Learn how transportation planners design public transit systems to serve commuters better during peak hours. Explore strategies and principles to improve peak demand, capacity, and experience.

During the transport demand determination phase, it is important to define the passenger renewal factor for each trip, which will define a proportion between the counted passengers (turnstile) and the maximum number of simultaneous passengers. With this data, the definition of the number of necessary trips must be made together with the determination of the necessary resources, crew and vehicles. The use of software to optimize resources is always welcome, implementing premises such as the adoption of idle routes (deadheads) to reuse the fleet. At first, it appears to be the adoption of more costs, but this cost can reduce the number of vehicles needed in the fleet, expanding peak capacity for the same fleet.

Last updated on Apr 11, 2024

How can public transit systems be designed to serve commuters during peak hours?

If you commute by public transit, you know how frustrating it can be to deal with crowded buses, trains, or ferries during peak hours. You may have to wait in long lines, squeeze into tight spaces, or miss your connection. How can public transit systems be designed to serve commuters better during these busy times? In this article, we will explore some strategies and principles that transportation planners use to improve the efficiency, reliability, and comfort of public transit during peak hours.

1 What are peak hours?

Peak hours are the periods of the day when the demand for public transit is greatest, typically during the morning and evening when people are commuting to and from work or school. During peak hours, public transit systems often experience increased congestion and delays on the roads or rails, limited capacity and frequency of vehicles and stations, higher operating and maintenance costs, and lower customer satisfaction and loyalty. To tackle these challenges, transportation planners must comprehend commuters' patterns and preferences, and design public transit systems that can satisfy their needs and expectations.

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Clemens Rath

Sustainable & Shared Mobility
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During weekdays most cities show a bi-modal distribution with a strong morning peak between 7 and 9 o'clock and an evening peak. During weekends and holidays this pattern changes.

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José Javier Chávez Salinas

CEO Corporacion Grupo Nueva Escocia S.A.C
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El aporte de la sociedad es fundamental, el escalonamiento en los horarios de salida - ingreso se hace necesario con la finalidad de "repartir" y desintegrar el cuello de botella.

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2 How to measure peak demand?

Measuring peak demand is one of the first steps in designing public transit systems for peak hours. To do this, transportation planners need to estimate the number of people using public transit, their origin and destination, the duration of their trips, and the modes they choose. To measure peak demand, planners use methods such as surveys and interviews with commuters, automatic passenger counters and ticketing data, GPS and mobile phone data, traffic cameras and sensors, and simulation and modeling software. Through these measurements, they can identify bottlenecks, gaps, and opportunities in the public transit network to plan accordingly.

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3 How to increase peak capacity?

The main goal of designing public transit systems for peak hours is to increase the peak capacity, which requires providing enough vehicles and stations to accommodate the demand and reducing waiting and travel time. Transportation planners employ various strategies to achieve this, such as expanding or upgrading the infrastructure and equipment, adding or reallocating vehicles and staff, optimizing schedules and routes, implementing priority lanes or signals, and introducing express or limited-stop services. Ultimately, increasing peak capacity can enhance the throughput, speed, and reliability of public transit during peak hours.

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Yves Ribeiro

Mechanical Engineer | MSc | Transportation Specialist at Urbi Mobilidade Urbana | Transport and Urban Mobility
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During the transport demand determination phase, it is important to define the passenger renewal factor for each trip, which will define a proportion between the counted passengers (turnstile) and the maximum number of simultaneous passengers. With this data, the definition of the number of necessary trips must be made together with the determination of the necessary resources, crew and vehicles. The use of software to optimize resources is always welcome, implementing premises such as the adoption of idle routes (deadheads) to reuse the fleet. At first, it appears to be the adoption of more costs, but this cost can reduce the number of vehicles needed in the fleet, expanding peak capacity for the same fleet.

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4 How to manage peak demand?

Designing public transit systems for peak hours also involves managing peak demand, which requires influencing the behavior and choices of commuters. Transportation planners use various tactics to do this, such as offering incentives or discounts for off-peak or pre-paid travel, charging premiums or surcharges for peak or single-use travel, providing information on the availability and performance of public transit, promoting alternative modes or routes, and coordinating with employers or schools to stagger or flex work or study hours. Through these measures, transportation planners can reduce the congestion, crowding, and costs of public transit during peak hours.

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5 How to enhance peak experience?

A final goal of designing public transit systems for peak hours is to enhance the peak experience, which entails improving the comfort and convenience of commuters and making them feel valued and satisfied. Transportation planners use various measures to achieve this, such as ensuring the cleanliness and safety of vehicles and stations, providing amenities and services like Wi-Fi, charging stations, or bike racks, engaging with customers and soliciting feedback, recognizing and rewarding frequent users, and creating a sense of community and identity among public transit users. Enhancing peak experience can help increase the loyalty and retention of public transit users during peak hours.

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Sebastian V. Gruenwald

Consultant @ Ricondo & Associates, Inc. | Civil Engineering + Public Policy @ Purdue University
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As much as amenities are nice like charging stations, bike racks, and nice station designs, during peak periods, many riders only care about two things: frequency and reliability. A beautiful train is worthless if it doesn't show up half the time, and a well-crafted schedule is useless if it's inaccurate.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Clemens Rath

Sustainable & Shared Mobility
(edited)
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"Virtual Mobility", i.e. refraining from moving people and instead allowing them to attend work or education virtually via video conferences and collaboration tools, can help reducing peaks as well.

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Chinmay Prabhakar

Green Transition | Change Management | Infrastructure Governance | Fin-Tech | PFM | LKYSPP | NUS | CEPT | VNIT | NLU
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To identify dangerous intersections in a city with greater technicality, advanced data analytics and machine learning techniques can be employed. By aggregating and analyzing large datasets of traffic incidents, vehicle counts, and pedestrian movements, predictive models can be developed to identify intersections with a high likelihood of accidents. Spatial analysis using GIS can be enhanced with heat mapping & cluster analysis to visualize high-risk areas. Incorporating real-time data from sensors/IOTs allows for dynamic risk assessment, adapting to changing traffic conditions. Network analysis algorithms can further evaluate the connectivity and flow patterns in the road network, identifying potential bottlenecks and conflict points.

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How can public transit systems be designed to serve commuters during peak hours?

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3

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1 What are peak hours?

2 How to measure peak demand?

3 How to increase peak capacity?

4 How to manage peak demand?

5 How to enhance peak experience?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Transportation Planning

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How can public transit systems be designed to serve commuters during peak hours?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 What are peak hours?

2 How to measure peak demand?

3 How to increase peak capacity?

4 How to manage peak demand?

5 How to enhance peak experience?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Transportation Planning

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