Fleet Service Scheduling for Transit Movement on an Urban Arterial in Ilorin, Nigeria

Public transit schemes operating in unplanned urban centres are characterized by traffic induced congestions with consequent unfriendly, uneconomic and unreliable experiences of the commuters who are mostly captive. This study was carried out on the University of Ilorin transit scheme in order to establish the desired improvement strategies for effective movement of captive commuters on the route who are mostly students. A passenger demand estimate was made alongside the commuters’ transit operational characteristics determination with both observatory and questionnaire approaches. The study showed that there is no schedule movement of vehicles known to the commuters. The load factor of the buses in the fleet is presently 2.2 which is considered crowded. The analysis showed that two and three buses should be added to the morning and afternoon fleets respectively, each of which presently runs three 55-seater buses as immediate necessary measure to improve commuting. Cycle lengths of 65 minutes and 78 minutes are designed for the morning and afternoon operations respectively. A schedule for movement of the buses is designed which should be made available to the commuters to enhance their trip planning. The travel demand forecast shows that by 2027/2028 alternative bigger transit vehicles such as light rails should be introduced along the movement corridor to meet travel demands. Bus Rapid Transit along dedicated lanes can also be considered which will reduce travel time.