Optimization of transit‐system characteristics

Abstract

The transit industry is facing declining ridership and increasing costs with no apparent end in sight. This paper takes the view that totally new solutions are needed. The approach is to examine the equation for total cost of a transit system per passenger-mile to determine how to configure a new system to minimize this quantity. Term-by-term analysis leads to derivation of a consistent set of optimum characteristics. Guideway costs are minimized by distributing the load in very small capsules. The fleet cost is minimized by increasing the average speed without increasing the cruising speed by use of off-line stations, which in turn minimize energy use by permitting nonstop trips. Maintenance costs are minimized by designing a very light-weight, automated vehicle with very few moving parts. While this general configuration has been known for several decades, it has not been generally recognized that it can be derived by minimization of system costs, and that cost minimization is obtained simultaneously with service maximization. While a great deal of controversy surrounded this concept a decade ago, advances in technology make it fully practical now. J. EDWARD ANDERSON is Executive Vice President of Automated Transportation Systems,Inc.. and is on leave from the University of Minnesota where he serves as Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

Evaluation of advanced transit alternatives using consumer welfare

“…Cost ®gures for DRT are based on interviews with managers at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency and Sacramento Paratransit, and on the Lea and Elliott Transit Compendium (1975). Cost ®g-ures for PRT are based on information from system developers whose systems can be considered to be in an advanced state of development, including Raytheon 2000 (Schupp, 1996), Taxi 2000 (Anderson, 1985(Anderson, , 1988a, and Yeoida systems (Woobo Architects and Engineers Inc, 1994). It is assumed that projects will be built in the year 2010 and funded with a 25-yr bond.…”

Automated transit vehicle size considerations

“…In the type of transit system envisioned here, however, a larger group can easily take two vehicles, which would be only a few seconds apart. Anderson (1984) showed that the O&M cost per place-mile (O&M cost per vehicle-mile divided by vehicle capacity) of transit systems is remark-ably independent of vehicle size. The use of small vehicles therefore does not increase the O&M cost of a vehicle fleet of a given capacity.…”

“…In off-peak periods, vehicle frequency must decrease, causing further decline in the load factor. With scheduled service, daily load factors average up to about 0.20 (Anderson, 1984).…”

Analysis of flows and speeds of urban transit systems for consideration of modal transition in a corridor

“…There is a substantial amount of peerreviewed literature on the general design and optimization of transit service in a given corridor [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. The relationship between rail line location within a corridor and land use was explored in [3] and, [12].…”