An integrated method for urban transit evaluation and optimization

Abstract

Public transit services should be fast and reliable. Complex road conditions, however, make them slow and fluctuate. Therefore, to reflect the impact of road traffic conditions for buses running, we should take both fast and reliable into consideration. This article uses GPS data of buses, proposes an integrated method for urban transit evaluation and optimization, including a bus running index calculation method which based on bus planning travel time and focusing on bus main roads, as well a bus timetable optimization method which faces a bus corridor. In order to verify the effectiveness, this article selects a bus main road on Yan'an Road between Shimen Road No. 1 Stop to Kaixuan Road Stop in Shanghai, China, as a case. Through this case study, this article verifies that the proposed bus running index can objectively and sensitively evaluate bus running conditions. Meanwhile, the result of bus timetable optimization shows good efficiency. On top of that, by contrast with the traditional single-line-based transit evaluation and optimization method, the proposed integrated evaluation and optimization method has an advantage in the sample volume size and calculation effectiveness.