How Are Bus Routes Set?

I don't know how often you travel by bus.  I generally travel by bus when I'm traveling internationally because its easier than trying to rent and drive a vehicle.  I often wondered how cities determined where the bus routes went and their schedule.  When I lived in Dallas, I took the bus but I hated it because I had to take a local bus to the transit center and get a bus to downtown.  Going to the transit center wasn't bad but coming back, the local bus already left before I got there and I had to wait quite a while for the local.  I hated it.

So lets look at how cities decide to set up their bus routes and tomorrow we'll look at issues bus routes have that are being helped by mathematics.  Transit companies spend quite a lot of time figuring out where bus routes known as fixed routes are placed.  The idea is for these fixed routes to help move people from where they live to where they work. We will start with some terms.

We have radial routes which are the backbone of the transit system.  They run around the central business area and the urban core.  These routes form the backbone of the transit system.  They are characterized by frequent stops, slow bus speeds, and shorter passenger trips.  The other type is the cross-town routes link major activity centers with direct routing or running through other with high intensity corridors that are not in the business center.  They are designed to have the best transfer connections.

When getting ready to set the different routes, they have to take into account the number of riders, the distribution of riders throughout the day so they can decide the number of buses and the times they should run.  For instance, there will be a surge when people want to head off to or come home from school or work. There are likely to be fewer travelers late at night.  

In addition, they have to determine how many bus stops to have because the spacing of bus stops does effect the number of riders.  The spacing of stops can also effect traffic since in many cities the buses stop on the street and end up blocking a lane thus slowing down traffic.  Furthermore, they have to take in to account the disabled, those who have strollers, bikes, and wheelchairs.  

The transit authority also has to do planning for short range (3 to 5 years) and long range (20 to 30) years so as to keep up with the demands of a growing area. Short range planning looks primarily at the current routes and predicts any changes to schedules over the next three to five years.  Long range planning look at what the city area will look like in the future.  They try to predict the population, employment, population density, and the where traffic congestion will occur as they plan. They also have to account for funding they think they will get to pay for it all and also helps provide political support.

So these are all the facts used to set bus routes in places.  Next time, we'll look at the math behind trying to get buses to run so they don't bunch along the way.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.