Skip to main content

Modelling public transport in the era of intelligent transport systems

A new textbook, Modelling Public Transport Passenger Flows in the Era of Intelligent Transport Systems, explains for the first time how the effect of ITS technologies on passenger behaviour in public transport can be modelled. The textbook is the result of four years of intensive research and exchange, the results of which were presented and discussed at the TransITS Conference at the end of May. Over 140 participants from research, public transport providers and associations, the software industry and l
December 16, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
A new textbook, Modelling Public Transport Passenger Flows in the Era of Intelligent Transport Systems, explains for the first time how the effect of ITS technologies on passenger behaviour in public transport can be modelled.

The textbook is the result of four years of intensive research and exchange, the results of which were presented and discussed at the TransITS Conference at the end of May. Over 140 participants from research, public transport providers and associations, the software industry and lobby groups representing transport users attended the conference in Paris.

Under the framework of the TransITS COST Action programme funded by the European Union, researchers from 21 European countries investigated which available ITS developments could be used to benefit public transport and in what ways. They examined how modern technologies can be included in transport models in order to provide decision-makers with a solid basis for investing in implementation.

The results were brought together in an English-language textbook aimed at a broad audience that includes practitioners, decision-makers, researchers and students.

Modelling Public Transport Passenger Flows in the Era of Intelligent Transport Systems also offers practitioners ready-made formulae. "The book takes a detailed look at different models of passenger behaviour and explains the effects of different ITS technologies", says Dr Klaus Nökel, vice president product management and software development at PTV Group.

"Real-time public transport operational management, public transport prioritisation and dynamic passenger information – the use of intelligent transport systems at all levels is fundamentally changing the ways in which public transport is planned and modelled", says Nökel.

The book, which runs to almost 650 pages, shows them how the use of public transport will change over the coming years; how to create a seamless door-to-door mobility experience for passengers; and how to make the design of public transport provision more sensitive to demand by using planning tools and real-time technology.

Edited by Professor Guido Gentile of the Sapienza University of Rome and Dr Klaus Nökel, vice president product management and software development at PTV Group, the will be published in January 2016. Both editors will be present at the 856 Transportation Research Board (TRB) 95th Annual Meeting held in Washington, DC from 10-14 January 2016 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Related Content

  • September 13, 2016
    Volvo and KPMG find buses are key to urban air quality
    Buses can play a key role in the battle to improve air quality in towns and cities as David Crawford discovers. A city with a population of half a million would gain about US$12.3 million in annualised societal savings if all its buses ran on electricity instead of diesel. This is the conclusion of a wide-ranging analysis carried out by Swedish bus manufacturer Volvo Group and global business consultants KPMG.
  • April 30, 2020
    Intelligent powertrains could make cost cuts
    Intelligent vehicle powertrains could be a way of making substantial cuts in operating costs and emissions. David Crawford looks at some far-reaching initiatives in Europe and North America
  • September 20, 2012
    Developing integrated transport networks
    A major initiative in managing numerous transport networks as a single system has moved into a significant phase with design of sophisticated new ITS systems. Jon Masters reports. Detailed design work is under way on two pilot projects pursuing a common principle – that transportation can be made more efficient or effective if the various networks and modes of travel are managed as a whole system. This is the central tenet of the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Integrated Corridor Management (ICM)
  • February 1, 2012
    Will standardisation increase ITS interoperability?
    Theoretical balance Kallistratos Dionelis, secretary general of ASECAP, comments on the European Commission's new ICT Standardisation Work Programme. I've just read a proposal from the European Commission on the 2010-2013 ICT Standardisation Work Programme. As ASECAP Secretary General this is one of my responsibilities. I work to receive information, to disseminate information and to build bridges and mutual understanding between policy-makers and the industrial world, between ASECAP and others.