Kollektivtrafikakademin vid Lunds Universitet, branschorganisationerna Svensk Kollektivtrafik och Svenska Bussbranschens Riksförbund (BR) har tilldelat uppsatsen pris för "2011 års bästa studentuppsats om kollektivtrafik".

Examensarbete

The aim of this thesis is to study how different boarding procedures on buses affect bus bunching, passenger travel time and waiting time, taking the effects on the whole transit network in mind. To achieve this it is important to be able to quantify the bunching problems in situations with different boarding procedures and demand. Video recording of bus boarding and alighting in Stockholm and Gothenburg was used to calibrate and validate dwell time models. Identification of suitable dwell time functions was based on the data and former experience. The network performance analysis is based on simulation of two bus lines with different supply and demand running partially parallel. The simulation shows that in a system with many passengers and overlapping bus lines, free boarding through all doors can decrease average passenger travel time and vehicle circulation time by 20 - 25 per cent during rush hour. At the same time better regularity means less crowded buses, and for each bus and stop 0.5 passengers less were left behind due to overcrowding. Allowing the passengers to board through all doors can in combination with a good holding strategy give large benefits in a transit network in the size of Stockholm. Even though bus bunching is a well-known phenomenon, it is seldom considered when evaluating new transit policies and this can lead to underestimation of the effects.