Transit Route Network Design Using Frequency Coded Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

Transit route network design for urban bus systems involves the selection of a set of routes and the associated frequencies that achieve the desired objective, subject to the operational constraints. This can be formulated as an optimization problem that minimizes the total system cost, which can be expressed as a function of bus operating cost and passenger total travel time. In the first phase of a two-phase solution process, a large set of candidate route is generated using a candidate route generation algorithm. In the second phase, a solution route set is selected from the candidate route set using genetic algorithms, a search and optimization method based on natural genetics. The simultaneous route and frequency coded model proposed in this investigation considers the frequency of the route as the variable, thus differing from the earlier models in terms of coding scheme adopted. A sample study on a medium-sized network has established that the coding scheme adopted for the route network design enhanced the performance of the model.