B#

Boarding#

The entry of passengers into a public transport vehicle.

This is a fundamental measurement of passenger flows in using public transport.

Metrics:

  • Discrete number (i.e. 320 passengers)

  • Passengers per km travelled per hour.

Base Period#

a.k.a “Off-Peak Period”

The time period when services are scheduled at a regular, consistent level. This is contrasted with P:PeakPeriod.

This is the general span of time where public transport services operate on a baseline Headway or Frequency, not varying in response to demand.

Blocking#

The process conducted by public transport service providers to divide a day’s Schedule by Vehicle assignments.

This is a crucial part of the scheduling process, as it determines the availability of Transit Units within a day. It is further used in the Runcutting process to develop work shifts for operators and calculate the overall labour needed to operate service.

Blocking is done by selecting all the individual Runs that a specific vehicle will perform in a day, accounting for Layovers. Then, these runs are grouped together into a block, specific to that vehicle.

The goal of blocking is to optimise layover times, and identify where drivers or operators should begin and end their shifts whilst minimising Deadhead. Cost-efficient blocking helps agencies minimise operating expenses and the number of vehicles needed.

Where large gaps of time emerge between runs in a block, opportunities for Interlining can be identified. A vehicle’s assignments serving a different route are also included into the block.

Bunching#

  • a.k.a “clumping” A phenomenon where multiple public transport vehicles or Transit Units (TUs) on the same route are operating in the same place at the same time, thus arriving at stops together or unintended rapid succession. This typically occurs when traffic conditions or other incidents lead to a TU being delayed, thus reducing its Headway with the following TU.

This is an important occurrence for service providers to track, as it distorts schedules and passenger expectations, prolonging wait times whilst duplicating the supply of public transport services at a later time.