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Schedule-free high-frequency transit operations

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Abstract

High-frequency transit systems are essential for the socioeconomic and environmental well-being of large and dense cities. The planning and control of their operations are important determinants of service quality. Although headway and optimization-based control strategies generally outperform schedule-adherence strategies, high-frequency operations are mostly planned with schedules, in part because operators must observe resource constraints (neglected by most control strategies) while planning and delivering service. This research develops a schedule-free paradigm for high-frequency transit operations, in which trip sequences and departure times are optimized in real-time, employing stop-skipping strategies and utilizing real-time information to maximize service quality while satisfying operator resource constraints. Following a discussion of possible methodological approaches, a simple methodology is applied to operate a simulated transit service without schedules. Results demonstrate the feasibility of the new paradigm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 77 Massachusetts Ave., Room 1-235, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Gabriel E. Sánchez-Martínez

  2. 77 Massachusett Ave., Room 1-238, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Nigel H. M. Wilson

  3. 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Haris N. Koutsopoulos

Authors
  1. Gabriel E. Sánchez-Martínez
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  2. Nigel H. M. Wilson
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  3. Haris N. Koutsopoulos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel E. Sánchez-Martínez.

Additional information

This research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. 1122374 and in part by Transport for London. This research also benefited from the support of the Bus Rapid Transit Centre of Excellence, funded by the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF), and MIT’s MISTI-Chile program.

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Sánchez-Martínez, G.E., Wilson, N.H.M. & Koutsopoulos, H.N. Schedule-free high-frequency transit operations. Public Transp 9, 285–305 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-016-0129-8

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