Mixed Fuzzy-Logic and Game-Theoretical Approach to Justify Vehicle Models for Servicing the Public Bus Line

One of the main problems to be solved by the transport operators is the substantiation of the vehicle models servicing the transport lines. A gametheoretical approach is proposed in this paper to justify the bus model choice based on the passengers’ preferences and the structure of the passenger flows. To estimate the customers’ preferences, the membership functions for fuzzy sets of the optimal vehicle models were defined. The simulation experiment aiming to estimate the city fleet structure in terms of the vehicles’ capacity was conducted for the Talas city (Kazakhstan) based on the proposed approach with use of the corresponding software implementation of the developed mathematical models. As a result of the experimental studies, the impact of the passengers’ flow structure and the number of carriers on the rational structure of the city bus fleet was studied in the paper.

Robust Optimization Model for Single Line Dynamic Bus Dispatching

For effective bus operations, it is important to flexibly arrange the departure times of buses at the first station according to real-time passenger flows and traffic conditions. In dynamic bus dispatching research, existing optimization models are usually based on the prediction and simulation of passenger flow data. The bus departure schemes are formulated accordingly, and the passenger arrival rate uncertainty must be considered. Robust optimization is a common and effective method to handle such uncertainty problems. This paper introduces a robust optimization method for single-line dynamic bus scheduling. By setting three scenarios—the benchmark passenger flow, high passenger flow, and low passenger flow—the robust optimization model of dynamic bus departures is established with consideration of different passenger arrival rates in different scenarios. A genetic algorithm (GA) is improved for minimizing the total passenger waiting time. The results obtained by the proposed optimization method are compared with those from a stochastic programming method. The standard deviation of the relative regret value with stochastic optimization is 5.42%, whereas that of the relative regret value with robust optimization is 0.62%. The stability of robust optimization is better, and the fluctuation degree is greatly reduced.

Tariff policy offers on the line of magnetic levitation transport

Background: The transport interchange hub meets its fundamental function - the concentration and organization of traffic flows of various types of transport, including individual and passenger transfers, and is of a utilitarian nature. One of the possible solutions is to place not just transfer complexes, but multi-storey structures of this kind. Where the first floor is a distribution pedestrian level, the main task of which is to ensure the transfer of passengers in a comfortable environment. On the next level there are objects of passing passenger service, the three upper floors are "intercepting" parking. With the urban area adjacent to the node, communications are provided through underground pedestrian crossings. Aim: The commissioning of maglev transport lines in places of concentration of growing passenger traffic, which will help to reduce travel time, meet freight needs, improve the quality and increase travel safety when driving on dedicated lanes. At the same time, it is necessary to integrate maglev transport into the transport system of cities. Method: The article defines the goals and objectives of the placement of transport interchange complexes. The article presents a methodology for assessing the location of transport hubs, which consists of three stages. Results: At the first stage, in accordance with the proposed methodology, it is necessary to carry out an integrated assessment of the territories under consideration in order to determine the prospects for their development. At the second stage, it is necessary to analyze the existing transport infrastructure in the region, providing passenger traffic in order to identify areas with the greatest transport accessibility, both in the current period and in the future. At the third stage, on the basis of logistic criteria, the analysis of the transport network in the areas with the highest passenger flows is carried out.

Studying the regularities in public transport vehicle dwell time required for passenger boarding and deboarding

The review of the literature devoted to the research of public transport vehicle (PTV) dwell time required for passenger boarding-deboarding at a stop confirms the importance of taking this time into account when modelling passenger transportation. The data about the dwell time were collected in different time periods for different PTVs in various cities and countries. Thus, there is no general model allowing to define the distribution parameters of dwell time variable and answer the question on the regularities in time values. So, the research of the PTV dwell time at the public transport stops in Kharkiv remains actual. Goal. The search of the regularities in transport system performance indicators including PTV dwell time at a stop will allow to apply relevant mathematical methods for the development of the forecast models which are valuable in the field of organization of passenger transportation and servicing. Methodology. The developed methodology to collect data about PTV dwell time at the stops will allow receiving high-quality survey data. The designed survey sheets enable a surveyor to record all needed information and prepare it for processing. The collected data will allow to define the distribution of the PTV dwell time at a stop. Results. The conducted PTV dwell time survey allowed to collect the sufficient amount of data to estimate the distribution of this variable. During the research, it was determined that the empirical dwell time distribution can be well described with the theoretical gamma distribution. The latter distribution appeared to be applicable for all surveyed PTVs. Originality. The defined distribution of the PTV dwell time at a stop for passenger boarding-deboarding allows receiving the results of passenger flows modelling which are more precise compared to the modelling with no dwell time consideration. The use of the dwell time regularities in the procedure of passenger flows assignment results in the increased precision of flow volumes estimation by up to 14.9 % – from 2.28 % to 1.94 %. Practical value. The received results support the fact that the research of PTV dwell time at a stop is actual, and the solution of the task of dwell time distribution estimation will make it possible to improve passenger flows modelling in public transport route systems.

Assessment of sustainability of the Lviv city transport system according to the indicator of accessibility

Transport accessibility of the territory determines the possibility of getting a certain area using a certain transport mode of the existing transport network. The paper describes the concept of accessibility of the territory as a factor of sustainability of the urban transport system and methods of its assessment for urban conditions. It is proposed to use the indicator of the number of non-stop public transport routes between transport zones as a criterion for the "cost" of travel. Non-stop travel increases the comfort of public transport and reduces the financial costs of the passenger. The route network of the city of Lviv and interconnections of transport zones by public transport routes (bus, tram, and trolleybus) are analyzed. Modelling of passenger traffic volumes and their distribution by modes (private transport, public transport, and pedestrian traffic) was done in the PTV Visum software based on the matrix of a duration of movement and the matrix of the number of non-stop routes. It was found that at commensurate distances between transport zones, the number of non-stop routes increases the share of public transport users. The relationship between the number of non-stop routes and the share of public transport users is described by the logarithmic dependence. Comparing the simulated passenger flows on the public transport routes with the results of field researches, it was found that taking into account the number of non-stop routes between transport zones during the simulation allows increasing the accuracy of the results. Further research may focus on analyzing the impact of other factors that characterize the accessibility of the territory on the distribution of transport users between modes, and on the development of recommendations to the responsible city authorities to improve the city's passenger route network.

Analysis of Passenger Flows Served by Bus Routes in the city of Khujand

The study considered the role of passenger road transport as one of the most important sectors of the national economy, which influences the entire economy of a country and its regions, as well as the quality of life of the population.The analysis of the transport system in the city of Khujand, which is mainly dominated by road transport, has been carried out based on the results of the conducted survey on passenger flows on bus routes of the city, particularly, regarding origin-destination matrix, fare collectability.The conclusions argue in favour of practicability of conducting regular systematic monitoring of passenger flows to optimize suggestions in the field of urban public transport development. In fundamental terms, main problems of passenger transportation management were identified including lack of a regular timetable on certain routes, non-compliance with the traffic schedule, resulting in an increase in travel time, changes in routing due to the absence of sufficient number of passengers, systematic violations of traffic rules, excessively long stops at the hub stopping points, etc. The suggestions comprise approaches intended to reduce influence of organisational and managerial factors on efficiency of passenger transportation, on the correct choice of rolling stock, that should be selected considering design features, possibility of serving all segments of the population (categories of passengers), traffic intensity, manoeuvrability, compliance with road conditions, etc. Conclusions were also made regarding techniques to justify the volume of passenger transportation, to identify average distance of passenger’s trip, to calculate technical, operational, and quality indicators of operation of public transport, distribution of passengers per routes.The analysis of the structure of passenger flows since it influences the indicators of the effectiveness of passenger transportation, plays the most significant role in the framework of development of new approaches to the solution of transport issues in the city of Khujand.Implementation of full-scale monitoring of passenger flows will make it possible to develop appropriate timetables facilitating movement of passenger flows on routes, to select a rational type of rolling stock in terms of capacity, will contribute to time-saving passenger travelling, socialisation of transport tariffs, and improved quality of transportation.

Assessment of Applicability of Wi-Fi Analytics in Studies of Urban Public Transport Passenger Flow (Moscow Case Study)

The advantages and disadvantages of existing tools for calculating passenger flow are shown using the example of the city of Moscow.The objective of the research was to assess possibilities of using Wi-Fi data as a tool for analysing passenger flow. The authors used two types of Wi-Fi scanners and a tool they developed to analyse the collected data. The primary results of the study demonstrate the possibility of practical application of Wi-Fi data to analyse passenger flow.The described empirical studies, particularly data received from the portable Wi-Fi scanner, have shown that more than 20% of mobile devices in urban public transport and metro are used with Wi-Fi enabled, which is clearly not enough to get results necessary for comprehensive and detailed analysis of passenger flows. Nevertheless, the accumulating data allow to get possibility to forecast general passenger flow.A portable Wi-Fi scanner does not provide an opportunity to extensively capture a large area of the surveyed territory in real time (stops of urban public transport, locations where passengers enter the metro, etc.). Stationary Wi-Fi scanners could increase the amount of data and, accordingly, significantly adjust the results obtained. This enhancement could also be achieved through expansion of adoption of the tool of studying passenger flow to urban railways, i.e., in case of Moscow, to Moscow Central Circle and Moscow Central Diameters, as those routes provide Wi-Fi access at stations and in coaches.Data collected from Wi-Fi scanners can be an additional tool to other data sources, such as validation, automatic systems of passenger flow monitoring, and data obtained from cellular operators. For this reason, the further research in the field of Wi-Fi analytics along with development of technology in the field of existing data sources of passenger flow monitoring may result in better calculation of passenger flow.

A Mixed Decision Strategy for Freight and Passenger Transportation in Metro Systems

This paper proposes a mixed decision strategy for freight and passenger transportation in metro systems during off-peak hours (MTS-OPH). The definition of the mixed decision strategy is proposed, and fixed and flexible loading modes are considered for different passenger flow volumes. A mathematical model of the MTS-OPH is proposed and solved using an improved variable neighborhood search algorithm. Case studies demonstrate the performance and applicability of the proposed model and algorithm, and the MTS-OPH is discussed for different delivery distances, passenger flows, and metro network types. The proposed strategy is suitable for long-distance delivery, and the proposed model framework can be applied to different types of metro networks with different levels of complexity. The mixed decision strategy provides a decision support tool for metro and freight companies and can propose corresponding solutions according to different passenger flows.