SERVICE RELIABILITY IMPACTS OF COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCHING AND AUTOMATIC VEHICLE LOCATION TECHNOLOGY: A TRI-MET CASE STUDY

Abstract

This paper presents findings on initial changes in service reliability following Tri-Met’s deployment of a new bus dispatching system using automatic vehicle location and automatic passenger counter technology. Changes in on-time performance, headway variation, run time variation, and run times were determined with respect to pre-deployment levels. Changes in headway variation and run times were also used to estimate the initial benefits of the new system with respect to operating costs, passenger waiting, and passenger travel time.