Adaptive Bus Control

Although public transportation is undoubtedly an efficient mode to move a large number of passengers while minimizing their externalities onto society, its effectiveness is often hindered by limited reliability, which in turn reduces the appeal of the mode and ultimately, its usage. Adaptive bus control strategies can be used to improve the reliability of public transportation and increase its ridership in the long term. In this chapter, we explore a number of control strategies implemented at the infrastructure level, during the dispatching process, or at the vehicle level. For each of them, we highlight both the advantages and limitations. In addition, we discuss how new technologies and information sources could potentially change many of these strategies, and the concept of reliability for future public transportation systems.