Headway Control in Bus Transit Corridors Served by Multiple Lines

The problem of optimizing the operation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines that share a common corridor is analyzed. The goal is to minimize passengers travel time, including waiting at stations. In the common corridor, stations are shared by several bus lines which present riding alternatives for passengers with origins and destinations within the corridor. Since buses from different lines interact in the corridor, optimal multi-line headways that consider headways across all lines can alter single-line headways so as to maximize user benefit. We develop the system model in a mathematical programming fashion, embedded with the control strategy as bus holding decision variables. The method, named Multi-line Integrated Holding Control Strategy (M-IHCS), implements the required bus headway regulation for multiple lines in an integrated and simultaneous manner. Numerical tests of the optimization approach developed for the system model show the distinctive features of the solutions, indicating the superiority of multi-line headway control over its single-line counterpart.