Abstract
Travel time reliability is crucial for transport operators as it directly affects traveler behavior and public transport patronage. This study investigates public transport reliability focusing on the underexamined metric “pull-out deadhead” of bus services, which is the travel time from the depot to the first stop of a route. Road traffic congestion affects this journey, thus potentially having an impact on route-level reliability. To investigate the influence of pull-out deadheads, 3 months of bus scheduling and performance data across 23 first stops were analyzed concerning a case study in Brisbane, Australia. The results of the aggregate analysis revealed that there was a positive correlation between deadhead reliability and on-time running reliability, indicating that the more reliable a pull-out deadhead, the more reliable the service customers receive. A disaggregate deadhead time distribution analysis of the first stops was also undertaken to provide potential recommendations to improve deadhead reliability. Strategies that could improve reliability included application of a pre-service bus signal priority, and scheduling greater travel time budgets for trips between the depot and first stop. However, it should be noted that the services analyzed generally had on-time running percentages that exceeded 80%, suggesting a relatively reliable service. Ultimately, the results of this study offer alternative considerations for transport operators to enhance their services and improve the overall travel experience for public transport users. Further research incorporating additional traffic variables and applying deadhead modeling to other case study locations will expand understanding of the impact of deadheads on bus travel time reliability.
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