Optimal Express Bus Routes Design with Limited-Stop Services for Long-Distance Commuters

Hongguo Ren,Yanyan Chen,Zhenbao Wang

doi:10.3390/su12041669

Abstract

This research aimed to propose a route optimization method for long-distance commuter bus service to improve the attraction of public transport as a sustainable travel mode. Taking the express bus services (EBS) in Changping Corridor in Beijing as an example, we put forward an EBS route-planning method for long-distance commuter based on a solving algorithm for vehicle routing problem with pickups and deliveries (VRPPD) to determine the length of routes, number of lines, and stop location. Mobile phone location (MPL) data served as a valid instrument for the origin–destination (OD) estimation, which provided a new perspective to identify the locations of homes and jobs. The OD distribution matrices were specified via geocoded MPL data. The optimization objective of the EBS is to minimize the total distance traveled by the lines, subject to maximum segment capacity constraints. The sensitivity analysis was done to several key factors (e.g., the segment capacity, vehicle capacity, and headway) influencing the number of lines, the length of routes. The results suggest that the scenario with the segment capacity of 4000 passengers/h has a minimum of number and length of lines, but we recommend that the transit agency adopt 3000 passengers/h as the route segment capacity because this scenario results in minimum fleet size and minimum total operation length.

Highlights

With four decades of economic development and urban population growth, Beijing, like other megacities in China, has experienced enormous sprawl and urban development [1,2]
This study proposes a modified solving algorithm for vehicle routing problem with pickups and deliveries (VRPPD) to design the express bus services (EBS) lines and determine the start terminal, the destination terminal and stops for all the EBS lines with the minimizing total distance traveled by the lines
The evidence of OD estimation based on the mobile phone data help us precisely decide the number of potential passengers of the EBS

Summary

Introduction

With four decades of economic development and urban population growth, Beijing, like other megacities in China, has experienced enormous sprawl and urban development [1,2]. The Beijing metropolitan area has formed a unique spatial structure with six concentric ring roads. An increasingly large number of low- and middle-income workers are living in the city fringe, whereas most of their jobs are in the inner area of Beijing [3,4,5,6]. The imbalance has led to increasing demand for long-distance centripetal commuting trips (i.e., trips from peripheries to the center) in morning peak hours [7,8], which places significant pressure on the transportation infrastructure [9,10]. Given the high cost of expanding infrastructures such as subways and roadways, the public has suggested new bus services for long-distance centripetal commuters, which would meet the excessive demand and relieve the pressure on rail transit and roads

Objectives

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion