Process for the Encapsulation and Visualization of Dominant Demand and Supply Corridors

Abstract

Before thinking about implementing new transportation services, it is essential to assess the performances of the available ones and to develop an objective diagnosis of the adequacy between transportation supply and demand. This paper focuses on the refinement of a spatial–temporal clustering process able to encapsulate the spatial distribution of travel demand and supply. It illustrates the potential of such process to assist in the development of an objective diagnosis of the quality of the configuration of transit services. The two tools composing this process are presented in this paper, Traclus_DL and Grille_CR. A literature review is conducted on the main concepts such as corridors and grids, which will give a better understanding of the contributions proposed in this paper. Traclus_DL is a spatial clustering algorithm for desire lines (direct line from origin to destination) developed by Bahbouh. This paper will explain how this algorithm works and will also present improvements that were implemented to facilitate its usage and to give a better representation of the reality. Grille_CR is an automated smoothing tool which facilitates the visualization and the interpretation of the results produced by Traclus-DL. This paper explains how this process can be implemented and illustrates its relevance for public transport analysis and design. The major contribution of this paper is the implementation of a tool which helps better understand the spatial configuration of the demand in transport.