the frequent bus network: a workable model for...

The Frequent Bus Network:A Workable Model for High Quality City Bus Services

in Indian Megacities?

Concept Framework &BIG Bus Network, Bangalore (BMTC)

Ashwin PrabhuPrincipal Associate

EMBARQ India

Roundtable 2 – Bus Karo: Modernising City Bus ServicesUrban Mobility India 2013

Manekshaw CentreDec 4, 2013

The Frequent Bus Network:Rationale & Concept

Direct Services Model

Source: G. Nielsen (2005), “Public Transport – Planning the Networks”

Issue 1: Exponential Growth in Number of Routes

3 Hubs3 Destinations

9 Routes


18 Routes



27 Routes


As fiscal capacities are generally constrained, fleet sizecannot keep up with the exponential increase in number ofroutes

Eventually, this system ends up with a large number ofroutes with only 1 or 2 buses

If these routes are long – as routes serving the cityperiphery tend to be – this results in long wait times onindividual routes

Issue 2: Low Frequencies on Individual Routes

Route 356-B

KR MarketToKarpur

Route Length:34.3 KM

Buses:1

Wait Time till nextbus:

~120 Min

Large number of routes increases system complexity andacts as a barrier to entry for new users

System complexity means developing user informationsystems, like maps at bus stops, becomes very difficult

Issue 3: Excessive Complexity for Users

Issue 3: Excessive Complexity for Users

Source: tfl.co.uk

The Frequent Bus Network


Principle #1:Individual Routes along Major Roads are rationalised into asmall number of Very High Frequency Routes



Principle #2:Travel Patterns that require moving beyond the major road areserved by routes connecting to the Frequent Bus Network atinterchange points



Principle # 3:Specific Travel Patterns are served not by direct routes, but bya collection of ‘direction-oriented’ services connected bytransfers



Improves:

System Simplicityfewer routes, easier to navigate

Quality of Servicemore buses per route, higher frequency

System Capacityhigher frequency on specific ‘links’

Flexibilityeasier to match supply to demand

Benefits of The Frequent Bus Network

Implementing The FrequentBus Network in Bangalore

(BMTC)

BMTC is implementing Two Major Route & NetworkStructure Reforms:

1. The BIG Bus Network

2. Feeder Services for Peripheral Destinations

The Frequent Bus Network in Bangalore

The BIG Bus Network is a Connective Grid ofHigh Frequency, Direction-Oriented services along Main

Roads

BIG = Bangalore Intra-city Grid

1. BIG Bus Network

1. BIG Bus Network

1. BIG Bus Network – Full Network

Peripheral Destinations - which lie beyond ORR and offarterial roads - will be served with high frequency feeder

services connecting them to the main road


BIG Bus Network + Feeders: An Example

Pilot Project and ExpectedImpacts:

Hosur Road

Hosur Road Corridor

Existing Services:From City Centre toElectronics City andBeyond

63 Routes

262 Buses

BIG Bus Network + Feeders: Hosur Road

Improving Simplicity

63 Routes in Existing System

Improving Simplicity

63 Routes 30 Routes

Routes

existing proposedTrunk Service

Direct Service

TOTAL

BigTrunk 6

BigConnect 3

Feeder Services 21

30

15

48

6352.4% reduction in number of routeswhile maintaining same servicecoverage

Shorter length of feeder routes means that waiting timesaway from the main road are reduced

However, there is an additional component of waiting timenow: waiting for the trunk service

But the trunk service is run at a very high frequency (~3 min)

So the reduction in wait time is still very significant

Improving Service Quality (1) – Wait Times

Existing Service

Route 356-B

KR MarketToKarpur

Route Length:34.3 KM

Buses:1Wait Time till nextbus:

~120 Min

Proposed Service

Feeder Route:Route Length:10.1 KM

Round Trip Time:72 Min

Average Wait:36 Min

BigTrunk Route:

Average Wait:3 Min

Total Wait Time:39 Min

d


existing proposedTRUNK

FEEDER

TOTAL

0

120

120

3

36

39

waittime

67.5% reduction in wait time for bus service

For all bus stops in the proposed system:

Waiting times reduce by an average of

56%*

*weighted by passenger volume


Fleet Requirement

existing proposedTrunk Service

Direct Service

TOTAL

BigTrunk 187

BigConnect 35

Feeder Services 40

262

167

95

262

Improved Public Transport Experience for215,000 passengers daily

Impact

Challenges in ImplementingThe Frequent Bus Network

3 Major Concerns

1. Transfers:The Frequent Bus Network Model depends on transfers. It isgenerally thought that users do not like to make transfers.Will this be a problem?

2. FaresIn general, city bus services do not have integrated fares, resultingin ‘transfer penalties’.Can this be resolved?

3. User EducationPublic Transport Users are generally resistant to majorchanges in service patterns.How can this be overcome?

Will this work? Potential Concerns

Mitigating Concern 1: Transfers

53%

4%4%

12%

4%

10%

13%

Bus Stop Access Mode - Chandapura(From areas with BMTC service) [n=1650]

BMTCKSRTCPrivate BusAuto2WCarWalk

Moreover, most complaints about transfers are that thewaiting time for the next bus is high

However, in this case, we will be significantly improvingfrequencies, resulting in low waiting times for connectingservices


Mitigating Concern 2: Fares

29%

46%

25%

Chandapura – Morning(n=11,614)

Direct Trips Feeder Trips Trunk Trips

27%

46%

27%

Chandapura – Evening(n=7,243)

Direct Trips Trunk Trips Feeder Trips

Mitigating Concern 2 - Fares

60%

40%

Attibele Direct Trips – Ticket Type(n=1,374)

Bus PassTicket

Mitigating Concern 2: Fares

Mitigating Concern 3: User Education

Unified Branding

Mitigating Concern 3: User Education

User Information at Bus Stops

OldAirportRoad

SarjapurRoad

HosurRoad

BanerghattaRoad

KanakpuraRoad

OldMadrasRoad

MysoreRoad

MagadiRoad

TumkurRoad

BellaryRoad

Tannery Road

HennurRoad

The Frequent Bus Network promises a step-changeimprovement in the quality of urban bus services,particularly for large cities

In principle this concept can be extended to any city with awell defined road network with a hierarchy of publictransport demand

However, there are some significant challenges

Conclusions

Thank You!

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