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Title:

USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO INFORM BUS MAINTENANCE BASE LOCATION DECISIONS: SKETCH-LEVEL METHODOLOGY FOR ESTIMATING BUS DEADHEAD COSTS

Accession Number:

00983391

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States
Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/155483.aspx

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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309094828

Abstract:

In making a decision to redesign a cramped or inefficient maintenance facility within a built urban environment, the cost of relocation must consider the change in operating costs due to rerouting transit routes and potentially changed deadhead costs (i.e., those costs associated with the trip a bus vehicle takes between the maintenance base and the start or end of a route). A sketch-level method for estimating bus deadhead costs that can serve as an input to high-level decision-making processes is described. In a recent analysis for TransLink in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, this methodology helped to quantify the total net change in deadhead costs associated with various location options. A geographic information systems (GIS) tool was used to calculate the shortest path among alternative maintenance base locations and start and end points of bus routes. Shortest-path calculations were based on estimated travel speeds, congestion, and known geographic constraints provided by the operator. Total deadhead-related costs were then estimated for each of the three maintenance base location options under consideration. The difference between these costs served as one component in the decision-making process, along with other factors such as property acquisition and construction cost. This analysis serves as an example of how GIS use can provide a low-cost sketch-planning tool to inform investment decisions.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1887, Transit: Planning and Development, Management and Performance, Marketing and Fare Policy, and Capacity and Quality of Service.

Monograph Accession #:

00983380

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Shelton, D
Haufschild, D
Pedley, J
Spillar, R

Pagination:

p. 92-98

Publication Date:

2004

Serial:

Transportation Research Record

Issue Number: 1887
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0361-1981

ISBN:

0309094828

Features:

Figures (3) ; Tables (3)

Geographic Terms:

Subject Areas:

Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Terminals and Facilities

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Dec 23 2004 12:00AM

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