In view of the increasing demand on public transport in medium-sized cities of the Third World and the limited resources available for improving bus transit, suitable transportation system management (TSM) strategies need to be applied. This study uses a computer simulation model to evaluate the impact of TSM options on the performance of a bus route in a medium-sized city in India. The simulation model was validated with data from a bus route in Tiruchirapalli, and various TSM strategies including increase in running speed, removal of bus stops, operation of special services, and combination of options were simulated. The simulation results were compared with earlierfindings in Madras. The conclusions drawn may be extended to other routes in Third World cities. More than 40 percent of the trip time is spent in changing speed because of the presence of a large numberof intersections and bus stops. However, increase in speed or speedchange rates do not significantly influence the trip time. Removal of two and four bus stops reduces the travel time by 3 and 6 percent, respectively. Combination of removal of stops with an increase in speed and speed change rates by 10 percent doubles the reduction in travel time. The combination of increase in speed and speed change rates with removal of four stops enables the operation of two additional round trips, leading to better utilization of the existing fleet. (A)
Abstract