Transactions on Transport Sciences

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):3  

The papers published in this special issue of Transactions on Transport Sciences were selected from submissions to the Smart Cities Symposium Prague 2025 (SCSP). This year marks the 11th edition of the symposium, which has grown into an important platform for exchanging views between people from academia, municipalities, and technology companies (https://akce.fd.cvut.cz/en/scsp2025). What I appreciate most about SCSP is that it’s not just about presenting solutions - it’s about sharing perspectives and having real discussions about what the term smart city should actually mean.

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):4-9 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.005  

The combined use of public transportation and car-sharing in the urban environment can provide a competitive alternative to private transportation. Public transportation, particularly the rapid rail network, provides quick access to the downtown while car-sharing services offer flexibility and convenience in the outer districts. Combined journeys can combine the benefits of both transportation modes, especially if transfers between them can be managed smoothly. We defined the Travel Chain Indicator to evaluate travel chains in terms of travel time and cost. To select the optimal transfer point, we used the TOPSIS method, which allows for ranking the...

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):10-15 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.011  

This contribution discusses the issue of approaching safety issues for newly introduced autonomous rail vehicle operation systems with the GoA3/GoA4 automation level. In particular, the paper discusses the issue of normative requirements for establishing and demonstrating safety requirements that are in place today for railway systems. The paper seeks to define the minimum criteria or processes that should be met and demonstrated in order for autonomous train operation to be accepted as sufficiently safe for commercial operation.

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):16-22 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.006  

The paper focuses on the practical application of procedures for the design and creation of a complex system of data quality rules in transportation domain. The aim of the research was to verify the feasibility of implementing all relevant practices of the data governance concept for the specific needs of transportation data and to present possible ways of quality evaluation of these data. The paper describes the proposed requirements, tools and methodology for developing a complex approach to data governance and data quality evaluations. The functionality and benefits of the proposed procedures and their real implementation have been verified by applying...

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):23-31 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.007  

The FRAME (FRamework Architecture Made for Europe) methodology enables consistent deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) services across various transport domains, cities and networks in Europe. This paper details the development and enhancement of a comprehensive National Access Point Reference Architecture (NRA) using the FRAME methodology. The reference architecture serves as a blueprint for new NAP implementations and identifies standards for existing NAPs, fostering secure and private data exchange, trust, and interoperability. The NRA, developed in the NAPCORE project, in the dedicated task led and contributed to by the authors...

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):32-36 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.008  

Abstract: Designing efficient and competitive public transport services in urban areas requires a balance between service quality, accessibility, and operational efficiency. While tra- ditional planning methods primarily optimize for travel time and coverage, this paper introduces the Passenger-Weighted Route Deviation Ratio (PWRDR) as a novel parameter to evaluate the quality of transit routes. The PWRDR quantifies the extent to which a public transport line deviates from its direct path to serve additional areas, balancing accessibility and efficiency. This parameter considers the relationship between deviation length, travel time impact, population...

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):37-43 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.009  

To increase the share of shared mobility, understanding the general characteristics of active users and, moreover, the characteristics of non-users is essential. In this paper, we aimed to reveal the correlation between travel habits, general personal characteristics, and the use of shared mobility services, such as scooter-sharing, bike-sharing, and car-sharing. The data from a representative online survey were used; the respondents are citizens of Budapest, Hungary, and have a driver's license. We found that the active users are mainly from the younger generation with higher educational levels and higher incomes. Most users have subscriptions for...

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):44-48 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.010  

This paper reports on the initial phase of research into automated traffic conflict resolution for suburban railway operations. It defines railway traffic conflicts, categorising types such as catch-up, crossing, and proximity, and establishes optimisation criteria focused on punctuality, efficiency, safety, and passenger satisfaction. Promising machine learning approaches are reviewed, including supervised learning for conflict prediction, reinforcement learning for adaptive resolution, and unsupervised methods for identifying conflict-prone scenarios. The study concludes by proposing a simulation framework for empirical evaluation, providing a foundation...

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2025, 16(3):49-53 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.012  

The increasing complexity of urban mobility and infrastructure maintenance in smart cities necessitates the development of enhanced training methodologies for utility vehicle operators. This paper analyzes contemporary simulation techniques used in operator training, emphasizing the role of virtual reality (VR) in improving design evaluation, ergonomics assessment, and operator performance. We introduce a framework for integrating VR into the design evaluation process for next-generation utility vehicles within an immersive simulation environment. The presented approach incorporates objective metrics such as head and hand tracking and motion analysis,...

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2024.023  

In this article, our goal is to analyse a small but growing movement of community bike workshops or 'bike kitchens' in Australia. Bicycles are reliable forms of 'active' travel for short and moderate length journeys, in an age where carbon emissions must be reduced and reuse, recycling and refurbishment of everyday objects like bicycles are increasingly identified as key elements of sustainability transitions in western countries. A community bike workshop is a not-for-profit community-based organization formed around the restoration and maintenance of bicycles. From interviews, surveys and participant-observation over several years in Australia and...

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2024.024  

This study explores the carpooling potential among university students considering the various incentives, discounts, motives, and barriers. A questionnaire was designed and conducted with the students of Sohar University, Oman. The analysis of collected 250 samples showed that more than 60% of the students were willing to accept carpooling considering the various benefits and incentives. The ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences in interest in carpooling according to multiple segments of students based on age, marital status, vehicle ownership, driving a car, and study major. Factor analysis yielded four factors of encouraging variables...

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X  

Lane-changing behavior can significantly affect many aspects of traffic flow including capacity, shock waves, and safety. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the determinants behind lane change behavior. This paper investigates the determinants of lane-changing in congested traffic using video-recording as well as a survey approach. A mixed logit model was estimated to account for unobserved heterogeneity in lane-changing behavior across drivers. Estimation results show that all categories of explanatory variables including socioeconomic, driving style, and road environment have a significant effect on lane changing behavior. Besides, unobserved...

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X  

Treatment of high accident concentration areas plays a crucial role in safety improvement. This paper presents a detailed case study on data-driven identification, analysis, improvement, and benefit-cost evaluation of a selected black spot in Karachi, Pakistan. The black spots were identified based on the accident data collected from 2007 to 2015 at the Road Traffic Injury Research & Prevention Center (RTIRPC). Road safety audits and on-spot accident investigations were conducted to investigate the contributing factors. The black spot under consideration is a bridge passing over an interchange in the southern part of the city near the coastline....

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X  

This study aims to investigate the attitudes and sentiments of transportation service users in Greece towards seaplanes and to assess seaplanes’ qualitative, economic, and environmental advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional ships and airplanes. The findings of this research are crucial for both businesses and the government. Companies can develop effective marketing strategies to promote seaplanes as a viable transportation option, while the government can make informed decisions based on the findings. By using structured questionnaires and conducting exploratory factor analysis, three key factors were identified, explaining 59.22%...

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X  

Purpose. Road traffic accidents (RTA) still are a major problem that causes health problems or death. However, it is difficult to study RTA since relatively small amount of them happen. For this reason, researchers turn to near-miss traffic accidents as construct that can be related to RTAs. Though near-miss traffic accidents are included in research, evidence about reliability and validity of measurement instruments are still lacking. Due to that this study aim - to examine near-miss traffic accidents scale psychometric characteristics. Method. This research involved two different age (young and middle-aged drivers and older drivers) drivers’...

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X  

Urban congestion and air pollution are persistent challenges in developing countries, often driven by high private vehicle dependency. While Transportation Demand Management (TDM) policies aim to mitigate these issues, restrictive measures such as driving bans frequently fail to gain public acceptance. Using the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory, this paper investigates the factors affecting the acceptance of restrictive TDM regulations in Tehran, Iran. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to assess the impact of environmental awareness and cultural values on individuals’ transportation choices. The study utilized Structural Equation Modeling...

Transactions on Transport Sciences X:X | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2025.016  

The Quality-of-Service (QoS) criteria for public transport are not consistently met for all passengers, particularly vulnerable groups such as women, older adults, and people with disabilities. Women frequently travel for caregiving, carry heavy items, and travel with children, underscoring the need for improved accessibility conditions and customer care. Additionally, they face risks of assault and harassment, particularly in overcrowded environments, which have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older public transport users prioritize safety, accessibility, and comfort, with key concerns including easy access, comfortable seating, and little...