Bus transport network of Shenyang considering competitive and cooperative relationship

Competition and cooperation is a universal phenomenon in bus transport networks (BTNs) because of the shared stations between bus routes. A measuring method is proposed for competitive and cooperative relationship between bus routes. Based on this measurement, we develop a new representation model for BTNs, namely competitive-cooperative space R. This model is applied to investigate empirically bus transport network of Shenyang (BTN-S) from China. We present the histograms of competitive-cooperative coefficients, competitive coefficients and cooperative coefficients to illustrate that competitive and cooperative relationship plays an important role in transporting passengers. The competitive-cooperative situation shows that cooperative relationship holds an absolutely dominant position in BTN-S. To explore the networked characteristics, we present some empirical distributions, for the number of bus stations on a route, the number of shared stations between two routes, degree and weighted degree, competitive strength, and cooperative strength. We also examine the correlations between degree and competitive strength, and between degree and cooperative strength. Besides, we investigate the diversities of competitive strength and cooperative strength in BTN-S. This study can help us to understand the BTN from a deeper level.