Estimating Bus Boarding Matrix Using Boarding Counts in Individual Vehicles

Automatic passenger counters that perform continuous boarding and alighting counts for transit vehicles have become widely available. They provide valuable information on passenger travel patterns. The BUS-OD model, which uses the boarding counts to refine the information, is described. The BUS-OD model estimates boarding trip tables, giving the number of trips between all station pairs along a bus line. A technique is devised to use the information that is embedded in counts for individual vehicles, combined with other information in the table’s structure. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem. The model was tested thoroughly and applied successfully to full-scale problems. It is now ready for use in operational applications. The model and its behavior are described.