Design of a Map-Based Transit Itinerary Planner

Abstract

One of the challenges in promoting transit is the presentation of service information and the relative complexity of trip planning on a transit system. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has provided a platform to present information over the Internet to potential users of public transportation. Itinerary planning using GIS consists of a user selecting an origin and destination on a map as well as the time of travel, which are sent to a routing algorithm that selects the optimum path along the bus route system. The program presents the output both textually and graphically, giving the user specific directions for using the public transportation system. This paper describes the implementation of a GIS-based itinerary planner for the SunTran bus network in Tucson, Arizona. ArcIMS was used to create a website that presents the city's bus network as well as other spatial information relevant to bus travel and the user's origin or destination. This system provides the users the option of selecting their origin or destination on the map, manually entering an address, or selecting a landmark from a pull-down menu. The routing algorithm then finds the optimum path, and the output is presented to the user both in text and on the map. This is unique from other itinerary planners because it provides an interactive point-and-click map feature that can be implemented using existing GIS software. The development of an itinerary planner using GIS on the Internet increases the simplicity of using transit and thus increases the attraction of using public transportation.