Performance analysis of public transport systems in Nanjing based on network topology

Abstract

The urban public transport network (UPTN) in Nanjing is characterized by a complex network with topological pedestals. The empirical data indicates that it is a small-world network. Under malicious attack to the high connectivity nodes of the network, the average pathlength will increase 2.5 times, the reliability and traffic capacity of the UPTN will greatly decline, and the travel expenditure will distinctively increase. The topological significance of stations and routes are redefined to help assess the small-world property of UPTNs, so as to improve city transportation. It is also found that if the urban rail transit, such as metro, is introduced to the UPTN, then the topological diameter of the network is reduced, and its structure is optimized. © 2009 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.