Ahmed EL-GENEIDY
Biographical note
Ahmed El-Geneidy is an Associate Professor at School of Urban Planning, McGill University. His research interests include land use and transportation planning, transit operations and planning, travel behavior analysis concentrating on the use of motorized and non-motorized modes of transportation, and measurements of accessibility and mobility in urban contexts. Ahmed has a special interest in measuring and understanding the transportation needs of the disadvantaged populations.
Ahmed is currently serving on the board of the new planning authority of Montreal Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM). He is currently serving as an editor for the Journal of Transport and Land use. He is also serving as a board member of the World Society on Transport and Land Use Research (WSTLUR) (2011 – 2013). He is a member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Public Transportation Planning and Development, AP025 (2011 – 2014; 2014 – 2017) and Public Transportation Marketing and Fare Policy, AP030 (2012 – 2015).
Presentation: All-door-boarding, a strategy that can make a difference in public transit operations: A Montreal case study
Transit agencies often focus on developing strategies aimed at reducing travel time to increase passengers’ satisfaction. One strategy used by transit agencies to reduce passenger activity time, and accordingly travel times, is the implementation of all-door boarding – a service allowing transit users to board and alight vehicles through any door. The present study uses data collected in Montreal, Canada, to assess the impacts of an all-door boarding pilot project from two points of view: (1) operationally through passenger activity time, and (2) by assessing passenger satisfaction. Operationally, the results reveal that when compared to a similar bus route that does not allow all-door boarding, the all-door boarding strategy shows a savings of five percent in passenger activity time at regular stops, while time savings at high passenger activity stops such as metro stations experienced time savings of around 19 percent. Thus, savings are maximized at stops with high passenger demand. Additionally, with regard to user perceptions, the results reveal that passengers who use the all-door boarding service are more satisfied with bus service, particularly with on time performance. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that all-door boarding is an effective strategy to improve the quality of service due to the associated time savings and increased customer satisfaction. Finally, the study offers important recommendations to transit planners and policy makers to effectively implement and maximize the benefits of an all-door boarding policy based on statistical analysis and on-site observations.
