Phillip Boyle & Associates NetPlan – A Practitioner’s Experience HASTUS International User Group September 2012

Phillip Boyle & AssociatesPhillip Boyle & Associates

NetPlan – A Practitioner’s Experience

HASTUS International User Group

September 2012


1. Introduction

2. Our NetPlan Experience

3. Project Focus – Invicta intermodal Scheduling Project

2September 2012

4. NetPlan Solutions to Implementable Outcomes

Phillip Boyle & Associates

Phillip Boyle & Associates has worldwide experience in use of Hastusand NetPlan to produce successful operating outcomes

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1. Introduction



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September 2012


Phillip Boyle & Associates has used NetPlan extensively for planning studies and for service implementation projects

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Service Location Project Type

Ipswich, QLD Implementation/Service Change Major improvement in connectivity/service quality and improved efficiency

Caboolture, QLD Implementation/Service Change Major improvement in connectivity/service quality and improved efficiency

Park Ridge, QLD Implementation/Service Change Major improvement in connectivity/service quality and improved efficiency

Western Sydney Competitive Tendering In progress

Croydon, Vic Implementation/Network Change

Major improvement in connectivity/service quality and improved efficiency

Doncaster, Vic Competitive Tendering In progress

Cranbourne, Vic Implementation/Service Change Major improvement in connectivity/service quality and improved efficiency

Bendigo, Vic Implementation/Service Change In progress

Latrobe Valley, Vic Implementation/Network Change

Major improvement in connectivity/service quality and improved efficiency

Canberra, ACT Network Change/Planning Study In progress

Las Vegas, NV Competitive Tendering Improved gold-line timetable

Outcome

September 2012


Westside Bus, Ipswich (Queensland)

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Service Area

• 18 bus routes, 70 peak vehicles (incl. schools)• Heavy rail service to downtown Brisbane

requiring strong intermodal connectivity at five stations

• Several routes serving common corridors

Project Approach

• Complete re-write of all timetables, on a revised network

• Provide an implementable solution, complete with driver paddles and period rosters

• Work with the bus company on behalf of the state (Translink)

Outcomes

• Major improvement in connectivity & timetable quality

• Improved operating efficiencies• Increased patronage

September 2012


Westside Bus, Ipswich (Queensland) – NetPlan Schematic

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ACTION Buses (Canberra)

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Service Area

• 80 bus routes, approx 350 peak buses• Bus is the only mode• Network serves downtown plus four

additional regional centres• Trunk services supported by feeder routes

Project Approach

• Support network planning to identify resource impacts of potential network changes

• Run NetPlan for both existing and proposed networks to allow valid comparison

• Use NetPlan solutions as basis for more detailed scheduling tasks

Outcomes

• Allowing strong support of evidenced-based planning process

• Identifying potential for improved timetable quality

• Ongoing project

September 2012


Caboolture (Queensland)

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Service Area

• 6 bus routes, 8 peak buses• Heavy rail service to downtown Brisbane

requiring strong intermodal connectivity at five stations

Project Approach

• Complete re-write of all timetables, for an existing network

• Provide an implementable solution, complete with driver paddles and period rosters

• Work with the bus company on behalf of the state (Translink)

Outcomes

• Major improvement in connectivity & timetable quality

• Improved operating efficiencies (8% more service for 2% more cost)

• Strong patronage increases

September 2012


1. Introduction



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September 2012


The Invicta bus network covers a substantial part of eastern Melbourne, operating 21 routes with an additional 80 dedicated school services

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Existing Route Network - Invicta

September 2012


The network has a range of complexities that require sophisticated scheduling approaches

A few challenges:

Strong connectivity required with the heavy rail system

A range of different route types, and sometimes vehicle types

Some routes offer demand-responsive or flex-route configurations

A number of dedicated school runs are operated and integrated (scheduling-wise) with the regular route services

12September 2012


1. Introduction



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Project process

September 2012


The project focus was to provide timetable and connectivity enhancements as part of a service change implementation

The key project objectives were:

Generate substantial service quality improvements

Improve the understanding of connection requirements through additional research (Monash ITS – recommended the NetPlan SQI as the most appropriate indicator of relative timetable quality)

Provide network improvements

Ensure the final solution is of sufficient operating robustness to be implemented

Provide a completed operating solution

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The network was defined in NetPlan, with the heavy rail system fixed (for connectivity)

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Many instances of common route corridors were also considered

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Over 70 meet builders were defined, both intermodal and bus-to-bus

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Of particular note was the need to, in some instances, build the whole-of-day timetable based on travelling past the school at morning/afternoon bell times, but keeping an all-day clockface

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Bell times modeled by defining a ‘route’


To understand how to weight/prioritize the meet builders, we undertook a system-wide on-board survey, using an advanced iPad data collection system, tracking the number of passengers transferring at key locations

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Our approach modeled alternatives to find the ‘sweet spot’ in the tradeoff between efficiency and timetable quality/intermodal connectivity

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Off-Peak SQI Comparison

Existing Off-Peak


In the end a complete set of all day timetables, blocks and runs were developed from the NetPlan solutions

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1. Introduction



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Coordination Improvements Summary

September 2012


The NetPlan Service Quality Index indicated significant improvements to timetable quality, and these were supported by a detailed comparison of the timetables…..

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Why use the SQI?

Allows an objective comparison of different options or solutions

Enables better understanding of the tradeoff between cost and quality Recommended by Monash ITS research as the best method for evaluating timetable

quality

The SQI for the off-peak indicated a doubling of timetable quality but needed less vehicles


On weekdays, there are 19% more scheduled connections within 12 minutes.

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In particular, there has been a significant increase in scheduled connections of 3 to 8 minutes

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On weekends, there are 42% more scheduled connections < 12 minutes.

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As a result, there are 50% fewer scheduled connections of greater than 20 minutes on weekends.

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1. Introduction



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Patronage impacts after 12 months

September 2012


Overall patronage from May 2011 to May 2012 has increased by over 15 percent on the eight routes surveyed

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Route May 2011 May 2012 Change

664 1,498 1,586 6%

671 192 165 -14%

672 167 236 41%

675 92 131 42%

676 98 100 2%

677 171 154 -10%

691 1,192 1,280 7%

693 1,263 1,715 36%

Overall 4,673 5,367 15%

Source – PBA surveys conducted in May 2011 & May 2012


1. Introduction



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Changes in connectivity patterns

September 2012


The survey results show a signifcant increase in passengers transferring between buses and trains, well above general patronage level increases

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Existing Proposed

Total Bus Patronage 4,673 5,367 694 (+15%)

Total Connecting Passengers 849 1,278 429 (+51%)

Total Connecting Passengers as % of bus Patronage 18% 24%

Change

Invicta Phase 1Summary of Weekday Patronage Changes


September 2012


Both on a per-route basis, with almost every route showing increases in the percentage of connecting passengers…..

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….and by time of day, where only evening services show any reduction

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1. Introduction



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On-time running improvements

September 2012


Finally, service reliability has also improved, with on-time running increasing overall from 73% to 81% across all routes, and some routes showing substantial levels of improvement

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1. Introduction



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September 2012

Documents

Phillip Boyle & Associates NetPlan – A Practitioner’s Experience HASTUS International User Group September 2012