A Short-Turning Strategy for the Management of Bus Bunching Considering Variable Spatial-Temporal Running Time

Abstract

Bus bunching could seriously damage the stability of transit system. This resultant instability always causes a dissatisfying performance of transit system. Traditional bus bunching control methods (e.g., holding control strategy) add slack to schedules or adapt cruising speed. The control methods can alleviate bus bunching in theory, but it is difficult to apply to actual operation, especially in busy traffic. The short-turning strategy only deals with spatial concentration of demand in the existing literatures. We find that the short-turning strategy is also very effective in alleviating bus bunching. In this study, based on the passenger arrival rate of each stop and the spatial-temporal running time, a short-turning model with bunching penalty is developed, and the waiting time of passengers and the operation cost are also considered. Based on data from Beijing Transportation Information Center, we take the Yuntong 111 bus line of Beijing as an example. Compared with the currently used timetable, it is found that a 46.78% reduction in bus bunching is achieved by using the optimal timetable, and there is no increase in operating costs.