Planning and design of a taxipooling dispatching system

Abstract

Shifting people from driving to using public transportation has been important in alleviating urban traffic congestion. Intelligent transportation system technologies applied to public transportation can provide useful data to system operators and users and increase the use and productivity of high-occupancy vehicles. Integration of metropolitan rapid transit, feeder buses, and taxipooling can attract more public transportation users. Advanced taxipooling transfer assignment systems, a type of advanced public transportation systems program, aims to apply advanced technologies to taxi operations, including dynamic taxi fleet management, taxipooling strategies, and safety monitoring systems. Success in using taxis as a feeder service to mass transit systems requires advanced information technologies such as the Global Positioning System, geographic information systems, wireless communications, and, most important, an efficient taxi dispatching algorithm. The objectives and background of a dedicated taxipooling fleet in a metropolitan area are given. Also, a real-time, two-step taxipooling dispatching system is presented. A case study with parameter values obtained from Taiwan is explained; the simulation result is interpreted to illustrate the feasibility of the algorithm. Sensitivity analysis proves the robustness of the dispatching algorithm and shows the flexibility decision makers can have to serve certain purposes. Assumptions and constraints of the proposed dispatching system are evaluated, and the possibility of system expansion is discussed.