Despite being an affordable and efficient mode of travel, fixed line buses — a staple of urban and suburban areas — may regularly drive around empty, especially during off-peak hours and holidays. But city buses are a lifeline for passengers who rely on them, even when service is infrequent. It’s time for technology to raise the bar — reducing the number of buses that drive around empty, and giving back control to passengers who rely on them. Dynamic bus fleets combine the best of both fixed route and on-demand transit. See what a basic on-demand city bus network could look like by following the instructions below.
You choose:
Supply. How many buses are in your fleet?
Demand. How many requests do you expect potential riders to make? Does that number change based on time of day? Naturally, we want to be able to serve as many ride requests as possible.
Bus walk. How many minutes do you think would be an acceptable walk time to a bus station?
…and we’ll show you:
Wait time. How long did passengers have to wait for a ride given the level of demand and number of vehicles in your fleet?
Rides served. How many people who requested a ride were given an option that they accepted, and then completed?
Utilization (rides per vehicle hour). How efficient was your use of vehicles?
Still unclear about how the tool works, what you’re looking at, or what kind of public transportation network you’re building? Get the full story in our deep-dive.