Paratransit is the general name for the organization of passenger transportation in areas with low settlement density, where the organization of public transport with permanent routes and timetables is inappropriate. Most often it is organized for the transportation of passengers from such areas to the stops of the main public transport - tram , metro .
Tasks
Quite often, near large cities there are suburban areas built up with low-rise private houses. Residents of such areas carry out daily trips "to work-home", creating a pendulum migration .
In such areas it is difficult to organize a satisfactory operation of regular transport with permanent routes . The route network will either be too rare - and then it will be difficult for residents to get to a stop, or the traffic interval will be too long, or the occupancy of vehicles, especially outside peak hours, will be extremely small.
The use by residents of such areas of private cars for daily trips also creates certain problems: pendulum migration causes traffic jams at the entrances to the city and in central areas. In addition, there is a problem of lack of parking spaces .
In this case, various paratransit systems are usually organized. The lack of permanent routes allows you to cover a large area, bringing passengers as close to home as possible, while providing significantly greater carrying capacity than using a personal car. Significantly reduced costs for the organization of parking, maintenance of vehicles, fuel.
Another application of paratransit systems is social transport. It is difficult for people with disabilities and older people to get to public transport stops on their own, and besides, public transport is often inconvenient for them. A registered bus or social taxi can bring such passengers from home to their destination.
Varieties
- Custom buses. They can have stops on demand anywhere, semi-permanent routes (with the possibility of deviation from the main route, if an order is received).
- Car rental, carsharing
- Taxi, including social
Alternatives
As an alternative organization of transport for suburban areas, one can consider intercepting parking lots . In this case, the residents of the suburbs get to the intercepting parking on private vehicles, and then change to public.
Also, the authorities of some cities support the so-called. carpool - transportation by drivers of traveling companions during daily trips.
Links
- http://www.centralts.ru/transport-v-gorodakh-udobnykh-dlya-zhizni-str72.html (unavailable link)
- http://transitexec.com Software for paratransit companies