A simulation analysis of demand and fleet size effects on taxicab service rates

Abstract

The research presented in this paper was directed at understanding the dynamic interaction between demand, service rate, and policy alternatives in a typical urban taxi system. The general nature of such systems is discussed and a SLAM II simulation model of the system introduced. A series of experiments with the model indicate that customer waiting time is relatively insensitive to changes in demand but highly sensitive to changes in the number of taxi cabs.