Agent-Based Approach to Modelling Bus Bunching and Dispersion Under the Influence of Demand Variability

This paper presents an agent-based approach to understanding vehicle bunching under demand variability. A hypothetical bus route that consisting of 12 stops was designed. Using NetLogo 6.0, three different scenarios were modelled to analyze the bunching phenomenon under different conditions. Two new indices, a Bunching Index (BI) and a Dispersion Index (DI) were introduced to quantify vehicle bunching and dispersion by measuring the variance in passengers’ waiting time. According to the analysis, the best way to alleviate bunching is a combination of buses coordination, passengers’ variance accommodation, and using terminals as control points to prevent bunching propagation. Inadequate spacing between stops, traffic conditions, passengers’ variance, relatively small headway, and small terminal time may trigger bunching phenomenon.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP050 Standing Committee on Bus Transit Systems. Agent-Based Approach to Modeling Bus Bunching and Dispersion Under the Influence of Demand Variability: This is an alternate title.
• Authors:
  • Eldeeb, Gamal
  • Idris, Ahmed Osman
  • Parrott, Lael
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 14p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bunching; Bus transit operations; Demand
• Uncontrolled Terms: Agent based models
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01659659
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-03628
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 8 2018 5:03PM