BUS TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS IN URBAN AREA

Abstract

Problems faced by an urban commuter are identified as large waiting times, unreliability of travel, congestion, discomfort and inconvenience; while the problems faced by the mass transit undertakings are associated with the peaking characteristics of the traffic flow and resulting uneconomical operations of the fleet. An optimal solution that minimises the disutility of travel for the commuters, with adequate rate of return for the investment on the fleet is needed. After analytical analysis of the problem a graphical method has been presented that provides a solution for the above issue. A numerical solution of a single route bus scheduling problem has been furnished to illustrate how the various issues involved can be tackled by the suggested method. Although the solution pertains to a case of single route, the method can be extended to linked routes etc.