Duhok (2019).

The personnel also informed that this system of buses is desired by the people in
many quarters in Duhok, especially Sarhldan route which serves Baroshke quarter since it is
appropriate price wise for the low-income population. The majority of routes charge 500
IQDs per fare inside the city and 750 IQDs for areas outside the city (e.g. Tanahi). The
Domiz route charges 1000 IQDs, which has a trip to the Domiz camp and Fayda.

Based on the information that was gathered from the Directorate of Transportation
and from Bus and Mini-bus drivers, the routes map within the study area was created which
can be seen on figure (39). The map showcased all 6 functioning routes, each dedicated with
a special color along with their path from the two main garages (Shorash and Azadi) and
through the
bus stops within the area. Note that even though these routes are brought from narrative from
the aforementioned sources, they are usually dynamic in which the drivers are changing their
routing and direction according to desires and needs.

Malta route follows the path to the west of the city and is made up of two sub-routes
where one ends at Upper Malta and the other ends at Tanahi, and are rerouted back to the
Garage. Domiz route (Purple), on the same path to the west, reaches Domiz camp and Fayda
areas. Zrka route (Orange) also travels to the west but follows the route to KRO street until
reaching Zrka quarter. Raza route (Green) travels downwards from the garage and travels to
the west covering Raza quarter and the rest of the southern parts. Diyari route (Yellow) travel
downwards from the garage and travels east, reaching Nizarke and Etot areas. Sharhildan
route (Blue) starts from Azadi garage and, unlike other routes, is made up of buses and not
mini- buses. It travels east towards Baroshke quarter and ends at Besre on the far east of the
city and reroutes to the garage.

Figure 39. Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses within the Study Area.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop. Routes Received from the Directorate of Transportation in Duhok.
 Based on the linkages offered by the service routes, examples can be given to
illustrate the amount of distance and interchanges needed to reach from the origin to the
destinations required. The first example on figure (40) is about the Emergency Hospital on
the east of the study area. If a person residing at an origin point (A) wants to reach the
Emergency hospital located in destination point (B) using public transport of buses and mini-
uses, the nearest location is to walk 200 meters to reach point (1) where a mini-bus for Diyari
route will be taken at a random stopping location. After that, travelling north, the passenger
must egress at a random point (2) where they must wait for Sarhildan route to board and take
them east towards the hospital. Reaching at a bus stop at point (3), the passenger will egress
and arrive at the Emergency hospital. This indicates that the person must incur a total
distance of 1539 meters of travel and an interchange of two routes, as well as three board and
egress points so as to finally reach their destination.

Figure 40. Map of an Example of the Distance required to reach from Home to the Emergency Hospital.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 The second example regarding linkages of the system is about reaching Duhok
Stadium located in the souther part of the study area (Figure 41). If a person residing at an
origin point
(A) wants to travel to a destination point (B) where the stadium is located, again by using
public transport, the nearest location is to walk nearly 140 meters to the nearest bus stop
located at point (1) where a bus of Sarhildan route will travel through. By boarding that bus,
the passenger must travel west until reaching point (2) where they must randomly egress from
the bus. When egressing, the passenger must walk a distance of almost 340 meters west
towards point (3) where Raza route mini-bus will be boarded and travel south towards the
stadium. Upon reaching point (4), the passenger will egress at a bus stop near the stadium and
has arrived to their destination. This trip has incurred the passenger a total distance of 1927
meters, two different routes, and four interchanges of boarding and egress to travel from the
origin to the destination.

Figure 41. Map of an Example of the Distance required to reach from Home to the Duhok Stadium.
By the Author by ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
Waiting Time for Bus Arrival:
The question after that inquired the users to indicate the amount of waiting time that
they incur until a bus arrives. The less the waiting time, the more reliable a bus service will
be. As a response, from the 36 users, 24 of them indicated that they wait for more than 10
minutes until a bus arrives to take them. In a lesser degree, eight participants indicated a
waiting time of 5 to 10 minutes until a bus arrives. This indicates that passengers
continuously suffer from the unreliability of the time aspect if the buses and mini-buses
within the city, causing further undesired to usage.

Figure 42. Waiting time required for Passengers to Arrive to Destinations.

By the Author.

An observation was made by the researcher by which the waiting times for vehicles
was calculated at all bus stops within the study area. The following map contains the location
of the bus stops along with details of the interval waiting times that were incurred after each
bus or mini-bus passed and the average waiting time as well. The time spent at each bus stop
was nearly 10 minutes or more. Each bus stop had different frequencies of vehicles passing
by, and they were all calculated during a similar time of day which spanned between 2:00 PM
and 4:00 PM in the afternoon.
 Figure 43.Map of Observed Waiting Times and Frequency of Buses/Mini-buses within the Study area.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.

As was observed, not all bus stops share the same frequency of vehicles, and not all
waiting times will be the same for the passengers. For Shorash Garage (1), the frequency of
vehicle departures depends on the time where buses are filled or not. Whenever a mini-buses
filled with 14 passengers, they can leave the garage to continue on their route.

For the bus stops, different times were seen for different locations. On bus stop (3) for
example, a nearly 14-minute observation was made by which four buses passed, each having
different times as shown on the map on figure (43). The average frequency for the stops was
calculated to be one vehicle every 3 minutes. On bus stop (4) however, no mini-buses were
seen during the same duration of observation. Figure (44) shows the bus stop located near
Duhok stadium. There are special hangars within the garage where vehicles are waiting, each
with their specialized route named over it as seen on figure (45).
 Figure 44. Bus Stop near Duhok Stadium. Figure 45. Malta Route Mini-bus Waiting at the
Image by the Author. Shorash Garage.
Image by the Author.

In-Vehicle Travel Time:

The following question was asked to know the amount of time that passengers take
within the vehicles until reaching their destinations. The time taken is affected by factors
including the speed of the vehicle and the distance travelled until the destination is reached.
Out of the 36 users of buses and mini-buses, 11 indicated that they spend 15 to 20 minutes
inside the vehicle until they reach their destinations. In a lesser degree, the choices of
between 20 to 25 minutes and 10 to 15 minutes were equally chosen by nine participants
each. The majority of trips are taken from different parts of the city to the city center and vice

12 11
10 9 9
8
6
6
4
21
0

5-10 minutes10-15 minutes15-20 minutes20-25 minutes25+ minutes

versa.
Figure 46. In-Vehicle Travel time for the Passengers.
By the Author.
A question regarding time management was asked within the semi-structured
interviews and inquired the participants to indicate what improvements should be done so as
to improve the time management aspect of the bus system.

One of the interviewees informed that the Government has to have a higher role in
managing the public transport system. This requires better planning and direction to be given
by the public sector. It also requires investments from investors to develop the system. He
continued by saying that “An important element allowing the development of the public
transport is for it to be the property of the government and the drivers to be working for them,
also having a partnership with a private sector support to have routes and vehicles statistics
provided for the government”. This will allow the government to interact and manage a
single
entity that is supervising over the drivers rather than managing all the drivers of the system.
Supervision, Regulation, and Directions to be from the Government and the Implementation
to be Private.

Another interviewee responded that because the operation is private and

administration is public. The current drivers only run their trip after being filled, and usually
stop at random locations to pick up passengers. Since the buses are private, they follow their
needs and gains from money. If they were Public, it would follow according to the time set
by the government and needs to follow their regulations in terms of time to serve the people
better. The driver would receive the money from the government.

Another view however was given by a Route Head working at Shorash garage as he
indicated that the current demand and usage of buses and mini-buses by the people doesn’t
justify any new developments to be done to the system, and it should remain the same as it is
since changing it will negatively impact the people and the drivers. They are against new
changes or developments to be done to the system.
4.4. System Design:
The final theme of the research is concerned about the design of the system in terms
of its quality to the passengers and the services offered by the system that affects the degree
of ridership within the city.

Safety and Security within Vehicles:

The participants were asked if they feel safe and secure using the buses and mini-
buses. From the 36 participants that are users of the service, 23 indicated that they feel secure
within the vehicles while 13 indicated that they do not feel safe and secure, with some
indicating the problem of overcrowdings and gender issues inhibiting their usage.

23

13

Yes No

Figure 47. Safety of Passengers within

the Buses/Mini-buses.
By the Author.

Fare Paid:
The next question regarding the system design was about the amount of fare paid by
the passengers when taking trips by the buses and mini-buses. The majority of them (34
participants) indicated that they pay a fare of 500 Iraqi Dinars during their trips. This is seen
as a constant value across all buses and mini-buses of the city particularly to destinations that
are within the borders of the city of Duhok.

Table 10: Fare Paid for the Bus/Mini-

bus.
How much do you pay for the bus
fare?
500 IQD 34
750 IQD 1
1000 IQD 1
Comfort Level:
The following question inquired the participants to indicate the degree of comfort that
they feel within the vehicles during their trips. As seen on figure (48), the majority of the
participants (18) indicated that they are somehow comfortable within the vehicles, while in a
lesser degree, 10 participants indicated that they are very comfortable within the vehicles.
The remaining eight participants indicated that they are uncomfortable within the vehicles.

Uncomfortable 8

Somehow Comfortable 18

Very Comfortable 10

Figure 48. Comfort Level within the Vehicles.

By the Author.

People congestion inside the Vehicles: The next question inquired the participants to
indicate whether or not they face people congestion within the buses and mini-buses. The
majority of the respondents (27) indicated that they do face people congestions (Figure 49).

27

YesNo
Figure 49. Facing Congestion within the Buses/Mini-buses.
By the Author.
 During the observations, the different vehicles that are used in operation of the system
were seen and captured. The public transport system of the city consists of buses and mini-
buses of different brands. Regarding the mini-buses, the vehicles are of the following 3
brands: Nissan Urvan; Toyota Hiace; and Kia Travello. These mini-buses are in operation for
all routes of the city except for Sarhildan route which is operated by buses. The most
abundant brand is the Nissan Urvan minibus as seen on figure (51) in Shorash Garage. The
Urvan has a capacity of 14 passengers plus the driver. As shown on figure (50), the vehicle
has a length of 4.8 meters, a width of 1.8 meters and is 2.1 meters tall.

Figure 51. Nissan Urvan Mini-bus within Shorash Garage.

Image by the Author. Figure 50. Section of the Nissan Urvan Design.
Source: https://vimeopro.com/taller/reel2015/video/66193105

The buses of the city are operating only for Sarhildan route that travels between
Baroshke and Besre. The most abundant brand of buses within the city is the 2009 Nissan
Civilian as seen on figure (53) within Azadi Garage. There is however another brand of bus;
the 1993 Toyota Coaster (Figure 54). The Nissan Civilian has a seating capacity of 25
passengers plus the driver. As seen on figure (52), the bus has a length of 6.2 meters, a width
of 2.06 meters and is 2.6 meters tall.

Figure 53. Nissan Civilian Bus.

Image by the Author.

Figure 52. Design of the Nissan Civilian

Bus. Source: https://www.the-
blueprints.com/blueprints/buses/various-
buses/20761/view/nissan_civilian_standard_body_26_persons/

Figure 54. Toyota Coaster Bus.

Image by the Author.
Opinions on Bus Stop Shelters:
The following question inquired the research participants to write down their opinion
on the current design of the bus stop shelters and what they think is their state in terms of
serving the people. The most prominent response that was given by the majority of the
participants (18) was that the bus stop shelters are broken and vandalized by the people.
Many indicated that no matter how much the Municipality would install shelters, the people,
especially the youth, would continuously destroy and vandalize them out of no reason. Some
participants indicated that the areas near Duhok stadium have seen such destruction happen
after big football events have taken place. This vandalism reduces the quality of the shelters
and leads to a lower usage of public transport by the people of the city. Afterwards, in a lesser
degree, eight respondents indicated that the seating and size of the shelters in not in a proper
condition to be used. Many complained that the size of seating is insufficient for passengers
and others reported that larger shelters with better space is needed. With the same amount of
responses, eight participants indicated that they are pleased with the shelters and that the
“Shelter design is fair” as indicated by one of the respondents. Others complained that there
are no shelters to be seen around in their area (seven) while some reported back that the
shelters do not offer the required protection from the external elements of sunlight, wind, and
precipitation (five). All responses can be seen illustrated on a radar graph on figure (55)
below.

The shelters are broken and

vandalized by the people; They need enforcement and protection from
destruction.
18
Bad quality of seating in terms of size
No Bus Stops (Officially); anywhere
and space for user’s usage; Larger
passengers want, the bus will stop.
Shelters Needed
8
Good Design but usage is less because 2
Public transportation is insufficient
3 8 The shelter design is fair.
and times aren’t ordered; Buses
coming late; low Bus Frequency. 1
7
5
No Shelters seen around; Aren’t
Need New and Suitable Shelters available in the place I live; Placed far
and not available everywhere

It doesn’t protect people from the sun,

rain and wind.

Figure 55. Opinions of People on Bus Stop Shelters.

By the Author.
 Suggested Bus Stop Location:
The following question inquired the respondents to write down the location that they
the most requires to install new bus stops in. As a response, the majority of the participants
(16) indicated that the most appropriate location to place a new bus stop would be near to
housing and close as possible to people. Many informed that the bus stops should be not more
than 10 minutes of walking to be reached from their origins. In a lesser degree, eight
respondents indicated that new bus stops should be placed near the Bazaar street since that
location doesn’t have access to any bus stops other than being in a proximity to the Shorash
garage. Another eight participants, however, indicated that bus stops should be located in
places where congestion of people and activities calls for extra demand to have them, such as
the entrances of universities, hospitals, and near the Bazaar. Another six participants reported
back that bus stops should be concentrated in areas where work places are present so as to
serve higher attraction for people to visit. The remaining answers can be seen on table (11)
below.

Table 11: People’s Opinion on new Bus Stop Location.

In your opinion, where should a new bus stop be located?

Response Frequency
No. Percentage (%)
Close to people; Not more than 10 minutes from Housing; Easily reached. 16 30.7%
Should be located in every 200-meter interval on streets where service is 3 5.76%
high and people have access to it
In Bazaar / City center 8 15.38%
Near Work Places 6 11.53%
Appropriate Places where congestion calls for demand of bus stops; 8 15.38%
Places that most people go to such as university, hospital, bazaar
Before Entering the Garage 2 3.84%
Near Parks 2 3.84%
Both Road Sides 1 1.92%
Far from the City Center 1 1.92%
Near Dollar Center 2 3.84%
No space for bus stops because of buildings 1 1.92%
Okay location and No new bus stops are needed 2 3.84%
Perception on Random Vehicle Stopping:
The following question inquired the participants to indicate whether or not they
support the random stopping of buses and mini-buses at locations that aren’t their designated
bus stops. As a response, out of the 52 respondents, 48 indicated that they are against the
random stopping of vehicles while the remaining four indicated that they support the random
stopping done by the vehicles in locations other than the bus stops (See figure 56).

Perception on Random Vehicle Stopping

Against Random Stopping 48

Support Random Stopping4

0102030405060
Figure 56. People’s Perception on Random Stopping of Buses/Mini-buses.
By the Author.

When asked about the reasons for such selection, the participants that were against the
random stopping had significant answers. The majority of them (30) indicated that this act of
random stopping always has negative implications on the time management aspect of the
people. When vehicles continuously stop at random places to board new passengers or let
them egress, while not following the designated bus stops, this will cause the passengers
serious delays in terms of arriving to their destinations in the desired time. Another reason
which was reported back by 12 participants was that this random act of stopping causes
issues and congestion, particularly for the vehicles travelling behind the buses and mini-buses
and will have negative implications of the traffic entirely. The remaining six participants
indicated that this act causes chaos and inorganization for the system as a whole, and in many
cases, accidents might happen that will endanger the lives of passengers and other people
within the traffic.

On the other hand, the four participants that were supporting random vehicle stopping
gave the reasons to the fact that since the buses do not link them exactly to their desired
destination, this random stopping will help people to board and exit in nearer places. Another
response indicated that the large distance between stops forces people to take more time to
reach their destinations and they call for the driver to randomly stop so as to be as near as
possible to their desired places. Table (12) contains all the reasons reported back by the
participants.
 Table 12: Reasons for Supporting/Against Random Stopping.
Support Random Stopping Against Random Stopping

Helps people Board 2 Issues, Congestion; 12

and exit in near places Dangerous for passengers
to their destination and buses as it causes
congestion
Not Much stops 1 To reach destination on 30
available time; It will cause delays for
people inside the buses and
those waiting at bus stops.
Larger Distance 1 Chaos exists; Inorganization; 6
between stops, more Accidents
time taken by people

Suggestions for an improved Bus Transit System:

The final question within the questionnaire inquired the research participants to write
down the suggestions they have that should take place in order to improve the bus transit
system within the city and provide higher ridership in the near future. Since the question was
an open- ended one, it allowed freedom for the participants to provide answers in the in the
format they are willing. In total, there were 83 different answers given by the 52 research
participants ranging from short and single subject answers to long and highly comprehensive
and detailed responses.

The most talked about topic was regarding the time management aspect of the system.
This topic came into discussion in 14 responses by the research participants. Some of the
answers pressed on the importance of having a reliable time schedule that follows locations to
arrive on time and others indicated that it should be timely so as to allow passengers to board
and egress with time management. One respondent reported the following: “An improved bus
system should have a timetable and well-designed bus stop shelters, this will attract people to
use buses and encourages them to use less cars, leading to environmental improvements”.

Another most prominent topic discussed frequently within the answers was the
importance to be given to the bus stops. This topic was reported back 14 times by the
participants indicating the need to have bus stops that are near everyone equally with proper
stopping locations to encourage more use.

Following that, another topic discussed that was reported by six of the participants
was the need to have all public transport be in the hands of the public sector. Some
respondents emphasized that the bus system should be publicly owned by the Government
and that they can work with private companies and workers to manage the system better.
One respondent
said that the company should be working for the government to be according to time and
another indicated the influence the government can have so that private interests shouldn’t be
followed by individual drivers and companies that can change the system’s characteristics
according to their liking.

Other answers that were prominently given were that there is need to increase
people’s awareness about the importance, particularly environmental, that buses can have
over private vehicles. Others indicated that there needs to be more frequent buses available
and more linkages to different locations to serve higher amounts of passengers. Some also
reported the need of having larger and more convenient buses to be provided.

Within the semi-structured interviews, the final question that was asked to the key
informants was for them to explain what future plans are available that are relevant in
improving the city’s transit system. One interviewee at the Directorate of Transportation
indicated that The General Directorate of Municipalities in Erbil informed them of two
important plans for the future. The tramway project since it helps with time management,
pricing, management, and location, but the financial crisis halted the project; and the city-bus
project which is a new one that operates on a single route with garages on both ends and stops
only at bus stops. The city bus will follow time in a predefined route and large vehicles.
Another interviewee explained that the on-call taxi telephone service is being developed and
is another future plan that is intended to be improved particularly in Apartment places. It
offers on call services for people to call them and pick them up and he indicated that so far, it
is successful within apartments.

A participant working at the Municipality of Duhok explained the Tramway project.

He reported that the tramway is intended to be developed, but because of the financial crisis,
the project is still just a plan and isn’t implemented. It has present routes, borders, their routes
on the road islands within the city center, and some islands on the supporting road near the
directorate’s road. He said that “It is cheaper and faster to serve the people”. Another
respondent in the Municipality indicated that the tramway is the future transportation plan for
the city but requires a huge budget of over 1.82 billion dollars for the entire project to be
implemented. The financial crisis is the reason for the stopping of many transportation related
projects.

On the other hand, the Route Head was against the idea of plans affecting the current
bus and mini-bus system and indicated that new future plans will affect the interior operating
buses and mini-buses and will lead to job losses and negative implications for the current
workers and drivers of the system.

During the visit to the Municipality of Duhok in the aims of collecting further related
data and conducting of interviews with key informants, the Tramway project was discussed
and further deliberated on with one of the engineers at the directorate. The technical report of
the Duhok Tramway project was explained to the researcher. It was indicated that the report
was finalized and handed in February of 2015 whereby the different technical aspects and
requirements of the tramway project were designed and included in, as well as the financial
and locational requirements. It was explained that in April, 2013, an Italian company named
FG Tecnopolo presented a preliminary design of the city’s light rail network which consisted
of the construction of the tramway lines according to the feasibility study. The approval of
the project was made with all relevant authorities. The total length of the tramway extends to
67 kilometers. The project takes into consideration the connection with the proposed Airport;
the priority of traffic lights; and the drawing of the network and depots on the Master Plan.
Figure
(57) below shows the typical section design of one of the lines (T1) on Barzani Highway.

Figure 57. Tram Section of the Red Line (T1).

Source: FG Tecnopolo (2013).

The proposal has a design of five lines where the tramway vehicles will travel
through, each indicated with a special color. Figure (58) shows the map of the five lines that
will operate within the boundaries of the city. The Red Line (T1) is designed to be operated
from the University of Duhok until Etite terminal on the east of the city which travels through
Barzani road in a 15 kilometer double track. The second line is the Green line (T2) that
operates similarly from the University of Duhok to the City Center and extends to 15.6
kilometers. The Blue line (T3) connects Upper Malta with the City Center. It developes
from the Green line
and extends to 8.5 kilometers. The Yellow line (T4) operates from the start of the red line
near the University of Duhok and travels west until reaching the proposed airport. The line
extends to 14.6 kilometers. The final line is the Brown line (T5) which is one directional from
the city center between the Red and Green lines. The length of the line is 6.5 kilometers.

Figure 58. Tram/LRT Network Map of the 5 Lines within Duhok.

Source: FG Tecnopolo, (2013).

The project proves an inspirational future step for the city towards better and more
sustainable transport modes. It seemed an ideal solution for the traffic situation within the city
and a step to reduce the overdependence on private vehicles and shift to alternative modes of
transport. It was also intended to be made for all socio-economic groups so as to provide fair
access to transportation for the rich and the poor of the city. But it has failed to be
implemented to this day. The reason behind such failure is the financial crisis that has faced
the entire region whereby lots of city projects were halted and stopped. The budget of the
project was more than
1.8 billion U.S. dollars and, according to the engineer, was deemed too costly and was not
able to be further developed and implemented.

On Sunday, 17th of February, 2019, a visit was made along with the main thesis
supervisor to Duhok Governorate. The visit was to observe and note take the meeting taken
place within the building which covered different aspects within Duhok in general. The
meeting was within the office of the vice governor and consisted of different members
namely: The Vice Governor, Technical Representative of the Traffic Directorate, Director of
the
Environment Directorate, Director of the Transportation directorate, Engineers from the
Governorate Office, and two Academics. The meeting covered various topics under the
energy and sustainability theme.

The meeting started with the discussion about the traffic situation within Duhok and
the approaches needed in order to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions and start
shifting into alternate energy sources. There were various proposed projects that were aimed
to be implemented and one of those projects is regarding the implementation of a Bus system
Master Plan within Duhok city which is proposed under the Global Covenant of Mayors for
Climate and Energy. The covenant has a final report that contains all the projects from all
directorates related to sustainable energy usage. It was explained that the system of buses will
help with the reduction of private car usage which currently has a 74% usage. The system
will incorporate the addition of routes for bus movement and the designation of appropriate
vehicle sized for usage. It also considers the suitable location for bus stops placement. The
system will acquire importance since the current numbers indicate a 25% of CO2 emissions
resulting from Transportation. Within the meeting, they explained that the concept of such
bus system has been indeed in the thoughts of the Governorate for many years and they aim
at gaining experience from neighbouring developing countries with similar fields of work
while also aspiring to follow the successful experiences of some of the developed countries in
the field of transportation such as Germany. It was also recommended that many of the taxi
drivers are to work in other areas within the proposed bus system as different fields of work
and expertise to ensure that job losses do not occur.
 Chapter 5. Conclusion:
Within the research at hand, different theories, information, data and findings were
presented regarding the Land use and Transport interactions and the Public Transportation
system within Duhok city, particularly the study area that was chosen on. The area that
contains 24,069 inhabitants was selected on the basis of it containing various activity sites
that attract people throughout the city and the researched delved into the problems associated
with the current location of bus stops and the usage of the bus and mini-bus system in terms
of their reliability, quality services, and time management aspects in serving the population.
The research aimed at addressing those issues and identifying points necessary to optimize
the location of bus stops and developing the quality of the service provided.

In order to understand the topic, a review of literature was made that explored the
interconnected terms of Land use and Transportation as the distribution of land uses
stimulating transport demand and vice versa (Marshall and Banister, 2007). The essence of
trip patterns and travel behaviour was included containing the trip generation aspects of the
travel demand and the outflows from origins to destinations. These are affected by the
different theories and models that were developed by pioneers in the field, including Burgess
(1925), Hoyt (1939), Harris and Ulman (1945), and Alonso (1964). Since the study is
focusing on buses, and the proposed tram plan for the study, sources of literature were given
explaining both modes of public transportation and their basics. Along with that, the quality
of service elements was included comprising of service coverage area, headways and
frequencies, in-vehicle travel time and waiting time and other system design criteria that form
an important part of examining the current situation of bus stop location and usage of the bus
and mini-bus system.

The research followed a Case Study Research Design in order to study the condition
of the public transport system in-depth and allow the researcher the selection of a focused
study area and the inquiry of specific questions and the receival of answers related. The
research involved field data collection from primary that comprised of: Semi Structured
Interviews on key informant; Questionnaires on residents of the study area; and Participant
and non- participant Observations taken by the researcher. Also, secondary sources were
retrieved through Document analysis that were collected from related directorates.

The responses and collected data were aggregated and later analysed within the
Analysis and Findings chapter reflecting the answers received from inhabitants and key
informants, the observations conducted by the researcher, and the analysis of documents
collected. As was found out, the majority of the inhabitants use private cars in their daily
travel (60%) and that the most visited destinations were the Directorates (23%), Shops (21%)
and the Bazaar (9%). The people that use buses and mini-buses were a combined 36 out of a
sample of 52, with the most impactful reason of reducing desire of usage being the random
vehicle stopping at locations other than the designated bus stops. The Bazaar was seen to be
the most visited destination by people using buses and mini-buses as indicated by 27 of the
36 users, and they indicated that steep slopes (8) and street crossing (5) are most significant
obstructions that are faced when trying to access the bus stops. The majority of the users (16)
were disagreeing on the fact that the system helps them arrive to their destination on time,
and a high number (24) indicating that a waiting time of more than 10 minutes is incurred
until a vehicle arrives for them to board. The six assigned routes were seen to not offer much
linkages to all locations as 23 of the 36 informed a somehow linked system. The system
consisting of a majority of Nissan Urvan mini-buses and Nissan Civilian buses were deemed
to have people congestion faced by the users (27 out of 36). And the people’s perception of
the bus stops was that they are broken and vandalized by people and offer low protection
from externalities and low seating space. The random vehicle stopping phenomena was
discuss and resulted in 48 out of 52 being against the random vehicle stopping in locations
other than the bus stops, informing that they prevent people from reaching to destinations on
time (30), cause congestions and issues (12), and lead to chaos and accidents (6).

It is a known fact that the currently available public transport modes are inorganized
and offer low reliability in terms of time management and quality service for passengers, but
it doesn’t deflect the possibility of further developments to be done to encourage higher
ridership and offer better quality of service to the people of the city. Actions can be done to
provide a system that is timely in arrival and departure, follows set bus stops for pick up, and
offers more linkages to all destinations. This can be seen as a great opportunity as the people
are willing and desiring the achievement of such system capable of serving them with better
quality and relieve them of the high congestion caused by the private vehicles in the city.
Participants kept encouraging the fact that such system that is affordable, accessible and
developed is a great step for the city since the low-income people are the most users of buses
and mini-buses within the population. The integration of a developed bus system with the
proposed tramway system for the city is a huge potentiality towards more sustainable and
alternative modes of transport for the people and a better linkage and trip patterns of the land
uses within the city.
 Chapter 6. Recommendations:
The final chapter of the research is considering the recommendations that are
developed based on all the findings and information reached from the previous chapters.
These recommendations focus on the main aim of the research being the optimization of bus
stop location and service quality of the public transport system within the study area. The
recommendations are in the form of a timetable and divided into three terms namely: Short,
Mid, and Long-term plans. The duration is based on a 5-year basis from 2019 to 2024. Each
plan given in succession based on the time required for their realization.

Short-Term Plan (6-12 Months, from 2019 to 2020):

The first plan, the short-term one, contains the points that are perceived achievable
within the immediate future, whereby their contents can be reached easily within a short
period of time. They include the decisions and policies that will start as a basis for the future
plans and will be comprehendible and enforceable by the people. These points are planned to
take place within a period of 6 to 12 months starting from the base year 2019.

During the data collection and analysis phases, it was found that the main mode of
transport within the study area is the private vehicle (60%) and that the people who use public
transport modes of buses and mini-buses are 36 out of the 52 participants, with 14 being
frequent users and 22 being sometimes users. This indicated that private ridership is relatively
high, not only within the study area, but the same case being applied to the whole city.
Because of that, it is necessary to reach short-term solutions so as to gradually encourage
higher public transport usage within and discourage any negative activities currently being
practiced that reduce the quality of usage. This section primarily focuses on changing of
people’s behaviour’s and attitudes towards public transport.

Increasing People’s Awareness towards Public Transport:

The first step that should be taken within the short run is to increase people’s
awareness and education about the benefits and advantages that public transport has over the
extensive usage of private vehicles. This was also given as responses by the research
participants when asked about the suggestions to improve the bus transit system within the
city, with emphases on the role of the young generation to be educated towards such alternate
modes (See page 75).

For doing so, there are many activities and campaigns that can be spread around the
city so as to gradually highlight the role of public transport modes in reducing the congestion
issues and providing better mobility for the people, not to forget the important environmental
advantages they have over private vehicles.

These activities can be for example in the form of media campaigns, digital and
physical, that can be spread around the city. Fliers and posters can be hung up in various
locations advertising the benefits that buses have over the use of private vehicles

It was mentioned within the visions of the Government that they are planning to
reduce the Greenhouse Gas emissions by 40% by the year 2032. This reduction encompasses
action to be done in various sectors that are releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, including the
Transportation sector. Thus, a campaign can be created that advertises the vision to the
people so as to increase awareness towards higher usage of buses and mini-buses, which are
more environmentally viable, and shift the usage away from private vehicles, which are one
of the prime reasons for GHG emissions. Figure (59) shows an illustration of the campaign
for the city.

Figure 59. Example of Environmental Benefits of Bus and Mini-bus usage for increased awareness.
By the Author using Adobe Photoshop.

Another campaign can be used to show the street capacity that buses and mini-buses
can offer in relation to the private vehicle. One Nissan Urvan Mini-bus, which has a seating
capacity for 14 passengers, can replace a minimum of 14 private vehicles from the road
traffic within Duhok city. This form of campaign can gradually be spread around the city so
as to inform the people of the effect that alternative modes can have in reducing the
congestion suffered within the city and improve transit ridership within the population (See
figure 60).
 Figure 60. Advertisement concept for increasing desire of Mini-
bus usage within Duhok city.
By the Author using Adobe Photoshop.

Another form of activity can be the promotion of the current potentialities that buses
and mini-buses have in transporting people to their destinations rather than being stick in
traffic congestions and search for parking spaces with private vehicles. During the
researcher’s personal observations within the buses and mini-buses of the city, various trips
were taken and the in-vehicle travel time was calculated. Most of these trips that took part
between University of Duhok and the City Center had a travel time of nearly 15 minutes.
This information can be advertised so as to inform that people that our current modes might
actually lead them their destinations, or even near their destinations, with less effort than
taking a private vehicle, which most of the time might take more than 15 minutes for the
same route given the congestion and search for parking space. See figure (61) for a proposed
campaign poster that can support the point of encouraging transit usage within the city. This
is beneficial to attract other users of private vehicles, and not only the low-income who are
the major users, to start using the city’s public transport modes.
 Figure 61. Suggested Advertisement about time and cost of Mini-buses for increasing
people’s transit desire.
By the Author using Adobe Photoshop.

Policies to prevent Random Vehicle Stopping:

The following action that needs to be done is for the related authorities to implement
policies that prevent the buses and mini-buses from the random act of stopping in locations
that aren’t the designated bus stops for picking up and egressing the passengers. This point
was given the highest priority in reducing people’s desire to use public transport modes (See
page
47) and in another question was proven to be against by 48 out of the 52 participants (See
page 73). This action is being practiced widely within the city and was seen as a major cause
of congestion, accidents, and time delays as reported by the participants. Also, it was
discovered from the key informants that there aren’t any regulations currently implying the
drivers from formally stopping and that those actions are done out of the drivers desires and
people’s needs to be stopped closer than the bus stops offer. This action is known as
Demand-Responsive Transit where the vehicles are changing their routes according to the
passengers demands and not using a fixed schedule and pick-up and drop-off passengers at
random locations based on their needs.

In 2018, Vanuatu, a country in Oceania, starting enforcing a Bus Stop By-law that
aimed at prohibiting the random stopping of buses outside the designated bus stop locations
(Daily Post Vu, 2018). They reported punishments for any drivers that contradicts the by-law
and will be liable to fine different amounts of money based on the different articles of the
law. The more times the incidents continue, the firmer the punishments will be ranging
from $18
U.S. dollars for one-time acts and up to $100 and a period of imprisonments for when the acts
occur multiple times.
 Because of that, strict policies must be implemented that prevent the bus drivers from
randomly stopping and to only pick-up and drop-off the passengers at the bus stops and
stations within the city. Bus drivers must not violate the traffic laws through the picking and
egressing of passengers outside bus stop areas, and if they do, they must be held responsible
and receive the proper enforcement actions. The policy can be made from the Municipality
that enforces all drivers of buses and mini-buses to only stop at the designated bus stops.
There should also be punishments for those that do not oblige the rules and decide to continue
on the random stopping acts.

This policy must be enforced within such short period so as to be a stepping stone for
the next stages recommendations to take effect and gradually imply the notion of a formal
public transport system to the people.

Policies to prevent Vandalism of Bus Stop Shelters:

The following point proves essential to be tackled within the short run as it was seen
to be a problem facing the study area in terms of bus stop quality and usage. The breakage
and vandalism of the bus stop shelter was the most prominent response given by the
participants (18 Participants) when asked about their opinion on the bus stops condition and
placement (See page 71). It was also reported by the key informants as being a prime issue
within the city to deteriorate the quality of the bus stops shelters (See page 51).

Accordingly, firm policies need to be implemented that will enforce all people to
respect the public facilities and not vandalize them, particularly the youth which would do it
after football matches near Duhok stadium. A similar method was practiced within a report
by the European Union (Civitas). Following their method, it can be beneficial to start
implementing a shift of consciousness for people within Duhok through social campaigns
where advertisement boards can encourage citizens to feel responsibility and ownership of
the bus stop shelters and protect them from vandalism. The aim of these campaigns and acts
is to increase the people’s acceptance of public transport are reduce all vandalism acts near
public transport facilities. Also, video surveillance cameras can be installed near stops and
stations. This can be a helpful enforcement tool to identify and apprehend any vandalism acts
and apply the necessary acts of fining for the damages. Campaigns within schools can also be
helpful in increasing the awareness mind of the young generation into feeling more
responsibility for the protection of the public realm facilities and services.
Access to Bus Stops:
The following point to be given is the accessibility to the bus stops. As seen within the
responses, poor accessibility in terms of crossing with sidewalks and crosswalks was one of
the obstructions faced when reaching them. It was also observed by the researcher that many
bus stops are not properly accessible through crossing the street and sidewalk availability,
leaving them not being used by the people (See page 52). The access environment, as
explained previously, is crucial when passengers are seeking transit getting to the stops or
stations and then arriving to their destinations. When the access is unsafe and inconvenient,
people will avoid usage. Safety of access within the first and last miles are what keeps transit
services attractive for passengers.

Providing access can be established through the placement of crosswalks near sites if
current bus stops. According to Steiner and Butler (2007), marked crosswalks are necessary
to provide sighting by motorists and pedestrians. It is indicated that their lines must be 1.83
meters in width. Also, traffic calming techniques can be used to aid in a safer access for the
pedestrians through speed humps to be placed before the crosswalk points. They will ensure
the reduction of vehicular speeds at those points for people to safely cross. The speed humps
are to be 7 to 10 centimeters in height (Steiner and Butler, 2007). Having signs that indicate
the locations of pedestrian crossing is another helpful method in providing safer accessibility.
These can be seen illustrated on figure (62). Proper access environment to and from the bus
stop shelters will be helpful in increasing attractiveness and safety of the facilities and
increase desire of usage of public transport within the short-term plan.

Figure 62. Suggested accessibility adingin elements to be added near bus stops.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 Mid-Term Plan 1-2 years (2019-2021):
The second phase of the recommendations plan for the research includes the Mid-term
plan. These include the points that are intended to take a longer time than the basic short-tern
plans and are to be implement within a 1 to 2 years period from 2019 till 2021.

Within the previous parts of the research, the service quality in terms of bus stop
location, spacing, coverage, and routes services of the transit system were observed and
inquired by the researcher and the responses received from the participants. With those points
in mind, the next phase of the plan will focus on the aspect of bus stop location optimization
and route linkage.

Bus Stop Coverage and Spacing:

Recall that the bus stops and stations, with a buffer zone of 400-meters (Figure 64),
covered almost the entirety of the study area. However, a section of the neighbourhood in the
center was left unserved. According to Meyer (2016), the typical spacing between bus stops
within urban areas is 400 meters. As seen on figure (63), the spacing between the bus stops
within the study area varies considerably without any real standards to be followed. Meyer
continues by explaining that bus stops located close together lead to shorter walking distance
but longer travel time while stops farther from each other mean longer walking distacnes nut
with shorter travel time and higher operating speeds since the vehicle is stopping less
frequently. Also, the spacing currently observed within the study area has some bus stops
very close to another while others very far, leading to improper service and un-walkable
distances for the further and too many stops for the closer.

Figure 64. Buffer zone of current bus stops. Figure 63. Current spacing between bus stops.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop. By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 The results chapter indicated important findings from the participants and
observations related to the coverage of bus stops. When asked about the proper location for a
bus stop, 16 of the 52 participants indicated that it should be near housing (Within 10 minutes
of walking). Also, the bus stops are often far from the active destinations within the study
area and were pointed out many times by the participants as being unlinked to the locations
they desire to travel to.

Because of that, a more ideal placement of bus stops can be achieved and mapped
within the study area that is able to serve more people and reach more destinations. This
placement will be following the spacing standards mentioned before, and the needs and
requirements reported by the participants and observed by the researcher. As seen on figure
(65) below, the removal and addition of the bus stops are based on some implications. The
bus stops removed are those that are closely located between another and will offer less
efficient services in terms of stopping and leaving. The new added bus stops are based on a
spacing of almost 400 meters (more or less) and located near activity sites that previously
weren’t served such as Azadi Park and the Bazaar, keeping in consideration the placement on
both sides of the road.

Figure 65. Suggested placement of new bus stops.

By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 The new spacing achieved between the bus stops can be seen on figure (66) below.

Figure 66. Spacing of Bus Stops after the placement of new bus stops.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 The changes done to the bus stops placement was run through the Service Area
analysis in order to illustrate the newly served locations after the addition of new bus stops as
seen on figure (67) below.

Figure 67. Service Area covered after the addition of new bus stops to the study area.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 Routing and Linkages:
The following action requires considerations for the current routing and linkages
offered by the system and where the destinations require demand for new links to be made
with transit. It was seen within the findings that some participants noted the routes to be
unlinked and have bus stops far from their destinations, requiring them to walk. Others also
noted that all vehicles lead to the Bazaar area and different buses are needed to be changed
until the destination is reached. This was also seen true when the example of the distance
covered was given on page (62 and 63) as multiple streets and routes needed to be changed
until a specific destination within the study area was to be reached. As seen on figure (68),
the six current routes in operation offer only linear linkages to and from the Bazaar (City
Center) and not all destinations within the city are covered with Buses and Mini-buses.

Figure 68. Current Route of Buses and Mini-buses operating within Duhok city.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 Improvements can be done in terms of new routing so as to enable higher linkages to
destinations that are reached by the previous routes. As seen on figure (69), two new routes
have been introduced and a new garage placed. These are based on the responses given when
the people complained from having only the Bazaar (city center) as a place of bus and mini-
bus residing.

The New Malta garage is placed in the west of the city so as to provide diversity of
places where transit can be accumulated and where more linkages can be offered for the
passengers. The station will house four routes of Malta, Zrka, Gali, and Duhok. The new Gali
route (Dark Blue) starts its path from Azadi Garage and travels through Gali Quarter in the
North and then continues west towards Zrka until finally reaching the New Malta Garage.
The route offers a link between Azadi Garage and Malta Garage and covers the northern part
of the city where new housing has been constructed in the recent years. The second route to
be added will be called Duhok route and will start its oath from Malta garage and travel east,
covering Bahdinan and Botan quarters, and then divert its route south towards Mazi quarter
and join the current Raza route where it will continue its travel towards the southern side of
the city finally reaching the Peshasazi (Industrial) Quarter where transit are not available in
the current time. This will help link that part of the city with transit, particularly Shndoxa
Quarter on the return trip which was also reported to be unlinked by the research participants.

Figure 69. Suggested Addition of Gali and Duhok routes to the city.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.
 With the two newly established routes, additional vehicles are also required to be
added to the fleet. Refer to table (13) which contains data from the previously mentioned
schedule (See page 60) of bus and mini-bus operation taken from the Directorate of
Transportation (2019). First of all, since the Gali route is similar to Zrka route, 75 new 25-
seater buses should be added to the route and a similar four shifts per day for each driver,
leading each bus to serve nearly 3000 persons per month. For Duhok route, since it covers a
larger distance, more fleet is required for it with 250 25-seater buses and a two shifts per day
similar to Sarhildan route. This helps each vehicle serve 1500 persons per month.

Table 13: Number of Population served by Routes of Buses and Mini-Buses daily and monthly.

No. Route Name Number of Number of Number of Population Population being

Drivers Seats in the Driver being transported per
Vehicle Rides per transported per month per driver
vehicle per day per driver
day (Shifts)
1 Sarhildan 248 25 2 25x2 =50 50x30=1500
2 Raza 149 14 2 14x2=28 28x30=840
3 Malta 121 14 2 14x2=28 28x30=840
4 Doomiz 108 14 4 14x4=56 56x30=1680
5 Diyari 93 14 3 14x3=42 42x30=1260
6 Zrka 74 14 4 14x4=56 56x30=1680
7 Gali 75 25 4 25x4 =100 100x30=3000
8 Duhok 250 25 2 25x2 =50 50x30=1500
Total 460 13,800
Coordination for Better Management:
As explained previously, the current system of buses and mini-buses within the city is
managed by the responsible directorates and operated by the drivers and their syndicate. This
has proven weak since a lot of decisions of routing, stopping and organization are random
and perceived as an unreliable system for the many within the city. The key informants that
were interviewed pressured on the fact that the Government needs to have a higher role in the
management of the public transport system. Responses indicated the need to have
cooperation with investors to further develop the system, saying that the development of the
public transport to be the responsibility of the government and have the routes and vehicles
working for them through a partnership with a private sector side that will be responsible for
such management of routes, vehicles, etc. This will be helpful in allowing the government to
manage 1 single entity and not be concerned about all aspects of routing and drivers.

Such coordination was given by the World Back Public-Private Partnership Legal
Resource Center which developed an urban bus toolkit in 2007. Within the toolkit, different
ownership and management options were included. One of the options aids in reforming the
system’s management through a “Gross-Cost Area Contract”.

In establishing such, the Municipality of Duhok will issue a contract with a private
bus operator. That operator will be given exclusive rights for the operation of the bus service
within the city. The authority is responsible for paying the operator, and all revenue gained
from the system is for the authority (Municipality of Duhok).

The operator will have the responsibility to manage the system in different aspects of
time management, station and stops design, vehicle design and capacity, and routing and
linkages. The contract will prove highly beneficial for the previously mentioned points as it
will allow the Municipality to hand the duty of placement of new bus stops and stations
within the city according to needed spacing standards and requirements, and hand over the
routing changes and additions be in their responsibility. This contract is the most important
step of the plan since it is a point where the previously mentioned points of short and mid-
term will be covered and integrate them with the future long-term plans to be discussed later.
Long Term Plan 3-5 Years (2019-2024):
The final phase of the 3-part plan takes part as a long-term plan. It contains the points
that will need a longer time to achieve and will be supported by the previously described
points as a basis for the long run. The decisions and developments that aren’t achievable
easily and need longer time and planning are listed here. The points within the long term are
planned to be implemented within 3 to 5 years from the base year 2019.

Organization and Adherence to Schedule and Ticketing:

It was discovered within the research process that the problem of time management is
one of the main issues that cause the system to be unreliable for usage. As explained in
Literature, a Paratransit Personalized Mass Transit is the best term that would describe the
current system of transit in the city where the vehicles are according to the desires of
passengers with no predefined schedule or organization to be followed. As was also found out
within the findings, the majority of the participants (16 out of 36 users) disagreed on the fact
that the system allows them to arrive to their destinations on time. Also, it was reported by
the majority (24 from 36) that the waiting time for vehicles to pick them up is more than 10-
minutes, and the researcher also observed this as waiting times were random at different bus
stops and the frequency of buses and mini-buses are unknown since there is no timetable
where the people could follow to manage their trips.

Because of that, actions should be heavily concentrated on developing this aspect of

the system. As a contract will be made between the Government and a Private Operator, these
responsibilities can be achievable so as to develop the time aspect of the system. Since the
problem of random vehicle stopping was tackled within the short-term plan, it is now easy to
more towards higher levels of service. A starting step that the operators can do is to start
developing a schedule for the transit system operation to adhere to and for the passengers to
follow. As Meyer (2016) explained, schedules are the documents where details of operation
of drivers are listed in. It contains time points and geographical locations where vehicles stop.
All transit stations should have their schedule to allow the time management organization of
the system.
 This way, a timetable can be created to be available for the public. Each station should
have their timetable. The timetable will contain the information of departure and arrival times
of buses from each of the operating routes, with their defined time scales and the frequency of
each buses included. The waiting times for each bus within the station are planned to be 10
minutes before departure. The operation hours are planned to start from 8:00 AM until 12:00
AM.

As seen on figure (70), the Malta route timetable was developed as an example. The
first departure will start at Shorash Station at 8:10 AM where it will travel through its route
until reaching the newly established Malta Station at 8:25 AM. A waiting time of 10 minutes
will be taken within Malta Station and the return trip will start at 8:35 AM until reaching
Shorash Station at 8:50 AM. This timetable can be created for all of the operating routes
within the city, each according to their needs and requirements. The establishment of such act
within each of the three stations will help increase the people’s awareness of the system and
increase passenger ridership and time management.

Figure 70. Recommended Timetable for Bus and Mini-bus departure and Arrival with Malta Route as an example.
By the Author using Adobe Photoshop.
 This timetable can be accompanied by a map showing the routes that serve the station
and the quarters of the city that will be served. As seen on figure (71), a map of the operating
routes was created for Shorash Station which will be hanged within the station, distributed to
the public, and showcased on all bus stops so as to provide higher knowledge of the system’s
operation routes and allow higher reliability and usage for passengers.

Figure 71. Recommended Map to support the timetable for each station, with Shorash Station as an Example.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.

The operator will also need to start the development of a better payment system other
than the current cash paid to the driver trend. It is planned to start the development of a
ticketing system for the public transport within the city. A ticket is a document that proves a
passenger has paid a fare to access and use public transportation. Through having a ticket,
passengers will be more adaptable to comfortably board transit and the operators will be able
to control the system and provide a higher quality of service. Integrated Ticketing can be used
which allows passengers to perform multiple journeys between different buses with a single
ticket. This will help encourage higher ridership of public transport with less fare paid and
easier switching of vehicles with higher efficiency (Dublin Bus, 2008).

Fare vending machines can be placed in different areas, particularly within the
stations, so as to allow passengers to purchase tickets. Signage and access must be provided
to allow intuitive usage by the people. The supervision aspect if the ticketing must also be
incorporated. Inspectors can be stationed within the stations during the waiting time of buses
boarding to check the validity of the passenger’s tickets before boarding. Also, during bus
stops, the passengers must show the tickets to the drivers during the boarding. There can also
be different
sorts of tickets for different periods: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly. Also, the pricing
aspect must be considered as it was discovered that the majority of the trips within the city
cost 500 IQD. This price range must be kept in mind as the low-income users are often the
majority of the users and a lower fare will help increase desire for usage and more ridership
rather than private vehicles and taxies. Figure (72) shows a public transport ticket vending
machine in one of Berlin city’s stations.

Figure 72. Public Transport Ticket Vending Machine in Berlin, Germany.

Source: https://getbybus.com/en/blog/bus-berlin/
Design of Bus Stop Shelters:
The next point in consideration should be the design if the bus stops. Since the new
operators are taking over the organisation of the system, standard bus stop shelters can be
introduced that offer higher service quality than the currently available bus stops. As was
reported within the findings, the respondents complained about the quality of the shelters,
saying that they are broken and vandalized by the people, poor quality of seating and
insufficient size, and low protection from externalities. Figure (73) shows a bus stop within
the study area having its surroundings broken, low seating capacity, and lacking supporting
services for promoting desire of usage.

Figure 73. Current situation of a bus stop within the study area.
Image taken by the Author.

In order to develop the design of shelters within the long run, the city of Fort Collins
(2015) developed guidelines that indicate the requirements for a successful bus stop design.
Bus stops are an important part of the public transport system since it is the first contact point
between the passenger and the transit service. The design and location of the stops will affect
the system’s operation and the desire of usage by the passengers. It is necessary to follow a
series of requirements for bus stops that consider safety, service, and convenience as to
ensure higher transit ridership by the people.

First of all, the location of the bus stops should be according to the street network
design and can be near-side, far-side, or mid-block. These different locations are according to
the traffic conditions, intersection geometry and accessibility of passengers and should be
considered to minimize the conflict of buses with other vehicles. Figure (74) shows the three
incidents of bus stop placement.

Figure 74. The 3 bus stop placement locations.

Source: City of Fort Collins (2015).

Next thing is to develop a universal dimension standard that will be sufficient size
wise and service wise in serving the passengers. The city of Fort Collins (2015) guidelines for
bus stop design indicates specific requirements that every bus stop should have. First of all,
the dimensions of the shelter are required to be at least 4 meters in width and be 2.7 meters
tall from the ground. It is necessary to have a bus stop sign that indicates the routes that serve
the specific stop. A firm shelter roof for protection against sunlight and precipitation and a
surrounding windscreen for protection against wind. Maps and timetables of the transit
system should be attached to the shelter so as to provide wayfinding and better information of
arrival and departure of vehicles for the passengers. For increased safety, lighting must be
incorporated. Trash receptacles should be adjacent to the shelter for users to keep the location
clean. Seating benches with sufficient size to host lots of passengers in need of seating. And,
all of that should be placed on firm and solid surfaces for proper accessibility. Figure (75)
shows a design created for a bus stop shelter which incorporates the aforementioned
requirements.

Figure 75. Proposed Design for Bus stops.

By the Author using Adobe Photoshop. Reference Images from Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (2014).
Improved Vehicle Quality:
The following point considers the quality of the currently operating buses and mini-
buses and how the long-term plan will tackle the development of it. As was discovered within
the findings, the majority of the users (27 from 36) reported that they face congestion within
the vehicles, and when asked about suggestions for improvements in the transit, many
participants indicated the need for larger and more convenient buses in terms of their size.
Since the previous terms plans saw the completion of a contract between the government and
a private contractor, and lots of developments are in progress in terms of bus stop placement,
design, time management, and routing, the next step will be the improvement of the quality of
the vehicles serving the system.

As explained previously, the majority of the transit vehicles within the city are 14-
seater mini-buses. These are not perceived as proper vehicles that can serve a developed
public transport system, especially with a defined schedule, route, program, etc. So, it is
recommended that the private operator is given the duty of assigning and introducing new
fleets of modern buses with larger seating capacities that should slowly start replacing the old
mini-buses and function as the sole vehicles for those routes.

The vehicles that will be introduced should not be so large that they do not fit the
streets of the city and are unable to move and maneuver through the traffic. The currently
available 2009 Nissan Civilian buses are appropriate for the city since their size fir for the
streets and their 25-seat capacity is seen suitable for the passengers to use. A proposed bus to
be introduced within the fleet is the Isuzu Turquoise. The bus is a 26-seater, with 2.7 meters
in width and 7.6 meters in length, proving to be larger in size than the Nissan Civilian. This
type of bus is suitable to be added to the city’s bus fleet and can offer higher seating capacity
and comfort for the passengers than the regular 14-seater minibuses currently operating.

Figure 77. Suggested Isuzu Turquoise Bus to be added

to the Transit System.
Source: Figure 76. Blueprint Design of the Isuzu Turquoise.
https://www.isuzu.com.tr/en/bus/tourism/turquoise/ Source: http://www.motorstown.com/imgs/52039-
isuzu-turquoise-1.html
 Also, the different buses of the system should be labelled according to their
designated route with special colors, route name, and number of vehicles. This will allow the
establishment of a formal bus system brand within the city and a better identification of the
transit buses by the passengers. See figure (78) for examples of labelling in the three types of
vehicles.

Figure 78. Suggested Markings to be placed on the city’s buses.

By the Author using Adobe Photoshop.
Changes of Land Use over time:
Within the long term, since the bus system will be heavily developed within the city
along with other various aspects of transit and movement, the land use aspect will also see a
change in its shape and function. Many of the locations will be introduced to new public
transport facilities such as stations, stops and service centers, and the land uses surrounding
them will experience changes. Some locations might attract further activity from people and
will lead to the development of commercial sites for them to shop at. Other locations will also
seek to develop recreation and leisure sites for the commuters to be attracted to during their
travels within the transit. Also, new land uses functions can be introduced that specialize in
the services related to Public Transportation such as ticketing, maps, operation, information
centers, etc.

Control of Cars:
As the transit system is further placed within the city, it is also required to take action
on the currently available extensive reliance on private vehicles. It was previously explained
that Duhok city is a highly car-oriented community, and in order to reduce their usage, much
actions need to be done within the long term.

First, it is highly important that the previously explained recommendations to be

achieved so as to gradually increase the performance of the alternative public transportation
modes and to provide higher reliability and desire for the people to use them more and more.
If the people perceive and see that the newly developed buses and mini-buses can indeed
transport them to their desired destinations faster and much easier than their private vehicles,
a gradual switch can be made towards higher transit ridership. Next thing is to start actions
and strategies to control the usage and driving of private vehicles within the city. The
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (2014) reported some vehicle restrictions that can limit car
travel during specific places and times. The regulations include limiting the extensive amount
of car importations being introduced into the city and have more control over the number
being allowed in. Next is to provide restrictions and prohibitions on private vehicles traffic on
some roads during specific times so as to allow a higher pedestrian and transit oriented area
for other modes, which is known as Car free planning. The guidelines that there needs to be
car-restricted zones where access for private vehicles will be limited and drive people to use
more transit, given that these areas are supported with transit stations and facilities. Another
important point is to have more rights-of-way dedicated to transit and give them more priority
over private vehicle traffic.
Integration with the Tramway Project:
The final part of the long-term plan, and the most ambitious one, is the integration of
the developed bus system with the proposed tramway project within the city. As was reported
back by the key informants during the findings and through the analysis of the FG Tecnopolo
technical report of the tramway, the project for Duhok city was handed in 2015 but faced
financial issues that prevented it from being implemented. The engineers explained how the
tramway had predefined routes with their tracks travelling on the road islands. It was planned
to be cheap ad convenient for the people to use. The 67-kilometer long tramway had a budget
of $1.82 billion with five planned lines of travel starting west from the proposed Duhok
Airport until reaching further east in Etite.
The aim of the point is to provide integration so as to allow better service delivery
from multiple modes of public transport within the city. The contract previously described
developed a bus system with a timetable, designated routes, higher quality buses and bus
stops and was recommended to be called as Duhok Bus. Should the tramway project be
implemented and start its development within the city, the government must start a
coordination between the operators of the 2 modes of transport, buses and trams. This
coordination should be based on the regulation of the public transport sector by the
government in order to coordinate fares and timetables on the basis of a voluntary partnership
within the transport market.
The Live Work Germany website (2016) explained how the German public transport
operators are coordinated to offer better service for the public. The public transport operators
(Duhok Bus and FG Technopolo) must begin by signing an alliance (known as
Verehrsverbund in Germany) whereby they must accept the same types of tickets throughout
their networks. This alliance will outline the tickets and pricing types where one single ticket
will be functional for buses and tramway systems across all routes of the network, keeping in
mind whether they are one trip, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly tickets.
It is recommended to have all served zones cleared and indicated where by the routes
will operate and the tickets will be charged on that basis. Some locations may have
intersections between the buses and trams and some stations may become shared by both
modes. Figure (79) indicates the routes map of the buses and tramways as a comparison by
their travel paths through Duhok city.
 Figure 79. The Integration of Bus and Tramway routes within Duhok City.
By the Author using ArcMap and Adobe Photoshop.

This alliance of coordination is necessary to allow both buses and tramways to

improve the multi-modality of the system whereby the passengers will be able to change the
transport modes easily, with a single ticket, organized routes, and a coordinated schedule
between the two operators. Many of the Duhok bus vehicles, especially the mini-buses, can
now function as feeders where they can take passengers to a tramway station or stop.
 To better illustrate the recommended integration between the different modes of
transport, a 3D scene has been created. Figure (80) shows the southern part of study area
(near Azadi Park and Duhok Stadium) where a tramway line passes through and the buses
and mini- buses are in operation within the traffic, along with bus stop locations and
accessibility of pedestrians to those modes.

Figure 80. 3D Scene illustration of the Integrated Public Transport Modes within the Study Area.
Made by the Author using Google SketchUp.
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Appendices:
Appendix (1) Questionnaire Form distributed to Sample Participants:
University of Duhok, College of Spatial Planning and Applied Sciences

Bachelor’s Thesis Dissertation Titled: Academic Year: 2018-2019

“Strategizing a Transit-Oriented System through improving Bus System in Duhok city”

My Name is Aland Kamal. I am a 4 th stage student in the College of Spatial Planning and
Applied Sciences at the University of Duhok. I am currently conducting my Graduation
Thesis on the Transit system in Duhok city with the aforementioned title. I am kindly asking
your acceptance to take part in the following Questionnaire which consists of 21 closed- and
open- ended Statements and Questions and will take not more than 10 minutes of your
valuable time. All responses given will be kept anonymous within the researcher’s study.

Please fill in the following General Information:

Date: / / 2019 Gender: Male Female Age:

Occupation:

Please answer and tick the following according to your response of liking:

1. What mode of transport do you use the most?

Private Vehicle Taxi Bus / Mini-Bus Walking Other

Taxi

Please Specify ..…….

2. What is your usual travel origin? ……………………………………………………

What is your usual travel destination? ………………………………………………
What is the purpose of your travel to that destination? ……………………………...

3. How often do you use public transport modes of Bus/Mini-bus?

Frequently Sometimes Never

o If Used, What time of day do you mostly use them? ……………

 4. Please Prioritize, from 1 to 9, the most impactful reason that deflects you and
reduces your motivation of using buses/mini-bus services, with 9 Being the most
impactful and 1 the least:
 Job Type/Income Reasons
 Cultural Perception
 Gender Issues
 Location of Bus Stops _
 Safety of Crossing/Reaching/Accessing the bus stops
 Linkages offered by the Service
 Random Vehicle Stopping
 Design of Bus Stop Shelters
 Ownership of a Private Vehicle

5. Are you accessible to bus stops within your neighborhood? Yes No

How far is the bus stop from your home?

1 to 5 Minutes 5 to 10 Minutes 10 to 15 Minutes 15 to 20 Minutes More than 20 Minutes

6. Are you faced with any Natural/Topographical obstructions when trying to reach the
bus stops? Yes No
If yes, please describe the obstruction faced: …………………………………………

7. During which season of the year are buses/mini-buses mostly used?

Winter Spring Summer Autumn

During which season are they Not used?

Winter Spring Summer Autumn Reason:

………………………………………………………………………………….

8. Is there connectivity in reaching the bus stops in terms of

available sidewalks/crosswalks? Yes No
* If Buses/Mini-buses are not used by you, please skip to question 18 and do not answer
statements 9 to 17.

9. The buses help you arrive to your destination on time.

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

10. To what degree do the buses offer linkages to your desired destination?

Highly Linked Somehow Linked Unlinked

Additional Notes……………………………………………………………………………….

11. How long do you wait for the bus to arrive?

1 to 3 Minutes 3 to 5 Minutes 5 to 10 Minutes More than 10 Minutes

12. What is the most visited destination by bus/mini-bus? ………………………………..

13. How much time do you spend within vehicles to reach your destination?

5 to 10 Minutes 10 to 15 Minutes 15 to 20 Minutes 20 to 25 Minutes More than 25 Minutes

14. Do you feel safe and secure using the bus/mini-bus service? Yes No

15. How much do you pay for the bus fare?............................IQD

16. To what extent is your comfort level within the vehicle?

Very Comfortable Somehow Comfortable Uncomfortable

17. Do you face people congestion within the vehicle? Yes No

18. What do you think of the Bus stop Shelter design? In terms of Protection from Sun,
Wind, Precipitation, Seating, etc.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………

19. In your opinion, where should a new bus stop be located?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

20. What is your perception of the random stopping of buses/mini-buses at various

locations (other than bus stops) for people to board and exit?
Support Random Stopping, Please Explain Why:………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………...
Against Random Stopping, Please Explain Why:……….…………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..

21. What do you suggest should take place so as to provide an improved Bus Transit
System within the city?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Appendix (2) Sample of Questionnaire form responses:
Appendix (3) Interview Form distributed to Key Informants:

University of Duhok, College of Spatial Planning and Applied Sciences

Bachelor’s Thesis Dissertation Titled: Academic Year: 2018-2019

“Strategizing a Transit-Oriented System through improving Bus System in Duhok city”

My Name is Aland Kamal. I am a 4 th stage student in the College of Spatial Planning and
Applied Sciences at the University of Duhok. I am currently conducting my Graduation
Thesis on the Transit system in Duhok city with the aforementioned title. I am kindly asking
your acceptance to take part in the following Interview which consists of 7 open-ended
questions. All responses given will be kept anonymous within the researcher’s study.

Please fill in the following General Information:

Date: / / 2019 Gender: Male Female Age:

Occupation:

Please Answer the Following Questions:

1. Do you use public transport modes of Bus/Minibus in your daily travel?

o Please Explain Why?

2. What do you think of the placement of bus stops within the neighborhood?

3. What improvements can be done in terms of placement and spacing of bus stops?
4. How is the schedule of bus operation managed between the vehicles?
o If there is, how reliable are the services in terms of adherence to the
schedule/timetable?

5. How many hours does the service operate? (Temporal Availability/Operation Hours).

6. What should be done to improve the time management aspect of the bus system?

7. What future plans are available in terms of improving the city’s transit system?
Appendix (4) Sample of Interview form Answers:
Appendix (5) Population number of quarters within Duhok city:
Retrieved from the Directorate of Statistics in Duhok (3rd of March, 2019).
Appendix (6) Bus and Mini-bus routes and numbers within Duhok city:
Retrieved from the Directorate of Transportation in Duhok (7th of March, 2019).
Appendix (7) Routes of Bus and Mini-bus operation within Duhok city:
Drawn by the researcher based on information from the Directorate of Transportation (7th of
March, 2019).
Appendix (8) Hand-drawn map of the location of bus stop and their waiting
times within the study area:
Drawn by the researcher during the observation at the study area (5th of March, 2019).