Journal profile · TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Public Transport
ISSN 1866-749X · eISSN 1613-7159 · Springer Nature · 3 issues per year
Public Transport: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,390; review about 4 days (submission to first decision, publisher); 32 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Public Transport is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Transportation Planning and Optimization, Urban Transport and Accessibility and Transportation and Mobility Innovations, together about 57.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Transportation. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The scope and purpose of the journal includes, but is not limited to, any type of research in the area of Public Transport: Planning and Operations. As its core it serves the primary mission of advancing the state of the art and the state of the practice in computer-aided systems and scheduling in public transport. The journal considers any type of subjects in this area especially with a focus to planning and scheduling, the common ground is the use of computer-aided methods and operations research techniques to improve information management, network and route planning, vehicle and crew scheduling and rostering, vehicle monitoring and management, and practical experience with scheduling and public transport planning methods. Besides theoretical papers, the journal also publishes case studies and applications. Public Transport addresses transport operators, consulting firms and academic institutions involved in development, utilization or research of computer-aided planning and scheduling in public transport.Officially cited as: Public Transp
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Stefan VoßPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Italy 5, Germany 4, United States 3, Australia 2, Netherlands 2 (22 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Transportation Planning and OptimizationSocial Sciences30.5%
- Urban Transport and AccessibilitySocial Sciences13.5%
- Transportation and Mobility InnovationsEngineering13.2%
- Human Mobility and Location-Based AnalysisSocial Sciences5.5%
- Traffic Prediction and Management TechniquesEngineering4.9%
- Railway Systems and Energy EfficiencyEngineering4.7%
- Vehicle Routing Optimization MethodsEngineering4.6%
- Traffic control and managementEngineering4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Transportation Science & Technology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Transportation Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexDBLPPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.86LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.93LetPub ·
- h-index
- 49OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 232OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.83OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 39.36%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 32LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 176,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 455 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 17 | 9 | 4 |
| 2025 | 32 | 12 | 62 |
| 2024 | 32 | 13 | 244 |
| 2023 | 31 | 22 | 361 |
| 2022 | 22 | 9 | 379 |
| 2021 | 30 | 15 | 466 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,390 / EUR 2,790 / GBP 2,490 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use Generative AI Images
LLMs do not satisfy authorship criteria; use must be documented Model summary
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
Competing interests disclosure required Model summary
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data availability statement required for all original research Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Public Transport, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Reviewer suggestions/exclusions allowed at submission Model summary
Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening software may be used Model summary
The journal may use software to screen for plagiarism.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 3 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1866-749X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1613-7159
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 18, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Public Transport
What CAS zone is Public Transport in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Public Transport is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Transportation Science & Technology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Public Transport?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6.4, h-index 49.
How long does peer review take at Public Transport?
The publisher reports about 4 days (submission to first decision); first decisions include desk rejections. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Public Transport?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Public Transport based?
Of the 22 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (5), Germany (4) and United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Public Transport?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Public Transport is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex and DBLP; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Public Transport open access, and what is the APC?
Public Transport is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,390.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .