THE IMPACT OF URBAN TRANSPORT MODERNIZATION ON MOBILITY: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH
THE IMPACT OF URBAN TRANSPORT MODERNIZATION ON MOBILITY: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH

Summary/Abstract: The modernisation of public transport systems constitutes a critical lever in the optimisation of urban mobility and in enhancing the performance of transport services within the jurisdiction of a local administrative authority. The present study analyses the impact of modernisation on urban mobility through a dual quantitative approach, conducted both ex ante and ex post the implementation of technical and operational interventions. The modernisation process included fleet renewal, optimisation of service headways, implementation of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), improvement of timetable reliability, and enhancement of comfort and accessibility indicators.To quantify changes in user perceptions, a multidimensional model grounded in Item Response Theory (IRT) was applied to data collected across two successive survey waves. IRT enables the estimation of latent parameters associated with perceived service performance (operational quality, attractiveness, and comparative utility vis-à-vis private car use), thereby providing a robust framework for analysing perceptual variations generated by modernisation. Subsequently, the latent IRT scores were incorporated into a user classification model based on mobility typologies (public transport-dependent mobility, multimodal mobility, and car-centric mobility), assessing the transition probabilities between categories in the ex-ante–ex post interval.The results indicate a statistically significant increase in the perceived attractiveness of public transport and a reduction in psychological resistance to modal shift, leading to measurable redistributions in the structure of urban mobility. The study demonstrates the utility of integrating psychometric methods within an evaluation framework and provides a solid empirical foundation for planning and assessing modernisation interventions in the context of sustainable mobility.

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