ABSTRACT
Interest is growing in the first and last mile (1LM) of the public transport trip as an important component of the journey experience. The public transport trip is inherently multi-modal, and the access or egress portion is often the weakest link that limits overall public transport use. As the majority of 1LM journeys happen on foot, they are also important for environmental and health reasons. Yet public transport operators and city authorities find it challenging to deal with the 1LM in a coherent and integrated way. One reason for this is the absence of tools for measuring, monitoring, and managing the quality of the 1LM environment in the context of the public transport system. Significant amounts of research exist on individual modes, such as on walkability and feeder buses, but these do not deal with the multi-modal and diverse nature of the 1LM environment.
Technological innovation is likely to change the 1LM offering significantly in coming years. The chapter briefly reviews the issues and factors that have been found to affect 1LM quality and to drive access/egress mode choice. It then presents a framework for the integrated measurement of the quality of the 1LM environment, with an illustrative application for the Gautrain rail system in South Africa. Last, future research needs are highlighted.
