On Safety of Passengers Entering a Bus Rapid Transit System from Scheduled Stops

TL;DR

This paper proposes an optimization approach to improve passenger safety in bus rapid transit systems by minimizing waiting times and deviations from schedules, using dynamic programming and position tracking.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining timetable adherence and position tracking to enhance safety for passengers entering buses at stops.

Findings

Numerical simulations show improved safety outcomes.

The approach effectively reduces passenger waiting times.

First use of position tracking for departure time matching in this context.

Abstract

In this paper, we address the vehicle scheduling problem for improving passenger safety in bus rapid transit systems. Our focus is on passengers waiting at street stops to enter terminal stations. To enhance their safety, we minimize deviations from the proposed timetable, thereby minimizing passengers' initial waiting time. We formulate an optimization problem considering the position, speed deviation, and passenger count at each stop, solved using dynamic programming. Numerical simulations validate the effectiveness of our approach in enhancing passenger safety. Our work is the first attempt to minimize waiting time for improved safety and the first to utilize position tracking for departure time matching.