A transit service design in which autonomous minibuses combine on-demand directional detours for pick-up and drop-off in low-density parts of a grid network with fixed routes through high-demand areas, uniting demand-responsive flexibility and fixed-route efficiency. A generalized-cost mathematical formulation quantifies the passenger-versus-operator trade-offs and yields indicators for selecting existing bus routes to convert (with zonal-express and parallel-route options); simulation and a Chicago case study show reduced passenger and total generalized costs over conventional fixed-route buses, especially where demand density is low.
This paper (accepted in Transportation Research Record) proposes and analyzes an autonomous minibus service with semi-on-demand routes operating in grid transit networks. The vehicles take on-demand …