This document presents research on estimating residential public transport trip generation rates in Melbourne, Australia. It finds that public transport trip generation rates were higher in inner and middle Melbourne compared to outer Melbourne. The rates for apartments and townhouses were not necessarily higher than detached houses. Case studies of hypothetical apartment developments show that developments with good public transport access can generate a significant number of public transport trips comparable to private vehicle trips. The research concludes by recommending the inclusion of public transport trip generation rates in traffic impact assessment guidelines.

1. Estimating residential public transport trip
generation rates
Jihyung Kim – Integrated Transport Planning, WSP
Alexa Delbosc, Chris De Gruyter – Monash University

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— Lack of consideration for measuring public transport is an issue in
Australian traffic impact assessment guidelines.
— Public transport trip generation rates in inner and middle Melbourne
were higher than outer Melbourne.
— The rates for apartments and townhouses were not necessarily higher
than detached houses.
— Developments with good provision of public transport services can
generate a significant amount of public transport trips, comparable
to the trips generated by vehicles.
Current traffic impact assessment guidelines in
Australia

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• Estimate residential trip generation rates fur bus, tram and
train in Melbourne
Research aim

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1. Data used
2. Determination of Melbourne’s home-based public transport
trips
3. AM and PM peak trips
4. Categorisation of trips by location and housing type
Methodology

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— Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity (VISTA09)
— Survey conducted between 2009-2010 financial years
— Survey areas: Melbourne Statistical Divisions (MSD) & Regional cities
— Data overview:
1. Data used
Household location Number of households Number of individual
trips data
Inner Melbourne 1,236 8,653
Middle Melbourne 5,535 40,938
Outer Melbourne 4,138 30,765
Entire Melbourne 10,909 80,356
Table 1: Sample size households and individual trips data categorised by location (Source: VISTA09)

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1. The residence of the person taking the trip must be located within the
MSD.
2. Either the trip’s origin or destination must be home.
 If the origin of the trip is home:
2. Determination of Melbourne’s home-based
public transport trips
Figure 1: Examples of home-based public transport trips from the origin perspective

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 If the origin of the trip is home:
2. Determination of Melbourne’s home-based
public transport trips
Figure 2: Examples of home-based public transport trips from the destination perspective

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— AM peak trips:
 If the origin of the trip is home, the start time must be within
7am-9am
 If the destination of the trip is home, the arrival time must be within
7am–9am
— PM peak trips:
 If the origin of the trip is home, the start time must be within
4pm-6pm
 If the destination of the trip is home, the arrival time must be within
4pm–6pm
3. AM and PM peak trips

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4. Categorisation of trips by location and housing
type
Figure 3: Inner, middle and outer Melbourne categorised based on the Local Government
Areas (LGAs)

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Results (AM peak)
Separate house Terrace/townhouse Flat or apartment
<400m bus 0.01 0.01 0.01
>400m bus 0.01 0.00 0.00
<400m train 0.09 0.11 0.09
400-800m train 0.06 0.03 0.05
>800m train 0.01 0.01 0.01
<400m tram 0.04 0.06 0.06
>400m tram 0.00 0.00 0.01
Total 0.23 0.22 0.23
Table 2: Weekday AM peak residential public transport trip generation rates for inner Melbourne in
trips per household
Separate house Terrace/townhouse Flat or apartment
<400m bus 0.02 0.01 0.02
>400m bus 0.01 0.01 0.01
<400m train 0.06 0.05 0.10
400-800m train 0.04 0.03 0.09
>800m train 0.01 0.01 0.01
<400m tram 0.04 0.05 0.05
>400m tram 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 0.18 0.16 0.28
Table 4: Weekday AM peak residential public transport trip generation rates for middle Melbourne in
trips per household
Separate house Terrace/townhouse Flat or apartment
<400m bus 0.01 0.01 0.01
>400m bus 0.01 0.03 0.00
<400m train 0.04 0.17 0.05
400-800m train 0.02 0.03 0.05
>800m train 0.00 0.00 0.01
<400m tram - - -
>400m tram 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 0.08 0.24 0.11
Table 3: Weekday AM peak residential public transport trip generation rates for outer Melbourne in
trips per household

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— Bus <400m (0.01 trips per household)
— Tram <400m (0.06 trips per household)
— Train <800m (0.05 trips per household)
Case Study 1: Apartment development in inner
Melbourne (200 households)
Mode of transport Trip generation rate
(trips per household)
Number of weekday
AM peak trips
Bus 0.01 2
Tram 0.06 12
Train 0.05 10
Public transport total 0.12 24
Private vehicle 0.19 38
Table 5: Number of weekday AM peak trips (by mode) generated by an inner Melbourne apartment
development with 200 households

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— Bus >400m (0.01 trips per household)
— Tram <400m (0.05 trips per household)
— Train >800m (0.01 trips per household)
Case Study 2: Apartment development in middle
Melbourne (40 households)
Mode of transport Trip generation rate
(trips per household)
Number of weekday
AM peak trips
Bus 0.01 1
Tram 0.05 2
Train 0.01 1
Public transport total 0.07 4
Private vehicle 0.19 8
Table 6: Number of weekday AM peak trips (by mode) generated by a middle Melbourne
apartment development with 40 households

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— Bus <400m (0.01 trips per household)
— Train <400m (0.05 trips per household)
Case Study 3: Apartment development in outer
Melbourne (24 households)
Mode of transport Trip generation rate
(trips per household)
Number of weekday
AM peak trips
Bus 0.01 1
Train 0.05 1
Public transport total 0.06 2
Private vehicle 0.19 5
Table 7: Number of weekday AM peak trips (by mode) generated by an outer Melbourne apartment
development with 24 households

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— Lack of consideration for measuring public transport is an issue in
Australian traffic impact assessment guidelines.
— Public transport trip generation rates in inner and middle Melbourne
were higher than outer Melbourne.
— The rates for apartments and townhouses were not necessarily higher
than detached houses.
— Developments with good provision of public transport services can
generate a significant amount of public transport trips, comparable
to the trips generated by vehicles.
Conclusion

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— Several limitations:
 VISTA09 survey was undertaken many years ago.
 Public transport use varies considerably within each of inner, middle
and outer Melbourne.
 However, further dividing the main regions into smaller areas would
the sample size.
— Potential area of future research is to calculate trip generation rates
for other land uses, such as offices or schools.
— To capture the full impact of developments of the transport network,
inclusion of public transport trip generation rates in traffic impact
assessment guidelines is recommended.
Conclusion

16. Thank you
Questions?