Understanding the factors of traffic congestion relief impact of public transport in global cities

A new simplified approach for transit congestion relief measurement in urban areas is described. It reviews relevant transport data sources and describes how a new approach has been developed using a comparable international transport database. The elements affecting the congestion relief impact of public transport in global cities are explored. Factor analysis is used to identify the underlying dimensions of these elements. The analysis manifests three major dimensions of factors affecting congestion relief: (1) transit-oriented factor, (2) car-related factor, and (3) urban-form factor. Finally, by using linear regression analysis, this paper has developed an estimation model that relates the congestion relief value of transit to readily available urban and transport data for a broad international spectrum of cities. The estimation model provides a quantitative link between city variables, transport characteristics and transit congestion relief without using comprehensive transport modeling approach. This quantitative link can provide insight for planners to estimate transit congestion relief for urban areas.