Keywords and Synonyms
Passenger information system ; Timetable lookup; Journey planner; Trip planner
Problem Definition
Consider the route-planning task for passengers of scheduled public transportation. Here, the running example is that of a train system, but the discussion applies equally to bus, light-rail and similar systems. More precisely, the task is to construct a timetable information system that, based upon the detailed schedules of all trains, provides passengers with good itineraries, including the transfer between different trains.
Solutions to this problem consist of a model of the situation (e. g. can queries specify a limit on the number of transfers?), an algorithmic approach, its mathematical analysis (does it always return the best solution? Is it guaranteed to work fast in all settings?), and an evaluation in the real world (Can travelers actually use the produced itineraries? Is an implementation fast enough on current computers and real data?).
Key Results
The...
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Recommended Reading
Gerards, B., Marchetti-Spaccamela, A. (eds.): Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Algorithmic Methods and Models for Optimization of Railways (ATMOS'03) 2003. Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, vol. 92. Elsevier (2004)
Barrett, C.L., Bisset, K., Jacob, R., Konjevod, G., Marathe, M.V.: Classical and contemporary shortest path problems in road networks: Implementation and experimental analysis of the TRANSIMS router. In: Algorithms – ESA 2002: 10th Annual European Symposium, Rome, Italy, 17–21 September 2002. Lecture Notes Computer Science, vol. 2461, pp. 126–138. Springer, Berlin (2002)
Brodal, G.S., Jacob, R.: Time‐dependent networks as models to achieve fast exact time-table queries. In: Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Algorithmic Methods and Models for Optimization of Railways (ATMOS'03), 2003, [1], pp. 3–15
Müller‐Hannemann, M., Schnee, M.: Paying less for train connections with MOTIS. In: Kroon, L.G., Möhring, R.H. (eds.) Proceedings of the 5th Workshop on Algorithmic Methods and Models for Optimization of Railways (ATMOS'05), Dagstuhl, Germany, Internationales Begegnungs- und Forschungszentrum fuer Informatik (IBFI), Schloss Dagstuhl, Germany 2006. Dagstuhl Seminar Proceedings, no. 06901
Müller‐Hannemann, M., Schnee, M.: Finding all attractive train connections by multi-criteria pareto search. In: Geraets, F., Kroon, L.G., Schöbel, A., Wagner, D., Zaroliagis, C.D. (eds.) Algorithmic Methods for Railway Optimization, International Dagstuhl Workshop, Dagstuhl Castle, Germany, June 20–25, 2004, 4th International Workshop, ATMOS 2004, Bergen, September 16–17, 2004, Revised Selected Papers, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 4359, pp. 246–263. Springer, Berlin (2007)
Müller-Hannemann, M., Schulz, F., Wagner, D., Zaroliagis, C.D.: Timetable information: Models and algorithms. In: Geraets, F., Kroon, L.G., Schöbel, A., Wagner, D., Zaroliagis, C.D. (eds.) Algorithmic Methods for Railway Optimization, International Dagstuhl Workshop, Dagstuhl Castle, Germany, June 20–25, 2004, 4th International Workshop, ATMOS 2004, Bergen, September 16–17, 2004, Revised Selected Papers, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 4359, pp. 67–90. Springer (2007)
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Acknowledgments
I want to thank Matthias Müller‐Hannemann, Dorothea Wagner, and Christos Zaroliagis for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this entry.
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Jacob, R. (2008). Shortest Paths Approaches for Timetable Information. In: Kao, MY. (eds) Encyclopedia of Algorithms. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30162-4_371
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