Evaluation of bus route operations using fuzzy AHP

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of a Route Evaluation System (RES) becomes paramount. The primary ... system, ticketing data from the complete network of City Bus service for a period of one.
3rd Conference of Transportation Research Group of India (3rd CTRG)

Evaluation of bus route operations using fuzzy AHP Dewal Mishraa, Makrand Wagaleb, Ajit Pratap Singhc, *, Ashoke Kumar Sarkard b

a Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani-333031, India, [email protected] Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani-333031, India, [email protected] c Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani-333031, India, [email protected] d Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani-333031, India, [email protected] * Corresponding Author

Abstract. With Indian cities growing rapidly, both in population and size, the demand for transport is increasing rapidly. In the absence of adequate road infrastructure and increased number of vehicles on the roads, inflated travel time and congestion have become a chronic problem in most of the cities. In the process, Public Transport (PT) systems are lacking in providing the desired level of service. It is necessary to improve them in view of the fact that Indian government has set a goal of achieving 70 percent ridership by public transport modes in the cities by 2030. For the purpose of management of existing PT systems in cities, creation of a Route Evaluation System (RES) becomes paramount. The primary function of such a system would be to regulate operations on existing bus routes and reallocate transit resources for sustainable operations. This study develops a comprehensive RES model for City-bus service in Indore, pertaining to their monetary and operative status. Amalgamating data mining and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (F-AHP), the developed RES model integrates perceptible and dependent attributes of the bus routes in terms of passenger flow data. On the basis of analysis presented herein, prioritized route rationalization has been achieved to enable any existing or new city transport system to be productive and competitive. The RES developed will equip transport planners and policy makers alike with information that will enable them to make decisions concerned with improving route operations and further development of any PT operation. Keywords: Route Evaluation System, Passenger flow, Public Transport, Fuzzy AHP (F-AHP).

INTRODUCTION Public Transport (PT) systems have time and again proven themselves to be an indispensable part of mobility structure in a metropolitan setting. Therefore, managing existing and planning new public transit routes in cities of a rapidly growing economy like India has become a humongous task for transportation officials. The effort to improve condition of PT and to provide citizens with a viable transport mode resulted into wide spread efforts in one such metropolitan city- Indore. Being the industrial capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh, Indore has seen major rise in population in the last decade [3]. When the population rose, so did the inevitable need for transportation. Introduced in 2006, the City-Bus initiatives gained immense popularity not just locally, but have been also recognized nationally and globally. This new approach towards better PT adopted an entirely radical modus operando in the field of public bus transport in India at the time, Public Private Partnership (PPP). City Bus service in Indore is currently providing its services across the city. With 16 routes connecting all the major parts of the city and a fleet size of 118 buses, the city bus service ensures an all-round connectivity to the passengers. With a total number of 203 stops in its network, city buses carry an approximate 1,00,000 passengers per day with an average trip length of 5.79 km. However, this system is showing signs of fatigue and lately has started lagging in its

3rd Conference of Transportation Research Group of India (3rd CTRG)

efforts to provide affordable and dependable service to the masses. Bus passengers are in search of regular services, suitable costs, high safety, and comfort [7, 8]. This begs for a constant effort in updating the quality of service regularly in order to prevent migration of public transit users to other modes. This study attempts to provide transport policy makers with a tool that takes into account both qualitative and quantitative aspects of a transit network, in sight of supporting their decisions aimed at improving standards of service. For the purpose of modeling such a system, ticketing data from the complete network of City Bus service for a period of one week was used. A Route Evaluation System (RES) such as the one proposed through this study can illuminate the conditions of operation, deficiencies and untapped potential of the service. The proposed approach with a few alterations should be employed in designing a framework for operation strategies and enhancements.

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Mishra, Wagale, Singh and Sarkar