Evaluación de la accesibilidad del transporte público en la parroquia Buenavista

Abstract

This study focused on the evaluation of public transportation accessibility in the Buenavista parish, Pasaje canton, El Oro province, with the aim of determining the accessibility index using indicators such as service frequency, waiting time, walking time and distance, and the location of bus stops. The locations evaluated were each of the formal bus stops in the parish. To carry out the research, a mixed research approach was adopted, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative part focused on variables such as service frequency, waiting time, and distance traveled, while the qualitative part explored the population's perceptions regarding accessibility and bus stops. A documentary methodology was used to gather background information on transportation in the parish, and a field methodology was applied through surveys of residents and observation sheets. Two methods were used to measure accessibility: PTAL (Public Transport Accessibility Level) and the Zapata method. According to PTAL, the parish has a low index of 2.02, indicating poor accessibility, with stop 4 being the least accessible (1.75) and stop 2 the most accessible (2.31), although still insufficient. In contrast, the Zapata method revealed an average of 20.50 minutes, with stop 2 being the most accessible (17.50 minutes) and stop 4 the least accessible (23.75 minutes). Although the index from the Zapata method is relatively better, both methods show that public transportation accessibility in the parish remains limited and requires improvements for a more efficient and accessible service.