EXPANDING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTNETWORK THROUGH A FEEDER BUSSYSTEM – CHALLENGES AND NEED

Pawan Mulukutla, MSProject Manager - EMBARQ India(pmulukutla@embarqindia.org )

Priyanka Vasudevan, MURPAssociate, EMBARQ India

4 Dec 2013

Urgent need for cities to meet the mobilityneeds of the current and futuregenerations

285 Mi in 2001

473 Mi in 2021

Urbanization in India

820 Mi by 2051

Source: NUTP

Vicious Circle

LongerCycleTimes

LowerFrequency

Lower PublicTransportDemand

IncreasedPrivateVehicle

IncreasedCongestion

ReducedRevenue

CustomerDissatisfaction

Bus Procurement under JnNURM

Non-Motorised Transport: Bicycles and Pedestrians

Shared Services: shared cycles

Intermediate Public Transport: Autorickshaws and Taxis

Buses

Feeder Service Modes

Feeder bus stops locations areretained as they presently,without any improvement to theenvironment and access to them

designed to pick up passengers and take them to a transferpoint where they make an onward journey on a trunk servicetrunk services can be a BRT, metro, tram or traina key part of a wider local network or a regional network

Feeder Systems

Typical Feeder CharacteristicsTypical Characteristic Examples in Metropolitan Areas

Serve short distances 4 - 6 Kms / 7-12 KmsHigh frequency service 5 - 10 minutesConnects commercial, residential nodes to the trunkcorridor or major destinations feeders to the CBDs/stations

Requires a transfer at the end of the journeyfeeder stop should be located within50-100m walking distance

Provides first / last mile connectivity

Extend the trunk corridor's area of influenceOperates amongst mixed traffic, without priorityinfrastructure or spaceBus stops are generally spaced within walking distanceof each other 300 - 400m apart

The Conventional Approach to feeder bus planningCase Analysis takes into consideration over 15 routes and theircharacteristics from Mumbai’s feeder system. These aredocumented and analysed to understand how feeders wereconventionally designed.Data sets relating to fares, operations, fleet size, route lengths,ridership, ticket sales and travel times facilitate the case analysis.Studying challenges and discussing how cities address them.Emerging trends as seen in cities like Bangalore, Indore, andAhmedabad indicate how cities approach feeder design.Conclusion and way forward

Methodology

Traditional Approach to Feeder Design

the provision of transport services between residential areas andtrain stations, where further connections to a place ofemployment is typically undertaken.a growing urban population and expanding cityscape resulted inresidential zones being created further away from the local trainstopad-hoc planning lead to feeder services being replicated,lengthened and urgently created to enable transit to cover moreareas,

Traditional Approach to Feeder Design

Mumbai Feeder Statistics

Total BEST Routes 4,176

Operational Buses 4,011

Total Number of Routes 506

Number of Feeder Routes 265 (52% of total)

Number of Feeder Buses 1,533 (38% of total)

Number of Passengers (daily average) 3 Million

Neighbourhood ConnectorRoutes

Long Feeder Routes

CBD Feeder Routes

Mumbai Feeder Planning

Amendment of existing routes toreflect change in demand and

development patterns

Rescheduling of routes and shiftsallocated to each driver and timetables

of bus routes

Allocation of new routes based onresource (fleet and personnel) and

depot space proximity

Route Characteristics & DataRoute # Origin Destination Route Length Frequency Fleet Occupancy

Type #1: Neighbourhood Connector Routes

343 Goregaon Station Aarey Colony 4.7 9 - 10 10 75%

344 Goregaon Station Goregaon Station 9.3 5 - 6 8 76%

346 Goregaon Station Nagari Niwara 4.9 6 - 8 8 72%

452 Goregaon Station Mayur Nagar 4.8 17 - 20 6 63%

602 Kanjurmarg StationHiranandani Bus

Station 5.2 8 - 10 7 91%

604 Kanjurmarg Station Bhandup Station 3.5 11 - 15 5 75%

608 Kanjurmarg Station Hanuman Nagar 2 8 5 93%Type #2: Long Feeder Routes

340 Ghatkopar StationAgarkar Chowk,

Andheri 8.8 6 - 7 28 100%

172 Pratikshanagar Mahalaxmi Station - 12 - 13 - -Type #3: CBD-Feeder Routes

Fort Pheri CST CST 6.3 4 - 5 - -

Special 1 NCPA Nariman Point 3 2 - 4 - -

Special 2 CST World Trade Centre 4.8 5 - -

Special 8 Churchgate World Trade Centre 7.6 7 - 8 - -

Special 9 Churchgate Nariman Point 3.5 2 - 3 - -

Fare Structure

0-2 kms Rs. 62-3 kms Rs. 83-5 kms Rs. 105-7 kms Rs. 127-10 kms Rs. 15

Returns are high for short-distance trips0 – 2kms for Rs.6 allows buses to compete with share autos / taxisSome routes have a flat rate of Rs. 6, like the Fort Pheri

Daily Ticket Sales:9,09,06,731

Monthly PassholderSales: 3,60,426

Total Passholder Sales:4,01,315

Feeder Ticket Sales (January 2013)

Capacity of roadand usage byother ModesLack ofcoordinationbetween landuse andtransportaspectsPoor physicalintegration

Challenges in Mumbai

Route 343Route 344Route 346

Gen. AK Vaidya Rd

OberoiMall

NagariNiwara

Lack ofphysicalinfrastructureAccessibilityissue

Challenges in Mumbai

Route 172

Lack of infrastructure / space at interchanges to supportintegration of trunk and feeder servicesNeed for terminal/depot space within close proximity of feederroute (turning radii)Unidirectional travel pattern - private vehicles, autos, taxis pickpeople up in off-peak direction after completing their actual trip,making the service more financially viableLimited resources - Fleet / PersonnelNeed for pedestrian discipline and vehicle discipline

Summary of Challenges

BIG (Bangalore Intra-City Grid) Network wasupgradedHigh-frequency trunkroutes, serviced byfeeder routes forperipheral areas

Changing Trends – Bangalore

Pilot: Route 356B: KR Market to KarpurExisting Proposed

Waiting Time (mins) 120 39

Number of Routes 63 30

Route Length (kms) 34.3 10.1

High-frequency ring and radialroutes

Supplemented by a feeder system

Improving transfers through well-integrated facilities

Changing Trends - Ahmedabad

Terminals

Transfers

Brown and Thompson – 2008

Trunk and Feeder Coverage

Total Coverage: 84 %

AMTS Ring-Radial Coverage Area (500 mt. Buffer)

AMTS Ring-Radial Feeder Routes & Coverage Area

Total Coverage: 95 %

Feeder System – 21 Routes

Changing Trends - IndoreCurrent efforts are towards theimprovement of physical, fare andidentity integration between thetrunk and feeders

Changing Trends - IndoreFeeders for the Indore BRTSextend the trunk’s overallcoverage, inducing more ridership

Estimate the level of demand: data collection will assist indetermining the characteristics of the route

Assess the site and physical conditions of the site to understandcongestion levels, roadway geometry, capacity aspects, etc.

Work with the constraints: final consideration to ensure optimalsolutions; common constraints include turnaround space, trunk-feeder integration space, proximity to depots, lack of resources

Planning a Feeder Bus System

Integrating Trunk and Feeder

InstitutionalIntegration

IdentityIntegrationFareIntegration

OperationalIntegrationPhysicalIntegration A SuccessfulTrunk-Feeder BusSystem

Building and strengthening coordination to implement a cohesivetransit network to attract usersAn integrated approach to ensure a better transport system.Coordination between the many entities and agencies thatmanage the system,Revenue Sharing: managing revenue and implementing acohesive approach to building a shared vision for fare andticketing integration and revenue sharing between agencies

Institutional Integration

feeder bus system design must be incorporated into the planning phase,attracting ridership through high frequencies, easy visibility and accessto feeder, and significant coverage

huge investments in developing Metros, Monorails, BRTS, a keycomponent for successful implementation of these projects ismultimodal integration and providing last mile connectivity throughfeeder bus systems

Bus priority lanes at station area will improve the operational efficiencyof feeder system

feeder bus systems enhance coverage and operational efficiency andshould not be an afterthought

Conclusion

Thank you!