Background
The streetcars run in the heart of downtown. They are subject to unstable operating conditions caused by traffic congestion, sporadic event, and obstructed right-of-way. These perturbations make the Atlanta Streetcar prone to streetcar-bunching, which causes undue passenger wait and crowding. We have developed a real-time dispatching method that considers every streetcar on the route to dispatch them with even headways while maintaining a high frequency of service. The dispatching method will replace the current schedule on the Atlanta Streetcar as a case study for several weeks. We will evaluate the impact of real-time dispatching on operations, driver behavior, and passenger waiting time.
Under the direction of Dr. Kari Edison Watkins in Civil & Environmental Engineering, UTIL conducts research to improve sustainable transportation through better information. The members of the lab are interested in real-time information for transit, open data to enable the creation of tools to overcome barriers to transit use and digital civic engagement to solve transportation problems.
