Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual Applied to a Bus Corridor in Dublin, Ireland

Abstract

The introduction of 11 quality bus corridors (QBCs) has been a success story in the provision of public transport in Dublin, Ireland, over the past few years. In a city where the bus is the main mode of public transport, the QBC initiative has resulted in decreased commute times and increased ridership. QBCs operate on dedicated traffic lanes between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and in certain instances on a 24-h basis. The performance of the Malahide QBC, which extends 7.5 km (4.7 mi) from the city center to the northeast of the city, is measured by examining service coverage, headway, and transit/ automobile travel time (the difference in travel time between transit and private vehicles). The Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual (TCQSM) is used to provide quality of service measurements on the corridor to evaluate its performance. Data for the TCQSM analysis were taken from an automatic license plate recognition system that was installed on the Malahide QBC in 2003. Future plans for the QBC network are presented, along with a concluding examination of how QBCs play a role in providing a more efficient public transport system in Dublin.

Calculation of Transit Performance Measures Using Smartcard Data

“…This manual recommended the evaluation of transit systems using six performance measures: service frequency, hours of service, service coverage, passenger loading, reliability, and transit vs. automobile travel time. Many examples of transit performance evaluation using the TCQSM can be found in the literature (among others, Perk and Foreman 2003;Caulfield and O'Mahony 2004). These measures generally are estimated using surveys or onboard counts, which provide a snapshot of the service on a particular day.…”

Passenger requirements of a public transport ticketing system

“…Passengers were offered the following alternatives: [1] Onboard purchase (no change given), [2] Purchase ticket from mobile phones via Short Message Service (SMS) and [3] Purchase ticket from a vending machine. Currently in Dublin option one is available to all bus users and option three is available to all train users with a limited number of vending machines available for bus users.…”

“…This trial period will for the first time in Dublin utilise pre-paid contact-less smart cards, and operate a check in and check out (CICO) on their bus services. The purpose of this CICO system is two-fold [1] to ensure accurate fares under a distance based scheme [2] the operator will have better information on their passengers movements aiding transport planning (6).…”

“…The following options were presented to respondents; [1] Tickets paid for with cash (no change given, no notes), [2] Tickets paid for with cash (no change given, no notes) and credit and debit cards and [3] Tickets paid for with cash (change given) and credit and debit cards. Passengers were asked to rank alternatives from 1-3 with 1 indicating their highest preference.…”

“…The main operator Dublin Bus operates a fleet of 1,100 buses and in 2003 operated 149 million passenger journeys (1). The introduction of QBC's in Dublin in 1996 has been a great success, with a significant modal shift realised and buses providing competitive commute times versus private cars (2). Since the 1980's Irish Rail have operated a heavy rail service called Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART).…”