2013 Session: 536

• An Analytical Approach to Measuring Impacts of Transit Priority
  Abstract: This paper measures the operational performance of a series of transit priority initiatives using an empirical analysis of Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) data on trams in Melbourne, Australia. Very little previous research has modelled factors influencing the performance of priority schemes and none has explored the relative performance of space (or lane) based measures compared to time (or traffic signal) measures.Simple before-after comparison of space and time priority measures identified reduced run time (by 1.6% and 0.5% respectively) and run time variability (by 10.2% and 1.9% respectively). The larger operational impact of space based measures might be as expected given that space based priority measures studied covered 61% of average route section lengths, while time based measures covered on average 25% of all junctions on each route section studied. More sophisticated regression models explained 85.4% of run time and 54.6% of run time variability. Variables found to be significant were route length, scheduled run time, space based priority, weekday, time based priority, direction of travel and rainfall. When the relative scale of the priority measures was taken into account, results suggest space allocation priority measure results in a 28.3% reduction in run time whereas each unit time priority measure yields a 22.5% decrease in run time. Results also suggest space based priority will reduce run time variability by 40.9% and time priority, by 20.5%.This paper discusses finding implications and explores ideas for further advances in analytical approaches to priority impact measurement.
  Authors: Currie, Graham; Goh, Kelvin; Sarvi, Majid
  Authors: Currie, Graham; Goh, Kelvin; Sarvi, Majid
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-1001
• Passenger-Focused Management Approach to Measurement of Train Delay Impacts
  Abstract: Train delay incidents have major impacts on transit service reliability and on customer satisfaction. Operators have long focused efforts on preventing incidents from occurring. While this is important, the fact that all transit operations inevitably face some degree of delays and disruptions due to incidents means that operators must also dedicate attention to reducing the duration of incidents and reducing the time it takes to restore normal operations after incidents occur. To be able to do this it is necessary to measure the total impact of incidents on trains and on customers. This research uses data from the CoMET and Nova metro benchmarking groups to investigate the ways in which transit operators can better measure the full impacts of incidents – both on train service and on customers – leading to a passenger-focused approach. The key benefit of a passenger-oriented approach is that it enables transit managers to better direct resources for incident response and recovery, as well as support the case for strategic investments. This research has showed that most operators only measure and report the frequency of incidents. Of the 22 metros interviewed, only two were able to provide detailed data to estimate the number of passengers affected by incidents. It is no coincidence that the only two metros able to provide detailed data are in fact two of the most reliable in the group.
  Authors: Barron, Alexander; Melo, Patricia C.; Cohen, Judith Michelle; Anderson, Richard
  Authors: Barron, Alexander; Melo, Patricia C.; Cohen, Judith Michelle; Anderson, Richard
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-3345
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Benchmarking Disaggregate Customer Satisfaction Scores Between Bus Operators in Different Cities and Countries
  Abstract: Directly comparing the satisfaction of customers of urban bus operators in different cities and countries is methodologically challenging due to the different surveys used, different sample frames, different response collection methods and the possibility of cultural bias. Nonetheless, due to the importance of customer satisfaction, the members of the International Bus Benchmarking Group started a research project in 2009 to overcome these challenges. The objective was for bus operators to understand the relative performance in meeting their customer’s expectations and to be able to target those areas in which they relatively underperform. Between 2009-2012, eight to ten participating organizations annually posted identical surveys on their website homepages in the same period. This paper describes the survey and data normalization methodology developed within the International Bus Benchmarking Group that provides managers of these organizations with a comparable view of their customer satisfaction. The described methodology has been successfully tested in the bus industry but can also be applied to other industries where there is a wish to benchmark customer satisfaction amongst other national and international peers.
  Authors: Trompet, Mark; Parasram, Richard; Anderson, Richard
  Authors: Trompet, Mark; Parasram, Richard; Anderson, Richard
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-3823
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Potential of Low-Frequency Automated Vehicle Location Data for Monitoring and Control of Bus Performance
  Abstract: In this paper we investigate the potential of "low-frequency" bus localization data for the monitoring and control of bus system performance. We show that data with a sampling rate as low as one minute can provide ample information if processed appropriately. In particular, we obtain accurate estimates of stop arrival and departure times which in turn allow the analysis of headways and travel times. A three parameter gamma family of distributions is fitted for headways at the stops along a bus line. The evolution of the parameters demonstrates critical points on the line where bus bunching is significantly worse. Moreover, this analysis allows to differentiate problems associated with varying passenger demand from uncertainties associated with traffic conditions. Furthermore we show that both expected travel time and travel time variability can be calculated from low-frequency localization data. Finally, we present how our results can be used to calibrate a simulation model which can test bus control strategies. We apply and validate the methods to data from bus route number 1 in Boston.
  Authors: Yang, Yingxiang; Bauer, Dietmar; Widhalm, Peter; Gerstle, David; Gonzalez, Marta C.
  Authors: Yang, Yingxiang; Bauer, Dietmar; Widhalm, Peter; Gerstle, David; Gonzalez, Marta C.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-4011
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• An Analytical Approach to Measuring Impacts of Transit Priority
  Authors: Currie, Graham
  Authors: Currie, Graham
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-1001
• Passenger-Focused Management Approach to Measurement of Train Delay Impacts
  Authors: Barron, Alexander
  Authors: Barron, Alexander
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-3345
• How Close Is Close Enough? Statistical Equivalence of Onboard Versus Online Surveys of Transit Customers
  Authors: Cummins, Ben
  Authors: Cummins, Ben
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-2893
• Potential of Low-Frequency Automated Vehicle Location Data for Monitoring and Control of Bus Performance
  Authors: Bauer, Dietmar
  Authors: Bauer, Dietmar
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-4011
• Benchmarking Disaggregate Customer Satisfaction Scores Between Bus Operators in Different Cities and Countries
  Authors: Trompet, Mark
  Authors: Trompet, Mark
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-3823
• How Close Is Close Enough? Statistical Equivalence of Onboard Versus Online Surveys of Transit Customers
  Abstract:

  A fiscally constrained economy and growing rates of internet access have increased the appeal of substituting traditional survey methods for electronic ones. Online surveys are particularly appealing in the public transit industry, due to the expense and logistical difficulty of surveying customers onboard buses and trains. It is therefore critical to understand, quantify, and test the differences between onboard versus online transit survey data. Traditional hypothesis tests are designed to show that two sample statistics likely come from different populations. However, failing to find a difference cannot be interpreted as evidence that there is no difference. Furthermore, a difference may be statistically significant, but so small as to provide no practical insight (which often happens when working with large sample sizes). Statistical Equivalence Testing (SET) provides an analytical framework with which to evaluate whether two datasets are similar enough to be interchangeable (i.e., statistically equivalent).The paper describes statistical equivalence tests conducted on customer satisfaction data collected onboard transit systems and data collected electronically via email lists from users of the same systems. We compare proportions of satisfied customers across various economic and travel behavior characteristics between these datasets. Within our chosen threshold of .05 (statistics within five percentage points of one another), one of the two datasets evaluated shows strong evidence of equivalence between onboard and online survey methods, while the other dataset shows strong evidence of nonequivalence.

  Authors: Cummins, Ben; Spitz, Gregory Mark; O'Malley, Tara; Campbell, Margaret
  Authors: Cummins, Ben; Spitz, Gregory Mark; O'Malley, Tara; Campbell, Margaret
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 536
  Paper Number: 13-2893
  Practice-Ready: Yes