Picture of Ehab Diab

Ehab Diab B.A., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Assistant professor

Faculty Member in Geography & Planning
Graduate Supervisor in Geography & Planning

Office
Kirk Hall 111

Research Area(s)

  • Land use and transportation planning
  • Public transit planning and operations
  • Intelligent transportation systems (ITS)
  • GIS application in urban and transport planning
  • Travel behaviour, and users’ satisfaction and perception
  • Non-motorized travel modes (cycling, walking)
  • Accessibility and social equity in planning
  • Big data analytics

About me

I am an assistant professor at the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S). Before Joining U of S, I was an NSERC postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute (UTTRI), Toronto, Canada. I have obtained my Ph.D. from the School of Urban Planning at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. I have several years of experience in conducting a wide range of transportation projects that adopt evidence-based practical approaches to influence decision-making. These projects were developed for a number of transit agencies and several private and public entities in North America.

I am currently serving on two committees at the Transportation Research Board in the United States, namely on the Standing Committee on Transit Management and Performance (AP010) and Standing Committee on Light Rail Transit (AP075). I am also an associate editor of the Journal of Public Transportation and on the editorial board of the Journal of Canadian Planning and Policy. I have also chaired the public transport track of the 2021 World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research, which took place in Portland, Oregon, in August 2021.

Publications

Accessibility and social equity Bus running time Improvement strategies Passenger’s perception Shuttle service Streetcar Transit Transit service resilience Visualizing transit data

Reports

Refereed Journal Articles (Google Scholar)  (* Denotes Graduate or Undergraduate Student)

  • *Singh, S., *Javanmard, R., Lee, J., Kim, J. & Diab, E. (2022). The new BRT system has led to an overall increase in transit-based accessibility to essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic: Empirical evidence from Winnipeg, Canada. Journal of Urban Mobility.
  • Diab, E., Srikukenthiran, S., Miller, E., Habib, K (2021). Effects of system configurations of automated fare collection on transit trip origin–destination estimation in Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Public Transport: Planning and Operations.
  • *Diaz, F., *Abbassi, J., Fuller, D. & Diab, E. (2021). Canadian transit agencies response to COVID-19: understanding strategies, information accessibility and the use of social media. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (TRIP).
  • Aboudina, A., Diab, E. & Shalaby, A. (2021). Predictive analytics of streetcar bunching occurrence time for real-time applications. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board.
  • Diab, E., DeWeese, J., *Chaloux, N. & El-Geneidy, A. (2020). Adjusting the service? Understanding the factors affecting bus ridership over time at the route level in Montréal, Canada. Transportation.
  • *Bree, S., Fuller, D. & Diab, E. (2020). Access to transit? Validating local transit accessibility measures using transit ridership. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 141, 430-442.
  • Diab, E., Kasraian D., Miller E. & Shalaby A. (2020). The rise and fall of transit ridership across Canada: Understanding the determinants. Journal of Transport Policy. 96, 101-112.
  • Aboudina, A., Itani, A., Diab, E., Srikukenthiran, S. & Shalaby, A. (2020). Evaluation of bus bridging scenarios for railway service disruption management: A users’ delay modelling tool. Public Transport: Planning and Operations.
  • *Sidloski, M. & Diab E. (2020). Understanding the effectiveness of bus rapid transit systems in small and medium-sized Cities in North America. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2674(10) 831–845.
  • *Devitt, G., Nesheli, M., Diab, E., & Shalaby, A. (2020). Empirical performance analysis of bus speed and delay at intersections for emerging spot improvement programs. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2674(3), 57-68.
  • Diab, E., Shalaby A. (2020). Metro transit system resilience: Understanding the impacts of outdoor tracks and weather conditions on metro system interruptions, International Journal of Sustainable Transportation (IJST). 14(9): 657-670.
  • Diab, E., & Shalaby, A. (2020). Subway service down again? Assessing the effects of subway service interruptions on local surface transit performance. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2672(8), 443–454.
  • *Nguyen, P., Diab, E., & Shalaby, A. (2019). Understanding the factors that influence the probability and time to streetcar bunching incidents. Public Transport: Planning and Operations. 11, 299–320.
  • Diab, E., Kasraian, D., Miller, E., Shalaby, A. (2019). The current state of practice in transit ridership prediction: Results from a survey of Canadian transit agencies. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2673(8), 179–191.
  • Itani, A., Aboudina, A., Diab E., Srikukenthiran, S., Shalaby, A. (2019). Managing unplanned rail disruptions: Policy implications and guidelines towards an effective bus bridging strategy. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2673(4), 473–489.
  • *Hu, W., Aboudina, A. Diab, E., & Shalaby, A (2018). The impact of various streetcar types on passenger activity and travel times. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2672(8), 351–362.
  • Diab, E., *Feng, G. & Shalaby, A. (2018). Breaking into emergency shuttle service: Aspects and impacts of retracting buses from existing scheduled bus services. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. 45: 647-658.
  • Diab, E., van Lierop, D. & El-Geneidy, A. (2017). Recommending transit: Disentangling users’ willingness to recommend public transit and their intended continued use. Travel Behaviour and Society 6: 1-9.
  • El-Geneidy, A., Levinson, D., Diab, E., *Boisjoly, G., *Verbich, D. & *Loong, C. (2016). The cost of equity: Assessing accessibility by transit and social disparity using total travel cost. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 91, 302-316.
  • El-Geneidy, A., Buliung, R., Diab, E., *van Lierop, D., *Langlois, M. & *Legrain, A. (2016). Non-stop equity: Assessing transit accessibility and social disparity over time, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 43(3), 540-560.
  • *Verbich, D., Diab, E., & El-Geneidy, A. (2016). Have they bunched yet? An exploratory study of the impacts of bus bunching on dwell and running time. Public Transport: Planning and Operations, 8(2), 225-242.
  • *Stewart, C., Diab, E., Bertini, R., El-Geneidy, A. (2016). Perspectives on transit: Potential benefits of visualizing transit data.  Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2544(1).
  • Diab, E. & El-Geneidy, A. (2015). The far side story: Measuring the benefits of bus stop location on transit. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2538(1) 1-10.
  • Diab, E., Badami, M. & El-Geneidy, A. (2015). Bus transit service reliability and improvement strategies:  Integrating the perspectives of passengers and transit agencies in North America. Transport Reviews, 35(3): 292-328.
  • Diab, E. & El-Geneidy, A. (2014). Transitory optimism: Changes in passenger perception following bus service improvement over time. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2274 (1), 97-106.
  • Diab, E., Wasfi, R., & El-Geneidy, A. (2014). Extraboard team sizing: An analysis of short unscheduled absences among regular transit operators. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 66 (1), 27-38.
  • *Alam, A., Diab, E., El-Geneidy, A., & Hatzopoulou, M. (2014). Simulation of transit bus emissions along an urban corridor: Evaluating changes under various service improvement strategies. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 31(0), 189-198.
  • Diab, E. & El-Geneidy, A. (2013). Variation in bus transit service: Understanding the impacts of various improvement strategies on transit service reliability. Public Transport: planning and operations, 4(3), 209-231.
  • Diab, E. & El-Geneidy, A. (2012). Understanding the impacts of a combination of service improvement strategies on bus running time and passenger’s perception. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 46(3), 614-625.

Book Chapters

  • *Harreman-Fernandes, M., Diab, E., *Cui, B., DeWeese, J., Crumley, M., & El-Geneidy, A. (2021). Chapter 4: Transit customer satisfaction research: is the customer always right? In G. Currie (Ed.), Handbook of Public Transport Research (pp. 57–69). Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788978668.00010
  • Diab, E. & El-Geneidy, A. Bus public transport planning and operations (2021). In R. Vickerman (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Transportation (pp. 326-332). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102671-7.10445-2
  • Shalaby, A., *Li, L. & Diab, E. (2021). Chapter 14: Rail transit disruption management: a comprehensive review of strategies and approaches. In G. Currie (Eds.), Handbook of Public Transport Research (HOPTR) (pp. 280-313). Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788978668.00022

Teaching & Supervision

GIS application in urban and transport planning Land use and transportation planning Public transit planning and operations

I taught and currently teaching several undergraduate and graduate courses that focus on Planning Field Methods, Equity in Planning, Land Use and Transportation Planning, Public Transit Planning, Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods, Data Analytics and Visualizations, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Research

Big data Bus Cycling Data analytics GIS Operations Planning Rail Streetcar Transit Transportation Travel behaviour Walking

My research interests include land use and transportation planning, public transport planning and service operations, urban data analytics, and social equity in planning. I work at the intersection of these areas towards the overarching goal of formulating effective policies that enhance the quality of life and well-being of our communities. The topics I am currently focusing on include transit system resilience, passengers’ perception and satisfaction, travel behaviour and transit ridership, and accessibility measures and social equity.

I always welcome new MSc and Ph.D. students to my research group, who are interested in pursuing a degree related to transportation planning at the University of Saskatchewan. I’m particularly interested in students with a background in planning, computer science, geography, or transportation engineering. Students should have official training and experience in spatial analysis using R or ESRI Software (ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro), and in statistical analysis and modelling using SPSS, STATA or R. Knowledge of programming languages, particularly R scripting, is generally desired. If you are interested in joining my research group, send me an email (ehab.diab@usask.ca) that summarizes your skills, previous experience, and research interests.

Education & Training

     
  • Ph.D., McGill University, 2015
  • M.Sc., Alexandria University, 2007
  • B.A., Alexandria University, 2003
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