Rethinking models and policies for first and last mile travel – connecting rural areas beyond city boundaries in Leicestershire

Overview

Relative to metropolitan areas, suburban and rural communities are largely ignored in transport planning, especially in relation to technological advancements and their integration into multimodal transport. Yet these areas also face considerable challenges which mean that old models and methods may no longer prove useful in meeting the needs of communities in these areas. Further, the post-pandemic period has seen an increase in counter-urbanisation, with an increase in suburban/rural populations. At the same time, new housing developments are springing up across the UK, many in suburban/rural areas, expanding suburban areas into rural areas. However, amenities, such as electric charging stations, are far fewer than in urban areas. Such developments as well as challenges have led to an urgent need to rethink transport system provisions in suburban and rural areas more holistically and sustainably.

This PhD project aims to understand local community transport needs and preferences for newer technologies (e-scooters and e-rickshaws, etc.) to traditional modes (cars, on-demand taxis, public transport), especially in the context of first and last mile (or short) trips in rural and suburban areas of Greater Leicester.

With support from Go Travel Solutions (Community Supervisor) and Leicester City Council housing developments, the project will work with local communities across Greater Leicester to understand the potential of micromobility and existing public/local community transport to meet the needs of these communities and support greater connectivity with the wider metropolitan areas. Additionally, machine learning models will be used to produce planning models for potential e-scooter/e-rickshaw stations (docking and charging). Findings from this project will contribute to evidence-based, community driven policy recommendations for more effective local transport

planning that could supplement existing public transport, reduce car dependency for short trips, and contribute towards addressing issues of inequality and social and economic isolation in suburban and rural areas.

This project has been co-created and is supported by researchers from Loughborough University, the De Montfort University and partners at Go Travel Solutions. The successful candidate for this project will be enrolled at Loughborough University.

Project Aims:

The aims of this study are to:

1. To develop discrete outcome models for eliciting suburban and rural residents' determinants for first and last mile travel - How to capture individual preferences to estimate willingness to pay and elasticities for different mode of first and last mile transport mode?

2. To integrate machine learning with discrete outcome models for predicting infrastructure placements of park-and-ride and e-scooter/e-rickshaw station placement in suburban and rural areas - Which machine learning model can be integrated with discrete outcome models for optimal placement of infrastructures like park-and-ride and e-scooter/e-rickshaw?

3. To devise policies for prioritising multimodal transport planning for suburban and rural areas - How micromobility models can be integrated with public transport?

What is Collaboratory?

Collaboratory is a new research programme, led by Universities for Nottingham and the Leicester Universities Partnership, that places community knowledge and experience at the heart of research. This eight-year initiative is pioneering a new approach to collaboration, working closely with local communities and community-focused organisations to develop and deliver research that aligns with the needs and priorities of local communities.

Supervisor 1: Dr Yasir Ali (Loughborough University)

Supervisor 2: Dr Lipika Deka (De Montfort University)

Supervisor 3: Prof Marcus Enoch (Loughborough University)

Supervisor 4: Ian Murdey (Go Travel Solutions)