Modelling of bus station access and capacity

Many cities in Australia are grappling with issues of promoting bus patronage and access in city centres. However, there is a range of competing business, government and community objectives in relation to transport supply, demand, pricing, technology, service levels and sustainability that make it difficult to satisfy the competing needs. A recent project in Canberra grappled with these issues and experience from this project can apply to other Australian cities. It included the development and assessment of proposals designed to make public transport more accessible in Canberra city and to encourage more people to use it. A key element of the project was the assessment of the feasibility of replacing the existing central bus interchange with two more compact bus stations in City West and City East. Both mathematical and micro-simulation modelling was used to assess the operation of the bus stations and associated bus priority works for accessing the stations. This highlighted the importance of reducing bus dwell times at stops to achieve compact station arrangements and the need for a more efficient ticketing system. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E216297.