Study of passenger-bus-traffic interactions on bus stop operations

Buses are the unsung heroes of public transport in modern cities around the world in high,medium and low income countries. However, the bus system is usually cobbled by poordesign which has resulted from poor understanding of how a busThis paper examines theimpacts of the interactions between buses, passengers and traffic on bus operations, especiallyin relation to delays and capacity at bus stops. First, the principles of bus stop operations arepresented. Issues like the stages of bus stop operations, the classification of times spent at busstops, causes of delays, and the interaction between bus flow and stop delays are analysed.This leads to the necessity of microscopic simulation to study stops operations. Then, anillustration of the sort of understanding that can be achieved with a simulation modem isshown. Simulation experiments regarding arrival patterns of buses and passengers, boardingtimes, difficulties for buses to leave the stop, and vehicle capacity are presented. Resultsindicate that it is important not to underestimate the real situation found at bus stops, asdesigning for ideal conditions will be insufficient if the reality is different

Development of a warehouse slotting model to improve picking performance

Congestion during picking operations in warehouse with mixed aisles (narrow aisles and wide aisles) has rarely been studied in current literature in the context of warehouse slotting (i.e. arrangement of inventory in warehouse). This study aims at improving the picking efficiency of the Asmodee Canada Inc. warehouse. Using a combination of clustering slotting heuristics and popularity-based slotting heuristics, a re-slotting policy was developed. Furthermore, to provide a robust re-slotting with limited number of items moves, a healing technique based on urgency score was developed. Use of a process control chart to monitor the picking performance of Asmodee’s warehouse and hence to signal healing was suggested. Using picking simulation, we find that when the re-slotting heuristics is used, there is substantial reduction in distance travelled of up to 29% and waiting times due to congestion can be reduced by as much as 85%. The healing technique also decreased distance travelled and waiting times. However, as the number of items moved in healing constitute on average less than 5% of the items, such improvements are limited. The distance traveled was reduced by as high as 9.4% in some aggregated orders and waiting time reduction was as high as 29.1%. The techniques developed in this paper will help Asmodee Canada Inc. in improving their picking operations. It will also help to build better strategies for warehouses having mixed aisles, where in aisle congestion is an issue to consider while re-slotting

Traffic-responsive urban network control using multivariable regulators

The paper presents the philosophy, the aim, the development, the advantages, and the potential shortcomings of the TUC (Traffic-responsive Urban Control) strategy. Based on a store-and-forward modeling approach and using well-known methods of the Automatic Control Theory, the approach followed by TUC designs (off-line) and employs (on-line) a multivariable regulator for traffic-responsive co-ordinated network-wide signal control. Simulation investigations are used to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach. Based on the presented investigations, summarising conclusions are drawn and future work is outlined

A Review of Traffic Signal Control.

The aim of this paper is to provide a starting point for the future research within the SERC sponsored project "Gating and Traffic Control: The Application of State Space Control Theory". It will provide an introduction to State Space Control Theory, State Space applications in transportation in general, an in-depth review of congestion control (specifically traffic signal control in congested situations), a review of theoretical works, a review of existing systems and will conclude with recommendations for the research to be undertaken within this project