How to cost urban public transport services considering the heterogeneous character of their production conditions? What are the costs of any given or virtual supply profile, of increasing transport supply during peak and off-peak hours? The C.A.M.E.L. (Calculs Adaptés à la Modélisation et à l'Eploitation des Lignes de transport urbain) software is designed to answer such questions. Based on general assumptions of cost modelling, C.A.M.E.L. can simulate very contrasted changes of transport services and evaluate their costs; thus C.A.M.E.L. is both a tool of management and a tool for the planning of medium-term activities according to defined economic stakes. In order to fully perform these functions, C.A.M.E.L. is interactive and user-friendly. C.A.M.E.L. is not only a tool of management but a tool allowing to deepen the knowledge of the production function and urban transportation related issues. A simulation work of virtual supply profiles shows the economic stakes of each parameter defining the supply; the variation range of cost are wide and demonstrate the relevance of considering the time distribution of supply and demand in the management of urban transport services. (A)
Abstract