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Indirect Measurement of Level of Service Variables for the Public Transport System of Santiago Using Passive Data

Transport Survey Methods

ISBN: 978-1-78-190287-5, eISBN: 978-1-78-190288-2

Publication date: 29 January 2013

Abstract

Purpose — The introduction of new technology to public transport systems has provided an excellent opportunity for passive data collection. In this paper, we explore the possibility of automatically generating level of service indicators that could be used for operation planning and monitoring of Transantiago, the public transport system of Santiago, Chile.

Design/methodology/approach — After basic processing of the raw automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic fare collection (AFC) data, we were able to generate bus speed indicators, travel time measurements and waiting time estimates using data from 1week. The results were compared with manual measures when available.

Findings — The advantage is that these measurements and estimates are reliable because they are obtained from large samples and at nearly no cost. Moreover, they can be applied to any set of data with a selected periodicity.

Research limitations — The scope of this research is limited to what can be observed with AVL and AFC data. Additional information is required to incorporate other dimensions, such as personal characteristics and/or more detail in the origin/destination (OD) of the trips.

Practical implications — Nevertheless, these results are valuable for the planning and operation management of public transport systems because they provide large amounts of information that is difficult and expensive to obtain from direct measurements.

Originality/value — This paper proposes tools to obtain valuable information at a low cost. These tools can be implemented in many cities that have certain technological devices incorporated into their public transport systems.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the funding received through Fondecyt 1120288, FONDEF D10I-1002, ISCI (ICM P-05-004-F, CONICYT FBO16). We would also like to thank the support of Transantiago, and the collaboration of Mauricio Zúñiga and Richard Ibarra.

Citation

Beltrán, P., Gschwender, A., Munizaga, M., Ortega, M. and Palma, C. (2013), "Indirect Measurement of Level of Service Variables for the Public Transport System of Santiago Using Passive Data", Zmud, J., Lee-Gosselin, M., Munizaga, M. and Carrasco, J.A. (Ed.) Transport Survey Methods, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 673-694. https://doi.org/10.1108/9781781902882-037

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2013 Emerald Group Publishing Limited