Management of Urban Bus

Systems
 Funded By
World Bank & Public-Private
Infrastructure Advisory Facility
Sponsored By
Ministry of Urban Development,
Government of India
Organized By
Indore City Transport Services
Limited (ICTSL)
Logistic Support By
Institute of Urban Transport
Public Transport Service
& Operations Planning:
An Introduction
Course Objectives

1. Learn Basic Characteristics

of Public Transport

2. Acquire Basic Public Transport

Planning Vocabulary

3. Develop Basic Public

Transport Planning Skills
 Why is Public Transport
? Planning Important?
• Prime Public Transport Goal
Meet Community Access and Mobility
Needs

• How do we best meet this goal?

Good planning!
– Match citizen needs with appropriate services
– Insure service and operations efficiency and
long-term sustainability
All Public Transport Operators
Perform Same Set of Basic
Activities
• Transportation

• Maintenance

• Budgeting and Finance

• General Administration
 Transportation
• Operate daily scheduled service

• Functions
– Drivers
– Conductors
– Dispatching
– Supervision
– Station attendants
– Police

• For bus systems, involves the largest

BMTC Driver

number of employees
 Maintenance
• Maintain vehicles needed for operating
daily schedule
• Maintain PT infrastructure and facilities
(e.g., running ways, stations, terminals)
• Vehicle Maintenance Functions
– Routine Servicing
– Preventive Maintenance
– Running Repairs
– Component Rebuild BMTC Mechanic

– Bus Body Building

• Can be the largest cost center
 Finance
• Provide funds to keep system
operating
• Maintain control of fiscal resources
• Functions
– Budgeting
– Accounting
– Revenue Handling
– Inventory
– Payroll
BMTC Conductor
 Administration
• Support Management and Ongoing
Operations

• Functions
– Human Resources
– Labor Relations
– Law
– Risk management
– Public Information BMTC Administration Support
 Public Transport Planning Is
Important in All Structures
• Develop and manage
service offered
– Needs Analysis
– Service Design
– Performance Evaluation
– Pricing
– Alternatives Evaluation
• Riders, revenues, costs
• May be performed by
government and/or
operators
Operations Planning Improves
the Chances of Success!
No Planning

Planning
 Service & Operations
Planning Process Data Collection
• Physical Environment
Measures & Standards
• Market Factors
• Current Service

No
Problem/Opportunity Problem/Opportunity
Performance Analysis
Service Continue to
Changes Monitor Performance

Schedule Building

Cost Estimation

Demand/Revenue Select/Implement
Estimation Alternative
 Basic Public Transport Terms
Service • Cost
• Route Alignment
• Terminal (Route) • Output
• Depot – Passenger Revenues
• Span of Service – Ridership
– Revenue Hours/KM
• Headway
• – Dead Hours/KM
Time
– Vehicle Hours/KM
– Running – Occupancy Rate
– Layover/Recovery – Passenger at
– Total Cycle
Maximum Load Point
• Speed
– Revenue Operating
– Running • Networks
• Bus (Train) – Radial
Requirements – Grid
 Market and Physical
Planning Factors
• Access and Mobility Needs
• Demographic Characteristics
• Land Use
• Physical Operating Environment
• Safety and Security
Key Travel Characteristics

• Time-of-Day

• Trip Purpose

• Trip Origin/Destination
Demographic Factors
• Employed or Not

• Income

• Gender

• Age
 Land Use Affects Usage
• Patterns
– Macro (Distribution across city)
– Site (Walkability)
• Densities
– Residential (Origin)
– Activity Center (Destination)

Residential Activity Center

Physical Environment Factors
• Street, Roadway System

• Non-Motorized Transport

• Geographic Features

• Public Policies
Geographic Features Affect
Public Transport Usage

• Water Bodies

• At-grade railroad crossings

• Weather
 Perception of
Safety and Security

• Perception is reality!
– Safety (Accidents)
– Security (Crime)
• Important issue for women

• Public transport accidents, while

rare, maybe newsworthy (big)
 Relationship Between
Measures and Standards
Measure
The Quantitative Degree of Attainment of An
Objective
e.g., Operating ratio (total revenues/ costs) helps
assess financial performance
Standard
The Lowest or Highest Level of Performance
Which Is Acceptable
e.g., The operating ratio for each route (or system)
should be greater than 1.00
 Why Are Measures
and Standards Needed for PT?

?
• Public transport resources are limited
– Must ensure resources put to most effective
and efficient use
• Financial performance should be considered in
light of other public policy objectives
• Human resources are limited
– Helps set priorities
 Design Measures and
Standards
• Often define the minimum criteria for a bus
service, e.g.,
– Geographic Coverage
– Stop Spacing
– Policy Headways
– Service Span
– Service Directness
BMTC
 Geographic Coverage
Measure Walking Distance to Bus Stops
Application Network

Standard Maximum Walking Distance

Maximum of 500 meters
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation

BMTC
 Stop Spacing
Measure Distance between Bus Stops
Application Route
Standard Maximum Distance
Maximum of 500 meters
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation

Stop Spacing
500 M
 Policy Headways
Measure Minutes between Bus Arrivals
Application Route
Standard Maximum Headway
Journey Length Minutes
Short 10
Long 20
World Bank Technical Paper 68 Bus Services: Raising Standards and Lowering Costs

Headway
 Service Span
Measure Hours During Which Service is
Operated
Application Route
Standard Minimum Hours
Day Service Span
Work Cover work travel
(Longest span)
Non-Work Cover main
(weekend) shopping hours
 Service Directness
Measure Percent of Passengers Making Two
Transfers (Travel on Three Routes)

Application Network
Standard Maximum of 10%
World Bank Technical Paper 68 Bus Services: Raising Standards and Lowering Costs

Route 32 Route 30

Route 56
 Operational Efficiency and
Financial Performance
• Measures used to evaluate current
or new services
• Examples
– Costs of Production
• Staffing Ratios
• Fleet Utilization
• Vehicle Reliability
• Dead Kilometers
– Revenues
• Passenger Volumes
• Earnings
– Operating Ratio
 Typical Route Data
Collection Techniques
• Driver/Conductor Counts
• Revenue Counts
• Farebox Readings
• Ride Checks
• Point Checks
• Passenger Surveys
Driver/Conductor Counts

Method
BMTC Conductor
 Revenue Counts

Method Route A
(In)

Terminal Route B
(Out)
 Farebox Readings
Registering

Method
 Ride Checks
(On/Off or Boarding/Alighting)

Method
 Point Checks
(Corner Counts)

Method
BMTC
Passenger Surveys

Method
 Performance Analysis
Should Be Ongoing and
Systematic
• Frequency
– Desired every month
– Reasonable every service schedule change
– Minimum once per year
• Approach
– Regular comprehensive review of all bus routes
– Detailed study of selected routes
• Service levels and efficiency
• Operational performance
 Common Service Problems 1

• Low profitability/high subsidies

– Low usage, low fares, high costs
• Unreliable service
– Late trips, missed trips
• Inadequate capacity
– Crowding, pass-by’s
• Declining travel speed
• Inconvenient transfers
– Too many, poor coordination
• Poor safety
– High number of accidents
1
Perceived Problems, Evaluate Your Bus System, Urban Bus Toolkit
 1 Performance Review of
All Bus Routes
Service Measures
Route Data
& Standards

Performance
Review

Routes Selected
for Detailed Study
1 Routes Are Selected Using
Ordinal Ranking
• Performance of individual routes ranked
from best to worse

• Routes not meeting standard become

candidates for further analysis
 Example of Ordinal Ranking

30.0
Earnings (Rs) Per KM

25.0
Pass = Successful
20.0 Standard

15.0
Scanned Image
Review = Moderate
Problem
10.0 Standard

5.0 Adjust = Fail

0.0
5 4 8 10 14 17 12 1 2 16 15 3 13 6 7 11 9

Route
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation “ABC” Route Evaluation
2 Detailed Study of
Selected Routes
Three analysis dimensions
– Time period
• Time-of-day
• Day-of-week

– Route segment

– Time period/route segment

 2A Time Period
Analysis

• Time-of-day/day-of-week
breakdown of route performance

• Average performance analyzed by

operating period
2A Steps in Time Period Analysis
Earnings per KM Example
1. Obtain passenger revenues and
revenue KM by trip.
2. Define analysis operating periods.
3. Sum passenger revenues and revenue
KM by operating periods.
4. Compute earnings per KM by operating
period.
Service Change Options Used
to Address Service Problems
• Vehicle changes
• Schedule adjustments
• Operating design changes
• Multiple route service design
changes
 Vehicle Assignments
• Approach
– Assign different size vehicle to route

• Problem applications
– Inadequate capacity (larger vehicles)
– Low profitability/high subsidies (fewer
vehicles, smaller vehicles)

BMTC BMTC
 Schedule Adjustments
• Running time
– Scheduled times between
time points

• Schedule coordination
with other routes
– Scheduled departure and
arrival times
 Operating Designs

• Traditional Local
• Short-Turns/Turn-backs
• Limited
• Express
• Branching
• Through-Routing
 Traditional Local Service
• Approach
– Service provided to each stop on route
– All trips operate entire length of route
– Headway revisions are common design change

Electronic City
City A B C D E Market
7:00 AM 7:10 AM 7:18 AM 7:26 AM 7:35 AM 7:45 AM 7:53 AM
7:10 AM 7:20 AM 7:28 AM 7:36 AM 7:45 AM 7:55 AM 8:03 AM
7:20 AM 7:30 AM 7:38 AM 7:46 AM 7:55 AM 8:05 AM 8:13 AM
7:30 AM 7:40 AM 7:48 AM 7:56 AM 8:05 AM 8:15 AM 8:23 AM
7:40 AM 7:50 AM 7:58 AM 8:06 AM 8:15 AM 8:25 AM 8:33 AM
 Short-Turns/Turn-Backs
• Approach
– Service provided to each stop on route
– Only some trips operate entire length of route
Short Trip
Long (Full) Trip

Electronic City
City A B C D E Market
7:00 AM 7:10 AM 7:18 AM 7:26 AM 7:35 AM 7:45 AM 7:53 AM
7:34 AM 7:43 AM 7:53 AM 8:01 AM
7:15 AM 7:25 AM 7:33 AM 7:41 AM 7:50 AM 8:00 AM 8:08 AM
7:49 AM 7:58 AM 8:08 AM 8:16 AM
7:30 AM 7:40 AM 7:48 AM 7:56 AM 8:05 AM 8:15 AM 8:23 AM
 Limited Service
• Approach
– Service provided to selected stops on route
• High passenger boardings and alightings
– All trips operate entire length of route
– Usually “overlays” not replaces local service
– Often used in dedicated transit rights-of-way

Electronic City
City A B C D E Market
7:00 AM 7:14 AM 7:29 AM 7:45 AM
7:15 AM 7:29 AM 7:44 AM 8:00 AM
7:30 AM 7:44 AM 7:59 AM 8:15 AM
7:45 AM 7:59 AM 8:14 AM 8:30 AM
8:00 AM 8:14 AM 8:29 AM 8:45 AM
 Express Service
• Approach
– Non-stop service provided between stop(s) in outer
area and stop(s) in central city or key destination
– All trips operate entire length of route
– Usually “overlays” not replaces local service
– May operate in dedicated transit right-of-way

Electronic City
City A B C D E Market
7:00 AM 7:40 AM
7:20 AM 8:00 AM
7:40 AM 8:20 AM
8:00 AM 8:40 AM
8:20 AM 9:00 AM
 Route Branching
• Approach
– Service provided to each stop along the route “trunk”
– Trips alternate to the outer “branches”
“A” Trip

“B” Trip

City
A B C D E Market
7:00 AM 7:20 AM 7:29 AM 7:39 AM 7:47 AM
7:05 AM 7:25 AM 7:34 AM 7:44 AM 7:52 AM
7:10 AM 7:30 AM 7:39 AM 7:49 AM 7:57 AM
7:15 AM 7:35 AM 7:44 AM 7:54 AM 8:02 AM
7:20 AM 7:40 AM 7:49 AM 7:59 AM 8:07 AM
7:25 AM 7:45 AM 7:54 AM 8:04 AM 8:12 AM
 Through-Routing
• Approach
– Combine two routes with a common terminal

Route X Route XY

City City
Market Market
Route Y Route XY
 Why is Schedule Building
? Important?
• Passengers
– Provide dependable travel
– Provide information to travelers
• Operator
– Deploy vehicles and operators
– Maximize operating efficiency
– Understand trade-offs between
efficiencies and passenger crowding
and waiting times
 Schedule Building
A Five-Step Process
1. Determine headways (frequencies)

2. Prepare headway table (specific trips)

3. Create vehicle assignments (blocking)

4. Create driver assignments (run cutting)

5. Estimate driver requirements (rostering)

 1
Determine Headways
• Demand headway
– Based on observed (forecast) demand
– Efficiency point-of-view
• Policy headway
– Maximum headway regardless of demand
– Policy set either by:
• Government (public policy)
• Operator (marketing concerns)

Headway
 2
Prepare Headway Table
• Develop line specification
• Determine key arrival (departure) times at
key market location
• Determine arrival (departure) times of trips
at the key market location
• Add (subtract) running times to determine
arrival/departure times at other time points
 3 Create Vehicle
Assignments (Blocking)
• Blocks also known as Bus Schedules in
India
• Link trips together at a common terminal
point
– Sometimes involves “deadheading”
equipment between routes
• Match arrival and departure times at a
terminal, allowing for "layover”
• Make minor schedule modifications
(where necessary) to achieve good
linkages
4 Create Driver Assignments
(Run Cutting)
• Run is an operator assignment

• Basic objective is to minimize driver

costs

• Need to know:
– Types of runs
– Labor practices
5 Estimate Driver Requirements
(Rostering)

• Total Driver Requirements are the Sum

of:
– Regular Drivers
– Extra Board Drivers
 Computers Often Are Used in
Schedule Building
• Labor saving for repetitive tasks
– Preparation of headway table
– Creation of vehicle blocks
– Creation of driver and conductor runs
– Transfer data to software for:
• Paper schedules for passengers
• Interactive passenger trip planners
– Internet or station
– Optimization of run cuts
– Important when complicated work rules
 Two Fundamental
? Costing Questions ?
• How much does it cost to operate an
existing route, now?
– Use: determine profitability/subsidy
– Time frame: present
– Typically involves cost allocation
• How much will it cost in the future to
change service?
– Use: budgeting and setting contract rates
– Time frame: future
– Typically involves analysis of variable and
Basic Total Cost Concepts

• Operating and Capital Costs

• Direct and Shared Costs

• Fixed and Variable Costs

Total Cost = Operating/Maintenance
Costs + Capital Costs
• Operating/Maintenance Costs are for
items consumed in less than one year
e.g., labor, fuel, vehicle replacement parts

• Capital Costs are expenses for long-term

assets, expressed as depreciation
e.g., buses, maintenance depots, stations,
 Total Cost = Direct Costs +
Shared Costs
• Direct Costs can be associated directly with
(or “counted for”) a specific service
e.g., operator labor, fuel
Fuel (A) Route (A)
Fuel (B) Route (B)

• Indirect Costs are allocated since they

cannot be associated directly with (or
“easily counted for”) a specific service
e.g., administrative
Electricitysalaries, depot
Route (A) electricity
Route (B)
 Total Cost = Fixed Costs +
Variable Costs
Total
Variable

Cost Fixed

Output

• Variable costs vary as service levels change

(e.g., operator labor, fuel)

• Fixed costs do not vary as service levels

change (e.g., administrative salaries, depot
electricity)
 Key Principles
Cost Allocation Models
• Cost is driven by the amount of service
provided
e.g., Route KM
A 1,000
B 2,000
Cost (Route A) < Cost (Route B)

• Average unit costs apply to all routes and

hours
e.g., Average unit cost = 19 Rs/KM
Cost (Route A) = 1,000 * 19 Rs/KM = 1,900 Rs
Cost (Route B) = 2,000 * 19 Rs/KM = 3,800 Rs
Basic Steps for Developing
Fully Allocated Cost Model

Assemble Data

Assign Expense Line Items

Calculate Unit Costs

 1
Assemble Data
• Compile expense data (costs)

• Compile service (“causal factor”) data

(e.g., revenue hours, revenue KM, peak
vehicle requirement)
Issues in Assembling Data

• Projected? Actual?

• What time period? How long?

• Where do we get cost data?

 2
Assign Expense Line Items

• Individual expense line items are assigned

to the service variable that best drives its
costs
– Common driver variables
• Revenue hours
• Revenue KM
• Peak vehicles
• Requires knowledge of how and why
expense items vary
3 Calculate Average Unit
Cost

• Determine each variable’s value (e.g.,

number of revenue hours)
• Divide the cost by the value of the
related driver or causal factor to obtain
average unit cost
 Incremental Costing
Total

Variable
Cost

Fixed

Output (Hours/Miles)

• Principal use is to estimate the changes in

cost of changes in service
• Incremental costs of service changes are
estimated by either:
– Recalibrating a fully-allocated cost model
using only variable costs
– Omitting the peak vehicle cost factor from the
cost allocation equation
• Inflation should be considered
 The Incremental Costing
Challenge
• Handling "step" costs
Are they "fixed" or "variable" for the proposed
service change?

• The size of the size of service change is

important
– The larger the change, the more chances
fixed costs will become variable
 When is Demand
? Estimation Needed?
• Publicly operated/subsidized services
– Select among service alternatives
– Support public investment decisions
• Operator
– Select among service alternatives to
maximize return
– Assess the revenue impact of publicly-
mandated services
Demand Estimation Techniques for
Evaluation of Short-Medium Term
Service and Operating Changes
• Surveys
• Survey potential users regarding response to
potential service change
• Similar routes method
• Apply existing service results to proposal
• Statistical models
• Develop formula relating existing demand to
current service parameters
• Elasticity models
• Apply percent change to current ridership based
 Potential User Surveys
Method Survey potential users regarding
response to service change
Estimation
1. Tabulate survey responses
2. Expand the responses to potential users
3. Adjust estimates to reflect experience with
“stated preference” surveys
— Less people using new or changed service than say
they will in the abstract
 Key Issues with Using Surveys
1. Obtaining representative user sample
2. Determining adjustment factor
– Ability to realistically describe key service
attributes in a concise, realistic survey
– Difference between stated preference and
actual behavior
• People often overstate usage of potential
services
3. Cost of conducting and processing
survey
 ≈ Similar Routes
Method Ridership on proposed service will reflect
ridership on an existing service
Estimation
1. Select similar service based on
(typical):
• Population density
• Generators served
• Service design (e.g., headways,
span)
2. Adjust ridership for differences
• Service levels
 Key Issues with Using Similar
Routes
1. Identification key differences between
existing and new route

2. Approach used to adjust for differences

 Statistical Models r2 = 0.74

Method Based on ridership on existing routes and

key service and demographic variables
Ridership = B + A1X1 + A2X2
+ ... +A3X3
Estimation
1. Collect data on existing routes
• Socioeconomic variables — e.g., income
• Land use variables — e.g.,
population
• Service variables — e.g., headway
• Daily ridership
2. Statistically “calibrate” model, develop
 e Elasticity Models
Method Elasticity is the ratio of the percent
change in ridership to the percent
change in a transit service parameter
(e.g., fares, service levels)
Demand Curve
Riders

RBefore
RAfter

FBefore FAfter
Fares