Analysis of Feeder Bus Network Design and Scheduling Problems

Mohammad Hadi Almasi,Sina Mirzapour Mounes,Mohamed Rehan Karim,Suhana Koting

doi:10.1155/2014/408473

Abstract

A growing concern for public transit is its inability to shift passenger's mode from private to public transport. In order to overcome this problem, a more developed feeder bus network and matched schedules will play important roles. The present paper aims to review some of the studies performed on Feeder Bus Network Design and Scheduling Problem (FNDSP) based on three distinctive parts of the FNDSP setup, namely, problem description, problem characteristics, and solution approaches. The problems consist of different subproblems including data preparation, feeder bus network design, route generation, and feeder bus scheduling. Subsequently, descriptive analysis and classification of previous works are presented to highlight the main characteristics and solution methods. Finally, some of the issues and trends for future research are identified. This paper is targeted at dealing with the FNDSP to exhibit strategic and tactical goals and also contributes to the unification of the field which might be a useful complement to the few existing reviews.

Highlights

Many people usually use public transportation systems to reach their destination; others employ personal vehicles
There are several ways to achieve these aims, but we mainly focus on the realistic aspects of the problem
Such methods were used to local search improving techniques, such as displacement heuristics and exchange heuristics suggested by Perl [39]

Summary

Introduction

Many people usually use public transportation systems to reach their destination; others employ personal vehicles. If the transport system is unable to attract travellers, private transport usage will be increased. To prevent the increasing rate of private transports entering to city centres, effective alternatives of travel modes need to be offered [1]. A good performance in public transport has been recognized among the potential means to reduce air pollution, decrease energy consumption, and improve mobility and traffic congestion. General public transportation planning process can be categorized into five steps as the following: (1) network design, (2) frequency setting, (3) timetabling, (4) vehicle scheduling, and (5) crew scheduling [2]. There has been an increasing interest in the first three steps and basic aspects of the planning process, which are known as strategic (step 1) and tactical (steps 2 and 3) planning process

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