Session Outline
- Session Chair- Matt Johnson, GHD
- Alex Sabohanian, National AITPM Board Member - Analysing Travel Behaviour of Public Transport Commuters by AFC Data Mining
- Andres Fielbaum, University of Sydney - On the relationship between free public transport, stop spacing, and optimal frequencies
- Evelyn Sung, WSP - Sentiment Unveiled: Artificial Intelligence Insights into Public Opinion on Transit-Oriented Development
- David Freer, Hartecs Group - Viable Public Transport in new Urban Growth Areas
Alex Sabohanian, National AITPM Board Member- Analysing Travel Behaviour of Public Transport Commuters by AFC Data Mining
Alex Sabohanian
National AITPM Board Member
A highly passionate and politically savvy Planning and Infrastructure Engineering Professional with excellent communication skills, and a collaborative approach, and over nine years’ experience in leading transport, data science and infrastructure projects.
Analysing Travel Behaviour of Public Transport Commuters by AFC Data Mining
Data analysis is essential in public transport because it enables operators and managers to make informed decisions based on insights gained from data. Many public transport operators in Australia have implemented AFC systems, which use smart cards or contactless payment methods to record passenger journeys and collect fares. AFC data can provide detailed information on passenger numbers, travel patterns, and revenue, however, tap on only AFC systems, lack the tap off data for determining the destination of a trip. This presentation intends to provide an innovative and effective approach to analysing the AFC data to determine the time and spatial behaviors of passengers using data mining techniques.
Hossein Haghshenas is an Assistant Professor of Transportation Planning, Isfahan University of Technology, with an extensive experience in Public Transport studies, and data science. Dr. Haghshenas is currently the CEO of the Isfahan Metropolitan Transport Authority.
Mohamad Ghadiri is an experienced and innovative Transport planner and Data scientist with over 10 years of experience in the Transport industry.
Andres Fielbaum, University of Sydney - On the relationship between free public transport, stop spacing, and optimal frequencies
Andres Fielbaum
University of Sydney, Lecturer, School of Civil Engineering
Andrés Fielbaum is a Lecturer at the TransportLab, School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney. He is a Mathematical Engineer and Ph.D. in Engineering Systems from Universidad de Chile. His main fields of research are public transport, transport networks, and new transport technologies..
On the relationship between free public transport, stop spacing, and optimal frequencies
Debate on free public transport has intensified, especially post-pandemic, where many systems removed fares without other structural changes, drawing more walkers than car drivers. We study strategic public transport design, finding that while increased frequencies attract walkers and drivers, increased stop spacing can attract drivers but discourage walkers. A correct combination of both can be crucial to attain a more sustainable mode share. These adjustments might reduce some costs but won't likely compensate for revenue losses from free fares.
Evelyn Sung, WSP - Sentiment Unveiled: Artificial Intelligence Insights into Public Opinion on Transit-Oriented Development
Evelyn Sung
WSP - Transport Planner
Evelyn is an transport planner with diverse experiences across engineering, architecture, and transport planning - enabling an aptitude for thinking holistically and challenging traditional boundaries. She is committed to exploring the applications of emerging technology in sustainable public transport and is passionate about delivering better places to communities.
Sentiment Unveiled: Artificial Intelligence Insights into Public Opinion on Transit-Oriented Development
Effective community engagement is key to the delivery of transport and land use planning projects, as it reveals people's concerns and preferences. However, conducting large-scale community engagement can involve significant time, costs and logistical challenges, presenting barriers to gaining deeper insights of public sentiments. The presenter has developed an AI-based tool that can harness large text-based datasets from social media to better understand peoples’ emotions, opinions, and attitudes, and help planners focus on the things that matter to the people affected by our projects. The tool is demonstrated using Google Reviews and OpenAI's GPT language model to analyse sentiments associated with transit-oriented developments (TODs), as well as to uncover characteristics about places and transport services that influence public attitudes.
Harnessing public sentiment can help us better identify key user issues, identify deficiencies, prioritise opportunities and guide the development of improvement options, promoting social awareness and innovation in transport planning.
David Freer, Hartecs Group - Viable Public Transport in new Urban Growth Areas
David Freer
Hartecs Group - Manger Advisory
David is an Industry PhD, combining his research at Griffith University with his professional role at Hartecs
Viable Public Transport in new Urban Growth Areas
To break the cycle of creating car dependent new residential developments we need to look at alternative approaches. This research identifies that there is a better way, we need the courage and leadership to make it happen.
