2013 Session: 756

• Unified Estimator For Excess Journey Time Under Heterogeneous Passenger Incidence Behavior Using Smartcard Data
  Abstract: Excess journey time (EJT), the difference between actual passenger journey times and journey times implied by the published timetable, strikes a useful balance between the passenger's and operator's perspectives of public transport service quality. Using smartcard data, this paper tried to characterize transit service quality with EJT under heterogeneous incidence behavior (arrival at boarding stations). A rigorous framework was established for analyzing EJT, in particular for reasoning about passenger’ journey time standards as implied by varying incidence behaviors. It was found that although the wrong assumption about passenger incidence behavior and journey time standards could result in a biased estimate of EJT at the individual passenger journey level, the paper proposed a unified estimator of EJT, which is unbiased at the aggregate level regardless of the passenger incidence behavior (random incidence, scheduled incidence, or a mixture of both). A case study based on London Overground network was conducted to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method. EJT was estimated using the smart card (Oyster) data at various levels of spatial and temporal aggregations in order to measure and evaluate the service quality. Aggregate EJT was found to vary substantially across the different London Overground lines and across time periods of weekday service. The North London Line in the AM Peak in the westbound direction had the worst service quality in terms of EJT.
  Authors: Zhao, Jinhua; Frumin, Michael; Wilson, Nigel H.M.; Zhao, Zhan
  Authors: Zhao, Jinhua; Frumin, Michael; Wilson, Nigel H.M.; Zhao, Zhan
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Passenger Transportation; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-1241
• Observed Customer Seating and Standing Behaviors and Seat Preferences Onboard Subway Cars in New York City
  Abstract: Using an observational sampling methodology, this study explores seat occupancy patterns found in New York City subway cars under non-crowded conditions based on special attributes of otherwise highly homogenous plastic bench seats. Onboard seating patterns, measured as relative seat occupancy probabilities, are explained in terms of interactions between railcar design, layout, customer preferences, and resulting behaviours. Prior research has generally focused on passengers distribution between cars within long trains, or desirability of attributes common to all seats, rather than passengers seating patterns within a single car. Results, based on seating- and standing-room occupancy statistics, show customers have a clear preference for seats adjacent to doors, no real preference for seats adjacent to support stanchions, and disdain for bench spots between two other seats. On cars featuring transverse seating, customers prefer window seats, but have almost equal preference for backward- or forward-facing seats. No gender bias was detected amongst all seated passengers, but as load factor increased, men have higher probabilities of being standees compared to women. 90% seat utilization is only achieved at 120% load factor; furthermore, standing customers strongly prefer to crowd vestibule areas between doors (particularly in cars with symmetric door arrangements), and hold onto vertical poles. These findings are consistent with published anecdotes. Future cars should be designed with asymmetric doors, 2+2+2 partitioned longitudinal seats, and no stanchions or partitions near doorways. Further research should be conducted in commuter rail vehicles with suburban layouts, booth seating, and also other cities’ subways, to further understand customer seating preferences.
  Authors: Berkovich, Aaron; Lu, Alex; Levine, Brian; Reddy, Alla V.
  Authors: Berkovich, Aaron; Lu, Alex; Levine, Brian; Reddy, Alla V.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Passenger Transportation; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-1693
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Measuring Subway Service Performance at New York City Transit: A Case Study Using Automated Train Supervision (ATS) Track-Occupancy Data
  Abstract: A recurring challenge facing transit managers today is the persistent question of how to do more with less—to maintain and improve service despite deficits of historic proportions. New York City Transit (NYCT) responded by re-tooling performance measurement frameworks and procedures to better capture customers’ perspective, respond to management initiatives, and incentivize proper operating decisions. NYCT’s primary performance measure, Wait Assessment (WA), measures customers’ maximum wait times while waiting to board at stations. Defined as percent of headways between trains not exceeding 125% of scheduled headways, a “Reach and Match” algorithm was developed to account for NYCT’s irregularly scheduled service and ensure customer experienced headways are matched to the specific published scheduled headway in effect at that moment, regardless of which scheduled trip was supposed to arrive. Upgrading sample-based methods that gathered limited data manually, track-occupancy data was downloaded from the Automated Train Supervision (ATS) system for the No.1 through No.6 routes, providing 100% coverage, much lower public reporting time-lag, and the ability to take near-term corrective action. The increase in data availability also allows NYCT to easily consider corridor-level and track-level WA standards for internal diagnostic purposes, analyzing train performance in shared-track territory regardless of route designations, to provide better service.
  Authors: Levine, Brian; Lu, Alex; Reddy, Alla V.
  Authors: Levine, Brian; Lu, Alex; Reddy, Alla V.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Passenger Transportation; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-2997
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Automatic Data for Applied Railway Management: A Case Study on the London Overground
  Abstract: In 2009, London Overground management implemented a new tactical plan for AM and PM Peak service on the North London Line (NLL). This paper documents that tactical planning intervention and evaluates its outcome in terms of certain aspects of service delivery (the operator’s perspective on system performance) and service quality (passenger’s perspective). The research depends heavily on in-person and e-mail interviews with key Overground managers and on research conducted for those managers by an industry consultant. Analyses of service delivery and quality, and passenger demand contribute to the development, proposal, and implementation of the new tactical plan. It is found that NLL trains were routinely delayed en route and excessive dwell time is major cause. Near-random passenger incidence behavior suggests a even headway service may be more appropriate for NLL. The confluence of these analyses is confirmed by the corresponding excess journey time (EJT) results. Based on longitudinal analysis, evaluation shows that on-time performance increased substantially and observed journey time (OJT) decreased (i.e. they both improved) with the introduction of the new plan. EJT decreases by substantially more than OJT for the line as a whole. Overall, the effects of this implementation appear to have been positive on balance. This case study thus demonstrates the applicability of automatic data generally, and certain measures and techniques in London Overground specifically, to support tactical planning of an urban railway.
  Authors: Frumin, Michael; Zhao, Jinhua; Wilson, Nigel H.M.; Zhao, Zhan
  Authors: Frumin, Michael; Zhao, Jinhua; Wilson, Nigel H.M.; Zhao, Zhan
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Passenger Transportation; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-2987
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Unified Estimator For Excess Journey Time Under Heterogeneous Passenger Incidence Behavior Using Smartcard Data
  Authors: Frumin, Michael
  Authors: Frumin, Michael
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-1241
• Observed Customer Seating and Standing Behaviors and Seat Preferences Onboard Subway Cars in New York City
  Authors: Lu, Alex
  Authors: Lu, Alex
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-1693
• Measuring Subway Service Performance at New York City Transit: A Case Study Using Automated Train Supervision (ATS) Track-Occupancy Data
  Authors: Levine, Brian
  Authors: Levine, Brian
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-2997
• Automatic Data for Applied Railway Management: A Case Study on the London Overground
  Authors: Zhao, Jinhua
  Authors: Zhao, Jinhua
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation
  Session: 756
  Paper Number: 13-2987