Network Design Strategies to Increase Efficiency and Usefulness of Urban Transit Ferry Systems

Abstract

As urban transit ferry systems expand, it is important for operators and transport agencies to take a more sophisticated approach to network design and scheduling to make services more useful for riders and to reduce costs. A new schedule was developed for a passenger ferry network in Sydney, Australia, on the basis of principles of integrated regular-interval scheduling. The existing network followed a conventional radial pattern, with 36 landings and terminals on nine lines, which converged on Circular Quay in Sydney’s central business district. The reconfigured network established timed transfers between all lines at Circular Quay and at other network nodes. The reconfiguration increased the number of origin–destination pairs with all-day convenient connections from 96 to 419. Service hours increased by 11%, but without a change in requirements for peak operating vessels. The modified network simplified operations and was likely to reduce the operating cost per service hour because of labor efficiency gains. Safer ferry operations were also predicted. Critical to successful implementation was an improvement in the passenger exchange process to reduce systemic causes of service delays. The results show that the usefulness of a complex urban transit ferry network can be enhanced by improved connectivity without necessarily increasing the number of terminals or government subsidy levels. The results also suggest the need for detailed network planning to precede plans for fleet acquisition and terminal infrastructure design. This planning is likely to target infrastructure investment better.