Three Phases of Commuting Trip 1.Collection Phase – the trip from home to the main travel vehicle Cost: a.basically zero for automobile b.time costs and possible money costs for transportation to bus or rail terminal On average, the distance from home to rail terminal is greater than distance to bus stop

Three Phases of Commuting Trip 2.Line Haul Phase – the part of the trip spent on the main travel vehicle Cost: a.heavy rail (subway) is least costly in terms of time Has right of way; no congestion b.car and bus take congested streets Car is more time efficient than bus; due to higher speed and fewer stops

Three Phases of Commuting Trip 3.Distribution Phase – travel from end of the line haul trip to the workplace Cost: a.parking fees may make auto expensive in this phase b.time costs (walking) usually greater for bus and rail; rail terminal may be further from workplace than bus stop

Tradeoffs involved in public transportation (example: buses) Number of buses serving a route must be determined a.A large number of buses serving a route decreases the average time waiting for a bus (time cost of the collection phase would decrease) b.if bus fares partially reflect cost of the bus system, the increased number of buses will cause bus fare to increase

Tradeoffs involved in public transportation Frequency of stops must be determined A large number of stops in close proximity will have two effects a.decreases the average distance between the passengers’ home/workplace and the bus stop (decreases collection and distribution phase costs) b.increases the time cost in the line haul phase; a bus with more frequent stops will take a longer time to get to its destination

Tradeoffs involved in public transportation Cost of public transportation decreases if buses fill up with passengers in just a few stops Population, demand density will determine the relationship between stop frequency and the number of passengers An area with great demand density will give rise to more efficient public transportation Dense urban areas lend themselves to public transportation; less dense rural areas do not