Abstract
This study proposed a hybrid optimization model for urban bus transit route network design problem (TRNDP). Although several mathematical methods had been developed to make the problem tractable, the methods relied on excessive assumptions, which resulted in over-simplification or idealization of the problems. In light of these considerations, a multi-level and multi-mode network design method was introduced in this study. A multi-level network consisted of three levels: skeleton network, arterial network, and feeder network. The different levels of network were associated with different modes of public transportation (such as subway, light rail transit, trolleybus, BRT, normal bus, and community branch) based on the features of bus routes, city sizes, etc. In addition, according to the respective features of urban transit route network structures, we developed different optimization models for different levels. Finally, the proposed methodology was applied to case studies of the city of Zhaoyuan in China and the transit network of Mandl benchmark. The results showed that the total travel time for the proposed method was significantly lower than that of the competing method, with a 21.51% reduction. In addition, the proposed method provided 85.23% direct travelers, 14.65% travelers with one transfer, 0.12% travelers with two transfers, and no unsatisfied demand, which were better than the results from the compared method.
Highlights
A public transportation network is one of the basic components of transit system planning
Research scholars focus on the study of public transportation networks, which can be referred to as the transit route network design problem (TRNDP) [1]–[3]
The results showed that the methodology was capable of producing improved solutions to real-life transit network design problems in reasonable amounts of time and computing resources [9]
Summary
A public transportation network is one of the basic components of transit system planning. A skeleton network consists of major transit corridors, which connect the relatively prosperous districts in the city and meet the demand for direct travelers Such routes are usually covered by transportation modes with high capacity and speed such as subway, light rail transit, and trolleybus [31]. 2) In previous studies, the design of a multi-level network was generally developed by a single model, while neglecting the differences in skeleton, arterial, and feeder networks, such as transportation demands, route network functions, road conditions, and line length. Tong et al developed a space-time prism analysis framework to address a new urban network design problem to maximize the system-wide transportation accessibility between major activity locations, subject to a given highway construction budget [32] Their contributions focused on incorporating space-time accessibility into network design models, while neglecting the congestion effect caused by road. It would be interesting to study how accessibility-based planning methods could further influence the results of transit route network design
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