Following the "VERDI-agreement", starting January 1st 1999, regional authorities (provinces) in the Netherlands are responsible for policy design and the formulation of a programme of requirements concerning the quality of services offered by regional public transport. To support the provinces in performing this task a design methodology was developed for connecting public transport networks (national and interregional, rail, and express bus). This methodology was applied in the province of Overijssel (including the Twente region), resulting in several designs for the connecting regional public transport network. Subsequently, a new design methodology was developed for distributing public transport networks (regular bus). The kernel of this design methodology is based on the assumption that there is a fixed budget for the exploitation of services. This budget can be represented as the total length of public transport lines that can be serviced with a basic frequency. The starting point in the design process is a map indicating a hierarchy of nodes (places), as well as the network (road, rail) connecting these nodes (all places with more than 10,000 inhabitants). A ranking of the subsequent network design steps was obtained among other things by organising workshops and asking public transport planners.
Abstract