Demand Responsive Transport Services for Improving the Public Transport in Suburban Areas

Suburbs suffer from isolation from densely populated urban centers due to the poor performance of traditional public transport services such as buses. This isolation worsens the quality of life of the residents of these areas, with related problems of social exclusion. One of the possible solutions to meet the mobility needs of these people is a flexible service such as Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) systems. This article assessed the effectiveness of a DRT service as a feeder transit service, assuming a connection of three suburban districts of Palermo, Italy, with a Railway Line station. Thanks to a Revealed Preferences (RP) and Stated Preferences (SP) survey campaign, both the current modal split towards the local public transport service and towards the hypothesized innovative DRT service were determined. The results show that the percentages of choice for this new alternative far exceed those of the current bus service, with values even over 40%, thus showing the potential as a mobility solution alternative to poor-quality public transport.