A GIS-based method to identify spatiotemporal gaps in public service delivery

The focus of methodological approaches to identify (public) service deprivation has been predominantly on the shortcomings in the spatial coverage of the transportation system and the urban opportunity landscape. Accessibility is thereby generally modeled as a static concept with little - if any - account for temporal variations in services and transportation provision across the diurnal cycle and week, such as those resulting from opening hours and congestion effects. This paper suggests the use of time-specific measures of service accessibility and demand. The measures are integrated in a GIS-based multi-criteria analysis with the aim to detect spatiotemporal variations in service deprivation. The applicability of the method has been illustrated in a case study about the planning of a mobile government office bus in the city of Ghent (Belgium). It has been shown that the suitability of alternative stop locations for the bus depends on the time interval during which it will be operated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.