Influence of the type of place occupied by a tram passenger on the ride comfort

Abstract

In cities with developed transport infrastructure, many people use public transport in their everyday lives. In order for the passenger's journey to be comfortable and for the passenger to travel more willingly by tram than by car, many conditions must be met. A passenger must feel comfortable in a public transport vehicle, which includes, among others: appropriate temperature in the vehicle, no crowding, the possibility to seat, the possibility of a quick vehicle-change, short travel time, no noise and many others. A very important criterion from the point of view of travel comfort is also the level of vibrations in the tram. A tendency can be noticed that vehicles with a low vibration level are rated much higher by public transport passengers and citizens. Vibration itself can also be an indirect cause of noise. The greater the noise, the greater the dissatisfaction of the passenger which indicates the high role of vibrations as a factor of passenger satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The aim of the work is to test and evaluate the vibration level in the partially low-floor Moderus Beta MF 02 AC tram manufactured by the company Modertrans Poznań in Poland. Assessed was be the vibration comfort in selected points of the vehicle, including the floor and passenger seat. The level of vibrations in trams of the same type were compared. Due to the lack of specific Polish regulations regarding the permissible level of vibration in trams, an attempt was made to compare the obtained results with railway standards requirements or for-eign countries requirements. The study proved that the level of vibrations differs in trams belonging to the same type. Significant damping of vibrations in the vertical direction by the passenger seat was observed. Maximum level of vibrations in the passenger area of the vehicle was observed on the floor above the bogie. It was found when compar-ing the values of vibration accelerations and comfort indicators with railway standards - that the Moderus Beta tram on the reference section of the track could be considered as a very comfortable vehicle.