A STUDY OF SOME FACTORS AFFECTING BUS SERVICE PERFORMANCE

Various measures aimed at improving the operation of a bus service have been examined using the results of TRRL surveys and simulation modelling. Service 9 of the Bristol omnibus company was chosen as a basis for the study. The main findings were: (I) in the evening peak period improved time-keeping could reduce the mean passenger waiting time by 5 per cent; (II) reducing bus-boarding times to the lowest values observed elsewhere in the United Kingdom could bring about reductions of 8 per cent in the mean waiting time and 10 per cent in the mean on-bus travel time in the evening peak period; (III) when there was a persistent need for cancellations, waiting times could be reduced by rescheduling designed to make the scheduled complement compatible with available resources: when an average of one bus was missing from the service considered, the reduction was estimated to be of the order 10 per cent of the waiting time for a full service, in both peak and off-peak periods; (IV) use of more realistic run-time allocations would generate closer adherence to schedule: in the evening peak period this might reduce the mean waiting time by between 3 and 8 per cent. /Author/

• Corporate Authors:

  Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)

  Wokingham, Berkshire  United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • Jackson, R L
  • COE, G A
  • Finnamore, A J
• Publication Date: 1977

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 28 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Boarding; Bus transportation; Buses; Economic efficiency; Improvements; Peak periods; Performance; Scheduling; Simulation; Timetables; Transportation operations; Travel time; Trip length; Waiting time
• Uncontrolled Terms: Decreases; Efficiency
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Highways; Motor Carriers; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00164360
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: TRRL Lab Rpt 767 Monograph
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 12 1978 12:00AM