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India - US Project in a Nutshell

  • Focusing on Emerging Ropeway PT System, expected to be a catalyst for revitalizing public transport in Varanasi
  • Project outcomes (Demand forecasting tools, transit simulation toolkit, routing algorithms) have national relevance in the context of 40 ropeways under feasibility studies across India
  • Wider societal impact in the context of global push towards low carbon mobility and climate change mitigation

Objectives and Deliverables

1) Demand Forecasting and and Transit Network Expansion based on Equity
  • To develop a demand forecasting tool for predicting stop-wise and zone-wise transit origin-destination demand
  • To develop phase-wise expansion plans of the transit network for ropeway implementation under demand uncertainty and equity considerations
  • To determine optimal stop-locations and reduce the resource implications of the ropeway project using multi-criteria decision-making tools
1) Demand Forecasting and and Transit Network Expansion based on Equity
2) Simulation System that can assess the Impact of Transit Changes
  • Explore the potential of micro-transit services(using mini-buses already purchased by VMC through JNNURM) in Varanasi
  • Collected data will be used to train machine learning(ML) models for quantifying accessibility impacts, equity considerations, and energy use prediction(DNL, OLS, and DTs) and study their performance
  • Identify the design parameters of transit network or operation that have maximum impact on operational efficiency, ridership and revenue
2) Simulation System that can assess the Impact of Transit Changes
3) Operational Integration(Scheduling, Dispatching, First/Last Mile)
  • Proposed PT consists of the aerial ropeway, ground-based fixed route transit), paratransit, and potential feeder services such as micro-transit
  • The project outcomes will be towards developing an app-based platform combining different routing, matching, and pricing algorithms for the multimodal PT network.
  • Objective 1 is about Fixed line Bus service and RPT & Objective 2 is about Micro-transit algorithms, Objective 3 is about multimodal routing and integrated travel itinerary planning
3) Operational Integration(Scheduling, Dispatching, First/Last Mile)
4) Suggesting Transit System Design Changes for Varanasi
  • Evaluate the impact of various policies and routing algorithms by extending the dynamic simulation platform, already developed using the active award TRANSIT-GYM
  • This will help to optimize and integrate public transit services, which are inherently complex and are currently facing a wide array of operational challenges to optimize fixed-line services along with other alternatives such as urban ropeways or on-demand feeder series in a way that minimizes cost for the riders and transit agency.
4) Suggesting Transit System Design Changes for Varanasi