Optimizing bus stop locations for walking access: Stops-first design of a feeder route to enhance a residential plan

Abstract

Feeder buses provide a small but important part of the public transport system by carrying people between residential areas and transport interchanges. A feeder bus to a train station planned in advance will attract new residents of a housing development to use the bus. The bus route can influence the location choice of a buyer concerned about access for children, the elderly or anyone not wishing to drive a car. Our bus route modelling starts with the bus stops – not the route – to be reached from each dwelling by the shortest possible walk. In demand terms, people locating close to bus stops are more likely to use the service than those choosing more distant locations, and the nearby residences have higher values. The stops-first application determines a feeder bus route to enhance an irregular residential plan covering an area of one square kilometre. The planned road and housing lot locations provide the data for calculating the access measure from each dwelling to each potential bus stop, the closest stop being used. A genetic algorithm tests potential bus stops to find demand maximizing locations, the propensity to use the bus being formulated as an exponential (increasing elasticity) function of walking distance. Then a ‘travelling salesman’ genetic algorithm finds the shortest route linking the stops, so that an efficient circuit route is generated for each alternative number of bus stops, ranging from 7 to 11. More stops not only give better access but also increase the route length, so that total accessibility must be assessed against route length. The distribution of walking distances shows most between 150 and 240 metres, with none more than 400 metres. The results indicate that planning policy should require prior design of a bus route to achieve good walking accessibility, so that residents become accustomed to the convenience of using the bus. This study shows that, at the planning stage, estimating a bi-objective model giving a Pareto front between accessibility and route length can reveal a policy compromise that shortens the route with little reduction in expected patronage.

Optimization for Feeder Bus Route Model Design with Station Transfer

“…To solve the problem of a better connection between bus and subway, Wei et al [5] constructed a feeder bus route optimization model, which was solved by a genetic algorithm, and verified its feasibility through case analysis. Taplin et al [6] and Li et al [7] considered the feeder bus route and passenger walking distance and used a genetic algorithm to solve the optimization model of the feeder bus route. Vanany et al [8] proposed a genetic-algorithm-based approach to develop a feeder bus routing model to determine the best flow of routes and the minimum number of feeder buses.…”

“…For the starting point, Equation (5) ensures that there is no path to the starting point, and there is only one path sent by the starting point. For the ending point, Equation (6) ensures that the ending point can only be in not out. For intermediate stations, Equation (7) ensures that if route s passes through node k, there is only one path for j to enter station k and exit station k.…”

Collaborative Optimization Model for the Design and Operation of Feeder Bus Routes Based on Urban Metro

“…Recently, feeder bus routes' optimization model and algorithm were studied [11][12][13]. Among them, the leading idea was the heuristic algorithm [11,14,15]. To solve the problem of a better connection between the feeder bus and the metro, Zheng et al [16] built a model to quantify the feeder demand at each bus stop.…”

“…Deng et al [18] proposed a new split delivery model using the genetic algorithm (GA) for the feeder bus network design based on the transfer network. Taplin and Sun [15] and Li et al [19] considered the feeder bus route and passenger walking distance and used a GA to solve the optimization model of the feeder bus route.…”

A Spatial Analysis of Subsidised Bus Route Catchment Feasibility in an Urban Area in Malaysia

“…Globally, buses are the most prevalent, affordable, and accessible mode of transportation. When a broad geographic area is served, bus service planning is optimal (Taplin & Sun, 2020). Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, reorganized bus corridors according to primary routes in the city center through the implementation of the Bus Network Revamp (BNR) in 2015 (Norhisham et al, 2018).…”