1180 | 323 | High-speed rail stations’ integration in rural areas: evaluation of Demand Responsive Transport for tourism purposes. | Carlos Tejero, Amparo Moyano and Santos Sánchez-Cambronero
Tourism is identified as a source of economic dynamism for the territories, creating added value and synergies with other economic activities. Tourism activities usually take place in urban environments, which typically count with multiple mobility option. However, although rural areas have high tourism potential related to their cultural and natural heritage, they usually have reduced mobility options for tourists to arrive at their final destinations and, in most cases, they are limited to private vehicle. _x000D_
In this context, high-speed rail (HSR) systems could be nowadays a more sustainable main alternative that increase accessibility levels of these rural territories. In addition, some studies highlighted significant effects of HSR on mobility patterns from important international destinations to other smaller cities in the country, mainly for short/same-day visits. The integration of the HSR station in local transport systems is key for connecting rural areas and expanding the stations’ catchment areas beyond urban environment. The historic role of conventional train station as gates of the city could be now claimed by HSR stations. However, to achieve this goal, demand-responsive-transport (DRT) system, combined or not with fixed public transport routes, could provide a flexible and more sustainable transport alternative to address the typically low demands, adapting to the needs of each journey in different environments and creating combined networks for tourists and locals._x000D_
This research will evaluate the efficiency of DRTs for servicing rural areas, especially for connecting high-speed rail stations as potential gateways for tourists visiting these territories. The methods proposed are based on the optimization of the Vehicle Routing Problem integrated in a GIS environment and applied to specific case studies. The results will help policy makers to implement optimal DRTs solutions, extending influences of HSR stations in rural territories. _x000D_
Carlos Tejero, Amparo Moyano and Santos Sánchez-Cambronero
University of Castilla-La Mancha
ID Abstract: 323