Salzburg Research is regularly commissioned to analyse real travel time losses in local public transport. With an objective detailed evaluation as a data basis, transport planners can optimise the route network plan.

The use of public transport is mainly influenced by the quality of connections or the adherence to timetables. In bus transport in particular, however, there are often major deviations from the timetable.

Salzburg Research uses satellite-based movement data of public buses to identify travel time losses related to individual road sections. This makes it possible to determine tailback lengths or lost times in front of traffic lights or roundabouts. For example, travel data along a line, in the urban area or along access roads from the surrounding countryside are examined.

In recent months, such analyses have been commissioned by transport associations, federal states or cities in Austria and Germany. The requested data were the basis for use cases such as the monitoring and evaluation of new bus lanes, the prioritisation of public transport, the control of gateway traffic lights, the relocation of bus stops, temporary construction sites as well as for the calculation of time-of-day-dependent corridor lines.

With such a detailed evaluation, traffic planners and operators of public transport systems receive an objective basis for decision-making and a meaningful impact monitoring. This knowledge makes it possible to develop targeted measures to make transport more efficient and public transport more attractive.

More information: Evaluation Of Lost Times In Public Service