Finding Optimal Timetables for Edinburgh Bus Routes

AbstractWe present a novel application of stochastic simulation and model-checking methods to determining whether bus services are fulfilling their service-level agreement to provide on-time departures of buses from stops sufficiently often. We use open data on predicted bus arrival times to parameterise a stochastic model of a particular bus route from Edinburgh city centre out to suburban and rural areas to the south of the city. We validate and then analyse our stochastic model using both simulation and model-checking methods. Finally, we complete an optimisation study on the model and discover a better timetable for the service which would expose the bus service operator to less financial risk of penalties being applied by the regulatory authorities which define standards for bus service, punctuality and reliability

The philosophy and practice of Taktfahrplan: a case-study of the East Coast Main Line.

Executive Summary This Working Paper has three purposes, represented by three Parts: - to explain the principles of the Taktfahrplan approach to railway timetabling; - to summarise the implications of the background research on the structure of the network; and - to describe the exercise of constructing a Taktfahrplan for the East Coast Main Line that formed the case-study of the potential benefits of such a scheme compared with the existing timetable. In Part I the broad principles and objectives are first outlined, and the advantages and disadvantages discussed [§ 1.1,1.2]. A Taktfahrplan is based on standard hours and the careful, network-wide coordination of sewices. It is recognised that ultimately the choice between this and conventional timetabling methods must depend on an evaluation of the loss of present flexibility to adjust to time-specific market demands against the gains from enhanced connectivity and from the fact of regularity. Issues concerning resources and the management of peak periods are also explained. Terminology is then dealt with because words and phrases are being used with imprecise and various meanings [§1.3]. There follows a detailed account of the arithmetic rules through which the ideal relationships between train (and bus) sewices can be attained, together with an explanation of the measures that can be taken to make the best compromises in the face of the characteristics of the real network - or to adjust it over time [§ 1.4]. In Part 2 the research to highlight features of the underlying demand for travel is described. This is not a necessary component of strategic timetable planning, but it is argued that it is desirable in order both to break free from the historical baggage and to seize the business, environmental and social-policy opportunities that a 'clean- sheet' timetable would present [§2.1]. The provisional findings from this work (it was left incomplete for reasons that are explained) are then deployed to form the skeleton of a national network connecting 100 important centres with 158 links. This is followed by an analysis of the very variable standards of the rail timetable on those links and of the road competition and by an account of some first thoughts as to how a full-scale Taktfahrplan might start to be developed on this network [§2.2]. This emphasises the inter-relationships between sewices and the inescapable consequences for pathing trains, once it is accepted that sensible spacing of services and striving for good connectivity are more important than optimising routes on a self-contained basis. It was thought appropriate to include a summary of the findings regarding the low-density end of the current rail system in order to indicate the issues that Taktfahrplan might raise in this respect [§2.3]. The East Coast case-study is presented in Part 3. Some technical matters are explained first, including the key point that the exercise used the Viriato timetabling software employed by the Swiss Federal Railways (and many other systems) to construct Taktfahrpliine [§3.1]. Successive sub-parts then describe groups of services: long-distance [§3.2], services within Scotland [§3.3], services in North East England [§3.4], the trans-Pennine network [§3.5] and some of the Yorkshire services [§3.6]

The design and application of the stop-specific bus map

Abstract available: p.i

Anatomy and efficiency of urban multimodal mobility

International audienceThe growth of transportation networks and their increasing interconnections, although positive,has the downside effect of an increasing complexity which make them difficult to use, to assess, andlimits their efficiency. On average in the UK, 23% of travel time is lost in connections for trips withmore than one mode, and the lack of synchronization decreases very slowly with population size.This lack of synchronization between modes induces differences between the theoretical quickest tripand the ‘time-respecting’ path, which takes into account waiting times at interconnection nodes.We analyse here the statistics of these paths on the multilayer, temporal network of the entire,multimodal british public transportation system. We propose a statistical decomposition – the‘anatomy’ – of trips in urban areas, in terms of riding, waiting and walking times, and which showshow the temporal structure of trips varies with distance and allows us to compare different cities.Weaknesses in systems can be either insufficient transportation speed or service frequency, but thekey parameter controlling their global efficiency is the total number of stop events per hour for allmodes. This analysis suggests the need for better optimization strategies, adapted to short, longunimodal or multimodal trips

Work, labour and mobility: opening up a dialogue between fmobilities and political economy through mobile work

This paper demonstrates how mobilities perspectives might contribute to debates in political economy on labour and work, by interrogating mobility’s relation to work and labour. The paper makes four interventions. It offers (1) an overview of the literature on mobile work, working with mobilities concerns to develop a typology grounded in movement in geographical space. (2) It then examines how different types of mobile work are coordinated. Coordination is achieved by devices, some of which (timetables and algorithms) choreograph movement in space and time whilst others (e.g. signals, tachographs, apps) control, record and evaluate movement. Focusing on coordination devices allows for mobile labour to be differentiated from mobile work. In platform-mediated mobile work the governance of work through dashboards of mobility, and the consolidation and marketization of mobility data from mobile workers, turns mobile work to mobile labour, and the relation of labour and mobility from one of contingency to dependency. The paper further shows (3) how coordination devices shape the conditions of mobile work and the affective experience of working on-the-move in space and time. As a condition of more jobs is that they are done on-the-move, a consequence (4) is that labour activists recognise the conditions of mobility in employment

Instruments of Transport Policy.

The material in this Working Paper was generated as input to DETR's Guidance on the Methodology for Multi Modal Studies (GOMMMS). DETR subsequently decided only to provide summary information on transport policy measures, and to leave the consultants involved in individual multi modal studies to make their own assessment of individual policy measures in the context of specific study areas. It has been decided to make this fuller document available as a reference source. The purpose of the review of policy measures was to provide summary information on the range of policy measures available, experience of their use and, based on past studies, their potential contribution to the range of policy objectives specified for GOMMMS. The review was based on an earlier one included in the Institution of Highways and Transportation's Guidelines on Developing Urban Transport Strategies (1996). This material was updated using references published since 1996 and expanded to cover policy measures relevant in inter-urban areas. It had been intended to circulate it for comment before publishing a revised version. However, DETR decided to use an abridged version before this consultation was complete. It should be borne in mind that this document has not, therefore, undergone the peer assessment which had been intended. To avoid unnecessary further work, the material is presented as it had been drafted for the GOMMMS Guidance document. The only modifications have been to change the chapter and paragraph numbers, and to remove the cross references to other parts of the Guidance document

MaaS for the suburban market : Incorporating carpooling in the mix

This research was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 636427.Peer reviewedPostprin