Modelling multimodal transit networks: integration of bus networks with walking and cycling

Demand for (public) transportation is subject to dynamics affected by technological, spatial, societal and demographic aspects. The political environment, together with financial and spatial constraints limit the possibilities to address transit issues arising from growing demand through the construction of new infrastructure. Upgrading of existing services and improving integration over the entire trip chain are two options that can address these transport issues. However, transport planners and transport service operators often fail to include the entire trip when improving services, as improvement is normally achieved through the adaptations of characteristics (e.g. speeds, stop distances) of the services. Our developed framework consists of two parts: one to assess the characteristics of the different bus services and their access and egress modes, and one to assess the effects of integration of these services, which includes the modelling and analysis in a regional transit model. The framework has successfully been applied to a case study showing that bus systems with higher frequencies and speeds can attract twice the amount of cyclists on the access and egress sides. It also shows that passengers accept longer access and egress distances with more positive characteristics of the bus service (higher speeds, higher frequencies).