Design of Local Bus Service with Demand Equilibration

Local bus service design options are analyzed in this paper, including route spacing, headway, and fare, both with and without vehicle size constraints. Optimal levels of these variables are obtained analytically for three objective functions, including profit maximization, maximization of a combination of net user benefit and operator profit, and maximization of net user benefit subject to a deficit constraint. The analysis uses an equilibrium framework with transit ridership sensitive to the level of service provided by the bus system. The major results consist of closed-form solutions for the optimal local area operating policies, which are dependent upon local conditions, transit service objectives, and coefficients of the demand and cost functions.