Oxford University researcher wins ITF 2019 Award

Oxford University’s Dr. Rafael H. M. Pereira has won the International Transport Forum’s (ITF) 2019 Young Researcher of the Year Award.
May 28, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Pereira - part of the University’s transport studies unit and Brazil’s Institute for Applied Economic Research – was honoured at the 2019 Summit of Transport Ministers in Leipzig, Germany.

His winning paper investigated the impact of Rio de Janeiro’s TransBrasil bus project on the accessibility and employment opportunities for different income groups in the Brazilian city.

TransBrasil is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor which currently links Rio’s Deodoro and North region with the city centre.

The full implementation of the proposed 32km corridor is expected to improve access for up to 58% of the city population and is expected to increase accessibility to jobs by 11%.

ITF says Pereira’s findings show that well-integrated public transport can deliver accessibility gains for lower-income groups and reduce inequalities in access to opportunities.

Based on 2010 Brazilian census data, Pereira identified the number of formal jobs accessible to different income demographics in Rio via public transport and walking within 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes of travel. He found that the BRT’s impact on accessibility changes depending on how this travel time threshold is set. With journeys of 90 and 120 minutes, the TransBrasil BRT would deliver much smaller accessibility gains. But at 30 or 60 minutes, the accessibility gain for users would be larger.

According to the findings, the travel time thresholds also affect social equity, as the distribution of accessibility improvements is different across income levels. With lower travel time thresholds of 30 or 60 minutes, users from low-income groups would benefit more from better access. In case of higher travel time thresholds, accessibility gains would be more even across the different income groups.

Young Tae Kim Secretary-General of the ITF says Pereira’s “detailed analysis shows in a nuanced manner how choosing a travel time threshold has important implications for transport equity analysis”.

Classification & Data Collection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Ford Mobility: analytics aids transport proactivity
    April 2, 2020
    Ford Mobility has demonstrated how data analytics can help implement London's transport strategy in areas such as traffic re-timing and in eliminating all road fatalities (Vision Zero) by 2041.
    Read More
  • Shortlist for 2011 Transport Achievement Award
    May 16, 2012
    The International Transport Forum at the OECD, an intergovernmental organisation for the transport sector that comprises 52 countries, has announced the projects shortlisted for its 2011 Transport Achievement Award. These awards honour transport projects that have demonstrated excellence in meeting the transport needs of their clients and 'put people first'. It is awarded by the International Transport Forum at the OECD in conjunction with the European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Cu
    Read More
  • British Columbia's highway corridors show it’s good to share
    June 6, 2025
    The Canadian province is advocating harmony along its major roads, setting aside major funding for projects to allow vehicles and other modes to operate safely side by side, reports David Arminas
    Read More
  • London needs just one road user charge, says report
    July 8, 2019
    London’s patchwork of road charging schemes should be replaced by a single, distance-based user charge, according to new research. Apart from anything else, it would be much fairer… The UK capital’s multiple road charging schemes require a radical overhaul, according to a new report by the Centre for London thinktank. The suggested solution is to replace existing levies on drivers with a single, distance-based user charge which would more fairly reflect how much, and at what time, people are using London
    Read More

Highlighted Content