Data for Public Transit Planning, Marketing and Model Development: Synthesis of a Workshop

This chapter describes how public transit has a central role in the move towards sustainable transportation systems and the improved quality of life, particularly in large urban areas of developed and developing countries. Changes are required in public transit infrastructure, service and travel behavior to reach the goals of efficiently improving accessibility for all sectors of society and reducing the impact of transportation on the environment. To plan and deliver quality and affordable public transit, adequate data are needed for the following purposes: (1) to plan for a better system, from the perspectives of users, operators, and society; (2) to model travel behavior in order to understand the needs of users of public transit; and (30 to market the system, by telling people – users and non-users alike – that public transit may match travel needs and will promote societal goals.