Proposed methodology of optimizing the secondary public transport network of a city in demand

Abstract

In 2019/20, it was of major importance to identify an alternative network within the Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN) that can meet the increasing population demands. Being composed of high-capacity corridors, the current IPTN still requires a secondary network to meet day to day transporting needs (City of Joburg, 2019). Since the city's land isn't utilized very densely, the main network only serves a small part of it. High-capacity modes may service the primary network. The secondary network is necessary to support the primary network. The capacity of the secondary network is far lower than the city's real demand for public transportation. The majority of public transportation journeys cannot be accommodated by the primary network. This is because they are built on roads that don't work as well and aren't good for high-capacity technologies like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The secondary network provides services in places where it would be too expensive to set up and run the primary network. The smaller buses and minibus taxis that make up the secondary network have fewer seats. For example, while the primary network requires 365 000 seats during peak hours (assuming a seat utilization rate of 60%), the secondary network requires approximately 2 million seats during peak hours (City of Joburg, 2019). This paper explores using the traveling salesman method to identify and analyze the secondary network that meet the current demands.