Document Type

Technical Report

Publication Date

9-2021

Keywords

OneBusAway, travel behavior, smartphone, multimodal, public transit

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.5038/CUTR-NICR-Y1-3-1.1

Abstract

Developed and rural areas close to urban centers can use public transit as an effective strategy to reduce traffic congestion. Transit can improve mobility, accessibility, and quality of life of the residents of a region when perceived as reliable and efficient. However, unreliable or inefficient transit systems could lead to low ridership. Innovations in transit services are required to enhance the sustainability of urban centers and to increase the accessibility to jobs and other activities for people living in rural areas. Transportation professionals must develop strategies to improve the transit system and increase its ridership. One of these strategies is to provide users with real-time transit data through a real-time passenger information (RTPI) system. Transit users can then utilize this information to their advantage and comfort by reducing actual waiting times and the perception of waiting time at the stop. This solution increases ridership by improving the riders’ experience when using this service.

This report represents phase one of a two-phase project. The main objective of phase one is to implement the open-source platform OneBusAway in the Integrated Transit System of Mayagüez (TIM, for its Spanish acronym) to have real-time information readily available for modeling and studying the impact on ridership. The methodology followed in this investigation was divided into four tasks, from literature review and understanding of OBA to its implementation. The preliminary results of this investigation show that OBA correctly identifies all the routes and stops of the system, and accurately estimates (predictions) for arrival time to specific stops while the buses are in operation. The main objective of phase two will be to explore how travelers choose between driving their own vehicles or using public transit, Transportation Network Companies (TNC) services, or other modes (e.g., carpooling, micro-mobility), and how to influence this behavior (i.e., increase transit ridership) using OBA.

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