Effect of stochastic vehicle arrival and passenger demand on semi-flexible transit design

Semi-flexible transit (SFT) is commonly discussed as a cost-effective alternative to serving public transportation users in low-demand conditions. Despite its considerable potential, the implementation of SFT is limited due to two primary operating challenges: (a) fluctuating travel demand and (b) service unreliability. Most researchers recently are rigorously involved in developing complex algorithms and heuristics to handle operational planning issues, while very few focus on the optimization of variables for SFT operations involving tactical decision making. Moreover, the optimization of decision variables is largely based on a single dimension of stochasticity, demand only. The present study proposes a methodology to optimize two decision variables, service headway and the proportion of requests accepted for curb-to-curb service per trip while operating SFT following a route-deviation operating policy. Implementing stochasticity in both demand and vehicle arrival, we perform multi-objective optimization with two conflicting objectives as minimization of operator cost and user cost. Pertaining to vehicle delays and demand variability linked to values of decision variables in the Pareto set, we define the risks associated with selecting each value for attaining Pareto optimality. The risk is proportionate to the occurrence of a decision variable value in the Pareto set. The study methodology can be adopted as a decision support tool to establish planning policies to optimize SFT operation while considering the interests of both the operator and the user.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-023-00325-8
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/1866749X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
• Authors:
  • Mishra, Sushreeta
  • Mehran, Babak
  • 0000-0003-4440-3226
• Publication Date: 2023-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 721-745
• Serial:
  • Public Transport
  • Volume: 15
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Springer Publishing
  • ISSN: 1866-749X
  • EISSN: 1613-7159
  • Serial URL: http://link.springer.com/journal/12469

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Arrivals and departures; Demand responsive transportation; Headways; Operating costs; Travel demand management; User charges
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Finance; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01903680
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 28 2023 1:28PM