Layovers can be scheduled where it is convenient for the service. Routes with too little recovery time are stressful for the driver, and in turn the passengers, especially if the route suffers from poor on-time performance.Ī good rule of thumb is to include an additional 10% of the trip-time for recovery.
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Bus drivers need time to stretch, use the bathroom, eat, etc. It is also essential for operations staff driving a bus for any length of time is wearing on an operator. This serves as an insurance policy against abnormal delay on one trip significantly impacting subsequent trips. These can vary tremendously even on different lengths of the same road.įinally, "recovery" or layover time should be added to the route.
How fares are handled (cash only systems tend to experience more delay than those with electronic fare media).It can be affected by many factors, such as: This amount of time varies between agencies. This is the average time the bus is delayed from moving to board and alight passengers. The schedule should be padded with what is known as "passenger-stop" delay time. Calculate the average free-flow (no traffic delay) time between each time point.Īdd all of the time between time points in free-flow travel. Agencies often set time points using major and recognizable landmarks or intersections. A reasonable guideline would be a time point every five to ten minutes apart. To establish a basic schedule, it is best to set time points that are evenly spaced along the duration of the route. This can simplify published information and also allow flexibility on stretches of the route with a high variability of speed. Passengers read the schedule and if they are waiting at a stop in between can reasonably estimate when the bus will come based on the time points on either side of their stop. The precise time for stops in between is unpublished.
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A time point would be a major stop by which the driver should not pass earlier than what is published. While some agencies may calculate average time between every stop, it is more common for agencies to designate scheduled " time points" along a route.
In these cases it becomes even more critical that the route timetable is appropriate for operating conditions such as traffic levels at different times of day. When service is less frequent than about every 10 minutes, passengers will have to rely more heavily on the published schedule. In areas where a route operates on frequent headways, say every 10 minutes or less, passengers more often walk out to the stop without knowing the departure schedule at most they are likely to only be waiting an average of 5 to 9 minutes for the next bus. Certainly there is a wide range in between. How frequently will the route run? Where will the bus stops be and what is the distance between them? In small communities, suburban and rural, service may operate once an hour in major metropolitan areas services may run every ten minutes or even more frequently. The characteristics of the area determine the basic components of service. Priorities can extend further into how aggressive the bus schedule is against traffic congestion, or how relaxed it is by allowing more layover or recovery time along the route. Achieving success in both aspects is unlikely due to the high cost of having high frequency and extensive coverage. Alternatively, some agencies may focus more on geographic coverage over frequency. The minimum or average frequency of service may be set by agency policy. This topic does not cover development of a new fixed-route service, but rather the tuning or re-tuning of an existing or already planned route.ĭifferent agencies value different qualities in service levels. Bus transit planners should be aware of the basics of fixed-route scheduling. Agencies operating fixed-route buses find the need to make adjustments to route scheduling periodically in response to changing circumstances.