FlexBRT Project Briefing:Using ITS to Serve Suburban Markets

Randall Farwell

FlexBRT Concept Dynamically routed and dispatched

point-to-point operation Responds to user request, real-time

and pre-booked (12 min max wait time)

Fare payment prior to boarding Stations at activity centers Transit ITS support Station access only No fixed schedules No fixed routes

Portland, ME

Traditional

BRT

FlexBRT

Why the FlexBRT Concept?

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SR

436

US

17

&92

S

SR 436 W

SR 434 N

SR

434

S

SR 414

SR 436 E

CR

427 S

W MAITLAND BV

SR

43

4 N

FO

RE

ST

CIT

Y R

D

S O

RL

AN

DO

AV

N O

RLA

NDO

AV

SR 436

I-4

OF

F R

PI-

4 O

FF

RP

W MAITLAND BV

162

181

103

197175

98142

165

157

180

158

116

140

166

168

139

179

102

146

132

171

145

122

170

125100

156

176

127

119

113

198

121178

118

143

194

120

174

169

212

133

193

138

196

126

195

134

144

131211

177

141

167

99

190

128

123135

117

173

137

101

189

136129

172

130

124

634

637

808

809

636

894

639

801

643 791

803807

804

920

641

635

802

895

919

800

795

794

805

806

918

640

916 799

644

792

797

798

793

638921

917

896

796

55

60

53

51

33

27

2622

19

3

5

16

17

46

38

37

36

5756

58

52

1

2

4

687

109

1112131420

21

18

28

24

40

4342

29

35

61

152325

30

65

39

4166

44

64

48

49

0 0.5 1 MilesTotal Trip Flows

Trips

4 - 6

6 - 13

13 - 24

24 - 45

Station#

1/4 mile Buffer

TAZ

Roads

CO ROAD

INTERSTATE

SR TOLL

STATE ROAD

US HW Y

Legend

Service Area and Stations

38 stations

8 remote kiosks

10 future stations

How It Works

1. User requests ride and selects destination station

2. System Selects “best fit” vehicle3. Prompts user to confirm trip4. User boards vehicle and swipes

Boarding Pass5. Trip confirmed

Operational Workflow

1. User requests ride2. Origin location determined3. Prompt for destination4. Prompt for size of party5. Locate existing vehicles6. Evaluate vehicle manifests7. Select “best fit” based on:

• user wait time• user time on board• time on board impact on

other passengers• user total travel time (wait

plus time on board)• available capacity on

vehicle.

8. Calculate fare9. Offer best solution10. Prompt user to accept

trip• declines, trip canceled,• accepts, trip booked, sent to MDT

11. Print Boarding Pass12. User boards vehicle, boarding pass read, trip confirmed

On-vehicle systems Automated reservation,

scheduling, vehicle assignment Vehicle location/computerized

dispatch Payment system and boarding

pass High capacity, high speed, reliable

wireless communications

 

        ITS Driven

Modeling Effort Objectives to validate and complement concept

plan, defining Number of vehicles required Vehicle-miles and vehicle-hours of service Preliminary O&M costs Sensitivities to changes in input variables

Trapeze PASS used to model FlexBRT operations

Weekday demand entered as trip requests 5:00 am to 12:00 am Total of 4,379 requests

PASS parameters set to reflect FlexBRT concept Assigned requests to vehicle runs

Sensitivity Analysis

After base, 35 scenarios were run Variations were made to

Vehicles: 20 (base), 30, 40 Speed [mph]: 21 (base), 23, 25, 28 Max. Wait Time 10 (base), 12, 15

Results for every combination of variations prepared, 36 scenarios

Performed sensitivity analyses on variables

Success Rate Sensitivity to Speed and Max. Waiting Time

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Speed [mph]

Su

cces

s R

ate

10

12

15

Productivity Sensitivity to Speed and Max. Waiting Time

0

3

6

9

12

15

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Speed [mph]

Pro

du

ctiv

ity

[pas

s/h

r]

10

12

15

Average Waiting Time and On-Board Time Variation with Speed and Max. Waiting Time

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Speed [mph]

Tim

e [m

in]

10

12

15

10

12

15

Increasing Max WT from 10 to 12 min has a higher impact than 12 to 15 min. Max WT of 12 min encourages random arrivals, equates to avg wait of 6 minutes. Productivity increases with speed and Max WT.

Operations Analysis

Objective to Optimize: Number of Vehicles O&M Costs Ridership Productivity Wait/Travel Times Cost-effectiveness

Ran 36 Scenarios Select best scenario

INPUT Scen. 11 Scen. 23 Scen. 34 Scen. 35Runs / Vehicles 20 30 40 40Speed 28 28 28 28Max Waiting Time 12 12 10 12

RESULTSTotal trips 4,379 4,379 4,379 4,379Scheduled Trips (Success) 3,368 4,163 4,281 4,319Unscheduled Trips (Failure) 1,011 216 98 60Success rate 77% 95% 98% 99%Productivity (Pass/hour) 11.32 10.19 8.21 8.83Total Distance [veh-mi] 10,527 13,332 15,610 14,372Non-Revenue Distance 2,993 3,925 5,318 4,505Revenue Distance 7,533 9,408 10,291 9,866Total Time [veh-hrs] 305 420 537 505Non-Revenue Time 80 133 221 200Revenue Time 225 287 315 304Average Trip Distance [mi] 2.38 2.32 2.32 2.31Average Ride Time [min] 7.9 7.7 7.5 7.6Av. wait [min] 6.1 5.8 4.7 5.5Av. Actual Speed [mph] 18.2 18.2 18.7 18.1Speed Ratio 64.9% 64.8% 66.6% 64.8%Daily O&M Costs [$] 12,295$ 15,662$ 17,204$ 16,608$ Annual O&M Costs [$] 3,209,093$ 4,087,785$ 4,490,364$ 4,334,748$

Average O&M cost / trip 3.65$ 3.76$ 4.02$ 3.85$

Connection to Fixed Route

Total Project CostsProject Cost

Elements

Roadway Improvements $3,054,112

Stations $2,316,000

Vehicles $8,910,000

ITS Components $4,421,758

Total Capital$18,701,87

0

Total Fees $4,848,911

Total Project$23,550,78

1

O&M Costs  

Vehicle Operations

$4,089,900

ITS $241,300

Stations $62,400

Total O&M Costs$4,393,60

0

Westmonte Drive and SR 436

FlexBRT vs. Traditional Transit

Evaluation CriteriaAlternative in 2020

Traditional Circulator

FlexBRT

Peak Vehicle Requirement 31 30

Annual Ridership 563,500 1,086,543

Annual Vehicle-Revenue Hours 151,934 74,907

Productivity (Riders/VRH) 3.71 14.51

Annual O&M Cost $8,295,600$4,393,60

0

Annual Cost per Trip $14.72 $4.04

Annual Revenue $704,374$1,358,17

9

Annual O&M Subsidy $7,591,228$3,035,58

9

Annual O&M Subsidy/Rider $13.47 $2.79

FlexBRT makes economic sense… 92%92% higher ridership, generated on… 51%51% fewer revenue miles, producing… 291%291% greater productivity, that

costs… 28%28% less per rider, which is a… 79%79% reduction in the subsidy from

local governments PER rider!!

Bang for the Buck

Funding Federal State Local

Altamonte Springs Maitland Private Property Owners (thru DOs)

Schedule

PER complete Jan 2004 File CATEX Feb 2004 Public Hearing March 23, 2004 Identify Initial Segment of FlexBRT Final PER May 2004 Final Design Fall 2004 Open FlexBRT 2007/2008

Questions?