Design of a user-centric decision support tool for fixed-route bus travel planning

This paper develops and implements a geospatial decision support tool for bus travel planning based on design and modeling considerations that are more individual-centric than existing approaches. The distinctive characteristic of the proposed tool is the incorporation of bus riders’ cognition, information processing, and decision-making process during their search for an appropriate bus transit travel plan. First, a two-level bus network data model is used to accommodate the hierarchical nature of travelers’ information processing and decision making. Second, the interaction of users with the system is designed to follow the spatial and individual thinking of bus travelers in a more intuitive way. Third, we adopt an iterative optimization method for deriving multiple optional bus travel plans according to compatible travel and transfer impedance measurements. A prototype of the decision support system is implemented on the platform of commercial off-the-shelf GIS software.

► A user-centric tool is designed for planning bus trips.
► Integrate spatial nature, uncertainty of human cognition in decision-making process.
► Hierarchical processing of information is embedded in the conceptual design.
► A two-level bus network and a dedicated user interface support the implementation.