Effects of Onboard Ticket Sales on Public Transport Reliability

Abstract

The punctuality and the reliability of public transport are key factors in the choice of travel mode, and they also affect operating costs. When travel time on a route varies significantly, public transport operators need to increase scheduled buffer time to maintain punctuality and reliability. This increases costs by increasing staffing and equipment needed to offer a given level of service. The variability in route travel time depends on many factors, including traffic conditions, number of passengers, and operating practices (e.g., boarding processes). A study was done to evaluate the impact of one boarding subprocess, ticket sales, on bus dwell time at stops. The research confirmed that onboard ticket sales can significantly affect a public transport line's travel time and reliability. The research showed that onboard ticket sales subprocesses are relatively long and vary significantly; consequently, they strongly influence schedule reliability. Results showed that the time spent selling tickets can be up to 20% of the total run time. However, the biggest problem is the great variance in time spent on the ticket sales process.

A discussion on the dwell time values at bus stops

“…Tablo 4: Yavaşlama oranı ölçeklendirme katsayıları [8]. Bağıntılardan da anlaşılabileceği gibi, hızlanma ve yavaşlama süreleri otobüsün durmadan önceki ve kalkıştan sonraki hızına bağlıdır.…”

“…Dorbritz ve diğ. otobüs üzerinde ücret toplama sürecinin, toplam yolculuk süresinin yaklaşık %20'sine ulaşabildiğini, ücret toplama süresinin yüksek varyasyonlar gösterebildiğini ve servis güvenilirliği üzerinde güçlü bir etkisi olduğunu ortaya koymuştur [8]. Sun ve diğ.…”

Bus Operations Scheduling Subject to Resource Constraints Using Evolutionary Optimization

“…Travel times in transport networks can vary significantly over different time periods of the day due to road traffic and passenger demand fluctuations (Dorbritz et al [37]). This is evident in our analysis of historical AVL data, the results of which are presented in Figure 2.…”

Accounting for travel time variability in the optimal pricing of cars and buses

“…Moghaddam et al (2011) also estimated a positive relationship between the standard deviation of travel time and the volume/capacity ratio as an indicator for congestion on the route. Onboard fare collections systems, including cash payment, have been found to increase the standard deviation of boarding times (Dorbritz et al, 2009). …”

“…First, buses have to stop in order to transfer passengers, creating interactions between vehicles and passengers (in the boarding and alighting process), and among vehicles (e.g., queuing delays). The dwell time may also be variable, and such variability depends on several factors, including the scheduled headway, the number of passengers getting on and off, and the bus fare collection system (Dorbritz et al, 2009). …”