Identifying synergies in private and public transportation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how real-time data can be used to identify and exploit synergies between private taxi and public bus services, aiming to improve urban transportation efficiency and service quality.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze trip-level parallels between taxis and buses and evaluates potential benefits in two Asian cities.

Findings

Identified existing parallels between taxi and bus trips.

Exploiting these synergies can enhance transportation service quality.

Potential for more efficient and dynamic urban transportation services.

Abstract

In this paper, we explore existing synergies between private and public transportation as provided by taxi and bus services on the level of individual trips. While these modes are typically separated for economic reasons, in a future with shared Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) providing cheap and efficient transportation services, such distinctions will blur. Consequently, optimization based on real-time data will allow exploiting parallels in demand in a dynamic way, such as the proposed approach of the current work. New operational and pricing strategies will then evolve, providing service in a more efficient way and utilizing a dynamic landscape of urban transportation. In the current work, we evaluate existing parallels between individual bus and taxi trips in two Asian cities and show how exploiting these synergies could lead to an increase in transportation service quality.