A SIMPLE BUS LINE MODEL FOR OPTIMIZATION OF SERVICE FREQUENCY AND BUS SIZE. IN: URBAN TRANSPORT

This analysis explores the consequences of including certain social costs in the analysis of bus operations. The social costs are passengers' times-waiting, riding, etc. These are monetarzed and considered alongside producer costs, so defining passenger inputs as part of the supply price for bus transport. The analysis is restricted to the supply side. The question is how far each particular output of bus transport could be produced at a lower social costs, or, in essence, how far bus costs should be traded against passengers' time costs. Since the demand side is left out (that is, customers' reactions to the different supply prices are not dealt with) it will not be possible to determine what the optimal level of supply is in a particular situation. Nevertheless, by means of a simple bus line model it is possible to show that social cost minimization results in a pattern of service characteristics which is radically different from most present services, mainly in these respects: given the demand, more buses should be run, and the buses should be much smaller. In particular, in off-peak the frequency of service should be substantially higher. Under some conditions it is optimal to run even the same number of buses in off-peak as in peak.