The timetable is the essence of the service offered by a public transport operator. Yet, as this Paper argues, it has in Britain been neglected, in terms of institutional arrangements, managerial attention and research. The probable price of such neglect is sub-optimal use of the rail and bus networks to a degree that may have profound implications for public policy, modal split and the environment. It was considered that a clearer view of what is best for individual travellers and, perhaps of greater importance, what is best for the community collectively, will be obtained if the researchers can construct an 'ideal' network of public transport from first principles. The first task was to design a network that reflects the distribution of population and economic activity. Given its history of incremental change it cannot be assumed that the railway system, either in its infrastructural form or in its pattern of services, is entirely appropriate for present and future needs. Data from various sources is yielding a new hierarchy for the whole of Britain, including suburban centres. Aggregation is based on the Royal Mail database that records the number of households and businesses comprised in each unit Postcode. Programs have been written to merge these units progressively on the basis of proximity and/or size, at a first level into units corresponding broadly to the population or area served by a bus stop and at a second level to that which might be served by a railway station. Conventional algorithms then connect the set of nodes with the most efficient (as may be defined) arrangement of links. The second task is to design an entirely new timetable based on these findings. A fundamental review of principles is therefore opportune. Many would argue that against the instant convenience of the private car the only timetable capable of influencing behaviour in the long run is one in which services operate on a repeating pattern throughout the day and every day, with a strong emphasis on the connectivity of the network by means of tightly-ordered interchange at junctions. The redesign will establish what a British timetable might look like if the clear logic that underpins Swiss planning were applied. Most importantly, the timetabling is a real process using the Viriato software and railway data and rules, not an academic exercise or an interest group's wish-list. For the covering abstract see ITRD E126595.
Samenvatting