Energy Saving and CO2 Reduction Potential from Partial Bus Routes Reduction Model in Bangkok Urban Fringe

Abstract

Bus networks in many capital cities are long distances and partially overlapping with each other. As a result, waiting time is high and energy consumption efficiency is poor. Bus operators in many countries tried to reform their bus routes to reduce waiting time and fuel costs by reducing overlapping bus routes. However, most of the reformed bus routes were complicated, which caused discomfort to passengers to use the bus service. To overcome this problem, this study proposed a new bus reformed model called the Partial Bus Routes Reduction in Urban Fringe Model (PBRU) which was a simple and passenger-friendly route operation. It resulted in 14% of total inbound and 16% of total outbound passengers receiving the benefit of waiting time reduction. Most passengers wait twice at the resident bus-stop and transfer point. As a result, the overall waiting time increased by 0.72–3.75 min. The reduction of fuel consumption was consistent with increasing load factors and dependent on the time period. The bus reform operations during the off-peak hours had more benefits in terms of waiting time reduction, energy-saving potential, and CO2 reduction than during the rush hours.

Using Combined Bus Rapid Transit and Buses in a Dedicated Bus Lane to Enhance Urban Transportation Sustainability

“…This research could be useful for the BRT operators to achieve successful operations of the CBBD measure, which could also promote sustainable development of urban public transportation systems in the long term. Further studies could explore opportunities to increase the load factor of the BRT fleets with the CBBD reform using similar methodology to the study on Rama 2 Road [29] to extend the reduction of energy consumption and emissions.…”

“…The similar methodology for combining routes or facilities was also conducted for other transportation networks such as bus, container, and airline networks [25][26][27][28]. In [29], the Rama 2 Road in Bangkok is reported to have a reduction of the overlapping of the route between regular buses. Meanwhile in this study, the effect of overlapping route reduction between bus and BRT is discussed.…”