Integrating Demand Responsive Services into Public Transport Disruption Management

Abstract

High-capacity public transport services such as metro and commuter trains are efficient during normal operations but are vulnerable to disruptions. To manage disruptions, bridging buses are commonly called in to replace the rail-based service along the disrupted lines. These often take significant time to arrive and are costly to keep stand-by. Demand-responsive transport such as taxi can respond to demand almost immediately but is costly and must usually be arranged by the individual travelers. This study examines the integration and potential role of demand-responsive transport in disruption management. The analysis considers the impacts of limiting the serving area, varying the number of available vehicles, pursuing ride-sharing, as well as a system-of-systems approach with collaboration between taxis and bridging buses. Results of computational experiments on the case study of Stockholm, Sweden reveal that integration of demand-responsive transport in the disruption management can bring large positive benefits in terms of average and maximum waiting times for travelers. This is especially the case for strategies including ride-sharing. It is also shown that appropriate trade-offs between desired waiting times and costs can be achieved by collaboration of both bridging buses and demand-responsive transport. Additionally, more robust public transport with increased reliability during disruptions can increase sustainability as more people may choose public transport instead of private cars.