How physical, modal, fare integrations can help to reduce the private vehicle usage
A Multi-Modal Transport System refers to a single trip that involves a combination of modes, such as vehicle modes or service modes, that the traveler must move between. It is a notion that has been evolving for almost as long as public transportation has existed.
Illustration of Multimodal Transit
Source: First and Last Mile concept (Source: WRI India Source center)
Every individual travels every day by bus, car or train or by metro, etc., but interchanging between different modes in a single trip is called multi-modal transportation. For many years the concept was just a model in the books and the transit agencies believed it was not possible to integrate the services of different modes and agencies.
Passengers can move seamlessly between transit systems to reach their ultimate destinations without pausing to pay at each stage of their route. Everything is integrated into a seamless public transit system, so passengers can simply get in and out.
Successful integration between modes will likely increase the catchment area and subsequent use of public transportation, the efficiency of public transportation by reducing the necessity of feeder bus services, and the overall demand for bicycling (Mineta, 2011).
Types of multi-modal integration
From image 1, integrations are of 5 types, in which each of the types plays equal importance in a multi-modal integration process.
Main components of a multi-modal integration
Institutional Integration
Public transportation consists of many elements like land use plans, development plans and master plans, road network, public transport, and its related infrastructure, fare structure of public transport, intelligent transport system mechanism, etc.,
Each of these agencies, who are in charge of functioning, generally works independently without a coordinated plan. There exists no umbrella agency that monitors and integrates these multiple bodies in order to ensure the smooth functioning of all aspects related to urban transport in any city.
Hence, Institutional integration refers to the creation of an organizational framework within which joint planning, implementation, and operation of transit services can be carried out.
Physical integration
Physical integration is the deployment of shared transportation infrastructures and equipment to ensure seamless mobility. Seamless Mobility is the ability for users to remain connected while roaming across different transport networks i.e. mass rapid transit, city bus system, feeder services, non-motorized transport, and private modes.(Moud, 2011).
Operational Integration
The coordination of routes, services, schedules, and frequencies between the various lines and modes of the system is referred to as operational integration. In general, every transit system has its own route fixtures, and schedules are made according to their suitability. Operational integration helps to integrate the schedules and timings of these systems to minimize the resources and increase the efficiency of the transit systems.
Fare and information integrations
Regardless of the mode utilized, fare integration refers to the payment of a single fare or reduced charges for bundled services (transfers) throughout the entire system. It also entails the application of technology and the establishment of a unified payment system. Nowadays, many technological innovations have come up and made the fare payment system a one-tap solution.
Information technology has advanced so much that everything will be available under a single umbrella.
Benefits of Multimodal Integration
Cities all around the world have adopted diverse approaches to building multi-modal networks that combine classic modes of mass transit such as subways and buses with newer innovations such as ride-sharing from businesses like Uber and Lyft and bike-sharing.
Of course, the goal is to provide integrated services that allow people and visitors to travel in cities in a convenient, efficient, and economical manner.
One of the important gaps that multimodal networks try to fill in the “first and last mile” connectivity. Commuters travel daily for several purposes and if the appropriate connection is not available to the main travel mode, then they will opt for a personalized vehicle or others.
Traveling is a necessity to everyone, but reaching their destination as quickly as possible and with less cost will be the first priority to the commuters. A multi-modal network exactly works on the same principle, by reducing the amount of time to travel by removing their waiting times, so that commuters can reach their destinations quickly and with utmost comfort.
Multimodal networks help to reduce the modal share and which can help to reduce traffic congestions.
Safety is one of the main benefits that multimodal networks provide. Young people are too young to ride a vehicle with safety and old people, who don’t want to ride a vehicle, or people with disabilities can reduce the cost of owning a personal vehicle.
Most importantly, multi-modal integration can help to conserve resources, which helps to reduce carbon emissions.
Examples of MMI in the USA
Mobility Payment Integration (MPI) Program
The Mobility Payment Integration (MPI) Program researches and demonstrates integrated payment technologies in multimodal settings to support the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) priorities in income equity, racial equality, environmental sustainability, and accessibility (FTA).
Mobility Payment integration concept
Source: FTA Report
On January 19, 2021, FTA announced that 37 projects in 35 states and one territory will receive a share of approximately $15.8 million in funding. Out of those 37 projects, 15 payment integration-related projects were selected under the Public Transportation COVID-19 Research Demonstration Grant (COVID-19) Program.
Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority
The Federal Transit Administration and the Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) signed a Cooperative Agreement in 2004 to develop and test a Multi-Modal Trip Planning System. Its system covers 7,200 route miles in the 6-county region that includes the greater Chicago metropolitan area and covers a population of more than 8 million.
Their main objective is to provide
Door-to-door travel options, with transit treated as a single system regardless of how many agencies provide service for a given trip.
Includes at least transit, driving, walking (e.g., walking to transit), and multi-modal travel (e.g., driving to transit) as options, but may also include options for bicycling, carpooling, intercity bus/rail transportation, or other modes.
Uses historical or real-time data/information on travel times to enable travel choices throughout the metropolitan region based on typical or real-time transit and driving travel conditions.
Uses historical or real-time driving data/information to recommend a route for an auto trip and to compute the estimated travel time
After seven years of operations, the organization has surpassed its targets and witnessed a positive ridership through multi-modal integration. Users can view the systems of three different transit agencies as a single, unified system using the program.
Users who were previously intimidated or discouraged from using public transportation due to difficult bus/rail transfers or disjointed route maps and schedules may now feel more confident in doing so.
How it impacted the society
The majority of people use private automobiles to get to work and to complete day-to-day tasks all around the world. However, the majority of commuting trips are made in single-occupant vehicles. According to a recent survey, “single-occupant trips account for roughly 77%of all commuter trips in the United States”.
Single occupancy trips seem to be more preferable, and it comes with a cost of longer traffic congestions.
Congestion costs the United States around $121 billion each year, or 1% of GDP, including 5.5 billion hours of lost time due to traffic and an additional 2.9 billion gallons of gasoline burned. This not only wastes human time but also creates a slew of environmental and health risks, such as air pollution from automobile emissions and a slew of other major health consequences.
Interestingly, people started to realize the consequences and made a shift to ride-sharing platforms. Recently, in the last 5 years, the ride-sharing platform has shown a huge shift in the curve.
The below figure depicts how the mobility modes vary within the public in the USA. Refer below for definitions of each term.
Source: Disruptive Transportation: The Adoption, Utilization, and Impacts of Ride-Hailing in the United States
Transit and ride-hail: people who use transit in the ways described above, and who have downloaded and used a ride-hailing app.
Ride-hail only: people who have downloaded and used a ride-hailing app, and who do not use transit regularly for common trip-generating activities.
Neither: people who do not use transit regularly and who have not used a ride-hailing app. For the most part, these are car-centric respondents.
Here there is a huge portion of people who are not using any of the modes and using their personal vehicles. Hence, there is a huge scope to attract these portions back into an integrated system to reduce the modal share in the country.
Integration of public transit and mobility-on-demand services could be a great way to retain the general people interested in taking public transportation, while also reducing the negative externalities of driving.
Conclusion
Multimodal mobility not only assists agencies in addressing today’s difficulties, but it may also increase ridership by instilling consumers with appealing, handy new options. In many parts of the United States, the transition to multimodal mobility for public transportation is already well advanced.
Multi-modal transportation will become the only realistic option as cities grow and technology improves. Multi-modal solutions will enable us to move the greatest number of people in the most effective manner possible by using big data and combining existing modes of transportation.















