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Public Transport Capacity Analysis Procedures for
Developing Cities

Jack Reilly and Herbert Levinson September, 2011

World Bank, Transport Research Support Program, TRS
With Support from UK Department for International Development

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The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of a number of people in the development of this manual. Particular among these were Sam Zimmerman, consultant to the World Bank and Mr. Ajay Kumar, the World Bank project manager. We also benefitted greatly from the insights of Dario Hidalgo of EMBARQ. Further, we acknowledge the work of the staff of Transmilenio, S.A. in Bogota, especially Sandra Angel and Constanza Garcia for providing operating data for some of these analyses.

A number of analyses in this manual were prepared by students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. These include:

Case study – Bogota Case Study – Medellin Simulation modeling
Ivan Sanchez Carlos Gonzalez-Calderon Felipe Aros Vera Brian Maleck Michael Kukesh Sarah Ritter
Platform evacuation Sample problems Vertical circulation
Kevin Watral Caitlynn Coppinger Robyn Marquis

Several procedures and tables in this report were adapted from the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual, published by the Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.

Public Transport Analysis Procedures for Developing Cities

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Contents

Acknowledgements..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Contents ........................................................................................................................................................2 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................4 List of Figures...............................................................................................................................................6 1. Introduction..........................................................................................................................................7
1.1. Objectives .....................................................................................................................................8 1.2. Audiences......................................................................................................................................9 1.3. Applications..................................................................................................................................9 1.4. Using the Manual........................................................................................................................10 1.5. Manual Organization ..................................................................................................................11
2. Transit Capacity, Quality, Service and Physical Design....................................................................12
2.1. Transit Capacity..........................................................................................................................12 2.2. Key Factors Influencing Capacity...............................................................................................12

• 2.2.1.
• Theoretical vs. Practical Operating Capacity......................................................................14

2.3. Quality of Service .......................................................................................................................17 2.4. Relationship Between Capacity, Quality and Cost .....................................................................18
3. Bus System Capacity..........................................................................................................................20
3.1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................20 3.2. Operating Experience..................................................................................................................20 3.3. Bus Service Design Elements and Factors..................................................................................20 3.4. Overview of Procedures..............................................................................................................24 3.5. Operation at Bus Stops................................................................................................................27

• 3.5.1.
• Berth (Stop) Capacity Under Simple Conditions................................................................28

3.6. Bus Berth Capacity in More Complex Service Configurations..................................................32 3.7. Stop Dwell Times and Passenger Boarding Times.....................................................................35 3.8. Clearance Time ...........................................................................................................................37 3.9. Calculation Procedure.................................................................................................................38 3.10. 3.11. 3.12. 3.13.
Vehicle Platooning..................................................................................................................39 Vehicle Capacity.....................................................................................................................41 Passenger Capacity of A Bus Line..........................................................................................44 Transit Operations At Intersections ........................................................................................45
Curb Lane Operation.......................................................................................................45
Computing Bus Facility Capacity...........................................................................................48 Median Lane Operation ..........................................................................................................48 Capacity and Quality Reduction Due to Headway Irregularity ..............................................48
Capacity Reduction.........................................................................................................48 Extended Wait Time Due to Headway Irregularity ........................................................50 Travel Times and Fleet Requirements ............................................................................51
Terminal Capacity...............................................................................................................54
3.13.1.
3.14. 3.15. 3.16.
3.16.1. 3.16.2. 3.16.3. 3.17.
4. Rail Capacity......................................................................................................................................63
4.1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................63

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4.2. Operating Experience..................................................................................................................63 4.3. Design Considerations ................................................................................................................63 4.4. Overview of Procedures..............................................................................................................65 4.5. Line Capacity..............................................................................................................................68
4.5.1. 4.5.2.
General Guidance................................................................................................................68 Running Way Capacity.......................................................................................................68
4.6. Line Passenger Capacity.............................................................................................................75
4.6.1. Passenger Capacity .............................................................................................................76 4.6.2....................................................................................................................................................76
5. Station Platform and Access Capacity ...............................................................................................79
5.1. Pedestrian Flow Concepts...........................................................................................................80 5.2. Platform Capacity .......................................................................................................................82 5.3. Station Emergency Evacuation...................................................................................................83 5.4. Level Change Systems................................................................................................................85
5.4.1. 5.4.2. 5.4.3.
Stairways.............................................................................................................................86 Escalators............................................................................................................................86 Elevator Capacity................................................................................................................87
5.5. Fare Collection Capacity.............................................................................................................88 5.6. Station Entrances ........................................................................................................................89
6. Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................90 Appendix A - Sample Bus Operations Analysis Problems.........................................................................93 Appendix B - Sample Rail Operations Analysis Problems.......................................................................104 Appendix C - Case Study Data Collection Procedures.............................................................................109
Data set #1 – Urban Rail Platform Capacity ........................................................................................109 Data set #2 – Vehicle Capacity (bus) ...................................................................................................112 Data set #3 – Vehicle Capacity (rail)....................................................................................................114 Data set #4 – Ticket Vending Machine Service Time..........................................................................114 Data set #5 – Rail Station Dwell Time and Headway Distribution......................................................116 Data set #6 – Passenger Service Times at Rail Stations.......................................................................118 Data set #7 – Bus Station Dwell Time Distribution .............................................................................120 Data Set #8 Passenger Service Times at Bus Stops..............................................................................122
Appendix D – Rail Station Evacuation Analysis Example.......................................................................125
1. Introduction...................................................................................................................................125 2. Computation of Design Load........................................................................................................126
2.1. Awaiting Passengers .............................................................................................................126 2.2. Arriving Passengers ..............................................................................................................126 2.3. Total Design Load.................................................................................................................127
3. Test 1- Platform Evacuation Assessment......................................................................................127 4. Test 2 - Station Evacuation Assessment .......................................................................................127
4.1. Walking Time .......................................................................................................................127 4.2. Waiting Time ........................................................................................................................128

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List of Tables

Table 2-1 Summary of Transit Vehicle and Passenger Capacity Estimate.................................................13 Table 3-1 Hourly Passenger Volumes of High Capacity Bus Transit Systems in the Developing World..21 Table 3-2 - Transit Design Elements and Their Effect on Capacity...........................................................23 Table 3-3 Capacity Assessment of Existing BRT Line ..............................................................................25 Table 3-4 Capacity Assessment of a Proposed BRT Line ..........................................................................26 Table 3-5 Z-statistic Associated with Stop Failure Rates ...........................................................................29 Table 3-6 Bus Berth Capacity (uninterrupted flow) for a Station with a Single Berth...............................30 Table 3-7 Actual Effectiveness of Bus Berths............................................................................................31 Table 3-8 Service Variability Levels ..........................................................................................................33 Table 3-9 Bus Berth Capacity (uninterrupted flow) for a Station with a Single Berth...............................34 Table 3-10 Passenger Service Times (sec./pass.) .......................................................................................35 Table 3-11 Stop Dwell Time – Bogota Transmilenio.................................................................................37 Table 3-12 Re-entry Time...........................................................................................................................38 Table 3-13 Stop Capacity for Multiple Berth Stops at Various Dwell Time Levels ..................................41 Table 3-14 Typical Bus Models in Pakistan ...............................................................................................41 Table 3-15 Urban Bus and Rail Loading Standards....................................................................................42 Table 3-16 Bus Vehicle Capacity ...............................................................................................................43 Table 3-17 Lost Time Per Cycle Due to Right Turn-Pedestrian Conflicts.................................................46 Table 3-18 Bus Stop Location Correction Factor .......................................................................................47 Table 3-19 Right Turn Curb Lane Vehicle Capacities................................................................................47 Table 3-20 BRT Headway Variation - Jinan, China...................................................................................49 Table 3-21 Z-statistic for One-Tailed Test .................................................................................................53 Table 3-22 Approximate Capacity of Single Berth, with Queuing Area...................................................55 Table 3-23 Approximate Capacity of Single Berth, with Queuing Area...................................................56 Table 3-24 Approximate Capacity of Single Berth, Without Queuing Area............................................57 Table 3-25 Approximate Capacity of Single Berth, Without Queuing Area............................................58 Table 3-26 Approximate Capacity of Double Berth, With Queuing Area................................................59 Table 3-27 Approximate Capacity of Double Berth, With Queuing Area.................................................60 Table 3-28 Approximate Capacity of Double Berth, Without Queuing Area ...........................................61 Table 3-29 Approximate Capacity of Double Berth, Without Queuing Area ...........................................62 Table 4-1 Hourly Passenger Volume of Rail Transit Systems in the Developing World...........................64 Table 4-2 General Capacity Analysis Procedures - Existing Rail Line......................................................65 Table 4-3 Capacity Assessment Procedure of Proposed Rail Line.............................................................66 Table 4-4 Components of Minimum Train Separation Time......................................................................74 Table 4-5 Maximum Train Layover............................................................................................................75 Table 4-6 Train Capacity ............................................................................................................................77 Table 4-7 Train Car Capacity......................................................................................................................78 Table 5-1 Elements of Passenger Flow in a Train Station..........................................................................79 Table 5-2 Pedestrian Level of Service ........................................................................................................82 Table 5-3 Emergency Exit Capacities and Speeds......................................................................................84 Table 5-4 Effective Width of Emergency Exit Types.................................................................................85 Table 5-5 Stairway Flow Capacity..............................................................................................................86 Table 5-6 Escalator Capacity......................................................................................................................86 Table 5-7 Elevator Cab Capacities..............................................................................................................87