Transit Network Design: a Hybrid Enhanced Artificial Bee Colony Approach and a Case Study

Abstract

A bus network design problem in a suburban area of Hong Kong is studied. The objective is to minimize the weighted sum of the number of transfers and the total travel time of passengers by restructuring bus routes and determining new frequencies. A mixed integer optimization model is developed and was solved by a Hybrid Enhanced Artificial Bee Colony algorithm (HEABC). A case study was conducted to investigate the effects of different design parameters, including the total number of bus routes available, the maximum route duration within the study area and the maximum allowable number of bus routes that originated from each terminal. The model and results are useful for improving bus service policies.