Measuring and modelling the spatial accessibility of public transport stops in GIS 57Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69.DOI: 10.15201/hungeobull.65.1.5 Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 2016 (1) 57–69. Introduction In the past two decades modern geo-infor- mation technologies have visibly invaded the fi eld of transport. Their utilisation in transport processes is rather broad and complex. Good examples include, for instance, smart traffi c systems, GPS navigation, automatic control of logistic centres, etc. The purpose of their use in transport is to make transport safer, more fl uent and more eff ective. Although modern geo-information technologies are today a vir- tually indispensable component of transport management, they are still very sparingly used in transport planning (Mintsis, G. et al. 2004). This is specifi cally manifested in public transport planning where accurate geographi- cal information is oft en missing. Public trans- port is therefore oft en planned without use of these modern geo-information technologies, which may negatively aff ect their competitive position on the transport market. This article tries to point out the benefi ts of using geo-information technologies with the help of the example of measurement and modelling the accessibility of public transport stops in the geographical infor- mation systems (GIS) environment. Basic approaches to measurement and modelling the accessibility of public transport stops are introduced, and their oft en completely dif- ferent results are declared. The approaches to measurement and modelling public trans- port stop accessibility are applied to the city of České Budějovice in the Czech Republic, in the form of a case study. Two diff erent methods of stop accessibility measurement and modelling are used and their results are compared. The present article also shows the benefi ts of utilisation of geographically ac- curate information in this area. Our motivation to study this issue springs from experience in public transport plan- ning, especially in cities within the Czech Measuring and modelling the spatial accessibility of public transport stops in GIS Stanislav KRAFT1 Abstract This article introduces two basic exact approaches for evaluation of spatial accessibility of public transport stops in the geographical information systems environment. The fi rst is considered to be a simple approach contributing to the defi nition of buff ers (wrap zones) around the stops. These are based on geometrical concept and use simple euclidean distance for specifi cation of coverage of the individual city quarters. The present study works with the distance of 400 metres, which in the urban environment represents a comfortably ac- cessible walking distance of 5 minutes. The other approach (the isoline method) is already considered to be more advanced, as it is based on the sophisticated tools of geographic information systems, which are able to interconnect the existing access paths and take the individual spatial barriers into consideration. This results in a realistic image of public transport stop accessibility already fully corresponding to the real situation. This tool may not only be used for current status analysis, but also for future status prediction. The example of establishment of new stops in the city of České Budějovice, therefore, uses this instrument for determining the impact of the new stop establishment in the city centre on the city coverage. Keywords: public transport, accessibility, transport planning, GIS 1 Department of Geography, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. Jeronýmova 10, 371 15 České Budějovice, Czech Republic. E-mail: kraft @pf.jcu.cz Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69.58 Republic. These modern research methods are in fact very rarely applied in practice. On the other hand, less sophisticated procedures (approximations), which are today hardly able to fully refl ect the complex demands in transport, are relatively frequently used. The results of the present study are, there- fore, not only highly relevant for transport research but also, and above all, for practice. The application scope of the methodologi- cal procedures described here is therefore primarily seen in the conceptual planning of city transport. Spatial accessibility of pub- lic transport stops is perceived as one of the key characteristics with direct impact on the quality and utilisation of public transport in cities (see Cervero, R. 2001; Beirão, G. and Cabral, J. 2007). The structure of the article is as follows: aft er the introductory chapter there is a pres- entation of a theoretical framework of traffi c stop accessibility, public transport and mobil- ity in urban regions in general. Att ention will be focused on current approaches to these issues and their refl ections in professional literature. The following chapters will in- troduce two basic and most frequently used methods of modelling and measurement of public transport stop accessibility in urban environments. While one of them is a simple method using approximate input informa- tion, the other is an advanced and relatively highly accurate method based on analysis of precisely localised spatial information and sophisticated GIS based procedures. The analytical part of the study applies both ap- proaches to the model territory of the city of České Budějovice on a very detailed level. The fi nal part then synthesises the results into recommendations for transport planning and suggestions of further research themes. Theoretical background In recent years research focus has returned to public transport. In agreement with the fi nd- ings of Mavoa, S. et al. (2012) we can see caus- es of this increased interest in several aspects. Firstly, public transport has entered a period of renaissance in many European countries for its lower environmental burden in com- parison to automobile transport. Benefi ts of public in comparison to individual transport not only include the reduction of direct traffi c burden represented by emissions, but also more eff ective energy consumption, reduced traffi c accident rates, less traffi c congestion and lower demands on physical activity. And last but not least, public transport positively contributes to social integration (Kenyon, S. et al. 2002). Another substantial factor caus- ing the increased interest in public transport is the fact that public transport is oft en the only available transport mode for a large group of citizens, who for some reason can- not use passenger cars (see the discussion in (see the discussion in ShellerSheller, M. and , M. and UrryUrry, J. 2006, or , J. 2006, or CebolladaCebollada, , A. 2009).A. 2009). This group primarily includes the handicapped, children, seniors, etc. Due to the demographic aspect of an ageing popu- lation, especially in advanced countries, the percentage of this population group may be expected to increase (Káčerová, M. et al. 2014). Public transport is, therefore, one of the key factors aff ecting the sustainable development of mobility for this substantial part of the population. As it is also an impor- tant aspect of life quality, public transport deserves proper att ention. This is why public transport currently maintains a relatively stable position in competition with individual automobile transport aft er a considerable decrease of transport outputs in the 1980s and 1990s. In the Czech Republic, like in many other countries, the benefi ts of public transport are beginning to surface, especially in big cities and metropolitan areas. A continuous increase of city transport since the mid-1990s can be documented. Public transport in cities off ers a number of advantages, which make it competitive in relation to individual auto- mobile transport (frequent use of reserved traffi c lanes, speed, absence of problems with parking etc.). If public transport is to success- fully compete with passenger cars in cities, it clearly must off er adequate services and 59Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69. complex and fl exible reactions to traffi c de- mand. Cities and metropolitan regions gen- erate a high level of demand for transport. In addition, cities and urban systems are cur- rently characterised by considerable changes in their spatial arrangements. This is related to the onset of the post-industrial patt erns of city layouts with a typically complicated arrangement of land use in the city, develop- ment of residential and non-residential sub- urbs, outfl ow of population from city centres etc. (Burchell, R. et al. 1998; Džupinová, E. 2009; Temelová, J. et al. 2011). The formerly relatively simple concentric patt erns of trans- port relations in cities are today replaced by more complex traffi c structures. Population numbers in individual city quarters change dynamically together with the changing functions of the quarters, temporal and spa- tial mobility rhythms, etc. Current transport behaviour and trends in personal mobility are therefore quite demanding and highly individual (Popov, V. 2012). Public transport is only able to react to these changes to a lim- ited extent, which is shown by a number of studies on current population mobility and transport behaviour (e.g. Kraft, S. 2014). Accessibility of public transport has been one of the key att ributes of its quality, which indirectly aff ects its competitiveness in rela- tion to automobile transport. The advantages of automobile transport mainly lie in door-to- door transport (Ivan, I. 2010). On the general level accessibility may be characterised as the number of facilities (traffi c terminals, stops etc.) available in a certain time or within a cer- tain walking distance or for a certain charge. Pursuant to Michniak, D. (2010) accessibility comprises three relatively mutually independ- ent elements – the subject of accessibility (a per- son, a group of persons, inhabitants of a certain region), the object of accessibility (a certain oc- casion, activity or service) and the transport element realising the connection between the subject and the object of accessibility helping to cover the distance between them. In this con- text one can speak about “dual” accessibility – accessibility of localities and accessibility for a certain person or group of persons. What needs to be accessible on the level of cities and urban areas is the public transport stops expressed by walking distance from residential areas of the cities. Other forms of public transport stop accessibility (e.g. “Park and Ride”) are mainly important in big cit- ies. Residential quarters in this context rep- resent the demand for transport services, while public transport stops and their loca- tions represent the off er of transport services. For eff ective functioning of city transport it is necessary to fi nd the best possible balance between this off er and demand. Accessibility of public transport stops may, therefore, pri- marily be monitored with consideration of their distribution and locations. The aim is maximum coverage of the urban space rep- resented mainly by the permanent residents of the space. Growing relevance of public transport can also be documented by its impact in the surrounding environment. A number of studies point to a clearly direct re- lationship between the accessibility of public transport stops and the growing diff erentia- tion of land value. This is mainly visible in cities and in close proximity to main roads and railway lines (Cervero, R. and Duncan, M. 2002). Cervero and Kang, using Seoul as an example, show that measurable impact on land value may be seen in cases where a bus/tram stop is within 300 metres in the case of residential land use function, and without approximately 150 metres in the case of retail and other non-residential land use (Cervero, R. and Kang, C.D. 2011). GIS represents one of the most frequently used instruments of analysis of the complex relationship of transport stop accessibil- ity and city coverage with public transport. These systems, on the one hand, allow full use of very accurate geographical infor- mation, and on the other, creation of a so- phisticated model of predictions of future status. The environment of geographical information systems provides a number of instruments for analysis of various levels of accessibility on all hierarchical levels. Their substantial relevance, however, consists not only in analysis of the existing reality, but Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69.60 also in theoretical modelling and predictions of changes of accessibility under the infl u- ence of interventions with the current system of transport infrastructure in particular, or more generally organisation of traffi c proc- esses in the territory (Ahmed, N. and Miller, H.J. 2007). For this reason in western coun- tries GIS currently represent a standard part of transport planning and traffi c control. Methodology The methodology of measurement and mod- elling public transport stop accessibility con- sists of several sequential steps. The basic source data necessary for further analyses is represented by precisely localised information about locations of individual public transport stops, line routes, the number of inhabitants of individual houses, layout of local public and service roads, and pavements and other accesses for pedestrians, etc. Although cer- tain data was obtained from public databases, most of it had to be accumulated by in-house survey. A mobile GPS device was used to measure the precise positions of public trans- port stops in the city of České Budějovice. The data was subsequently transferred to the S- JTSK coordinate system in GIS. Data on the number of inhabitants of indi- vidual houses represents a valuable and very detailed source of fi eld information neces- sary for the calculation of territorial cover- age with public transport stops. Conversely, residents do not represent the only key at- tribute for the distribution of public transport stops. The resulting analyses, thus, do not include further important aspects of certain functions connected with daily intra-city mo- bility (schools, public institutions, healthcare facilities, shops, etc.). Despite that quantifi ca- tion of the results by means of the number of residents of individual houses represents a very substantial characteristic feature of city coverage with public transport stops, there- fore, the obtained results can be considered relevant and conclusive. Data on the number of residents of individual houses was unfor- tunately only available for the inner city of České Budějovice (without the surrounding suburban villages). Therefore, analyses of spatial accessibility could only include data related to this city exclusive of all the mu- nicipalities served by Budějovice city trans- port. We also use estimates of potential us- ers of public transport stops by quantifying the daily population (residential population plus working/studying population, tourists etc.) in specifi c cases. Although this approach is quite complicated, it clearly shows diff er- ences in use of specifi c public transport stops (especially near shopping centers far away from residential areas). The evaluation methodology of spatial ac- cessibility of public transport stops in the city of České Budějovice was developed with the help of extended Network Analyst and Spatial Analyst in ArcView 9.2 soft ware. These instru- ments allow for the sophisticated expression of spatial accessibility of city transport stops by means of the buff er method (wrap zone method) and by means of specifi cation of the isolines (method of connection of points in the same distance/travel time). The research generally confirmed that threshold values for evaluation of public transport stop accessibility in urban regions generally range within 5 minutes walking distance, which represents a distance within 400 metres (e.g. Foda, M. and Osman, A. 2010; Adebola, O. and Enosko, O. 2012). The following analyses will, therefore, work with the comfortable variant of individual stop accessibility (within 5 min or 400 m walking distance). For the sake of simplicity all buildings outside this defi ned range of public transport stop accessibility were con- sidered inaccessible. Individual results could be exactly quantifi ed through the number of residents of the individual houses. The fi rst testing method used was the simple buff er method (wrap zones). Buff ers can be defi ned as concentric circles with the centres in the individual stop points defi ned by means of euclidean distance. Therefore, application of the buff er method produced circles around individual stops within the 400 m radius. 61Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69. The major methodological limitation of the buff er specifi cation is the fact that the zones do not respect any environmental barriers (such as water works, road crossings, build- ings, etc.). The results within our micro-scale are, therefore, greatly generalised and poorly correspond to the reality. For that reason we used the other method of isolines, which may be defi ned as lines connecting points within the same spatial or temporal distance from the starting point. Advantages of the isolines include respect- ing all spatial barriers to distance coverage. This procedure may be considered more ac- curate, but logically is much more diffi cult. The methodological procedure consists of the precise connection of a network of local and service roads, networks of pavements and other pedestrian paths with public transport stops and individual buildings in the city of České Budějovice. The data layers were sub- sequently merged in ArcView 10.2 and sub- jected to accessibility analysis with the help of the “Service Area” function in the extend- ed Network Analyst. This created a variant of spatial accessibility of public transport stops bett er corresponding to the real situation. Expression of the spatial accessibility qual- ity of the stops was assessed by means of cov- erage of buildings used for permanent resi- dence by the local population. This allowed for the expression of the qualitative aspect of coverage of the area of interest with public transport stops, unlike the traditionally used coverage approximation with the help of the population density of individual city quar- ters (e.g. Murray, A.T. 2003). The extended Spatial Analyst and the “Select by location” tool helped us to express the spatial accessibil- ity of public transport stops in the comfortable (within 400 m) variant through the number of permanent residents. At the same time we defi ned localities in České Budějovice situat- ed outside the comfortable variant of spatial accessibility of the stops. These problematic localities may become a stimulus for optimisa- tion of this condition in the coming years. For bett er visualisation some of the problematic areas are shown in 3D maps. Results With a population of nearly 95,000 the city of České Budějovice is the biggest city in the South Bohemia region. The latest census revealed that more than 22,000 people ad- ditionally commute to the city every work- day for work or school. Therefore, the real city population is nearly 120,000. Another substantial fact is that the city is relatively small in size. The cadastral area of the city is a mere 55 km2. The mean population den- sity is more than 1,700 per km2. The highest population density is in the inner city and in the housing estates on the outskirts. De- spite the compact housing, recent trends of commercial and residential suburbanisation manifest themselves here as well. All of the abovementioned specifi cs indicate a high de- mand placed on public transport. The buff er method defi ned concentric cir- cles in the territory of České Budějovice with their centres in all city transport system stops (Figure 1). At fi rst sight the distribution of public transport stops across the city is rela- tively good. The stop distribution follows the locations with the highest concentrations of people, and therefore the highest demand for public transport. Due to this distribution the buff er method, thus, shows very favourable characteristics of individual building cover- age with the system of stops. Stops within walking distance of up to 400 m are avail- able to 56.9 percent of the residents within the territory. Buildings within the buff ers are inhabited by 85,919 residents. These char- acteristics reveal very convenient coverage with public transport stops as 92.1 percent of the city population can enjoy comfortable public transport accessibility. The most fa- vourable values are shown for the inner city, where the network of public transport lines and stops is the densest. In these localities the individual buff ers oft en overlap. The cover- age in the densely populated localities on the outskirts (housing estates), with high con- centrations of people in small areas, is also favourable. The demand for public transport in these localities is very concentrated, which Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69.62 Fi g. 1 . T he co ve ra ge o f t he ci ty b y pu bl ic tr an s- po rt s to ps u si ng th e bu ff e r m et ho d 63Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69. is an important factor for the off er of public transport services. On the other side, rather unfavourable coverage conditions are found at the outskirts with a lower population den- sity and in industrial zones. A diff erent view of the issue is shown in Figure 2, which demonstrates that when the buff er method is used most city residents can use a conveniently accessible public transport stop. The limit of 400 m is only exceeded in the more remote localities with lower popu- lation density. The modus of the whole set is represented by the zone of buildings 120–140 metres away from the nearest stop which, ac- cording to the buff er method, is populated by nearly 8,500 citizens. The cumulative curve shows a relatively quick increase of popula- tion in the lowest values – 50 percent of the city residents live within 180 metres from the nearest public transport stop. Despite these favourable characteristics the buff er method clearly provides overly generalised results, not considering any existing spatial barriers to public transport stop accessibility. This is shown by the more sophisticated expression of spatial acces- sibility of public transport stops by means of the advanced isoline method. Following incorporation of all these barriers the result- ing accessibility image fully corresponds to the reality. The individual accessibility zones are no longer regularly shaped, but they are plott ed with regard to the real access options including all access types (pavements, paths, subways, street crossings etc.). As shown by the drawn isolines 71,585 city residents (76.8%) live within 400 m from the nearest public transport stop with the total coverage representing 44 percent of the city area. The lower values are logically caused by the more accurate specifi cation of the accessibility zones. These are shown in Figure 3. They respect all existing spatial bar- riers. This is specifi cally manifested in the surroundings of rivers or railways represent- ing signifi cant barriers structuring the city in the north-south direction. These strong barriers may only be overcome in a couple of defi ned places, and thus, strongly infl u- ence the value of pedestrian accessibility of public transport stops in their proximity. A specifi c situation can be seen near the his- toric city centre. Although this part of the city shows a lower population density, there are important institutions situated there, such as banks, offi ces and shops, connected with the daily mobility of many of the city residents. As the public transport system by- passes the main square, their accessibility is limited. In ad- dition in České Budějovice it is still easy to park a car in the square. This is one of the examples of the missing con- cept of public transport serv- ing the city centre. Spatial distribution of res- idents with regard to their access to the nearest public transport stop is not as fa- vourable as in the previous case (Figure 4). This is again given by the more accurate calculation methodology considering the real options of access to the stop. Fig. 2. Spatial distribution of residential population to the nearest pub- lic transport stop measured by the buff er method. – A = population in selected distance zones; B = cumulated population; C = distance to the nearest public transport stop (in meters) Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69.64 Fi g. 3 . C ov er ag e of th e ci ty b y pu bl ic tr an sp or t st op s us in g th e is ol in e m et ho d 65Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69. The general conclusion of this evaluation is that the real distance of the nearest stops is longer by order of dozens or hundreds of metres than shown by the previous method. The modus of the set is represented by the zone within 300–320 metres from the nearest stop, where over 6,500 city residents live. On the other hnad, behind the monitored fron- tier of 400 metres there are more residents than in the case of the previous method. The shape of the cumulative curve is more convex, which shows that the increase of the population with increasing distance is not as steep as suggested by the previous evaluation with the buff er method. Half of the city population live within a distance of up to 280 metres from the nearest public transport stop. Quantitative comparison of the two methods of coverage calculation by means of the buff er and the isoline methods is shown in Table 1. We tried to calculate the real daily popula- tion to quantify the usage of particular public transport stops. This approach is quite com- plicated and questionable. For this reason we chose specifi c types of stops, which we con- sidered as specifi c in the transport system of the city. We tried to estimate the real number of people who can use the public transport stop (similarly Langford, M. and Higgs, G. 2006). The monitored stops were near the largest shopping centre (stop ‘Globus’); near the university campus (stop ‘Jihoceska uni- verzita’) and near to the city hospital (stop ‘U Nemocnice’). All stops are operated by the key trolleybus and bus lines. The goal of the research is to quantify the potential users of these stops. The results, thus, include the residential population, estimates of working/ studying people and number of daily visi- tors. The data were collected from accessible statistics, special statistics and also by fi eld survey realised by the author. Although these data are estimated, we consider them as re- alistic (Table 2). The results clearly show obvious diff er- ences among particular types of selected bus stops. The most important infl uencing factor is the functional structure of the aff ected area and geographical location. The greatest con- trast is by the stop ‘Globus’, which is local- ised in the north-western part of the city, far away from most residential areas. Because of low residential population density there are only 47 residents in the accessible area. According to our calculations the number of potential daily users of the shopping center is over 14,000 people. This is the unique case. The oth- er two stops are located in more densely populated ar- eas nearer to the city centre. Their residential population is higher, but their working/ studying population (uni- versity) or other daily popu- lation (hospital) is usually several times higher. We sup- pose that similar values are also typical for other types of stops (main rail and bus stations, city square, exhibi- tion grounds or cemetery). On the other hand, we think that these types of stops in Fig. 4. Spatial distribution of residential population to the nearest public transport stop measured by the isoline method. – A, B, C = see Fig. 2. Table 1. Coverage of the city using the basic structural features Method Area, km2 Buildings Inhabitants Buff er Isoline 31.29 24.37 20,489 16,446 85,919 71,585 Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69.66 the city are relatively small. The residential population is still in our opinion one of the most important features for analysing the spatial accessibility. Current development strategy of public transport in České Budějovice counts with establishment of new public transport stops by 2020. These stops should improve the ex- isting conditions and the spatial accessibility of certain localities. New stops are planned around the historic city centre, inter alia. The isoline method allows for modelling of this status and prediction of the expected changes. This, however, faces the fact that the historic city centre has a relatively low- density population. Thus, the results of the accessibility change modelling will manifest themselves less here in the quantitative ex- pression, for only a small number of people will probably move to the comfortable ac- cessibility zone. On the other hand, as men- tioned above, the city centre shows a consid- erable concentration of institutions related to the everyday mobility and activities of the citizens. It is, therefore, clear that establish- ment of new public transport stops will bring about the expected eff ects. That is why Figure 5 shows 3D visualisation of the current acces- sibility of the nearest public transport stops and model expression of the planned condi- tion aft er establishment of new stops. The accessibility evaluation was again based on the isoline method refl ecting the real acces- sibility by means of sophisticated use of the existing paths for pedestrian traffi c. Two new public transport stops in the historic city centre will add only 128 new free-standing buildings to the coverage with comfortable access, serving as a permanent residence to 142 persons (most of the newly added buildings are unoccupied). As al- ready mentioned, this change will margin- ally change the number of people living in the zone of comfortable public transport ac- cessibility. On the other hand, the new stops will cover part of the city with a signifi cant concentration of important institutions (city magistrate, banks, city pool, restaurants etc.). Despite certain criticism the newly planned stops and public transport lines to the city centre may be said to be benefi cial, making signifi cant everyday life localities newly ac- cessible to more persons having to rely on public transport. Conclusions The performed measurement and modelling of public transport stop accessibility analy- sis, taking the city of České Budějovice as an example, yielded certain results that might be generalised and used for further research. General findings include the fact that the monitored maximum distance from the near- est public transport stop correspond to 400 metres and 5-minute walking distance is the limit of acceptability, even for the studied city. The results of the intra-city space coverage survey were relatively good in both cases, with only localities with a very low popula- tion density situated behind the 400 m bound- ary. Hence the threshold of 400 m from the nearest stop may be declared suffi cient. The abovementioned accessibility evalu- ations can be summarised as follows. First, empirical assessment of spatial accessibil- ity of public transport stops in the city of České Budějovice by means of both buff er and isoline methods showed that the stop Table 2. Potential users of selected public transport stops Name of transport stop Residential* population Working/studying population** Other daily visitors** Together Globus Jihoceska univerzita U Nemocnice 47 1,689 1,373 627 1,047/5,970 2,530 13,700 750*** 2,800 14,374 9,456 6,703 *Offi cial statistical data; **Annual Reports of appropriate institutions; ***Field survey conducted by the author. 67Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69. Fig. 5. Coverage of the city centre by public transport before (upper) and aft er (lower) the implementation of new public transport lines and stops Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69.68 layout and coverage were both very good. The evaluations found that most of the city residents lived within a 400 m distance from the nearest public transport stop, thus, enjoy- ing comfortable access to the public trans- port lines. Both methods pointed out that the best coverage and public transport ac- cessibility were enjoyed by the inner city and the densely populated housing estates at the outskirts. On the other hand, relatively worse characteristics were shown by the scarcely populated localities, usually also at the out- skirts. This specifi cally points out worse stop accessibility in localities with new housing developments, to which public transport only reacts with a delay (sometimes aft er the residents have already got used to everyday travel by car). Second, the comparison of the two applied methods clearly shows that the buff er method provides very optimistic val- ues which are unrealistic in detailed expres- sion. This is because the buff er method does not respect any spatial limitations (barriers), which oft en exist in space. Thus, the more realistic view of public transport stop acces- sibility is provided by the isoline method, which fully respects these barriers. The main indicator of the city coverage with public transport stops, with regard to their accessibility used by this research, was the data on the number of people living in the individual houses. This is a key source of information conveniently usable for the purpose of this evaluation. The number of residents represents the main att ribute for decision-making about locations of individ- ual public transport stops within the munici- pal system. With the help of this indicator, which is exactly geographically localised, it is possible to eff ectively assess the level of the city coverage with public transport stops and their accessibility zones. As this accessibil- ity is currently more or less saturated in the city, potential establishment of new stops will not considerably change this status. On the other hand, the article points out that when assessing city coverage with public transport stops it is necessary to consider the presence of other functions of the aff ected municipal localities – commercial, service, work etc. – which, however, are harder to quantify. The example of establishment of new pub- lic transport stops in the centre of the city of České Budějovice was used to show that while quantitative city coverage with the stops would only provide minimal change, accessibility of key institutions located in the historic city centre would improve signifi - cantly. For eff ective municipal public trans- port system accessibility of these localities in the city is as important as accessibility of the residential areas. This approach represents a modern view of the issue of accessibility of public transport stops in cities. Its advantages include very accurate and effective measurements and modelling of stop accessibility, which should primarily be used in transport planning. Stop accessibility is one of the key aspects aff ect- ing the competitiveness of public transport in cities. The main methodological issue is acces- sibility of precisely located data sources. For realistic measurements and modelling of stop accessibility it is necessary to possess infor- mation (data layers) about the distribution of residential population, the network of public transport lines, stops, pavements and other communication means for pedestrians etc. Nevertheless, this information has recently be- come a common part of web map services and digitalised data sources of various administra- tive institutions (O’sullivan, D. et al. 2000). This is the main potential of the studied issue and the presented evaluation approaches. Acknowledgement: The article was elaborated within the framework of the research grant project “Spatial Dynamics of Transport Relationships in the Sett lement System of the Czech Republic”, reg. No. 404/12/1035 sponsored by the Czech Science Foundation. 69Kraft , S. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (1) 57–69. REFERENCES Adebola, O. and Enosko, O. 2012. Analysis of Bus- stops locations using Geographic Information Systems in Ibadan North L.G.A. Nigeria. Industrial Engineering Lett ers 2. (3): 20–37. Ahmed, N. and Miller, H.J. 2007. Time-space transfor- mations of geographic space for exploring, analyz- ing and visualizing transportation systems. Journal of Transport Geography 15. (1): 2–17. htt p://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2005.11.004 Beirão, G. and Cabral, J. 2007. Understanding att i- tudes towards public transport and private car: A qualitative study. Transport Policy 14. (6): 478-489. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2007.04.009 Burchell, R., Shad, N., Listokin, D. and Phillips, H. 1998. The Costs of Sprawl - Revisited. TCRP report 39. 49 p. Cebollada, A. 2009. Mobility and labour market exclusion in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Journal of Transport Geography 17. (3): 226–233. htt p:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2008.07.009 Cervero, R. 2001. Walk-and-ride: factors infl uenc- ing pedestrian access to transit. Journal of Public Transportation 3. (4): 1–23. Cervero, R. and Duncan, M. (2002) Transit’s Value- Added Eff ects: Light and Commuter Rail Services and Commercial Land Values. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1805. 8–15. htt p://dx.doi.org/ 10.3141/1805-02 Cervero, R. and Kang, C.D. 2011. Bus rapid transit impacts on land uses and land values in Seoul, Korea. Transport Policy 18. (1): 102–116. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2010.06.005 Džupinová, E. 2009. Bývanie a sociálna polarizácia (príklad Bratislavy). Geographia Cassoviensis 3. (2): 55–59. Foda, M. and Osman, A. 2010. Using GIS for Measuring Transit Stop Accessibility Considering Actual Pedestrian Road Network. Journal of Public Transportation 13. (4): 23–40. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1.1.399.1467 Ivan, I. 2010. Docházka na zastávku a její vliv na do- jížďku do zaměstnání. Geografi e 115. (4): 393–412. Káčerová, M., Ondačková, J. and Mládek, J. 2014. Time- space differences of population ageing in Europe. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 63. (2): 177–199. htt p:// dx.doi.org/10.15201/hungeobull.63.2.4 Kenyon, S., Lyons, G. and Rafferty, J. 2002. Transport and social exclusion: Investigating the possibility of promoting inclusion through virtual mobility. Journal of Transport Geography 10. (3): 207–219. htt p:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0966-6923(02)00012-1 Kraft, S. 2014. Daily spatial mobility and transport behaviour in the Czech Republic: Pilot study in the Písek and Bystřice nad Pernštejnem regions. Human Geographies – Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography 8. (2): 51–67. htt p://dx.doi. org/10.5719/hgeo.2014.82.51 Langford, M. and Higgs, G. 2006.: Measuring Potential Access to Primary Healthcare Services: The Infl uence of Alternative Spatial Representations of Population. The Professional Geographer 58. (3): 294–306. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467- 9272.2006.00569.x Mavoa, S., Witten, K., Mccreanor, T. and O’sullivan, D. 2012. GIS based destination accessibility via pub- lic transit and walking in Auckland, New Zealand. Journal of Transport Geography 20. (1): 15–22. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2011.10.001 Michniak, D. 2010. Accessibility of selected boundary regions in Slovakia. Europa XXI 20. 161–173. Mintsis, G., Basbas, S., Papaioannou, P., Taxiltaris, C. and Tziavos, I.N. 2004. Applications of GPS technology in the land transportation system. New Technologies in Transportation Systems 152. (2): 399–409. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0377- 2217(03)00032-8 Murray, A.T. 2003. A Coverage Model for Improving Public Transit System Accessibility and Expanding Access. Annals of Operations Research 123. (1–4): 143– 156. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1026123329433 O’sullivan, D., Morrison, A. and Shearer, J. 2000. Using desktop GIS for the investigation of acces- sibility by public transport: an isochrone approach. International Journal of Geographical Information Science 14. (1): 85–104. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1 36588100240976 Popov, V. 2012. The culture of new mobility in Russia: Networks and flows formation. Mobilities 7. (1): 151–169. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2 012.631816 Sheller, M. and Urry, J. 2006. The new mobilities paradigm. Environment and Planning A 38. (2): 207–226. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a37268 Temelová, J., Novák, J., Ouředníček, M. and Puldová, P. 2011. Housing Estates aft er Socialism: Various Trajectories and Inner Diff erentiation. Urban Studies 48. (9): 1811–1834. htt p://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00420 98010379279 << /ASCII85EncodePages false /AllowTransparency false /AutoPositionEPSFiles true /AutoRotatePages /None /Binding /Left /CalGrayProfile (Dot Gain 20%) /CalRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CalCMYKProfile (U.S. Web Coated \050SWOP\051 v2) /sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CannotEmbedFontPolicy /Error /CompatibilityLevel 1.3 /CompressObjects /Tags /CompressPages true /ConvertImagesToIndexed true /PassThroughJPEGImages true /CreateJobTicket false /DefaultRenderingIntent /Default /DetectBlends true /DetectCurves 0.0000 /ColorConversionStrategy /LeaveColorUnchanged /DoThumbnails false /EmbedAllFonts true /EmbedOpenType false /ParseICCProfilesInComments true /EmbedJobOptions true /DSCReportingLevel 0 /EmitDSCWarnings false /EndPage -1 /ImageMemory 1048576 /LockDistillerParams false /MaxSubsetPct 100 /Optimize false /OPM 1 /ParseDSCComments true /ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true /PreserveCopyPage true /PreserveDICMYKValues true /PreserveEPSInfo true /PreserveFlatness true /PreserveHalftoneInfo false /PreserveOPIComments true /PreserveOverprintSettings true /StartPage 1 /SubsetFonts true /TransferFunctionInfo /Apply /UCRandBGInfo /Preserve /UsePrologue false /ColorSettingsFile () /AlwaysEmbed [ true ] /NeverEmbed [ true ] /AntiAliasColorImages false /CropColorImages true /ColorImageMinResolution 300 /ColorImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleColorImages true /ColorImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /ColorImageResolution 300 /ColorImageDepth -1 /ColorImageMinDownsampleDepth 1 /ColorImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeColorImages true /ColorImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterColorImages true /ColorImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /ColorACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /ColorImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000ColorImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasGrayImages false /CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 300 /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages true /GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /GrayImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000GrayImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasMonoImages false /CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 1200 /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true /MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 1200 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict << /K -1 >> /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None ] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile (None) /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier () /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped /False /CreateJDFFile false /Description << /ARA /BGR /CHS /CHT /CZE /DAN /DEU /ESP /ETI /FRA /GRE /HEB /HRV (Za stvaranje Adobe PDF dokumenata najpogodnijih za visokokvalitetni ispis prije tiskanja koristite ove postavke. Stvoreni PDF dokumenti mogu se otvoriti Acrobat i Adobe Reader 5.0 i kasnijim verzijama.) /ITA /JPN /KOR /LTH /LVI /NLD (Gebruik deze instellingen om Adobe PDF-documenten te maken die zijn geoptimaliseerd voor prepress-afdrukken van hoge kwaliteit. De gemaakte PDF-documenten kunnen worden geopend met Acrobat en Adobe Reader 5.0 en hoger.) /NOR /POL /PTB /RUM /RUS /SKY /SLV /SUO /SVE /TUR /UKR /ENU (Use these settings to create Adobe PDF documents best suited for high-quality prepress printing. Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Reader 5.0 and later.) /HUN >> /Namespace [ (Adobe) (Common) (1.0) ] /OtherNamespaces [ << /AsReaderSpreads false /CropImagesToFrames true /ErrorControl /WarnAndContinue /FlattenerIgnoreSpreadOverrides false /IncludeGuidesGrids false /IncludeNonPrinting false /IncludeSlug false /Namespace [ (Adobe) (InDesign) (4.0) ] /OmitPlacedBitmaps false /OmitPlacedEPS false /OmitPlacedPDF false /SimulateOverprint /Legacy >> << /AddBleedMarks false /AddColorBars false /AddCropMarks false /AddPageInfo false /AddRegMarks false /ConvertColors /ConvertToCMYK /DestinationProfileName () /DestinationProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK /Downsample16BitImages true /FlattenerPreset << /PresetSelector /MediumResolution >> /FormElements false /GenerateStructure false /IncludeBookmarks false /IncludeHyperlinks false /IncludeInteractive false /IncludeLayers false /IncludeProfiles false /MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings /Namespace [ (Adobe) (CreativeSuite) (2.0) ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK /PreserveEditing true /UntaggedCMYKHandling /LeaveUntagged /UntaggedRGBHandling /UseDocumentProfile /UseDocumentBleed false >> ] >> setdistillerparams << /HWResolution [2400 2400] /PageSize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice