Customized Bus Network Design Based on Individual Reservation Demands

Zhiling Han, Yanyan Chen, Hui Li, Kuanshuang Zhang and Jiyang Sun
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Zhiling Han: Beijing Key Laboratory of Traffic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Yanyan Chen: Beijing Key Laboratory of Traffic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Hui Li: School of Civil Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou Henan 450001, China
Kuanshuang Zhang: Beijing Jinghang Research Institute of Computing and Communication, Beijing 100074, China
Jiyang Sun: Beijing Key Laboratory of Traffic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 19, 1-25

Abstract: With the advantages of congestion alleviation, environmental friendliness, as well as a better travel experience, the customized bus (CB) system to reduce individual motorized travel is highly popular in increasing numbers of cities in China. The line planning problem is a key aspect of the CB system. This paper presents a detailed flow chart of a CB network planning methodology, including individual reservation travel demand data processing, CB line origin–destination (OD) area division considering quantity constraints of demand in areas and distance constraints based on agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC), an initial set of CB lines generating quantity constraints of the demand on each line and line length constraints, and line selection model building, striking a balance between operator interests, social benefits, and passengers’ interests. Finally, the impacts of the CB vehicle type, the fixed operation cost of online car-hailing (OCH), and the weights of each itemized cost are discussed. Serval operating schemes for the Beijing CB network were created. The results show that the combination of CB vehicles with 49 seats and 18 seats is the most cost-effective and that CBs with low capacity are more cost-effective than those with larger capacity. People receive the best service when decision-makers pay more attention to environmental pollution and congestion issues. The CB network’s service acceptance rate and the spatial coverage increase with the fixed operating cost per OCH vehicle per day c 0 C . The CB vehicle use decreases as c 0 C c c increases. The results of this study can provide technical support for CB operators who design CB networks.

Keywords: customized bus; online car-hailing service data; hierarchical clustering; line selection model; network planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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