ITS Applications in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Bus Rapid Transit and Mobility Management Strategies in Dar es Salaam - Tanzania

As transit agencies expand, they may outgrow their existing bus storage and service facilities. When selecting a site for an additional facility, an important consideration is the change in bus deadhead time, which affects the agency’s operating costs. Minimizing bus deadhead time is the subject of many studies, though agencies may lack the necessary software or programming skill to implement those methods. This study presents a flexible tool for determination of bus facility location. Using the R dodgr package, it evaluates each candidate site based on a given bus network and existing depots and calculates the network minimum deadhead time for each potential set of facilities. Importantly, the tool could be used by any transit agency, no matter its resources. It runs on open-source software and uses only General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) and data inputs readily available to transit agencies in the U.S.A., filling the accessibility gap identified in the literature. The tool is demonstrated through a case study with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), which is considering a new bus depot as it builds its bus rapid transit network. The case study used current MARTA bus GTFS data, existing depot locations, and vacant properties from Fulton County, Georgia. The tool evaluated 17 candidate sites and found that the winning site would save 29.7 deadhead hours on a typical weekday, which translates to more than $12,000 daily based on operating cost assumptions. The output provides important guidance to transit agencies evaluating sites for a new bus depot.

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Activity Participation and Perceptions on Informal Public Transport and Bus Rapid Transit in Dar es Salaam

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/0361198120948058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2674 (11) ◽

pp. 573-583

Author(s):

Lucy Joseph ◽

An Neven ◽

Karel Martens ◽

Opportuna Kweka ◽

Geert Wets ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Transport ◽

Traffic Congestion ◽

Geographical Information Systems ◽

Dar Es Salaam ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Transport Systems ◽

Bus Rapid Transit ◽

Activity Participation ◽

Rapid Transit ◽

Relative Contribution

This paper seeks to understand participation in out-of-home activities by inhabitants in Dar es Salaam, and their perceptions toward informal public transport (IPT) and bus rapid transit (BRT) in supporting these activities. Without fixed schedules, IPT (e.g., minibuses, motorcycles, and tricycles) is used as a means of transport for different trips. However, IPT is burdened by poor roads, traffic congestion, and high transport demand. Many developing cities are seeking to replace IPT with formal BRT lines. However, little is known in relation to the ability of IPT and BRT to support out-of-home activity participation of the inhabitants. This paper reports on a study in Dar es Salaam exploring the relative contribution of each type of service. The study took place before the opening of BRT, and encompasses focus group discussions, participatory geographical information systems, and questionnaires carried out in two study zones: one close to a BRT corridor and the other in a peri-urban location. The findings show that IPT was used to support participation in daily activities like work, education, shopping, and social matters; and was perceived to be flexible in providing access to both high and low density unplanned settlements. The BRT was viewed to benefit specific groups of people, especially individuals working in permanent offices in and around the city center, particularly professional workers. This paper sheds light on how the two systems were perceived by the local people and can inform policy makers about possible improvements in public transport systems to support activity participation of their inhabitants.

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Bus Rapid Transit (BRTS): A Case Study to Investigate Its Use by the Persons with Disability

Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing - Advances in Human Aspects of Transportation ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-41682-3_66 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 799-809

Author(s):

Devarshi Chaurasia ◽

Sandeep Sankat ◽

Sushil Kumar Solanki

Keyword(s):

Bus Rapid Transit ◽

Rapid Transit

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A Bi-Level Programming Model for Optimal Bus Stop Spacing of a Bus Rapid Transit System

Mathematics ◽

10.3390/math7070625 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (7) ◽

pp. 625

Author(s):

Cheng ◽

Zhao ◽

Zhang

Keyword(s):

Programming Model ◽

Bus Rapid Transit ◽

Rapid Transit ◽

Transit System ◽

Bus Stop ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Level Model ◽

Bus Stop Spacing ◽

Stop Spacing

The purpose of this study is to create a bi-level programming model for the optimal bus stop spacing of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, to ensure simultaneous coordination and consider the interests of bus companies and passengers. The top-level model attempts to optimize and determine optimal bus stop spacing to minimize the equivalent costs, including wait, in-vehicle, walk, and operator costs, while the bottom-level model reveals the relation between the locations of stops and spatial service coverage to attract an increasing number of passengers. A case study of Chengdu, by making use of a genetic algorithm, is presented to highlight the validity and practicability of the proposed model and analyze the sensitivity of the coverage coefficient, headway, and speed with different spacing between bus stops.

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ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATIONAL DATA OF A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM: A CASE-STUDY OF THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT (BRT), LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering ◽

10.4090/juee.2020.v14n1.087097 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 87-97

Author(s):

OLUFIKAYO OLUWASEUN ADERINLEWO ◽

Gbemileke Adekunle Akinyemi ◽

Abayomi Afolayan ◽

Abayomi Modupe

Keyword(s):

Waiting Time ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Transportation System ◽

Bus Rapid Transit ◽

Rapid Transit ◽

Lagos State ◽

Public Transportation System ◽

Bus Stops ◽

Operational Data

This paper assesses the operational data of a public transportation system, using the Bus Rapid Transit in Lagos State as a case study. Demographic data was collected through the administration of questionnaires to the commuters; this was carried out to observe variations in the population of the commuters from different perspectives. Some other categories of data were collected which include boarding and alighting, headway, arrival rate of commuters, waiting time of commuters and travel time data. These data were presented and analysed with MS Excel and Minitab statistical softwares. Results from the boarding and alighting data showed bus stops with high flux of commuters, these were at Ojota, Ketu, Mile 12, Costain, CMS and TBS. Probability distribution charts were prepared to analyze the remaining sets of data. This was carried out to study the distribution and consistency of the data. Coefficients of variation for the data were also estimated to study the variability of the data. From the study, the data followed normal distribution and they were consistent such that they can be used for further analysis of the system. It can be concluded that the distribution depicts the real situation at the study location. Thus, bus stops with high density of commuters should be provided with more buses so as to reduce the waiting time of commuters.

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