Journal of Transport & Health最新文献

Introduction

Social inequalities are a day-to-day problem experienced by the most vulnerable populations. In mobility, a basic human need, these inequalities can translate into lower accessibility to basic needs and social exclusion. The mobility barriers and needs of vulnerable-to-exclusion (v2e) groups have been documented in the literature, however, issues on accessibility, empathy and awareness strategies and people's attitudes remain. Serious games —fun teaching tools— have been successfully applied in urban/transport planning and have also been used to increase empathy and prosocial behavior. Despite the application of serious games in multiple fields pertinent to this study, the pressing mobility and accessibility issues faced by vulnerable populations have not been addressed in any serious game to date. This study focuses on creating and evaluating a serious board game (EmPATHs) to raise awareness and empathy towards v2e groups among various stakeholders while being fun at the same time.

Method

In this case, the goal of the game is to reach as many destinations as possible by playing different v2e personas. The winner of the game is the player who has reached the most destinations at the end with different v2e personas. EmPATHs targets university students from mobility-related programs, the general public, practitioners and decision makers from related fields. The game was created following a four-step iterative design process involving four categories of participants' groups, namely, frequent board game players (gamers) and experts on accessibility, mobility justice, and serious games. The game's evaluation was based on the answers of 26 players and focused on characteristics of serious games and the main goal of the game. The evaluation methodology included close-ended questions to assign a score from 1 to 5 to the established criteria and open-ended questions to complement with the quantitative results.

Results & conclusions

The participants considered EmPATHs to be a fun (4.4/5 score) and engaging (4.5/5 score) game, with a medium difficulty level (2.5/5 score) and which does not evoke frustrating feelings (2.0/5 score). The participants acknowledged learning more in-depth about barriers of v2e people (4.5/5 score) and recognized the game's capacity to raise awareness (4.5/5 score). They also felt more likely to empathize with v2e groups after the game (4.5/5 score). Future applications of the game can be expected to be in teaching contexts, public mobility-related events, and workshops with stakeholders from the planning and designing field.

Introduction

The impact of public transportation on the human emotional well-being is certainly under-studied, especially in the developing countries. This study proposes and validates a questionnaire aimed to assess the emotional well-being in the context of public transportation use in Paraguay (as in any other Spanish country).

Methods

We conducted an observational cross-sectional study using an online survey to address the relationship between the transport systems and mental health. The newly developed Questionnaire on the Use of Public Transportation and Well-Being (QUPTW) was evaluated for content and construct validity, criterion validity, and reliability.

Results

Findings from 918 respondents have shown that the QUPTW reports strong psychometric properties, including validity and reliability. Participants, primarily young, university-educated women residing in Greater Asunción, reported dissatisfaction with the public transportation services. Long commute times, discomfort, and poor hygiene and safety conditions are significant contributors leading to emotional distress. These findings underscore the potential impact of the inadequate public transportation systems on mental well-being, suggesting the need for policy interventions to enhance accessibility, comfort, and safety.

Conclusions

This study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the public transportation use and the emotional well-being and provides a valuable tool for further research and policy development.

The editorial to this special issue summarises the history of the three Health on the Move reports, published in 1991 by the UK Public Health Alliance, in 2011 by the Transport and Study Group and in 2024, written by the Transport and Health Science Group. The benefits of travel are the 3 As: Access, Activity, and Attractive Environments. We summarise the adverse effects as the 8 Cs: Cacophony, Carbon emissions, Community severance, Congestion, Concern, Contamination, Couch potatoes, and Crashes/casualties. There is an inequitable distribution of both the benefits and the harms. In car-based societies, the more affluent gain the benefits more easily while the more deprived, particularly the young, the old, women, those in poorer households and those from ethnic minorities. This article summarises the various ways in which transport impacts both health and inequalities, and how health can itself affect whether and how individuals can travel. We also summarise recent, relevant, systematic reviews for topics that were not included in Health on the Move 3: The reviews nor this special journal issue. This paper ends by discussing future needs in this field.

Active travel to/from school (ATS) is complex and critical to child health. Hence, the well-documented decline in ATS across the globe has become a significant public health. Informed by an overview of systematic reviews on the inter-relationships between ATS and the health of children and adolescents, this commentary addresses the following questions: Where next for research moving ahead? What to consider when putting all the knowledge available into policymaking? What is the value of evidence-based urban design participatory processes to promote ATS in healthy environments? A strength of this commentary has been its interdisciplinary nature. Working across disciplines––public health, physical education, architecture, urban planning, and urban design––led to the proposal of relevant research agendas, prospects for policymaking based on the knowledge available, and reflections on the role of urban design in promoting ATS and health.

Introduction

In the near future, traffic has to be managed in new ways to facilitate a more resilient transport system and integration of connected and autonomous vehicles and vessels. This paper presents our experiences with designing and using a serious board game as a tool for spreading knowledge and getting feedback on a concept model for future multimodal traffic management designed to handle these challenges.

Methods

Our research has been done within a design science framework, where a table-top board game was the main artefact designed and tested in several quick iterations. The relevance of the board game was evaluated through two workshops where data were collected using a digital questionnaire and through observations and audio recording of the game play sessions.

Results

One main result is the board game with game elements that can be mapped to the concept model, and a description of how the game evolved through the iterations of design and testing. This can serve as an example for others on how a board game can be developed based on a concept model. In addition, results from the questionnaire show that most of the respondents agree or strongly agree that the board game made central concepts more concrete and understandable and that it triggered good discussions, and this is also supported by the observations and recordings.

Conclusion

We conclude that a table-top board game can support the spreading of knowledge from a concept model to stakeholders in the transport domain. A board game suitable for such use can be developed using moderate resources by mapping concepts from the model to the game, using rapid iterations of prototyping and testing, and maintaining a focus on what you want the participants to learn and discuss.

Background

The use of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs, also known as drones) in logistics is evolving. However, there have been few opportunities for people to explore and understand the implications. Existing studies focus on acceptance, yet it is unclear what people are being asked to accept. Using a board game approach, this study has sought to develop ways to involve non-experts in a more informed debate about logistics drones in their local area.

Method

A qualitative approach was adopted by developing a location-based board game to help a general audience explore the use of delivery drones and capture their views. Participants explore operational parameters, including ground risk (the probability of a drone hitting a person and injuring them if it fails in flight) and energy use while playing the game, and are prompted to respond to questions embedded within the game. Three game sessions with a total of 15 participants were completed.

Results

Participants were able to explore and test complex scenarios involving different drone routings and levels of ground risk and energy use whilst building shared knowledge and evoking social learning during gameplay. Participants exchanged views in a relaxed environment and began to explore the implications of the possible future use of delivery drones. Questions embedded within the game allowed people to share their concerns about health and safety, regulation, and where they thought drones should fly. Participants were aware of their knowledge limitations, and it was evident that several misconceptions about delivery drones are emerging.

Conclusion

The board game has proved useful in involving people and capturing an in-depth understanding of their views. It is an engaging approach to involve stakeholders in the planning process, creating an artefact that can be adapted to other locations and used by other researchers and practitioners.

Background

Public transportation, particularly subway systems, is an essential component of many individuals' daily routines and may significantly influence the spread of infection.

Objective

This study evaluated the risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in subway carriages and the effectiveness of different interventions based on real travel behaviors in Beijing.

Methods

Data on nearly 58 million smartcard swipes for subway rides were collected between April 12 and 18, 2017, before the pandemic, and between February 22 and 28, 2022, during the pandemic period. These smartcard-swipe data were used to analyze changes in local travel behavior due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of infection posed by the Omicron variant, and the efficacy of diverse non-pharmaceutical interventions in subway systems.

Results

Due to the pandemic, the number of passengers in close contact (interpersonal contact within 1.5 m) on the same carriage during both rush and non-rush hours decreased by 31.9% and 43.2% respectively, compared to pre-pandemic period. The R_t value (the expected number of secondary cases infected by an index case) during the weekdays was three times that of the weekend during the pandemic week. On weekdays during the pandemic, passengers faced a markedly elevated relative risk of infection when traveling during rush hours, which constituted 92.2% of the entire day. Peak-shifting travel could reduce 55.0% of infection risk during rush hour. For the Omicron variant characterized by high infectivity, virus transmission remained uncontrollable (R_t = 1.34), even when all passengers wore surgical masks. Transmission of Omicron variant could be controlled (R_t < 1) within subway systems if over 67.5% of passengers wore N95 respirators.

Introduction

Pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods are believed to encourage greater social participation, community engagement, and sense of social inclusion, which are important to older individuals at higher risk of being socially isolated. However, most studies on neighborhood walkability, social participation and social inclusion are cross-sectional, making it difficult to robustly establish causal links. Much research on neighborhood walkability is also based in North America and Europe, leaving a knowledge gap on the impact of walkability within other geographic contexts. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirical evidence about whether benefits from traffic calming schemes are distributed equitably. To reduce these empirical gaps, our study capitalises on a ‘quasi-experiment’ to estimate the impact of an infrastructure-focused pedestrian safety program “Silver Zones' in Singapore, a highly urbanised city state in Southeast Asia with an aging population.

Methods

This study utilises panel data from a high-frequency internet-based survey of older adults that has been administered from 2015 till present. We examine how changes in older residents' residential proximity to Silver Zones relate to changes in their social and health outcomes. We also test whether the relationship between Silver Zones and older individuals' health and social participation outcomes might be moderated by age and socioeconomic class. Finally, we interpret these findings in view of participants’ perceptions of Silver Zones.

Results and conclusion

We find that the oldest participants with low SES -- a particularly vulnerable subgroup -- experienced negative changes after the opening of Silver Zones near them, as did those classified as mid SES. In contrast, our findings suggest that new Silver Zones might have a positive effect on older adults of high SES. These findings suggest that there might be inequities in the impact of pedestrian safety programs on residents' social outcomes. Additionally, while our findings were statistically significant, they also suggest that Silver Zones’ contribution to changes in participant outcomes were relatively small, which might be due to a mismatch between perceptions of Silver Zones, actual exposure, and participant outcomes. Our findings underscore the need for more outreach and publicity campaigns around pedestrian safety initiatives, as well as the importance of going beyond self-reported perceptions when assessing the success of pedestrian safety schemes like the Silver Zones.

Introduction

We use the 2022 National Household Travel Survey for the USA—the first since the peaking of the COVID-19 pandemic—to examine variations in walking rates related to differences in socioeconomic characteristics. Our analysis provides the most recent national estimates of socioeconomic variation in walking, by far the most important form of daily physical activity in the USA.

Methods

We used graphical bivariate analysis and multiple regressions to explore the relationship between each of the socioeconomic variables and the following daily walk rates: the number of walk trips, time walked, and distance walked. We also analyzed three binary variables indicating whether a person made at least one walk trip during the travel day, achieved the equivalent of 150 min of walking per week, and walked on five or more days during the previous 30 days.

Results

Higher education levels, not owning a car, not having a driver's license, not working, working from home, and high density are strongly related to higher levels of walking. We found no significant differences or mixed results for gender, age, race, and income. Because the 2022 NHTS incorporated significant changes in methodology, sample size, survey questions, and variable definitions, its estimated trip rates cannot be compared directly to the 2017 NHTS—the last survey prior to COVID. Moreover, the 2022 NHTS greatly underestimated walk trips because—unlike previous NHTS surveys—it omitted the trip diary as well as multiple prompts to remember short trips, especially walk trips.

Conclusions

The relationships we estimated between various walk rates and the nine socioeconomic variables for 2022 were generally consistent with the results of previous studies, including those examining the 2001, 2009, and 2017 NHTS. That suggests that these relationships have remained stable over time—even if absolute rates of walking have changed, as indicated by other studies.

In a changing world, not being able to simply carry on doing what we have always done and getting what we have always got gives rise to an appetite for alternative approaches. Yet an alternative approach must contend with established practice and the associated norms and sense of familiarity that surround that. This paper addresses the following question. How can an approach be designed and used to effectively engage people in a critical examination of Triple Access Planning (TAP)? TAP is an alternative approach to established transport planning. The paper sets out the rationale for, development of, and application of, a serious game. Specifically, a serious card game methodology is put forward that draws upon SWOT analysis for its core design. Its intention is to allow teams of players to become more familiar with the alternative approach in question and to critically examine and prioritise its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT in a Box methodology is applied to TAP. Results are presented from over 40 game runs. Insights from developing and applying the game suggest that the methodology is adaptable and readily transferable to other domains. The paper reveals the SWOT in a Box methodology to be an effective tool for shared learning: (i) players learn from the game; (ii) players learn from each other as they exchange experiences and views; and (iii) the game designers can learn from the players playing the game. It generates insights and empirical evidence. It is fun and it is useful.