Скачать или смотреть Rural Mobility Service Platform (RAMP): optimal design and pilot in Greene County, PA - Dr. S. Qian

Mobility services are dependent on ridership and coverage within a geographical area, which results in first and last-mile coverage problems. Fixed routes and schedules are considered a standard for public transit in urban areas and provide service consistency to users. While fixed route services may be suited for urban areas, the demand in rural/suburban areas is considerably spread out in space, and the selection of time headway is challenging due to variable demand spatially and temporally. Thus, principles of traditional on-demand service cannot be applied to such regions and operating fixed-route fixed-headway services could be costly and inefficient. The study therefore proposes a Rural Mobility Service Platform (RAMP), consisting of new mobility service models and software platforms designed for low-population density areas. In particular, a hybrid structure with flex route and fixed route on-demand mobility service is proposed to fulfill the mobility needs of the rural/suburban population using a case study site of Greene County in Pennsylvania. Network simulations were conducted for multiple scenarios with the proposed mobility service to assess the system-level performance. The simulation results showed that the hybrid structure services are sufficient to substitute the existing fixed route service and provide service rates from 63% to 95% in different scenarios. Furthermore, the total in-vehicle travel time improved by an average of 68%. The hybrid structure service can be deployed on a full scale or limited scale depending on future budget. The findings from this research could help transit agencies prioritize the needs of disadvantaged rural populations using hybrid mobility services and consider new policies while designing on-demand mobility strategies.