Ranking of Russian cities on the quality of public transport

Starting from 2020, SIMETRA has been issuing a " Ranking of Russian cities on the quality of public transport". The purpose of this work is to attract attention to the problems of public transport in the country and stimulate its development, as well as the exchange of experience between cities.

The research is conducted in collaboration with the Administrations of the Russian cities based on open data and geospatial analysis. A specially developed methodology includes a set of multiple indicators, which are used to form a summary assessment of the quality of public transport services.

The quality of transport services is assessed according to five groups of indicators, which are the basis of the overall ranking of cities.

Affordability characterizes the quality of service through the prism of the financial capacity of potential passengers. The key measure of comparison in this group is the socially justified fare (SJF), which is the cost of a single ticket calculated on the basis of the population's weighted average income per capita. The SJF is determined on the assumption of a maximum permissible public transport spending of no more than 7% of personal income and 52 trips per month by public transport, which is set as the norm in the monthly consumer basket. This indicator may not be optimal, but it is set out in the regulatory framework of the Russian Federation, which makes it a benchmark for further calculations.

Affordability

This group includes indicators describing the proximity of stops to residential areas and places of attraction. This analysis shows how quickly a potential passenger can get to the nearest stop and to their destination.

Physical accessibility

This block includes public transport system parameters that are directly related to the process of transporting passengers within the vehicle. The bulk of the indicators included in this group directly or indirectly assess one of the most important components of transport service quality: speed of travel.

Transport network efficiency

This group is represented by the largest number of parameters. These include the fare system and transport card functionality, transport system information services, the image component, and, of course, fleet characteristics. These are the many 'big details' that make a transport system externally appealing.

Comfort and Convenience

Security and sustainable development

This group includes indicators characterizing the potential risks of using public transport for the passenger. There are also indicators related to the environmental situation in the city (the state of electric transport), which at the same time guarantees the sustainable development of the area through the availability of alternative transport modes and existing opportunities for their rapid expansion and, if necessary, conversion to mainline modes. In addition, we have included in this category a rating formed on the basis of public opinion. The residents' psychological perception of the quality of transport services can fundamentally influence the further development of the transport system from the perspective of redistributing passenger flows between public and individual transport.