MS372: TRANSPORTATION

PLANNING
RESOURCE PERSON: Mr. Nazam Ali (nazam.ali@umt.edu.pk) 1

Lecture 09

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

In continuation of previous discussion, this lecture will cover

1. Designing routes

2. Street-side factors influencing Bus Operations

 Placement of Bus Stops

 Bus stop zone design types

3. Bus Stop Components

4. Principles of supporting access infrastructure design

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 If you demand no-transfer service, as many people do, you may be demanding a

mediocre network for your city.

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 It takes me where I want to go.

 It takes me when I want to go.

 It's a good use of my time.

 It's a good use of my money.

 It respects me.

 I can trust it.

 It gives me freedom to change my plans

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 Direct Service Option

 Connective Option

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 Suppose that each line run

every 30 minutes and for

simplicity, assume that all the
lines, in all the scenarios, are
20 minutes long.

avg. wait 15 minutes

+ Ride 20 minutes

= 35 Minutes
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 Suppose that each line run
every 30 minutes
avg. Wait 5 minutes
+ Ride 10 minutes
+ Wait 5 minutes
+ Ride 10 minutes
= 30 minutes

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The Connective Network is faster, even though it imposes a connection, because of the much higher frequencies

that it can offer for the same total budget.

 Faster: much higher frequencies

 maximize mobility with fixed budget

 Better average travel time

 Stimulates ridership

 As cities grow, the travel time advantages of the Connective Network increase e.g. in case of 6 residential areas

and 6 activity centres, the direct-service network would have 36 routes, while the connective network would have

only six. 8
However, connections service impose

 Transfer penalty

Inconvenience = 10 minutes of travel time = lower ridership

 Politically unsafe solution

 Commuters Objection

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Challenges in Development of transit systems :

 Encourage patronage,

 Provide dependable and efficient service,

 Operable within the budgetary and political constraints

Bus service is the most common form of public transit. Its popularity is based on its
• Flexibility,

• Expandability, and

• Low cost
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 “Bus Route Planning is not a Science, it’s an Art”

A. Evaluation of Demand

B. Route and Network Structure

C. Fare Structure and Payment Options

D. Preliminary Schedule Design

E. Final Schedule Design and Blocking

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 Estimation of the number of users: Travel Demand Forecasting, gives an estimate

of the number of users that will decide to use new bus route(s) instead of their

current means of transportation

 Use existing traffic data and microanalysis of the regions to determine when the

peak travel periods are and what specific destinations are the most common e.g. a
link b/w school and residential area.

 Information about the spatial and temporal dimensions make the bus service

planning process much easier. 12

 A network is a system of routes.

“Routes are individual paths that are taken by transit vehicles.”

 Route include

• The streets and stops

• The time

• Network Structure
• Grid networks

• Radial networks

• A combination of the grid and radial networks 13

 The system has to be built on connections, and for that high

frequencies are needed. Frequency is expensive, so it follows the need

to minimize the total route distance so that the frequency on each route
can be maximised. That means routes overlapping cannot be afforded.

 Thus, Grid is the obvious answer.

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 Grid networks are common in large cities. These systems tend to be centered on the central business

district with few routes venturing far outside the central business district (CBD).

 Grid networks make extensive use of the existing roadways. Where traffic is heavy, deep within the

CBD, one or more exclusive bus lanes may be required in order to provide buses with adequate

freedom to move.

 Exclusive bus lanes increase the capacity of the system by reducing delays caused by interfering traffic,

but the exclusive bus lanes also reduce the capacity of roadways to handle private traffic and parking.

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 In an ideal grid system, everyone is within walking distance of one

north-south line and one east-west line. So you can get from anywhere
to anywhere, with one connection, while following a reasonably direct L-
shaped path.

 The spacing between parallel lines in ideal grid is exactly twice of

maximum walking distance.

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 The intrinsic efficiency of grids is huge for cities that have arterial

streets or potential transit corridors laid out in a grid pattern e.g. Los
Angeles and Vancouver.

 Cities or districts with labyrinthine local street patterns, that obstruct

pedestrians, will have a harder time becoming transit-friendly.

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Radial networks (polar grid or spider web) are also frequently found in modern
cities. These systems contain linear routes from the CBD to outlying suburbs.

 Commuters who live in the suburbs and work in the CBD are well served by

radial networks, but

 Those who want inter-suburb transportation are not well served, unless there are

direct lines connecting each of the suburbs.

Exclusive bus lanes are occasionally included on radial routes as well.

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 The spider web assumes a single point of primacy, downtown, and organizes a grid

around that primacy. It works well enough as a standard grid.

 For example, you may be able to make a reasonably direct trip between non-

downtown points by using one of the circle lines in combination with one of the radial

lines. But,
 It won't be as direct as it would be in a standard grid.

 The spider web is only efficient if downtown is so predominant that it can justify the huge amount

of service converging there.

 As the radial lines get further and further apart the grid effect gets weaker and weaker.
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 Many modern cities employ transit systems that are a combination of

the grid and radial networks. These networks transport individuals to

and from the suburbs using radial routes and then provide
transportation within the CBD via a grid network. The route structure
should serve the needs of the population; therefore, each community’s
needs require special consideration.

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 Poorly designed fare schedules and fare collection procedures can be

a source of significant confusion and delay.

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The amount that passengers must pay for a particular trip can be calculated in several ways.

 A city may choose to adopt a uniform fare for all routes in the transit network. While this rate structure is simple, it also

penalizes those who travel short distances on the network.

 A more equitable solution would be to adjust the fare based on the distance the user travelled on the network, but this

system is prohibitively complex.

 Many transit authorities have decided on a compromise that charges users based on the number of zones that they travel

through on a given route. Travel from zone "A" to zone "E" would cost the user more than the shorter trip from zone "A" to

zone "C." This system is reasonably simple and much more equitable than the uniform fare system.

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Fare collection is another complicated issue, for which several solutions have been devised.

 The driver can collect fares from each boarding passenger. While simple, this system causes large delays at every stop,

as the driver must interact with each passenger as they board.

 To reduce delay, fare collection machines that accept payment from the passengers are commonly installed near the bus

door. These machines allow the bus driver to focus on driving, and accelerate the boarding process considerably.

 Finally, fare card programs are becoming more and more common. These systems allow the transit user to purchase a

magnetic card with a predetermined value. The fare is deducted when the passenger swipes the card through a reader at
the bus door. This system is very efficient. In addition, it allows the transit authority to monitor the transportation
habits of the cardholders by automatically recording the routes, stops, and times at which each card is used

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 Designing a schedule can be quite complicated.

 Example Problem

Consider a transit route that connects a residential neighbourhood to a

central business district. The distance between the neighbourhood and the
downtown area is 5 miles. The transit vehicles average is 12 miles per hour
between the two terminal points. The goal is to provide transit service every
15 minutes along the route.

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1. Determine the time required to travel from one end of the route to the
other.
𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
1−𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑

5 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠
1 − 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 =
12𝑚𝑝ℎ
1 − 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 25 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠

The total round-trip time = 50 minutes

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2. Determine the number of vehicles required in order to operate at
the desired level of service.

The desired headway is 15 minutes i.e. the frequency of service is 1

vehicle every 15 minutes.

𝑇. 𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 =
ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦

50 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 =
15 𝑚𝑖𝑛/𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 3.33 𝑜𝑟 4 32
3. The revised round-trip time can now be calculated.

𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = (𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠)(𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦)

𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = (4 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠)(15 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠/𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒)

𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠

The actual round-trip running time = 50 minutes

Recovery and layover time = 10 minutes

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 The layover, or the amount of time between when the bus arrives at the end of one trip and

before it leaves for the next trip, is an often overlooked but essential aspect of bus
scheduling. Layover provides two important benefits:
 One, it provides time to absorb late-running buses so that they can leave on time for the next trip,
and

 Two, for many transit agencies it provides the only amount of break time bus drivers receive.

 Finally, layover periods can be used to change drivers, or for other administrative purposes

 Layover is an essential ingredient when one is determining Bus Running Times and in Bus

Blocking.

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4. Determine capacity of the route.

𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑦
𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒

𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠
𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = (4 )(75 )
ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒

𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠
𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 300
ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

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5. Suppose that the forecasted demand for this transit route is 400 passengers per hour at the peak
loading point. Re-estimate the required vehicles because the capacity calculated above is
insufficient to carry this projected demand.
𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 400 / 75
ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒
𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 5.33
ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟
60 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦 =
5.33 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠

𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦 = 11.25 = 10
𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒

(50 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠+10 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠)

𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 =6
10 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑒

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 The final computations in schedule design will produce a summary of

the activity that will occur on the route during the period in question.

 The preliminary schedule design conclusions were that 6 vehicles

running with 10-minute headways to service the demand of 400

passengers/hour between ‘A’ and ‘B’ were needed. Let’s assume that
these calculations were meant for the morning peak-period of 7:00 a.m.
through 9:00 a.m.
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 Leave ‘A’
7:00
7:10
 First, list the departure times from ‘A’ for 7:20
7:30
each vehicle during the peak-period.
7:40
7:50
8:00
8:10
8:20
8:30
8:40
8:50

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 Leave ‘A’ Arrive ‘B’ Leave Arrive ‘A’
‘B’
 Schedule of Times 7:00 7:25 7:30 7:55
7:10 7:35 7:40 8:05
Next, since it takes 25 minutes for 7:20 7:45 7:50 8:15

each vehicle to proceed from ‘A’ to 7:30 7:55 8:00 8:25

7:40 8:05 8:10 8:35
‘B’, record the arrival times 7:50 8:15 8:20 8:45
including 5-minutes of layover time 8:00 8:25 8:30 8:55
8:10 8:35 8:40 9:05
at each terminal ‘A’ and ‘B’.
8:20 8:45 8:50 9:15
Departure times can also be 8:30 8:55 9:00 9:25
included. 8:40 9:05 9:10 9:35
8:50 9:15 9:20 9:45

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 Vehicle Leave ‘A’ Arrive ‘B’ Leave ‘B’ Arrive ‘A’
Block
 Vehicle Blocking
1 7:00 7:25 7:30 7:55
Try to link together schedule of 2 7:10 7:35 7:40 8:05

times into routes that specific 3 7:20 7:45 7:50 8:15

4 7:30 7:55 8:00 8:25
vehicles can follow. For example, if
5 7:40 8:05 8:10 8:35
a vehicle were to leave ‘A’ at 7:00, it 6 7:50 8:15 8:20 8:45
would arrive at ‘A’ again at 7:55. 1 8:00 8:25 8:30 8:55
This vehicle could then start again 2 8:10 8:35 8:40 9:05
3 8:20 8:45 8:50 9:15
with the 8:00 shift. Extending this
4 8:30 8:55 9:00 9:25
process leads to the table below.
5 8:40 9:05 9:10 9:35
6 8:50 9:15 9:20 9:45
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 Vehicle Vehicle Time Block Time In
Block Service
 Final Vehicle Block Summary
A 1 7:00-8:55 1:55
At this point, the final vehicle block B 2 7:10-9:05 1:55
summary is prepared. This summary C 3 7:20-9:15 1:55
simply indicates the times that each D 4 7:30-9:25 1:55
vehicle will be in service and the E 5 7:40-9:35 1:55
vehicle block that the vehicle will be F 6 7:50-9:45 1:55
assigned to. Total 11:30

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 Route Cycle time is the time it takes to drive a round trip on a route plus any time that the

operator and vehicle are scheduled to take a break (layover and/or recovery time) before
starting out on another trip.

C = Travel Time + Layover/Recovery Time

 Terminal points are considered the "ends" of a line or route. These are the locations where

vehicles generally begin and/or end their trips and operators usually take their layovers.
Loop routes have only one terminal point. A basic end-to-end route with bi-directional service has two
terminal points.

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 Intermediate time points are locations along the route, between the terminals, that indicate

when the vehicle will be there. The term "node" is commonly used in computerized scheduling
systems to denote a time point.
Generally, on public timetables, these intermediate time points, or nodes, are timed to be between 6 and 10
minutes apart.

The points are generally located at major trip generator locations such as shopping centers, hospitals,
government buildings, and at locations where time is critical, such as major employment centers, intersecting bus
routes or rail centres.

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 Blocking is the process of developing vehicle assignments. These assignments, or blocks, describe a series of
trips that are "hooked" together and assigned to a single vehicle. The block refers to the work assignment for only a
single vehicle for a single service workday.
 The block may cover more than one route and may also involve more than one operator during the course of the vehicle
workday

 Blocking serves the basis for the

 Costs associated with operating the revenue service vehicle

 influencing the cost associated with work assignments for operators

 Headway is the time that should elapse between consecutive buses arriving at stations or terminal points.

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