EVALUATING POTENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF HEADWAY CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR TRANSIT SYSTEMS

Abstract

Holding strategies for control of headways between transit vehicles are often considered as a means of improving the reliability of transit service. This paper describes simple tests that can be used to identify situations for which control is potentially attractive. These tests depend only on a simple measure of headway variability and the proportion of total passengers who will be delayed as a result of the holding strategy. Thus, this analysis provides transit operators with a simple screening model to evaluate potential effectiveness of controls. (Author)