Understanding the impacts of a combination of service improvement strategies on bus running time and passenger’s perception

Authors

Ehab I. Diab
Ahmed M. El-Geneidy, McGill University

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2012

Subject Area

infrastructure - busway, infrastructure - traffic signals, mode - bus, place - north america, ridership - perceptions, technology - ticketing systems

Keywords

Running time, Limited-stop bus service, Articulated buses, Reserved lane, Smart card fare collection, Transit signal priority (TSP)

Abstract

Transit agencies implement many strategies in order to provide an attractive transportation service. This article aims to evaluate the impacts of implementing a combination of strategies, designed to improve the bus transit service, on running time and passenger satisfaction. These strategies include using smart card fare collection, introducing limited-stop bus service, implementing reserved bus lanes, using articulated buses, and implementing transit signal priority (TSP). This study uses stop-level data collected from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM)’s automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic passenger count (APC) systems, in Montréal, Canada. The combination of these strategies has lead to a 10.5% decline in running time along the limited stop service compared to the regular service. The regular route running time has increased by 1% on average compared to the initial time period. The study also shows that riders are generally satisfied with the service improvements. They tend to overestimate the savings associated with the implementation of this combination of strategies by 3.5–6.0 min and by 2.5–4.1 min for both the regular route and the limited stop service, respectively. This study helps transit planners and policy makers to better understand the effects of implementing a combination of strategies to improve running time and passenger’s perception of these changes in service.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Transportation Research Part A Home Page:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564

Recommended Citation

Diab, E.I., El-Geneidy, A.M. (2012). Understanding the impacts of a combination of service improvement strategies on bus running time and passenger’s perception. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 46, (3), pp. 614-625.