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An Analysis of the Integration of DRT Services with Local Public Transport in Post-pandemic Period: Some of the Preliminary Insights in the Italian Context

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Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2022 Workshops (ICCSA 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13380))

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Abstract

Italy was one of the first country in Europe which was severely affected by COVID-19 pandemic. Several critical issues emerged during the different pandemic phases, especially in the health and mobility sector. Restrictions on public transport reduced the supply of transport, highlighting the need to rethink complementary transport systems. Since May 2020, in the post-lockdown phase, the provision of local public transport has been based on ordinary services, such as bus services, which are mainly intended to meet the needs of systematic travel between the places of residence and work on main development routes of the territory. These services have undergone reductions both in the on-board capacity and in some cases the complete elimination of transit routes. The rebalancing in favour of sustainable modes of transport and the reduction of the share of road mobility is pursued through the encouragement of ad-hoc measures aimed at balancing-off the supply-demand mechanism and improving the quality of services. The application of an on-demand responsive transit system has the ability to improve the transit needs in order to reach the places where personal or family services are provided or to enjoy the resources distributed within desired territory. In Italy since March 2020, new areas of weak demand for transport have been created, i.e. areas with a certain number of users that need to be transferred to and from places that have generally never had access to public transport or have had it restricted. The Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) system is, therefore, used in both urban and suburban areas, allowing even those who do not have their own means of transport (for example, disadvantaged social categories or users with a short stay in the area) or who are suitably equipped (people with reduced or no motor skills), to move around in areas easily. The present work focuses on an analysis of the current state of affairs, starting from the literature and regulations concerning the diffusion of the DRT systems in Italy, and offers some ideas for the optimisation of an integrated public transport service.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the MIUR (Ministry of Education, Universities, and Research [Italy]) through a project entitled WEAKI TRANSIT: WEAK-demand areas Innovative TRANsport Shared services for Italian Towns (Project code: 20174ARRHT/CUP Code: E44I17000050001), financed under the PRIN 2017 (Research Projects of National Relevance) program. We authorize the MIUR to reproduce and distribute reprints for governmental purposes, notwithstanding any copyright notations thereon. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the MIUR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Enna Kore, 94100, Enna, Italy

    Tiziana Campisi, Antonino Canale & Giovanni Tesoriere

  2. University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan

    Nazam Ali

  3. Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Cittadella Universitaria, 95125, Catania, Italy

    Matteo Ignaccolo & Elena Cocuzza

Authors
  1. Tiziana Campisi
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  2. Antonino Canale
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  3. Giovanni Tesoriere
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  4. Nazam Ali
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  5. Matteo Ignaccolo
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  6. Elena Cocuzza
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Tiziana Campisi or Elena Cocuzza .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Osvaldo Gervasi

  2. University of Basilicata, Potenza, Potenza, Italy

    Beniamino Murgante

  3. Østfold University College, Halden, Norway

    Sanjay Misra

  4. University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Ana Maria A. C. Rocha

  5. University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Chiara Garau

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Campisi, T., Canale, A., Tesoriere, G., Ali, N., Ignaccolo, M., Cocuzza, E. (2022). An Analysis of the Integration of DRT Services with Local Public Transport in Post-pandemic Period: Some of the Preliminary Insights in the Italian Context. In: Gervasi, O., Murgante, B., Misra, S., Rocha, A.M.A.C., Garau, C. (eds) Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2022 Workshops. ICCSA 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13380. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10542-5_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10542-5_34

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