How it works

General

SUSTANCE online tool allows users to analyse accessibility of public transport (PT) service by using the Relative Network Efficiency (RNE) indicator, in particular in terms of PT connectivity and infomobility.

The SUSTANCE tool requires input data for the analysis of PT service accessibility. The user has to specify the type of analysis and provide performance data, opportunity data and weighting factors for the 5 observed parameters, 3 connectivity parameters (P1: rapidity of the connection, P2: frequency of the connection, P3: directness of the connection) and 2 infomobility parameters (P4: availability of information types, P5: level of information integration).

The RNE indicator allows for testing of the applied measures in PT service (state before and after) and across multiple study areas.

Navigation in the tool

The SUSTANCE accessibility methodology and their application is described in SUSTANCE project deliverable “D.1.2.2 – GUIDELINES: Methodology for knowledge-based accessibility assessment of rural, peripheral, and cross-border areas”.

The SUSTANCE online tool is used in consecutive steps supported by the wizard. The wizard guides the user from welcome and data entry steps (1-5), calculation step (6) to the results/reports (7). A steps indicator is placed at the page top, indicating orange colour for the accomplished steps. The user is guided to proceed from current step to the next one by pressing “Next” button. Continuation of work at the next step is possible if the current and previous steps have been accomplished successfully. The user can always return to any of the coloured steps by clicking on the step at the top of the page.

Short guidelines for work with the tool are provided for each step

The user can prepare the input data in advance and import the data by using an Excel file template, made available for download by the tool. The user can also break the work with the tool at any step, save the data and continue next time by importing the data. By using “Import existing analysis“ button at the step 0 (Before we begin) the user is allowed to import all data as stored in the selected input Excel file in order to continue the work or start a fresh analysis. “Start new analysis” button at step 0 allows user to start working without and predefined data. The particular data, related to the step, can always be imported within that particular step itself (e.g. at “Performance” step only the performance related data are imported to the tool).

The user can save the work and all data in the tool by clicking “Save” button at any step.