Modeling Transit Trip Time Using Archived Bus Dispatch System Data

Abstract

Transit travel time and operating speed influence service attractiveness, operating cost, and system efficiency. The objective of this paper is to estimate the values of parameters that affect the total travel time for a particular bus route in Portland, Oregon. The Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) provides transit service in the three-county Portland metropolitan area. TriMet has implemented a Bus Dispatch System (BDS) as a part of its overall service control and management system. This BDS provides a rich array of archived data that were used in this study to develop the trip time model for the route under study. This trip time model provides heightened understanding of the factors that affect the trip time on the route. The value of the model was revealed when sensitivity analyses were performed using data from the studied route. This analysis concluded that improvements can be readily achieved after understanding the factors that affect total trip time. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations are presented and suggestions for additional research are provided.