Effects of transit real-time information usage strategies.

Fonzone, Achille; Schmoecker, Jan-Dirk

Abstract

Real-time information is becoming increasingly available to transit travellers. This paper discusses the effects of RTI available before the start of a journey in terms of line loads as well as passenger benefits. We consider that it can affect the choice of departure time and stop as well as the route choice. Two types of travellers with access to RTI are distinguished: Travellers who want to arrive at their destination as soon as possible and passengers who prefer to stay slightly longer at their current location if this can reduce their travel time. For illustration we use a network with irregular service arrivals and take the optimal strategy approach of Spiess and Florian (1) as a benchmark for passengers without RTI access. We find that, as expected, travellers without RTI travel longer but also that particular combinations of traveller strategy and RTI provision lead to counterintuitive effects. We further illustrate that the two strategies of the RTI access travellers can lead to significant differences in loads. Implications for demand management are discussed.

Citation

Fonzone, A., & Schmoecker, J. (2014). Effects of transit real-time information usage strategies. Transportation research record, 2417, 121-129. https://doi.org/10.3141/2417-13

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2014
• Deposit Date: Jul 28, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 31, 2014
• Print ISSN: 0361-1981
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2417
• Pages: 121-129
• Book Title: TRB Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers
• ISBN: 9780309295277
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3141/2417-13
• Keywords: Public transit; Real time information; Route choice strategies; Transit riders; Travel time; simulation
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/6957
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2417-13