Applied Optimization for Transit Network Routing in Obihiro

1. Background of the Study This paper introduces a solution methodology for the transit (bus) route network problem for a sample city with available PT data. Several methodologies, in varying sophistications, have been developed to generate route sets for transit routing; however, these solutions appear viable only in virtual networks, where nodes and links are characterized to allow for shortest paths to be searched in time units. However, unlike that of the single vehicle problem, travel time is not the optimal criterion for transit lines. In practice, transit route design is not solely a result of random linkages between nodes. Otherwise, there can be an infinitely large number of candidate routes for only one OD pair. Without regard for existing OD patterns, the path search becomes more complex as the network size also increases. Searching for feasible routes must, therefore, incorporate existing characteristics in the sample city on which the network bed is based. In doing so, the search algorithm is simplified and the results are closer to the side of practicality.