A survey on demand-responsive public bus systems

When demand for transportation is low or highly variable, traditional public bus services tend to lose their efficiency and typically frustrate (potential) passengers. In the literature, a large number of demand-responsive systems, that promise improved flexibility, have therefore been developed. At present, however, a comprehensive survey of these systems is lacking. In this paper, we fill this gap by presenting a unifying framework that classifies all demand-responsive public bus systems. The classification is mainly based on three degrees of responsiveness: dynamic online, dynamic offline, and static. For each system we discuss the specific optimization problem modeled, whether realistic data is considered, and the size of the instances used for testing. Where possible, we try to draw conclusions on the current state of the literature and try to identify potential avenues for future research. Different tables are included to structure and summarize the information of all papers. • A large number of demand-responsive bus systems have been developed recently. • We present a comprehensive survey of these systems in a unifying framework. • The framework is mainly based on three degrees of responsiveness. • Different tables structure and summarize the information of all papers included. • Conclusions on data management, limited system analysis and the gap between theory and practice are discussed.