A Hierarchical Approach to Optimizing Bus Stop Distribution in Large and Fast Developing Cities

Zhengdong Huang,Xuejun Liu

doi:10.3390/ijgi3020554

Abstract

Public transit plays a key role in shaping the transportation structure of large and fast growing cities. To cope with high population and employment density, such cities usually resort to multi-modal transit services, such as rail, BRT and bus. These modes are strategically connected to form an effective transit network. Among the transit modes, bus stops need to be properly deployed to maintain an acceptable walking accessibility. This paper presents a hierarchical process for optimizing bus stop locations in the context of fast growing multi-modal transit services. Three types of bus stops are identified hierarchically, which includes connection stops, key stops and ordinary stops. Connection stops are generated manually to connect with other transit facilities. Key stops and ordinary stops are optimized with coverage models that are respectively weighted by network centrality measure and potential demand. A case study in a Chinese city suggests the hierarchical approach may generate more effective stop distribution.

Highlights

Public transit has been advocated for facilitating mobility and mitigating environmental impacts of transport in large cities
This paper presents a hierarchical process for optimizing the distribution of bus stops in the context of multi-modal transit development in large cities
This paper has presented a hierarchical process for optimizing distribution of bus stops in the city of

Summary

Introduction

Public transit has been advocated for facilitating mobility and mitigating environmental impacts of transport in large cities. Transit stop spacing is an important indicator in deploying public transit services. Large cities typically have a more complicated land use structure and development density, ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2014, 3 and in many cases they provide multi-modal transit service, such as for rail, BRT and bus. The public transit system needs to be structured dynamically to serve changing transit demands. In newly developed areas, the transit service has to be planned to connect with the current system. Economic growth generates new and increasing travel demand within cities, which requires the provision of more, and more efficient, integrated rapid transit systems

Methods

Results

Conclusion