The use of advanced information technology in urban public transportation systems: An evaluation of bus stop consolidation

This research introduces a methodology for utilizing advanced information technologies (AIT) to analyze transportation planning problems in an urban planning context. Public transit planning is the focus of this study. The study investigates bus stop consolidation as a tool for increasing transit service reliability through analysis of data collected by AIT. The Streamline project implemented by the TriCounty Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), the local transit provider for the Portland metropolitan area, is used in this research.; Focusing on a single bus route where the stop consolidation program has been implemented, changes in passenger activity and operating performance in route segments where stop consolidation occurred are related to changes in adjacent route segments where stops were not consolidated. The changes are monitored through composite and disaggregate evaluation methods. The composite evaluation method includes differences in means tests to evaluate overall changes in transit system utilization. The disaggregate evaluation includes a set of four regression models to isolate the effects of bus stop consolidation from other changes that took place.; An important contribution of this research is the utilization of AIT to produce an evaluation methodology for bus stop consolidation, which contrasts with previous studies that used simulation to measure and evaluate consolidation as a tool for increasing transit service reliability. Passenger activity is found to be unaffected by stop consolidation, while bus running times showed a significant improvement. From the passengers' point of view, the results indicate that any reductions in accessibility from stop consolidation were offset by time improvements in the line haul portion of their trips. Thus, the utility of their trip-making appears to have been unaffected by stop consolidation, while the transit provider gained from efficiency improvements. TriMets' selection of bus stops for consolidation can be justified due to the savings in running time and the increase in passenger activity described through this research. Recommendations are suggested to help transit planners and operation personnel in selecting bus stops for consolidation. The research offers a methodology based on data collected by AIT that can be replicated by other transit agencies.