Development of a Method to Evaluate Ease of Intermodal Transfer between Rail and Bus Services Considering the Characteristics of a Station's Surroundings

This research aims to establish a method for evaluating the convenience of rail to bus transfer routes, focusing on physical and structural characteristics. An online survey was conducted to obtain passenger opinion about rail to bus transfer convenience. With the data obtained, a model was developed to evaluate the convenience in making such transfers, in order to quantify the effect of physical characteristics of transfer routes on such an evaluation. Besides horizontal walking distances, use of stairs, features outside stations, including safety concerns and bus stop structures, were also considered. The developed models were then applied to a sample case to demonstrate how transfer convenience can be evaluated in practice.