Optimal sectional fare and frequency settings for transit networks with elastic demand

S. Sun and W.Y. Szeto

Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 2019, vol. 127, issue C, 147-177

Abstract: Sectional fares have been used in transit services in practice but are rarely examined analytically and compared with flat and distance-based fares, especially under the considerations of path choice, elastic demand, service frequency, and profitability. This paper proposes a bilevel programming model to jointly determine the fare and frequency setting to maximize transit operator's profit. The preceding three fare structures can be incorporated into the bilevel model. To consider the path choice and elastic demand in the bilevel model, the existing approach-based stochastic user equilibrium transit assignment model for the fixed demand was extended to the elastic demand case and the resultant model was used in the lower level model. To solve the bilevel model, the sensitivity-based descent search method that takes into account the approach-based formulation for the elastic demand transit assignment is proposed, in which the approach-based formulation was solved by the cost-averaging self-regulated averaging method. Numerical studies and mathematical analyses were performed to examine the model properties and compare the three fare structures. The result of the Tin Shui Wai network instance is also provided to illustrate the performance of the solution method.

Keywords: Fare optimization; Frequency setting; Transit assignment; Bilevel optimization; Transit network design; Sensitivity-based heuristic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191261518306532
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:transb:v:127:y:2019:i:c:p:147-177

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.trb.2019.06.011

Access Statistics for this article

Transportation Research Part B: Methodological is currently edited by Fred Mannering

More articles in Transportation Research Part B: Methodological from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().