using spatial presentation of bus gps data to identify and justify bus priority upgrades
TRANSCRIPT
C. Rusin and G. Kumar
Spatial presentation of PTIPS data for Bus Priority Planning
July 2016
OUTLINE
Introduction (the story)The bus priority storyData analysisGeospatial analysisInterpretation of dataPresentation of analysisProject outcomesNext steps
Sydney’s bus network:13 bus contract regionsOver 600 bus routes In the vicinity of 370 million
bus passengers over a year
2.54 billion passenger kilometres in 2015 (1.58 billion in Melbourne)
CONTEXT: ABOUT SYDNEY BUS SERVICES
Bus priority in Sydney
600 bus routes, thousands of services each day Over 1 million passengers transported per day
SYDNEY’S BUS FUTURE (TFNSW 2013) ‘Simpler, faster, better bus services’:
‘turn up and go’ services Rapid services av. speed above 25 km/hr Reliability of services (to timetable)
Tiers of the bus network: Rapid routes (efficiency, linking centres) Suburban routes (frequency) Local routes (coverage)
Issues affecting bus efficiency: Competing demands for road space Constrained by congested road networks
THE BUS PRIORITY STORY
A B
Rapid
Suburban
Local
CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVEBut what happens when Sydney’s roads look like this?
BUS PRIORITY IN SYDNEY
Bus priority story – what do we want?Bus network which is reliable, efficiency,
understandableNSW Premiere’s target for 90% of peak travel on
road routes is on timePartner with NSW Government’s investment
strategyConfidence in where to spend
Task: Develop analysis tool for analysing data and identifying corridor pinchpoints.
Transport for NSW has commissioned several pinch points analysis for improved bus priority infrastructure, along several corridors.Using the Public Transport Information and Priority System (PTIPS)
PTIPS
Pinch points analysis in the bigger picture:
Justification for bus priority and corridor efficiency improvements…
Clear understanding of bus corridor pinchpoints
PROJECT FLOW CHART
INTRODUCTION
Identify problem corridor
Investigation and
assessment
Options evaluation
Corridor performance and options
report
Design of infrastructure solution
PTIPS analysis to understand pinch points
The task objective:
Clear illustration and understanding of corridor pinch points (problem areas)
DATA ANALYSISCase study: Northern Beaches (Neutral Bay to Mona Vale)
Over 820,000 bus trips (over 50 routes), 30kms or corridor.
Local issues: Traffic congestion Weekend travel time issues Kerbside parking Passenger congestion at
stops Narrow lanes Inconsistent bus priority
infrastructure
Identified as a priority Rapid Bus Corridor in Sydney’s Bus Future
(2013)
DATA ANALYSIS
Task strategy:
Lessons learned:Know what your end result should look likeTemplate MS Excel, copy-paste data sets, automated analysisGIS analysis – good for large data analysisAvoid taking averages of averages (use first principles)
1. Stop-by-stop analysis
2. time-point analysis
GEO-SPATIAL ANALYSIS
Time point data analysisFiner-grained data, identification of specific problem locationsLarger volume of data to analyseGIS is an effective application to analyse and visualise speed and
variability results. Method:
1: Processing raw PTIPs data into format, excluding irrelevant and erroneous data.
2: Segmented the bus route into sections (106 sections, 150-170m) 3: Data imported and mapped using x,y co-ordinates 4: Identify northbound/southbound routes and data outside of corridor
excluded
Geeta Kumar
GEO-SPATIAL ANALYSIS
Time point data analysisData imported and mapped using x,y co-ordinates 5: Calculated average travel times
for each section, determined by interpolating the times at which the bus arrived at the segment ends.
6: Analysis was visualized on a map.
GEO-SPATIAL TIME POINT ANALYSIS
GIS MAP
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Stop-based data analysis
Comparing two metrics: Average Speed and Average variation
Consider whole corridor – to find pinch points.
Pinchpoint
Pinchpoint
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Stop-based data analysisPinchpoint
Pinchpoint
AM Peak Inbound services Between Sydney
Road, Balgowlah and Sydney CBD
Comparison of All stops and Express services
VALIDATION OF ANALYSIS
Inbound traffic, PM period, Military Road at Wycombe Road (Neutral Bay) - facing West
Bunching of services: buses delaying busesInbound (Neutral Bay)
VALIDATION OF ANALYSIS
Outbound traffic, Military Road at Murdoch Street (Cremorne)
Inbound traffic, PM period, Military Road - facing WestBus lane free
PRESENTATION OF ANALYSIS
Time point analysis (Map with colour-coded sections) High level of detail Efficient analysis through GIS Identification of specific pinch point locations Visual presentation of corridor performance metrics Map – easy to understand
Stop-stop analysis (graphical presentation) Best use of available data Graphical analysis efficient to produce Connection between performance metrics and locations Logic for pinch point identification is clear
Which is better?
OTHER ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Opal card origin-destination data analysisOther ticketing data and service type comparisons (all stop versus limited
stops)Busway vehicle flow and passenger capacity analysisCurrent flow vs optimal capacity – efficiency enhancementsOptions assessment:
Detailed assessment
Preliminary investigation
Strategic review
• Toolkit of options• TWG review
• SWOT assessment• Preliminary capacity
investigation
• Modelling• Multi-criteria assessment
PROJECT OUTCOMES
Tailor-made approach to measuring and understanding pinchpoints.
Informed improvements to bus corridor efficiency: New bus lanes and converted lanes to bus priority Fewer bus stops Bus platforms next to stops or indented bays Extended bus lane times Removal of roadside inhibitors (e.g. trees) Parking removal and adjacent street parking improvements
Opportunities to use the analysis in various stages of project lifecycle.
Transport NSW expressed satisfaction with the outputs: Understandable Reliable basis for justifying planning & investment Enables specific response to actual corridor issues
NEXT STEPS
Inputs into broader study on Northern Beaches corridor performance and opportunities investigation
Previously this work has fed into business cases for corridor improvements
Creating a stream-lined data analysis service for our clients – well tested and proven Combine with other tested analysis methods and develop a toolkit for
corridor performance analysis, option development and assessmentOpportunities to use method within Auckland and New Zealand
comparable transport markets
The Big Picture
LAST WORDS
Source: Daily Telegraph, “Frustrated commuters want express service”, Dec 2015 (Photo: Justin Sanson)
“… if we want to reduce our reliance on private cars we need better and more frequent public transport options.” The Hills Mayor, Michelle Byrne
Questions?
Thank you!
Photo source: SMH 2014 The Military-Spit-Pittwater bus corridor