Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NC
Public bus transit in the US faces challenges like reduced ridership, rising costs, and service quality concerns, with ridership dropping to 62% of pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022. This research examines service limitations, safety concerns, and attitudes towards technological improvements in Charlo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002823 |
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| author | Sanaz Sadat Hosseini Babak Rahimi Ardabili Mona Azarbayjani Hamed Tabkhi |
| author_facet | Sanaz Sadat Hosseini Babak Rahimi Ardabili Mona Azarbayjani Hamed Tabkhi |
| author_sort | Sanaz Sadat Hosseini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Public bus transit in the US faces challenges like reduced ridership, rising costs, and service quality concerns, with ridership dropping to 62% of pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022. This research examines service limitations, safety concerns, and attitudes towards technological improvements in Charlotte’s transit system, using survey data from 160 participants collected in 2022 and 2023. The survey included demographic variables such as age, gender, race, income, living area, and bus usage frequency. Statistical analyses, including GLM, POLR, CLM, and Multinomial Ridge Regression, identified significant factors influencing transit use and perceptions. Key findings show that East Charlotte residents and females face limited routes and longer wait times; safety concerns are more prevalent among Black participants and those in East Charlotte; and privacy concerns are higher among infrequent and higher-income bus users. There is a strong preference for technological improvements like real-time tracking apps, especially among infrequent users. This research highlights the need for targeted improvements to enhance service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction, providing valuable insights for policymakers and transit authorities to create a more inclusive public transportation system. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a6954cd94c634e20b7af83c2c3ed47b1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2590-1982 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj-art-a6954cd94c634e20b7af83c2c3ed47b12025-02-09T05:01:11ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822025-01-0129101296Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NCSanaz Sadat Hosseini0Babak Rahimi Ardabili1Mona Azarbayjani2Hamed Tabkhi3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA; Corresponding author.Department of Public Policy, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USASchool of Architecture, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USAPublic bus transit in the US faces challenges like reduced ridership, rising costs, and service quality concerns, with ridership dropping to 62% of pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022. This research examines service limitations, safety concerns, and attitudes towards technological improvements in Charlotte’s transit system, using survey data from 160 participants collected in 2022 and 2023. The survey included demographic variables such as age, gender, race, income, living area, and bus usage frequency. Statistical analyses, including GLM, POLR, CLM, and Multinomial Ridge Regression, identified significant factors influencing transit use and perceptions. Key findings show that East Charlotte residents and females face limited routes and longer wait times; safety concerns are more prevalent among Black participants and those in East Charlotte; and privacy concerns are higher among infrequent and higher-income bus users. There is a strong preference for technological improvements like real-time tracking apps, especially among infrequent users. This research highlights the need for targeted improvements to enhance service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction, providing valuable insights for policymakers and transit authorities to create a more inclusive public transportation system.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002823Public bus transitEquityAccessibilitySmart technologyUser-acceptance |
| spellingShingle | Sanaz Sadat Hosseini Babak Rahimi Ardabili Mona Azarbayjani Hamed Tabkhi Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NC Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives Public bus transit Equity Accessibility Smart technology User-acceptance |
| title | Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NC |
| title_full | Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NC |
| title_fullStr | Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NC |
| title_full_unstemmed | Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NC |
| title_short | Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the city of Charlotte, NC |
| title_sort | demographic disparities service efficiency safety and user satisfaction in public bus transit system a survey based case study in the city of charlotte nc |
| topic | Public bus transit Equity Accessibility Smart technology User-acceptance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002823 |
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