Hybrid Method for Bus Network Design with High Seasonal Demand Variation
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 6
Abstract
Seasonal demand variation is a somewhat neglected aspect of transit demand. Many cities worldwide experience seasonal variation of passenger demand that deserves not only changes of service frequency, but also and often more importantly, changes in the transit network of routes. Literature dealing with optimal bus networks shows that it is an non polynomial (NP)-hard complexity problem with the demand being the most important variable affecting the network. Thus, the bus network of concern should be robust from the optimization perspective when a new demand arises. This paper introduces a model and a solution algorithm to take into account the variation of passenger demand in the design of bus networks. The solution algorithm developed is a hybrid method that optimizes the design of a bus network at the route and network levels. The model was applied to the city of Mashhad in Iran with a population of over 3.2 million and 20 million visitors annually. The results are promising and demonstrate how to determine the best single network of bus routes to suit variable passenger demand.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Amiripour, S. M. M., Ceder, A., and Shariat Mohaymany, A. (2012). “Bus-network design considering high seasonal demand variations.” Proc., 91st Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (CD-ROM), Washington, DC.
Baaj, M. H., and Mahmassani, H. S. (1995). “Hybrid route generation heuristic algorithm for the design of transit networks.” Transp. Res. Part C Emerg., 3(1), 31–50.
Bagloee, A. S., and Ceder, A. (2011). “Transit-network design methodology for actual-size road networks.” Transp. Res. Part B Method., 45(10), 1787–1804.
Bielli, M., Caramia, M., and Carotenuto, P. (2002). “Genetic algorithms in bus network optimization.” Transp. Res. Part C Emerg., 10(1), 19–34.
Black, A. (1978). “Optimizing urban mass transit systems: A general model.” Transp. Res. Rec., 677, 41–47.
Byrne, B. F. (1975). “Public transportation line positions and headways for minimum user and system cost in a radial case.” Transp. Res., 9(2–3), 97–102.
Byrne, B. F., and Vuchic, V. R. (1972). “Public transportation line positions and headways for minimum cost.” Traffic flow and transportation, F. G. Newell, ed., Elsevier, New York, 347–360.
Ceder, A. (2007). Public transit planning and operation: Theory, modelling and practice, Elsevier, Oxford, U.K.
Ceder, A., and Israeli, Y. (1998). “User and operator perspectives in transit network design.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1623(1), 3–7.
Ceder, A., and Wilson, N. H. M. (1986). “Bus network design.” Transp. Res. Part B Method., 20(4), 331–344.
Chakroborty, P. (2003). “Genetic algorithms for optimal urban transit network design.” Comput. Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng., 18(3), 184–200.
Chakroborty, P., and Dwivedi, T. (2002). “Optimal route network design for transit systems using genetic algorithms.” Eng. Optim., 34(1), 83–100.
Chang, S. K., and Schonfeld, P. M. (1991). “Multiple period optimization of bus transit systems.” Transp. Res. Part B Method., 25(6), 453–478.
Chua, T. A. (1984). “The planning of urban bus routes and frequencies: A survey.” Transportation, 12(2), 147–172.
Cipriani, E., Fusco, G., Gori, S., and Petrelli, M. (2005). “A procedure for the solution of the urban bus network design problem with elastic demand.” Adv. OR and AI Methods in Transportation: Proc., 10th Meeting of the EURO Working Group on Transportation, Publishing House of Poznan Univ. of Technology, Poznan, Poland, 681–685.
Cipriani, E., Gori, S., and Petrelli, M. (2012). “Transit network design: A procedure and an application to a large urban area.” Transp. Res. Part C Emerg., 20(1), 3–14.
Fan, W., and Machemehl, R. B. (2006a). “Optimal transit route network design problem with variable transit demand: Genetic algorithm approach.” J. Transp. Eng., 40–51.
Fan, W., and Machemehl, R. B. (2006b). “Using a simulated annealing algorithm to solve the transit route network design problem.” J. Transp. Eng., 122–132.
Guihaire, V., and Hao, J. K. (2008). “Transit network design and scheduling: A global review.” Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract., 42(10), 1251–1273.
Holland, J. H. (1975). Adaptation in natural and artificial systems: An introductory analysis with applications to biology, control, and artificial intelligence, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Holroyd, E. M. (1967). “The optimal bus service: A theoretical model for a large uniform urban area.” Vehicular traffic science, L. C. Edie, ed., Elsevier, New York, 308–328.
Hu, J., Shi, X., Song, J., and Xu, Y. (2005). “Optimal design for urban mass transit network based on evolutionary algorithms.” Lecture notes in computer science 3611, L. Wang, K. Chen and Y. S. Ong, eds., Springer, Berlin-Heidelberg.
Kepaptsoglou, K., and Karlaftis, M. (2009). “Transit route network design problem: Review.” J. Transp. Eng., 491–505.
Lampkin, W., and Saalmans, P. D. (1967). “The design of routes, service frequencies and schedules for a municipal bus undertaking: A case study.” Oper. Res. Q., 18(4), 375–397.
Lee, Y. J., and Vuchic, V. R. (2005). “Transit network design with variable demand.” J. Transp. Eng., 1–10.
Mandl, C. E. (1980). “Evaluation and optimization of urban public transportation networks.” Eur. J. Oper. Res., 5(6), 396–404.
Mauttone, A., and Urquhart, M. E. (2009). “A route set construction algorithm for the transit network design problem.” Comp. Oper. Res., 36(8), 2440–2449.
Newell, G. F. (1979). “Some issues relating to the optimal design of bus routes.” Transp. Sci., 13(1), 20–35.
Pattnaik, S. B., Mohan, S., and Tom, V. M. (1998). “Urban bus transit route network design using genetic algorithm.” J. Transp. Eng., 368–375.
Petrelli, M. (2004). “A transit network design model for urban areas.” Urban transport X, C. A. Brebbia and L. C. Wadhwa, eds., Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT), Southampton, U.K., 63–172.
Poorzahedy, H., and Safari, F. (2011). “An ant system application to the bus network design problem: An algorithm and a case study.” Public Transp., 3(2), 1–23.
Rea, J. C. (1972). “Designing urban transit system: An approach to the route technology selection problem.” Highway Res. Rec., 417, 48–59.
Russo, F. (1998). “Transit frequencies design for enhancing the efficiency of public urban transportation systems: An optimization model and an algorithm.” Proc., 31st Int. Symp. on Automotive Technology and Automation, Dusseldorf, Germany.
Shih, M. C., Mahmassani, H. S., and Baaj, M. H. (1998). “Planning and design model for transit route networks with coordinated operations.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1623(1), 16–23.
Shimamoto, H., Schmöker, J. D., and Kurauchi, F. (2012). “Optimization of a bus network configuration considering the common lines problem.” Proc., 91st Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (CD-ROM), Washington, DC.
Silman, L., Barzily, Z., and Passy, U. (1974). “Planning the route system for urban buses.” Comput. Oper. Res., 1(2), 201–211.
Spasovic, L., and Schonfeld, P. (1997). “Method for optimizing transit service coverage.” Transportation Research Record 1402, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 28–39.
Tom, V., and Mohan, S. (2003). “Transit route network design using frequency coded genetic algorithm.” J. Transp. Eng., 186–195.
Van Nes, R., Hamerslag, R., and Immers, B. H. (1988). “Design of public transport networks.”, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 74–83.
Yang, Z., Yu, B., and Cheng, C. (2007). “A parallel ant colony algorithm for bus network optimization.” Comput. Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng., 22(1), 44–55.
Zhao, F., and Zeng, X. (2006). “Simulated annealing-genetic algorithm for transit network optimization.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 57–68.
Zhao, F., and Zeng, X. (2008). “Optimization of transit route network, vehicle headways and timetables for large-scale transit networks.” Eur. J. Oper. Res., 186(2), 841–855.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 6 • June 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 20, 2013
Accepted: Feb 3, 2014
Published online: Mar 11, 2014
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 11, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.