Applying Fixed Route Principles to Improve Paratransit Runcutting

Improving productivity without compromising service quality or on-time performance is at the top of most paratransit managers’ to-do list, especially when budgets are tight. Paratransit agencies and software vendors are continually experimenting with ways to make scheduling more efficient. Runcutting is the process used to restructure the vehicle runs and driver assignments whenever circumstances warrant a new pick. Those circumstances could be set by convention (e.g., three times a year) or they might be triggered by an awareness that the current runs are simply not doing a good job any more of allowing the agency to address the public’s demand for service. This paper addresses the role that runcutting should play in an efficient paratransit operation and discusses how to get the most out of the runcutting process. Comparisons are made to fixed route, where automated runcutting has been a staple for decades. While the goal of a good scheduling algorithm is to group riders efficiently, the goal of a good runcut is to make sure that the runs themselves are designed so that as many trips can be served as possible with the least amount of wasted capacity. Most of all, a good runcut is important to make sure a schedule properly matches supply and demand. Trapeze has introduced software that allows users of its paratransit scheduling software to perform an automated runcut. This allows the user to do in minutes what previously took hours or even days to perform. The approach taken with this technology combines automation of the steps that require large amounts of number crunching with user freedom to step in and make manual choices at key decision points along the way. Although a key benefit of the technology is its capability to mine historical data, it is conceivable that other sites with some third party scheduling software might nonetheless want to be able to enjoy the benefits of automated runcutting. The software has been designed to make this feasible as a future enhancement, either on a standalone basis or possibly even supported by a standard public interface.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract used with permission from American Public Transportation Association
• Corporate Authors:

  American Public Transportation Association

  1666 K Street, NW, Suite 1100
  Washington, DC  United States  20006
• Authors:
  • Forstall, Keith
• Conference:
  • 2012 Bus & Paratransit Conference
  • Location: Long Beach CA, United States
  • Date: 2012-5-6 to 2012-5-8
• Publication Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: 4p
• Monograph Title: 2012 Bus & Paratransit Conference

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Algorithms; Automation; Fixed routes; Optimization; Paratransit services; Run cutting; Schedules and scheduling; Software
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; I10: Economics and Administration; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01458152
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 31 2012 5:56PM