Skip to main content
Log in

A Review of Service Reliability Measures for Public Transportation Systems

  • Published:
International Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review various public transport reliability measures including the factors responsible for causing variability in the travel time. A four quadrant approach is used to summarize various reliability measures. These indicators use both Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) data and the stated preference data to measure reliability. Further various supply and demand side factors causing uncertainties in travel time are listed and discussed. In the end a brief case study on two routes of Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) of Ahmedabad is reported to apply and test the reviewed travel time measures on the ITS data.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Vuchic, V.: Urban Transit: Systems and Technology. John Wiley and Sons, Inc (2005)

  2. Ceder, A.: Public Transit Planning and Operation: Theory, Modelling and Practice. Elsevier (2007)

  3. Mohamed A, A.,Kitamura,R. and Jovanis,P, “Using stated preference data for studying the effect of advanced traffic information on drivers route choice. Transp. Res. C, 5(1), 1997, pp. 39–50

  4. Vincent M and Hamilton A. “Land Transport New Zealand Research Report 339: Measurement Valuation of Public Transport Reliability”, 2008

    Google Scholar 

  5. Trompet, M., Liu, X., Graham, D.: Development of key performance Indicator to compare regularity of service between urban bus operators. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2216(1), 33–41 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Consultancy Ltd, M.V.A.: Report on the Study of the Impact of the Phenomenon of Bus Irregularity – Analysis of Results, Paris (2000)

  7. Osuna, E.E., Newell, G.F.: Control strategies for an idealized public transportation system. Transp. Sci. 6(1), 52–72 (1972)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hollander, Y., “Travellers’ Attitudes to Travel Time Variability: Intermodal and Intra- Modal Analysis”. Paper Presented at the 3rd International SIIV Congress – People, Land, Environment and Transport Infrastructure – Reliability and Development, Bari, Italy, 2005

  9. Bates, J., Polak, J., Jones, P., Cook, A.: The valuation of reliability for personal travel. Transportation Research E. 37(2), 191–229 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Noland, R.B., Polak, J.W.: Travel time variability: a review of theoretical and empirical issues. Transp. Rev. 22(1), 39–54 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. TRB, “Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual”, 3rd Edition. Washington, D.C., 2013

  12. Gholami, A., Ziaee, M.: Development of a performance measurement system to choose the most efficient programs, the case of the Mashhad transportation system. Transp. Res. A Policy Pract. 106, 261–277 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Black, I.G., Towriss, J.G.: In: Cranfield Institute of Technology (ed.) Demand Effects of Travel Time Reliability,London: Centre for Logistics and Transportation (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Department for Transport (UK), “Bus punctuality statistics 2005”. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/public/buspunctuality/buspun ctualitystatisticsgb2005a, 2006. Accessed 10 May 2018

  15. Department for Transport (UK), “Autumn performance report 2007”. http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/apr/ap/autumnperformance07.pdf, 2007

  16. Benwell, M., Black, I.: Train service reliability on BR InterCity services. In: Report 3: Passenger Attitudes to Lateness. Cranfield University, London (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Jansson, Kjell, and Kerstin Blomquist. "Valuation of travel time and information-with and without use of timetable. PTRC Summer Annual Meeting, 22nd, 1994, University of Warwick, United Kingdom. 1994

  18. Hess, D.B., Brown, J., Shoup, D.: Waiting for the bus. J. Public Transp. 7(4), 4 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Algers, S., A. Daly, P. Kjellman and S. Widlert, “Stockholm Model System (SIMS): Application”, 7th World Conference of Transportation Research, Sydney, Australia, 1995

  20. Beca Carter, “Project Evaluation Benefit Parameter Values” Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner in Association with SDG Forsyte Research Brown Copeland & co Report to Transfund, April 2002

  21. Bell, D.,“Dandenong Rail Corridor Market Assessment”. Melbourne, a Report by Multi-Modal Transport Solutions, 2004

  22. Hamilton, B.A.: “Sydney ferry business planning market research”. Final report prepared for state transit, Australia. BAH Reference. A2526 (2001)

  23. Booz Allen Hamilton, “Sunshine Corridor Study Market Research”. Final Report Prepared for Department of Infrastructure, Victoria, Australia, 2006

  24. Douglas, N., “Sydney M2 Busway Patronage Forecasts”. Report Prepared for New South Wales Department of Transport, 1996

  25. Douglas Economics, “Tranz Metro Passenger Survey. Report to Tranz Metro by Douglas Economics Dated April, 2005

    Google Scholar 

  26. Geerts, J.-F., and Haemers, V, “Service Reliability and Transfer Convenience on the Brussels Tramway Network”. Paper Presented at the European Transport Conference, Strasbourg, 2005

  27. Hensher, D., Prioni, P.: A service quality index for area-wide contract performance assessment. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy. 36, 93–113 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Kouwenhoven, Marco, et al. "New values of time and reliability in passenger transport in the Netherlands". Res. Transp. Econ. 47, 2014, pp. 37–49

  29. Association of Train Operating Companies: Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook (PDFH). Version 5, London (2009)

  30. Rietveld, P., Bruinsma, F.R., van Vuuren, D.J.: Coping with unreliability in public transport chains: a case study for Netherlands. Transp. Res. A Policy Pract. 35(6), 539–559 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Steer Davies and Gleave (NZ) Ltd. “The Effects of Quality Improvements in Public Transport. Report to Wellington Regional Council, November 1990

  32. Bates, J., Jones, P., Polak, J., Han, X.-L.: The investigation of punctuality and reliability: re-analysis of some existing data sets. Report submitted to rail operational research. In: Transport Studies Group. University of Westminster, London (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Rohr, P., Polak, J.W.: The regularity and reliability impacts of bus priority measures. Proceedings. 26, (1998)

  34. Currie, G., Douglas, N. J., and Kearns, I., “An Assessment of Alternative Bus Reliability Indicators”. Paper Presented at the Australasian Transport Research Forum 2012 Proceedings, Perth, Australia, 2012

  35. MA, Z., Ferreira, L., and Mesbah, M., “A framework for the development of bus service reliability measures”. Proceedings of Australian Transport Research Forum, Brisbane, Australia, 2013

  36. Strathman, J.G., Hopper, J.R.: Empirical analysis of bus transit on-time performance. Transp. Res., Part A. 27(2), 93–100 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Henderson, G., Adkins, H., Kwong, P.: Subway reliability and the odds of getting there on time. Transp. Res. Rec. 1297, 10–13 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Golshani, F.: System regularity and overtaking rules in bus services. J. Oper. Res. Soc. 1993, 591–597

  39. Kathuria, A., Parida, M., Ravi Sekhar, C.: Route performance evaluation of a closed bus rapid transit system using GPS data. Curr. Sci. 112(8), 1642–1652 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Sekhar, R., Askura, Y.: Measuring travel time reliability of transportation system. Indian Highways. 35(11), 61–72 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Mazloumi, E., Currie, G., Rose, G.: Using GPS data to gain insight into public transport travel time variability. J. Transp. Eng. 136(7), 623–631 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Lint, V., J.W.C.,TU, H. and Van Zuylen, H.J., “Travel Time Reliability on Freeway.Proceeding of 10th World Conference on Transport Research, (WCTR), (CDROM) Istanbul, Turkey, 2004

  43. FHWA Report, “Travel Time Reliability: Making It There On Time, All The Time. US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Web Document from http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/tt_reliability/index.htm, 2006. Accessed 10 May 2010

  44. Chepuri, A., Ramakrishnan, J., Arkatkar, S., Joshi, G., Pulugurtha, S.S.: Examining travel time reliability-based performance indicators for bus routes using GPS-based bus trajectory data in India. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems. 144(5), 04018012 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Kieu, M.L., Bhaskar, A., Chung, E.: Establishing Definitions and Modelling Public Transport Travel Time Variability. Proceedings of Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, USA (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Chen, X., Yu, L., Zhang, Y.: Analyzing urban bus service reliability at the stop, route and network levels. Transp. Res. A. 43(8), 722–734 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Jang, W.: Travel time transfer analysis using transit smart card data. Journal of Transportation Research Board. 2144(1), 142–149 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3141/2144-16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Knoppers, P., Muller, T.: Optimized transfer opportunities in public transport. Transp. Sci. 29(1), 101–105 (1995)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  49. Goverde, R. M. P., “Improving Punctuality and Transfer Reliability by Railway Timetable Optimization”. (Doctor of Philosophy), Delft University of Technology, 1999

  50. Shalaby, A., Farhan, A.: Prediction model of bus arrival and departure times using AVL and APC data. J. Public Transp. 7(1), 41–61 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Abdelfattah, A.M., Khan, A.M.: Models for predicting bus delays. Transp. Res. Rec. 162, 8–15 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Abkowitz, M., Engelstein, I.: Factors affecting running time on transit routes. Transp. Res., Part A. 17(2), 107–113 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Ng, C.P., Brah, S.A.: A running time model for bus operations in Singapore. Road Transport Res. 7(3), 48–57 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  54. Hofmann, M., and O’Mahony, M. “The impact of adverse weather conditions on urban bus performance measures”. Proc., 8th Int. IEEE Conf. On intelligent transportation systems, IEEE, Vienna, Austria, 2005

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited, India for their continuous support in data collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ankit Kathuria.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kathuria, A., Parida, M. & Sekhar, C.R. A Review of Service Reliability Measures for Public Transportation Systems. Int. J. ITS Res. 18, 243–255 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13177-019-00195-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13177-019-00195-0

Keywords

Navigation