%T The emerging role of Demand Responsive Transportation in public transport
%A Matthias Jaimy Post
%L theses_frw3445
%X Public transport fulfills an important function in society. People from every part of society, students, working people and elderly rely on reliable public transport. However, the low occupancy rate of busses in rural areas is putting pressure on the system. Bus operators are lowering the frequencies of the busses and the accessibility declines. This thesis explores the current state of public transport in rural areas and how Demand Responsive Transportation can benefit this system. The research will give more insight in the benefits and drawbacks of Demand Responsive Transportation in rural areas. This thesis starts with a brief introduction on the background. Important concepts will be explained. For this thesis, qualitative data is used. Interviews with 6 of the 12 provinces and 1 bus operator are conducted to answer the question: “To what extend are flexible bus lines in rural area's a viable addition to traditional bus lines?”. The answer to this question consists of 3 important concepts, being accessibility, efficiency, and digitalization. The results show that Demand Responsive Transportation increases accessibility when the frequency of busses is not sufficient. With the introduction of Mobility as a service, provinces want to improve the efficiency of the public transport system by integrating different modes. For this integration, digitalization plays an important role, since almost everyone in the country has a smartphone now. The recommendation for further research is research on the opinion of the users to find out how the users thinks about this new form of transport and research on the possibility to use Demand Responsive Transportation in more urban areas. Where Demand Responsive Transportation is often seen as a last resort when the traditional bus line is not profitable anymore, it may also be a good alternative to bus lines that are operating with profit.
%D 2021