Passengers, Information, and Disruptions

Passengers traveling in public transport generate a detailed digital track record of their journey through using automated fare collection systems and carrying mobile devices. This information on passenger behavior has only recently become available to public transport operators. This thesis addresses the question how this new information can be used to improve passenger service in case of disruptions in public transportation. Major disruptions cause the current logistical schedule of the operator to be infeasible. Adjusting this schedule to the disruption is a complicated planning problem. Passengers will adjust their journeys to the new schedule, and may need to adjust their route choice due to the route choice of other passengers in case of capacity shortages. Therefore the passenger service results from a complex interaction between passengers themselves, and between passengers and the schedule. This thesis proposes new models for improving passenger service in case of major disruptions by adjusting the schedule while anticipating passenger’s reactions, and also by supporting passengers during disruptions through the provision of route advice. This research is combined with a study on passenger behavior based on the new data sources. The models are evaluated using data and case studies of the passenger rail network of Netherlands Railways and the urban rail network of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It was found that indeed this new information, together with the option to provide route advice to passengers, could significantly improve service during major disruptions

The Transport Disruption Ontology

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On the Factors that Affect Airline Flight Frequency and Aircraft Size

This paper assesses the determinants of aircraft size and frequency of flights on airline routes by considering market demographics, airport characteristics, airline characteristics and route characteristics. The paper shows that frequency and aircraft size increase with population, income, and runway length. An increase in the proportion of managerial workers in the labor force or the proportion of population below the age of 25 results in greater frequency with the use of small planes. Slot constrained airports and an increase in the number of nearby airports lead to lower flight frequency with the use of smaller planes. Hubs and low cost carriers are associated with larger plane sizes and higher frequency, while regional airline ownership leads to higher frequency and the use of smaller planes. An increase in distance between the endpoints leads to lower frequency with the use of larger planes. As airport delay rises, airlines reduce frequency and use smaller planes, though when airport cancellations rise, flight frequency increases with the use of larger planes. This finding suggests airlines utilize frequency and aircraft size to hedge against flight cancellations.Airline; Frequency; Aircraft size; Markets

Build an app and they will come? Lessons learnt from trialling the GetThereBus app in rural communities

Acknowledgements The research described here was supported by the award made by the RCUK Digital Economy programme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub; award reference: EP/G066051/1.Peer reviewedPostprin

Disruptions to Transportation Networks: A Review

Travel decisions may be very stable in a familiar environment. Major network disruptions such as the I-35W bridge collapse disrupt habitual behavior. Such ``natural'' experiments provide unique opportunities for behavioral studies, but the time window for such studies is limited. A well-developed methodology is crucial for both data collection and analysis, and thus the soundness of behavioral models , especially in such a limited time window. Therefore, this paper reviews both theoretical and empirical studies on traffic and behavioral impacts of network disruptions. Findings from this paper offers prospective ideas about capturing the impacts of network disruption.Network disruption; Travel survey; Travel behavior