Efficient operation of demand-responsive transport (DRT) systems:Active requests rejection

Abstract

Demand-responsive transport (DRT) is getting more attention in the public sectors. In DRT systems operated by public sectors, providing a good and equal service to the public is more important than maximizing the revenue. This brings additional challenges to the operation of DRT systems. In this study, we explore the idea of actively rejecting requests in DRT systems based on the alternative travel options, such as conventional public transport. By rejecting requests that have good alternatives, we can focus on the passengers without suitable alternative travel options. This can reduce the fleet size of DRT systems while maintaining a good and fair service. To explore the impact of this idea, we develop and implement an active request rejection mechanism in an agent-based transport simulation framework and carry out simulations on a real-world scenario. Results have shown that a fleet size reduction of around 20% can be achieved, without compromising the overall mobility level in terms of travel time, if the active request rejection mechanism with dynamic threshold is used. Furthermore, results have also shown that when a DRT system is overloaded, it may break down, and the service quality will suffer a significant drop. The active request rejection mechanism can prevent this from happening in some cases.