Feasibility of Incorporating More Walking into Commuting with Public Transportation

Abstract

AbstractRegular physical activity is vital for improving and maintaining overall health. Despite this, many people struggle to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives. Previous studies, based primarily on simulations and synthetic data, have reported the potential for increased walking resulting from mode shifts in public transport (PT). This suggests that it may be possible for PT commuters to meet some of their physical activity goals while commuting. PT users rely on trip planning apps, but these apps do not currently prioritize walking as part of the journey. This research is aimed at investigating the potential of more walking on PT accessibility and level of service. It is the first stage of the More Walking population-based wellness initiative aimed at facilitating more walking by modifying trip planning apps to increase walking. For this phase of the project, we examined the impact of various walking thresholds using a trip planning algorithm and conducted a study of the feasibility of increasing walking thresholds among all 2,149 commuters to the same work destination in a suburb of Tel-Aviv. We found that when more walking is introduced, more potential trips are available, more origins are covered--meaning better accessibility, waiting time is decreased, less transfers are required and that it can reduce total travel time. The results are encouraging that introducing more walking into a commute will be a feasible way to increase physical activity and promote wellness.