Global aging has raised increasing concerns on the health and well-being of older adults. Public transport is a viable option to improve the mobility and quality of life among older adults. However, policies that promote the public transport use among older adults are rare. This study utilizes the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) decision tree to explore the non-linear associations of the built and social environment with bus use among older adults in China. The bus use of older adults was obtained from the Zhongshan Household Travel Survey (ZHTS) in 2012. Results show that non-linear relationships exist among all built environment and social environment characteristics. Within certain thresholds, the percentage of green space land use, land use mixture, bus-stop density, and dwelling unit density are positively related to bus use among older adults. Likewise, one social environment variable, the proportion of older adults in a neighborhood, is the key social environment variable. Furthermore, the dwelling unit density and proportion of older adults appear to have an inverse U-shaped relationship. Additionally, age, ownership of motorcycles, and distance from home to the nearest bus stop also show non-linearity. The findings presented in this paper facilitate effective planning interventions to promote bus use among older adults.

Urban transportation issues continue to emerge and evolve as a result of rapid urbanization, and the systematic and scientific assessment of urban mobility is becoming increasingly essential. In this work, a Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model with 25 indicators was established to reflect the status of urban mobility. Then, the importance of indicators was determined with the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IVIF-AHP) method, and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method was applied to assess the overall status of urban mobility. The validity of the proposed model was demonstrated using the mobility system of Beijing as a case study, and the pressure, state, and response scores were calculated. The proposed assessment model can help to improve urban transportation monitoring and can also provide a scientific foundation for future urban transportation policymaking, planning, and traffic management, thereby further ensuring the sustainable development of urban transportation systems.

The health and welfare of older adults have raised increasing attention due to global aging. Cycling is a physical activity and mode of transportation to enhance the mobility and quality of life among older adults. Nevertheless, the planning strategies to promote cycling among older adults are underutilized. Therefore, this paper describes the nonlinear associations of the built environment with cycling frequency among older adults. The data were collected from the Zhongshan Household Travel Survey (ZHTS) in 2012. The modeling approach was the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model. The findings demonstrated that nonlinear relationships exist among all the selected built environment attributes. Within specific intervals, the population density, the land-use mixture, the distance from home to the nearest bus stop, and the distance from home to CBD are positively correlated to the cycling among older adults. Additionally, an inverse “U”-shaped relationship appears in the percentage of green space land use among all land uses. Moreover, the intersection density is inversely related to the cycling frequency among older adults. These findings provide nuanced and appropriate guidance for establishing age-friendly neighborhoods.

Vehicle–road cooperative technology applies wireless communication and a new generation of internet technology to urban traffic management, providing an effective way to solve urban traffic congestion and improve traffic efficiency. This article researches the vehicle wireless positioning fusion algorithm, suitable for the actual vehicle–road collaborative environment, which is an important step of urban traffic congestion state recognition. First, based on the error correction of existing wireless positioning algorithms, a weighting indicator considering distance and positioning compound errors is designed, and a vehicle wireless positioning fusion algorithm based on error weighting to eliminate line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) error is proposed. Secondly, the wireless positioning fusion algorithm is verified based on accuracy evaluation indicators such as root mean square error (RMSE), Cramer Rao lower bound (CRLB), geometric differentiation of precision (GDOP), and cumulative distribution probability (CDP), and the sensitivity of the distance propagation model parameters to the positioning error is analyzed. The verification results show that the local vehicle wireless positioning fusion algorithm proposed in this article could be useful to locate vehicles in an actual vehicle–road collaborative environment. The positioning accuracy could reach 46.31 m with 67% probability, while the positioning accuracy could reach 122.53 m with 95% probability. The average positioning accuracy could reach 39.97 m. Compared with the two types of wireless positioning methods based on ranging and non-ranging methods, the positioning accuracy is improved by 7.74% and 17.69%. The algorithm can either use the roadside base stations to carry out the individual vehicle positioning or cooperate with GPS positioning and trilateral positioning to make up for the positioning blind spots caused by the lack of signal, interference, or base station overload in the urban complex road environment and, furthermore, improves the robustness of vehicle positioning. The results could assist in all-day real-time traffic congestion state recognition and other actual scenarios.

A proper public transportation system should be economically efficient to improve its sustainability and competitiveness. The superfluous provision of conventional bus services in areas with a weak or scattered travel demand distribution might result in a waste of transport capacity. This study proposes an operation plan optimization model based on the characteristics and cost composition of conventional and customized bus services, which systematically analyzes the feasibility of fully or partially replacing conventional bus services with customized bus services. A mixed-integer planning model and a hybrid genetic algorithm are used to optimize the operation plan for specific travel demands and supply capacities. Then, a sensitivity analysis of key factors is carried out to identify the optimal operation mode under different circumstances. The results show that with an optimized fleet size, service frequency, and service area, integrated operation modes can reduce operating costs without sacrificing the passenger time.

Cycling is a form of active transport that can improve the level of health among the elderly population. However, little is known about the environmental correlates of bicycle use among older adults. This study investigated the relationship between the built and social environment and the gender differences in cycling frequency among older urban adults in China. The data were derived from a household travel survey in 2012 and covered thirty-three urban neighborhoods in Zhongshan. The results suggest that denser intersections are negatively related to cycling trips among both older men and women. Reverse associations for either gender, however, are observed between the average income in a neighborhood and cycling frequency. For older women, living far from a bus stop is positively correlated to an increase in daily cycling trips. For older men, social environment, including the proportions of employed or elderly people in a neighborhood, is significantly associated with cycling activity. The findings facilitate the understanding of the gender gap in cycling activity among older urban adults, and help towards designing effective planning strategies as health interventions.