AUTOMATED BUS DISPATCHING, OPERATIONS CONTROL, AND SERVICE RELIABILITY: ANALYSIS OF TRI-MET BASELINE SERVICE DATA

This project assesses changes in service reliability following the introduction of a new computer aided bus dispatch system (BDS) based on automatic vehicle location technology. The research focuses on three objectives: 1) estimating changes inservice reliability due to BDS-related improvements in operations control (i.e., reducing bus bunching, maintaining on-time arrivals, and improving coordination of timed transfers); 2) documenting changes in rider perceptions of service quality; and 3) linking automated transit data with GIS socioeconomic and land use data to model transit use at the stop level.