Public Transportation

The United States defines the term “public transportation” in the US Federal Transit Act, 49 U.S. Code § 5302 (a) (10), as transportation by a conveyance that provides regular and continuing general or special transportation to the public, but does not include school bus, charter, sightseeing, or intercity bus transportation or intercity passenger rail transportation provided by such entity as Amtrak or its successor, described in 49 U.S. Code Chapter 243. The ROC Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) defines the “public transportation” in the Act of Encouraging Public Transportation Development, Article 2, as “the common transportation with fixed routes, schedules, terminals, and fare rates, and providing passenger travelling service.” The public transportation enterprises governed by the Act include the public or private enterprises established in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and which provide domestic passenger travelling service such as:

(1) Urban Bus Carriers; (2) Highway Bus Carriers; (3) Railway Transport Industry; (4) Mass Rapid Transit; (5) Shipping Carriers; (6) Ferry carriers; and (7) Civil Air Transport Enterprises. Due to author’s personal work experiences and invited experts’

knowledge, this research will focus on the air and land-based public transportation systems for discussion.

According to the above definitions, public transportation is a shared and open

passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public and has the following characteristics: (1) shared and open to the general public, (2) fixed routes or navigation lines, (3) fixed schedules or timetables, (4) passenger terminals, (5) fare-based rates.

2.1.1. Land-based Public Transportation

Land-based public transportation system refers to those transport modes running on land or underground which can also be divided into two categories: one for traveling by rail, such as mass rapid transit system (MRT), high-speed rail and conventional rail; and the others for traveling by road, such as buses or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Taxicabs, carpooling and hired buses are excluded because they are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.

High-speed rail is a new type of rail transport that travels much faster than traditional rail traffic. Defined in the Section 26105 of US Federal Code Title 49 Transportation and the Article 2 of ROC Railway Operational Regulation, high-speed rail refers to trains that travel on special tracks at over 200 km/h. The European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1, uses a broader definition to encompass a large number of systems under the name of high speed. It defines high-speed rail as a set of three elements with following criteria: (1) infrastructure: track built specially for high-speed travel or specially upgraded for high-speed travel; (2) speed limit: a minimum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) on lines specially built for high speed and 200 km/h (124 mph) on existing lines which have been specially upgraded. This must apply to at least one section of the line. Rolling stock must have a maximum speed of at least 200 km/h to be considered high speed; (3) operating conditions: rolling stock must be designed alongside its infrastructure for complete compatibility, safety and quality of service.

The high-speed rail development was first initiated in Germany in 1899 (Sastrasinh, 2000) and has currently been in operation in more than 20 countries while there are more than 24 countries are under construction or development. The major High-speed rail operated countries worldwide are listed below:

Table 1: Current Major High-speed Rail Operating Countries.

Country First Operation Year Max Operating Speed

Japan 1964 320km/hr

Taiwan 2007 300km/hr

France 1981 320km/hr

China 2003 350km/hr

Belgium 1997 300km/hr

Germany 1899 300km/hr

Italy 1938 300km/hr

South Korea 2004 300km/hr

United Kingdom 1976 300km/hr

U.S.A 2001 240km/hr

Source: International Union of Railways (UIC), 2013.

High-speed rail is probably one of the greatest forms of transportation ever invented on land by delivering fast and efficient mobility to the people every day. The advantages of high-speed rails are becoming clear since they even force airlines to suspend flight services among major cities (Guo, 2011). However, its great speed could also mean disaster to the public given the several significant tragic accidents being happened around the world which deserves further attention for its safety prevention.

2.1.2. Air Transportation

It has always been human’s dream to fly over the sky. Since the first full-size

man-carrying flying model was successfully tested in the 19th century and the Wright brothers made their first successful flight in 1903, humans have seen the fast development of aircraft. Then the first scheduled airline flight was conducted in 1914.

The golden age of aviation had arrived and civil aviation became popular. However, a series of mid-air collisions and crashes had sparked the public attention and underlined the need for more regulation of the aviation industry (US Department of Transportation, 2008).

Given its complexity and purpose of flight, aviation is no longer conducted by one person alone. The composition of the crew may include the pilots in the cockpit, commanded by flight captain, and extend to the flight attendants and engineers onboard. From broader sense, it may also include the flight dispatchers, aviation controllers, and maintenance personnel on the ground. Therefore, it becomes more and more important to bring these different groups of personnel together to make sure the aviation is conducted in a safe and efficient manner.

2.1.3. Sea Transportation

Sea Transportation is also one mode of public transportation. It usually refers to any type of item being transported over a body of water aboard a boat, ship, or other vessel. Sea transportation has been the largest carrier of freight in the history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has been decreasing due to the development of aviation, it is still a popular means for commerce, short trips and pleasure cruises.

Furthermore, transport by water is cheaper than transport by air, and it can be through any distance over oceans and lakes or along rivers (Weintrit & Neumann, 2013).

More complex than air transportation in the composition of crew, sea transportation takes more personnel to operate the ships to make them function

efficiently. According to International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended, and related maritime laws, a modern commercial ship’s crew can generally be divided into four main categories: the deck department, the engineering department, the steward’s department, and others. Therefore, the crew’s training, certification, and management are important subjects to keep them together and function as a team.

2.1.4 Security and Safety Concerns for Public Transportations

Public transportation has now become the most convenient and economical way to travel between the cities and even around the world. It moves large amount of people around every day and becomes an important part of people’s daily life, and also a major component of the economy (Polzin, 2002). However, the operation of public transportation is so complex that its safety and security is a big concern for a nation.

Though the majority of modern public transportation systems is well designed and has lower accident rates, some occasional highly publicized accidents or incidents can draw widespread concerns. Concerns for personal safety and security of systems may normally affect many people’s decision to use public transportation. Various factors contribute to this excessive fear, including the nature of public transit travel, heavy media coverage of transportation-related crashes and incidents, and conventional traffic safety messages which emphasize danger rather than safety (Litman, 2014).

Due to the frequency of use by the public and the amount of people involved, any form of public transportation accident may have a huge impact on the lives of victims and their families. How to respond to the nature disasters and those unexpected events to ensure safety for all passengers under emergency situation has become critical and should be considered seriously.