Mitigating bus bunching with real-time crowding information

A common problem in public transport systems is bus bunching, characterized by a negative feedback loop between service headways, number of boarding passengers and dwell times. In this study, we examine whether providing real-time crowding information (RTCI) at the stop regarding the two next vehicle departures can stimulate passengers to...

Bus management using multi-agent reinforcement learning

Bus bunching is a problem that occurs in many high frequent bus systems. This can be averted by several countermeasures of which holding control is the most popular one in practice. Holding control strategies are often implemented using predefined rules. In this study, multi-agent reinforcement learning is selected to develop an effective...

Headway variability in public transport: A review of metrics, determinants, effects for quality of service and control strategies

The most relevant issues related to headway variability in public transport planning, operations and quality of service are reviewed in this paper. We discuss the causes and consequences of headway variability, the alternative metrics that have been proposed to measure it, the preventive and reactive strategies to control headway variability...

The potential of real-time crowding information in reducing bus bunching under different network saturation levels

Bus bunching is a well-known problem in public transport networks. It is characterized by a self-amplifying relationship between uneven distribution of rising passenger loads and deteriorating service regularity. The focus of this study is to analyse whether this negative feedback loop can be addressed by providing real-time crowding...

Multi-constrained bus holding control in time windows with branch and bound and alternating minimization

This work proposes a periodic bus holding control method where the bus holding times of all running trips are computed simultaneously within each optimization time period; thus, increasing the coordination among running buses for avoiding bus bunching. This paper considers the adverse effects of the bus holding control in the in-vehicle...

An Online Learning Approach to Eliminate Bus Bunching in Real-time

Recent advances in telecommunications created new opportunities for monitoring public transport operations in real-time. This paper presents an automatic control framework to mitigate the Bus Bunching phenomenon in real-time. The framework depicts a powerful combination of distinct Machine Learning principles and methods to extract valuable...