The Demand Responsive Connector (DRC) with a transfer point that connects a service area to a Fixed Route Transit (FRT) network is one of the most often used types of flexible transit service. Planners often struggle when having to decide to feed a major FRT transit network with a DRC or FRT in a given service area. In this paper, a simulation model is developed as a tool to assist with the decision making process in order to maximize the service quality provided to customers. While maintaining equivalent operating costs between the competing service policies, the service quality is a utility function, defined as a weighed sum of different measures of performance. Based on the simulations of one vehicle operations, critical customer demand densities are generated for various length/width ratios of a rectangular service area and for various weights combining the measures of performance. These critical demand densities represent switching points between the competing service policies and assist planners in making decisions about what type of transit service to put into place. Depending on the values of the parameters, our findings show that the critical demand densities are in the range of [0.3i1.7] customers/mile2/hr.
Samenvatting