GIS-Based Support System for On-Demand Flexroute Transit Service Brian Smith Priya Durvasula Stephen Brich Center for Transportation Studies University of Virginia

Center for Transportation Studies Presentation Outline u Operations vs. Planning u Flexroute Transit u Flexroute Scheduling & Routing u Prototype GIS-Based System u Performance u Conclusions

Center for Transportation Studies State-of-the-Practice u Public transportation planning applications Ridership forecasting Route planning u Asset management

Center for Transportation Studies Necessary Investments u Hardware and software u Training u Data, Data, Data 50% - 80% of total cost u Can these investments be used directly to support transit operations?

Center for Transportation Studies Flexroute Transit u Small number of fixed stops with predetermined schedule u Provide on-demand service between fixed stops when feasible u Required subsystems AVL Communications Schedule/Dispatch Support System

Center for Transportation Studies Service Characteristics

Center for Transportation Studies Flexroute Scheduling & Dispatching u Direction of Travel Inbound/Outbound u Spatial Location of Requests Relation to Fixed Stops u Temporal Requirements Feasibility of Service Provision u Manage Committed Rides

Center for Transportation Studies GIS-Based Prototype u ESRI’s ArcView Avenue (55 scripts) Dialogue Designer Network Analyst u Transportation Network TIGER u Data Management Shapefiles

Center for Transportation Studies Pentran -- Agency Partner u Peninsula Transportation District Commission Hampton, Newport News Virginia u Routes 10 & 11 Low density Suburban, semi-urban Low ridership Transfer

Center for Transportation Studies Modified Routes

Center for Transportation Studies Software Development u Functional requirements u Formal design document u Application development u User acceptance testing

Center for Transportation Studies System Components

Center for Transportation Studies GIS Functionality u Address Geocoding Use of map interface to fine-tune if necessary (reverse geocoding) Allows for trip direction to be determined u Analysis of Spatial Relations Buffers created to determine initial ride eligibility Overlay operation

Center for Transportation Studies GIS Functionality (ctd) u Network Analysis Shortest path problem with time window constraints Shortest path between fixed stops servicing each committed on-demand stop If adding a new trip violates time constraints, trip is not allowed Use of map interface to search for feasible alternatives

Center for Transportation Studies System Demonstration

Center for Transportation Studies Performance u 4 minutes, on average, required to schedule a trip Includes “customer interaction” time Pentium-class PC u Desktop GIS functionality adequately supports requirements.

Center for Transportation Studies Conclusion u GIS can and should be used as a tool in transit operations. u Significant advantages reuse of data training avoid closed, proprietary solutions u Pentran is pursuing a trial implementation of flexroute service

Center for Transportation Studies

Buffer/Overlay

Center for Transportation Studies Input Dialog Box

Center for Transportation Studies Output Dialog Box

Center for Transportation Studies Direction of Travel