Public transport accessibility overview
Summary of indicator
| Indicator Name | Public transport accessibility |
| Indicator Type | Core |
| User Outcome | Transport choice |
Objective
To measure the level of interaction between land use and transport services in terms of how well people are served by public transport.
Application guidance
Providing sustainable transport systems is a key indicator of sustainable cities and communities. Sustainable modes – walking, cycling and public transport – serve people of all ages, and frequent and reliable public transport services, access to public transport stops, and seamless interchanges can help to make sustainable modes the easy and natural choice for all.
This indicator will support practitioners to understand the level of connectivity of a place to public transport. Based on the outcome of the assessment, practitioners can determine the Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL), which can enable better planning and allocation of limited financial resources to public transport infrastructure to service citizens, especially in high density areas.
Practitioners can use the Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) metric to measure the frequency and reliability of public transport services at the mesh block level.
Metric
Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL)
Related indicators
 | Access and Connection Walking paths |
 | Amenity and Use |
 | Comfort and Safety |
Recommendation
PTAL can be employed for the following purposes:
- To identify land uses that may gain benefits from transport enhancements
- To assess the likely impacts of plans on places for new routes, stations or roads
- To identify the most suitable locations for medical and other services, so that people can access them easily
- To understand what parts of city are suitable for developing more houses and offices
- To recommend whether different locations need different level of car parking provision.
Metric in detail
Map
References
- TfNSW, PTAL – Technical Documentation – Data Acquisition to ArcGIS Reporting, Version 0.5 (unpublished document) (2018)
- Pitot, M., Yigitcanlar, T., Sipe, N. and Evans, R., Land Use & Public Transport Accessibility Index (LUPTAI) Tool - The development and pilot application of LUPTAI for the Gold Coast, ATRF06 Forum Papers (2006)