The Impact of Centrality in Public Transport Networks

  • András Munkácsy főosztályvezető, tudományos főmunkatárs, Közlekedéstudományi Intézet, Közlekedésfejlesztési Főosztály
  • Ola Qasseer szenior kutató, tudományos segédmunkatárs, Közlekedéstudományi Intézet, Közlekedésfejlesztési Főosztály PhD-hallgató, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, Földtudományi Doktori Iskola
Keywords: public transport network, centrality, accessibility, urban spatial structure, Budapest

Abstract

Transport networks play a key role in the development of urban areas, influencing their importance and structure. In this study, we assessed centrality in Budapest by examining the public transport network. We  analysed network centrality indicators using closeness, betweenness, straightness, and degree centrality. By  combining the indicators, we identified areas with high centrality and potential future centers. For a broader structural perspective, we also calculated the average centrality levels for each district. From a methodological perspective, this research provides a new approach applicable to any city. In the context of Budapest, it offers practical results for urban planning and mobility development.

References

U., Rydningen, R. C., Høynes, L. W., Kolltveit (2019) ‘OSLO 2019: A CAR-FREE CITY CENTRE’, presented at the Sustainable Development and Planning IX, Bristol, UK, Jun. 2017, 3–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2495/SDP170011

C., Macharis, I., Keseru (2018) Rethinking mobility for a human city, Transport Reviews, 38(3), 275–278, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2018.1423612

X., Dou, M., Jian, C., Guo, J., Cao (2023) Estimation of the aggregation degree of public transport use among elderly people based on urban built environment. Journal of Transport Geography, 112, 103707, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103707

G., Giuliano, K. A., Small (1993) Is the Journey to Work Explained by Urban Structure?, Urban Studies, 30(9), 1485–1500,

W., Alonso (1964) Location and Land Use: Toward a General Theory of Land Rent. Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674730854

V. V., Natalia, D., Heinrichs (2019) How to Define Urban Centres: Concepts Overview and Propose Indicators, Transportation Research Procedia, 41, 150–154, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2019.09.027

J., Malczewski (2009) Central Place Theory, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, R., Kitchin, N., Thrift, Eds., Elsevier, 26–30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008044910-4.01042-7

C., Alexander (1965) A City is not a Tree.

M. J., Holian (2019) Where is the City’s Center? Five Measures of Central Location, Cityscape, 21(2), 213–226,

M., Kii, A., Peungnumsai, V., Vichiensan, H., Miyazaki (2019) Effect of Public Transport Network on Urban Core and the Future Perspective in Bangkok, Thailand, 2019 First International Conference on Smart Technology & Urban Development (STUD), IEEE, 1–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/STUD49732.2019.9018769

J.-P., Rodrigue (2020) The Geography of Transport Systems, 5th ed. Routledge, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429346323

F. L., Néchet (2012) Urban spatial structure, daily mobility and energy consumption: a study of 34 European cities, Cybergeo, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/cybergeo.24966

Z., Neal (2011) Differentiating Centrality and Power in the World City Network, Urban Studies, 48(13), 2733–2748, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098010388954

S., Rahma, P. O. Z., Tamin, Z. F., Saraswati, M. Z., Ibad (2021) Urban Network in Sumatra Island, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 830(1), 012091, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/830/1/012091

S., Porta, E., Strano, V., Iacoviello, R., Messora, V., Latora, A., Cardillo, F., Wang, S., Scellato (2009) Street Centrality and Densities of Retail and Services in Bologna, Italy, Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 36(3), 450–465, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/B34098

E., Miranda, J. B., e Silva, A. R., da Costa (2020) Emergence and Structure of Urban Centralities in a Medium-Sized Historic City, SAGE Open, 10(3), 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020930002

J., Gutierrez (2009) Transport and Accessibility, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (vol11), N., Castree, M., Crang, M., Domosh, Eds., Elsevier, 410–417. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008044910-4.01030-0

Budapest Főváros Önkormányzata, BKK Budapesti Közlekedési Központ, Balázs Mór Plan: Budapest Mobility Plan - Volume 1: Objectives and Measures. 2019. URL: https://bkk.hu/downloads/6386/DlQmVC-98kefRmUWLj4SQQ==

B., Bakó, Z., Berezvai, P., Isztin, K. M., Nagy (2022) The effect of public transport disruption on bicycle usage. Evidence from a natural experiment in Budapest, Acta Oeconomica, 72(1), 123–135, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/032.2022.00007

A., Jaber, L. A., Baker, B., Csonka, (2022) The Influence of Public Transportation Stops on Bike-Sharing Destination Trips: Spatial Analysis of Budapest City, Future Transportation, 2(3), 688–697, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/futuretransp2030038

B., Hussain, M. M., Zefreh, A., Torok (2018) Designing the Appropriate Data Collection Method for Public Transport Passenger Satisfaction Analysis, International Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, 8(2), 177–183, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7708/ijtte.2018.8(2).03

W. Q., Al-Salih, D., Esztergar-Kiss (2021) An Analysis of the Impact of Activity Characteristics and Individual Characteristics on the Transport Mode Choice: A case Study of Budapest city, Hungary, in 2021 The 9th International Conference on Information Technology: IoT and Smart City, 561–568. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3512576.3512671

J., Hamadneh, A., Jaber (2023) Modeling of intra-city transport choice behaviour in Budapest, Hungary, Journal of Urban Mobility, 3, 100049, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urbmob.2023.100049

G., Pintér, I., Felde (2022) Commuting Analysis of the Budapest Metropolitan Area Using Mobile Network Data, International Journal of Geo-Information, 11(9), 466, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi11090466

M., Mainguenaud, X. T., Simatic (1992) A data model to deal with multi-scaled networks, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 16(4), 281–288, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0198-9715(92)90009-G

S., Porta, V., Latora, F., Wang, S., Rueda, E., Strano, S., Scellato, A., Cardillo, E., Belli, F., Càrdenas, B., Cormenzana, L., Latora (2011) Street Centrality and the Location of Economic Activities in Barcelona, Urban Studies, 49(7), 1471–1488, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098011422570

R., Prieto-Curiel, A., Schumann, I., Heo, P. Heinrigs (2022) Detecting cities with high intermediacy in the African urban network, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 98, 101869, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2022.101869

P. V., Marsden (2005) Network Analysis. Encyclopedia of Social Measurement, 819–825. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-369398-5/00409-6

P., Baji, M., Berki, É., Izsák (2018) Transformation processes of the city center of Budapest: from historical development to the new economy, Espaço e Economia, 13, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/espacoeconomia.5049

A. K., Losonczy, A., Orbán, M., Benkő (2022) Contemporary Decentralized Development of a Centrally Planned Metropolis: The Case of Budapest, Urban Planning, 7(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v7i3.5426

C., Kanyou, E., Kouokam, Y., Emvudu (2022) Structural network analysis: Correlation between centrality measures, in CARI 2022, HAL, URL: https://hal.science/hal-03714191/document

H., Badia (2020) Comparison of Bus Network Structures in Face of Urban Dispersion for a Ring-Radial City’, Networks and Spatial Economics, 20(1), 233–271, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11067-019-09474-5

Z., Kovács, T., Egedy, Z., Földi, K., Keresztély, B., Szabó (2007) Budapest: From state socialism to global capitalism. Pathways to creative and knowledge-based regions. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam institute for Metropolitan and International Development Studies (AMIDSt), URL: https://hdl.handle.net/11245/1.427772

C., Tamás, L., Tibor (2016) Settlement Morphology of Budapest. Springer, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28364-7

A.K., Losonczy, M., Benkő, A., Orbán (2023) Öt Kelet-Közép-Európai főváros központrendszerének összevetése fejlesztési terveik alapján, Földrajzi Közlemények, 147(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.32643/fk.147.3.5

H., Kok, Z., Kovács (1999) The process of suburbanization in the agglomeration of Budapest, Netherlands journal of housing and the built environment, 14(2), 119–141, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02496818

Published
2025-10-31
How to Cite
MunkácsyA., & QasseerO. (2025). The Impact of Centrality in Public Transport Networks. Scientific Review of Transport, 75(5), 9-18. https://doi.org/10.24228/KTSZ.2025.5.2