CONNECTIVITY INDEX FOR SYSTEMWIDE TRANSIT ROUTE AND SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The services of a public transportation system are represented by its routes and schedules. The level and quality of service are, in part, determined by the ability of the route and schedules structure to serve the transportation needs of a service area. The concept of connectivity has been proposed for measuring how well the routes and schedules are integrated with respect to various transportation objectives within a framework of spatial-activity patterns. This study was undertaken to develop a methodology for determining the connectivity of the routes and schedules of an entire public transit system that serves a part or the whole of the service area. The objective is to use connectivity indicators as quantitative tools in the evaluation of service-delivery strategies. An investigation of the graph-theoretical connectivity by computer simulation found the mean of the reciprocals of the trip lengths of a representative sample of trips to be a good connectivity indicator. This indicator ties together the degree of connectiveness with the level of network development. It also offers a consistent picture of the level, as well as the quality, of connections offered by the route and schedule network structure.