SIMULATION OF URBAN BUS TRANSIT SYSTEMS

Abstract

In the present study an attempt is made to simulate passenger flow and their waiting time microscopically. A brief review of the simulation models of bus transportation is done and the various lacunae are found out. The main objective of the present study is to formulate a simulation model to represent the performance of the present schedule of buses on a identified route in NEW DELHI. Also an attempt is made to show the effect on the passenger service characteristics during the peak and off-peak hours when one or more buses are introduced or withdrawn from the service. The simulation models are the representation of the real life systems. The arrivals of the passenger at the bus-stop are stochastic in nature, different probability distribution functions are tried for each bus stop and the passengers are generated with that distribution which fits closely. The model is developed in FORTRAN-77 and run on 486 machine. The performance characteristics as: queue Length at the bus-stop before the arrival of bus and after the departure of the bus, average waiting time, totaL waiting time of the passenger on the route etc. are represented on the Three-Dimension Bar Charts. The graphic package used is PLOT88. The simulation model is subjected to repeated tests for verifying its performance as per the logical rules. The validation is done with respect to the magnitudes represented by certain elements of the model to the real life situation of the system simulated. These are: Variation of queue at the bus stop Waiting time of the passengers at the bus-stops Frequency of passenger arrivals Distribution of passenger arrivals. The data used for the validation of the model are taken at • one of the bus-stops in NEW DELHI. The model thus built can be used as a testing tool for evaluating the performance of the present schedule of buses on a particular route for a particular period (peak or off-peak or both).