BRENDAN FINN
ETTS LTD., IRELAND
Using ITS to Achieve the Potential of Public Transport
Overview
ITS for public transport
Practice in ITS support to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Capacity constraints for high-volume BRT systems
Vehicle throughput at stations
Vehicle throughput at junctions
Passenger throughput at stations
Dynamic operations management could increase capacity
Management of access
Slot management along the route
ITS for Public Transport
Hardware, software, data exchange tools & services
Higher-level objectives:
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Usability
Cluster in three strands:
ITS for Transport Operations
ITS for Customer-Facing Services
ITS for platform and back-office
Solve problems and/or exploit opportunities
ITS systems for Public Transport
Operations Management
Automatic Vehicle Location and Management
Traffic Signal Priority
Service and System planning and support
Collision avoidance/warning
Precision docking
Customer-facing and support services
Automatic fare collection
Real-time passenger information
Journey planning
Security and passenger management systems
Context of this presentation
Bus Rapid Transit
High volume contexts
Large numbers of buses
Multiple routes using the infrastructure
Large numbers of passengers
Operating Strategies to maximise throughput
Efficiently
Reliably
Safely
Technologies to support the Operating Strategies
Running Way – Guanghzhou, China
Source : Paul Barter
BRT Station - Istanbul
Source: EMBARQ
BRT Bus Station - Bogota
Source : Peter Danielsson, Volvo Bus Corporation
BRT Station, Sao Paulo
Source : Toni Lindau
BRT in Johannesburg (Soweto)
Key elements of the BRT system
Operating infrastructure
Running way
Junctions
Stations
Network
Vehicles
Operations management
Operations control, incident management, supporting ITS
Customer-facing services
Fare collection, information, customer support
Operations Management activities
Resource deployment
Service control and regulation Operate the core service to plan
Adjust the planned service to meet demand and events
Monitoring
Incident management At stations and adjacent areas
Along running way, at junctions
Vehicles and operational staff
Data capture and analyis Review of plan and of procedures
Cost optimisation
Technologies for Operations Management
Monitoring systems Vehicle location
CCTV
Sensors - roadside, platform, in-vehicle
Communications Network for fixed locations – control centre, stations, depot
Wireless, from vehicles and mobile units
Applications Functional
Analytic
Integration with traffic signal system
Information display and diffusion
Control Centre – Bogota, Columbia
Source : Sam Zimmerman, World Bank
BRT in Johannesburg
In-vehicle headway management - Seoul
Capacity is an issue in high-volume systems
Buses at intervals of 10-20 seconds at peak
10+ routes and route variants
Multiple operators
Hard to avoid some intersections with general traffic
Stations handling >5,000 passengers in the peak period
Unpredictable arrival pattern by day, by time interval
Where do the limits arise?
Three critical areas:
Throughput of vehicles at the bus stations
Getting vehicles through the junctions
Passenger throughput at the stations
Potential problems :
Basic capacity to handle the demand
Instability - risk of drastic loss of performance, capacity
Queues and delays for passengers
Crush conditions at stations
Running way itself is not the problem
Strategic Operations Options
Constrain volume to what can easily be managed
Single end-to-end route
Limit number of routes, fixed boarding areas
(Bi-) articulated buses to minimise number of vehicles
Plan to capacity, accept occasional degradation
Standard intervention techniques
Maximise throughput by dynamic management
Manage access by available slots – ramp metering
Manage precise movement and timing - ATC style
What is the maximum possible throughput?
Is Dynamic Management possible?
Dynamic Access Management (Ramp Metering) Continuous system state monitoring, available capacity
Vehicle held at BRT access point until capacity available
Enters BRT running way under standard operations mgt.
Dynamic Slot Management Continuous system state monitoring
Slot assigned to each vehicle based on plan and current state
Vehicle held at access point until slot available
Enters BRT running way at allocated slot
Dynamic operations mgt. for entire journey along BRT
Must stay +/- X seconds of allocated slot
Slot can be adjusted dynamically by the application software
Requires precise station and junction operations
Enablers
Conceptual Dynamic management concepts Operations management methods and procedures
Technology platform Location system(standard AVL) Communications (standard AVL)
Information Vehicle location, Passenger loading, station status
Intelligent software Slot development and assignment Slot adjustment and management Dynamic platform management
Operations Field management, training, monitoring, incentives
Conclusions
At the high-capacity end, three key challenge areas
Vehicle throughput at stations
Vehicle throughput at junctions
Passenger throughput at stations
If we cannot handle these better, capacity is limited
Lower productivity, lower benefits, lower transport impact
Current generation of Ops. Mgt. Tools not enough
Technical platform is NOT the issue
Focus needs to shift to delivering capacity
Paradigm shift in approach to operations management
Intelligent strategies and management procedures
BRENDAN FINN
Vehicle Throughput at Stations
Length of platform, arrangement of boarding areas Number of slots Fixed allocation or dynamic allocation
If dynamic, how to advise and organise customers?
Precise docking – clinical, but lose flexibility Can we handle buses of different lengths, door arrangements
Passenger processing, dwell times Separate fare collection/validation from boarding Level boarding, demarcation/protection of boarding area
Management of the bus flows Passing lanes, (semi-) express services, queuing rules Strict operations control, departure management Rapid response to disruptions
Station management, activity oversight
Vehicle Throughput at Junctions
As frequency increases, problem escalates High-volume systems can have up to 6 buses per minute
Need adequate time to clear queue of buses Random arrivals? If so, can have Q lengths of up to 10 vehicles
How much green time possible?
Turning movements by buses
Requirement for cross-turning movements by general traffic
Cycle time at the junctions If long cycle time, wave of buses hits next stations
Queuing problems downstream
Can partially overcome by using larger vehicles Less vehicles needed, but longer for each unit to clear
Passenger Throughput at Stations
Passenger volume Total movement of people, boarding and alighting Transferring passengers
Dynamics of movement Conflict of boarding and alighting passengers Internal movement within the station area
May constrain dynamic allocation of buses to boarding areas
Movement to/from transfer areas Limited area and width for median stations Fare collection and verification
For median stations Safe passage to main pavement Storage while waiting to cross, conflict with new arrivals Number of opportunities and impact on general traffic
Minimise conflict between passengers and vehicles