Author(s)

M. Gallo, L. D’Acierno & B. Montella

Abstract

In this paper we propose a model for optimising bus frequencies under the assumption of elastic demand, considering explicitly the effects of changes in transit supply on modal split. Indeed, neglecting demand elasticity may lead to solutions that may not represent actual design objectives. Using an objective function that is a weighted sum of user costs on all transportation systems (car and bus), operation costs and external costs, we propose a heuristic solution algorithm that is able to solve the problem in acceptable computing times, also for real-scale problems. The model and the algorithm are tested on a large urban multimodal network. Keywords: transit network design, bus frequencies, elastic demand, optimisation models. 1 Introduction The Transit Network Design Problem (see also Ceder and Wilson [1]) consists in optimising the main features of a transit network (line routes, frequencies, timetables, etc.). This problem has been extensively studied in the literature, some recent reviews being available in Guihaire and Hao [2] and Desaulniers and Hickman [3]. In this field, a major sub-problem is to design transit frequencies under the assumption that line routes are known and only service frequencies have to be designed. Several authors have focused on optimising transit frequencies, amongst whom Salzborn [4, 5], Furth and Wilson [6], Han and Wilson [7]

Keywords

transit network design, bus frequencies, elastic demand, optimisation models