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Seating Provision and Configuration of a 12m City Bus Considering Passenger Crowding

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Abstract

Seating capacity of a limited area significantly affects passenger crowding on a 12 m city bus, which is the main type of buses for public transport in China. This study aimed to provide an optimal solution for the seating capacity to adapt the passenger flow during operational periods. The study claimed that the seating capacity was defined by an overall crowding effect considering both the standees and seated passengers, whose demands for seat supply are different. It investigated the projected area of the seated passengers on board, defined the criteria regarding whether the current trip was a peak shift, and proposed a passenger crowding index for optimizing the seating capacity during two operational periods. It not only provided a recommended table between actual seating capacity and intensity coefficient varying along the two periods, but also discussed the number of 12 m buses with different seating capacities allocated to the bus line. It demonstrated the feasibility of the passenger crowding index through a case study and compared the effects of three main seat configurations existing on the 12 m city bus. It displayed that a seat capacity preferably ranged from 21 to 43 while only one seat configuration was allowed by the public transport enterprises.

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Abbreviations

ρ :

the passenger crowding index, pax/m2

Q :

the number of passengers on board, pax

A :

the theoretical seating capacity for the bus, seats

A 0 :

the actual seating capacity for the bus, seats

S :

the total seated and standing area supplied, m2

Q a :

the passenger flow during off-peak hours, pax

Q b :

the passenger flow during peak hours, pax

α :

the intensity coefficient of passenger flow during off-peak hours

β :

the intensity coefficient of passenger flow during peak hours

ΔAn :

the deviation of all the seats of the buses, seats

m i :

the number of ith type buses on the bus line, buses

k :

the total number of seating capacity types, types

A 0i :

the seating capacity of the mi buses, seats

g j :

the actual passenger crowding density, pax/m2

Q uj :

the number of get-on passengers, pax

Q dj :

the number of get-off passengers, pax

p :

the proportion of inter-stops, %

q j :

the symbol of inter-stops, inter-stop

n−1:

the total number of inter-stops, inter-stops

a :

subscript for off-peak hours

b :

subscript for peaks hours

i :

subscript for classification of the seating capacity

j :

subscript for the bus stops

u :

subscript for the get-on passengers

d :

subscript for the get-off passengers

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Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), “Research on composition and characteristics of particulate matter of vehicle emission” (Grant 21607104 P.I. HAO Yanzhao), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University, CHD (Grant 300102229110 P.I. YAN Shengyu). The authors also acknowledge support from the Transportation Science Institute of Chang’an University, and the Key Laboratory for Automotive Transportation Safety Enhancement Technology of the Ministry of Communication PRC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Automobile, Chang’an University, Xi’an, 710064, China

    Shengyu Yan

  2. College of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China

    Jing Cao

  3. School of Automobile, Shaanxi College of Communication Technology, Xi’an, 710018, China

    Zhuanzhuan Zhao

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  1. Shengyu Yan
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Correspondence to Jing Cao.

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Yan, S., Cao, J. & Zhao, Z. Seating Provision and Configuration of a 12m City Bus Considering Passenger Crowding. Int.J Automot. Technol. 21, 1223–1231 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-020-0116-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-020-0116-6

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