Phatcharaphon Yodsurang. Public transport modeling : a case study of Phuket city. Master's Degree(Industrial Engineering). Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center. : Mahidol University, 2018.
Public transport modeling : a case study of Phuket city
Abstract:
Phuket has a population of more than 400,000 people, but more than 13 million tourists visit the island per year and the trend increases continuously. Currently, only 6. 6% of people use public transport. In Phuket City Municipality, buses are the major public transport that provide service in the city. In order to increase the public transport proportion, the bus service need to be evaluated on not only the travel cost, and comfort level, but also the travel time. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of the three proposed changes on bus service operations in Phuket City via microscopic traffic simulation modeling. Bus service route 2 from Si Mum Mueang Market to Super Cheap Store operated by Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) was selected for this case study. The changes to the bus service considered were; exclusive bus lanes, shortened bus routes, and use of electric buses. Several key performance indicators were selected to measure the impact such as: travel time from an origin station to a destination station, frequency of inter- arrival time at a destination station, and air pollution emissions from vehicles. By allocating 2.80 km of exclusive bus lanes in Phun Phon Road and Thep Kasattri Road, the PPAO bus travel time became 5.60% - 8.07% less. The deviation effects of destination headway was less than 1 minute when using the shorten bus route. During the evening peak hour, the SO2 emission level was more than 0.30 ppm/1-hour in Vichit Sub-District Municipality. This exceeds the recommended standard, and can be worse when there is 25% - 50% more of traffic volume. Based on this study, the bus exclusive lane has been recommended during the initial phase of public transport improvement to attract more passengers due to the travel time reduction. The shortened bus route and electric vehicles can be done in the second phase of improvement.