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Abstract This article examines the effects of two widely used geomasking methods (aggregation and the bimodal Gaussian method) on errors in car‐ and transit‐based travel times from people's homes to health facilities using Cook County in Illinois as a case study area. It addresses two research questions: (Q1) How do the effects of geomasking on travel time errors differ between transportation modes? (Q2) How do errors in car‐ and transit‐based travel times differ between urban and suburban areas? The results indicate that geomasking introduces considerable errors in travel times. Specifically, errors in transit‐based travel times are significantly higher than those in car‐based travel times. Moreover, when large radii are used for geomasking, errors in car‐based travel times in urban areas are significantly higher than those in suburban areas. On the contrary, transit‐based travel time errors in urban areas are significantly lower than those in suburban areas. Because transportation modes and urban area types play essential roles in travel time errors caused by geomasking, researchers need to mitigate these errors when using geomasked locations for their analysis (e.g., evaluating the spatial accessibility of certain facilities, such as hospitals or healthy food outlets).
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This content will become publicly available on March 1, 2026
Investigating the Factors That Influence the Ridership of Light Rail Transit Systems Using Thematic Analysis of Academic Literature
Among urban public transport systems, light rail, mass transit, and tram systems offer sustainable travel options. However, many of these systems, particularly in developed countries, fail to meet user needs and the expectations of transport authorities. Increasing the demand for urban rail systems as an alternative to private cars is essential for achieving net zero targets and Sustainable Development Goals. This study investigates the factors influencing urban rail demand using qualitative data analysis, with a focus on thematic analysis. A systematic review of 53 studies from the UK, Europe, and worldwide, including journal articles and transport research reports, was conducted and coded using NVivo Version 15 software. Six main categories emerged: land use and accessibility, service quality, user benefits, governance, sustainability aspects, and user-focused elements. These categories, along with their themes and sub-themes, were analysed using cross-tabulations to compare attributes across domains. The key findings indicate that accessibility and intermodal connectivity are crucial for encouraging urban rail use, while ticketing, station facilities, walkability, travel costs, ventilation, and security also moderately influence user preferences. This study provides essential guidelines for policymakers and transport providers to improve urban rail systems and informed the development of a questionnaire to explore the interrelationships of these factors, discussed in a forthcoming paper.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2330565
- PAR ID:
- 10645086
- Publisher / Repository:
- Future Transportation
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Future Transportation
- Volume:
- 5
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2673-7590
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 22
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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