Self-Organization Leads to Supraoptimal Performance in Public Transportation Systems

The performance of public transportation systems affects a large part of the population. Current theory assumes that passengers are served optimally when vehicles arrive at stations with regular intervals. In this paper, it is shown that self-organization can improve the performance of public transportation systems beyond the theoretical optimum by responding adaptively to local conditions. This is possible because of a “slower-is-faster” effect, where passengers wait more time at stations but total travel times are reduced. The proposed self-organizing method uses “antipheromones” to regulate headways, which are inspired by the stigmergy (communication via environment) of some ant colonies.

• Publication year

  2011

• Venue

  PLoS ONE

• Publication date

  2011-06-30

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Computer Science, Engineering

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0021469PMID 21738674PMCID 3127858
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Computing networks: A general framework to contrast neural and swarm cognitions

  2010cited by this paper
• Operation regimes and slower-is-faster effect in the controlof traffic intersections

  2009cited by this paper
• Why Does Public Transport Not Arrive on Time? The Pervasiveness of Equal Headway Instability

  2009influential reference
• Design and Control of Self-organizing Systems

  2007cited by this paper
• Self-organizing traffic lights: A realistic simulation

  2006cited by this paper
• About Engineering Complex Systems: Multiscale Analysis and Evolutionary Engineering

  2004cited by this paper
• When Can We Call a System Self-Organizing?

  2003cited by this paper
• Human Population: The Next Half Century

  2003cited by this paper
• Simulating dynamical features of escape panic

  2000cited by this paper
• A Brief History of Stigmergy

  1999cited by this paper
• Swarm intelligence: from natural to artificial systems

  1999cited by this paper
• EVALUATING POTENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF HEADWAY CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR TRANSIT SYSTEMS

  1980cited by this paper
• Letter to the Editor---Selection of an Initial Solution for the Traveling-Salesman Problem

  1960cited by this paper
• An Introduction to Cybernetics

  1957cited by this paper
• The Instability of a Close-Interval Service

  1957cited by this paper

• Towards autonomous goal-oriented self-organisation in railways

  2026cites this paper
• Willingness-to-Comply Analysis of Incentive Mechanisms for Alleviating Local Congestion in Metro Waiting Areas

  2024cites this paper
• Understanding the effect of sociodemographic and psychological latent characteristics on flex-route transit acceptance

  2023cites this paper
• Self-organization in Slovenian public spending

  2023cites this paper
• Can Bus Bunching Reduce Waiting Time?

  2022cites this paper
• Synchronising Bus Bunching to the Spikes in Service Demand Reduces Commuters’ Waiting Time

  2022cites this paper
• Heterogeneity extends criticality

  2022cites this paper
• Modeling adaptive reversible lanes: A cellular automata approach.

  2021cites this paper
• Research on theUtilization ofMetroRegenerative Braking Energy Based on an Improved Differential Evolution Algorithm

  2020cites this paper
• Chaotic semi-express buses in a loop.

  2020cites this paper
• Research on the Utilization of Metro Regenerative Braking Energy Based on an Improved Differential Evolution Algorithm

  2020cites this paper
• Using simulation model as a tool for analyzing bus service reliability and implementing improvement strategies

  2020cites this paper
• Anger while driving in Mexico City

  2019cites this paper
• No-boarding buses: Synchronisation for efficiency

  2019cites this paper
• No-boarding buses: agents allowed to cooperate or defect

  2019cites this paper
• Intelligent Buses in a Loop Service: Emergence of No-Boarding and Holding Strategies

  2019cites this paper
• Guiding the Self-Organization of Cyber-Physical Systems

  2019cites this paper
• Bus bunching as a synchronisation phenomenon

  2018cites this paper
• Improving public transportation systems with self-organization: A headway-based model and regulation of passenger alighting and boarding

  2017cites this paper
• Aplicación de funciones de distribución continuas para modelar la demanda de pasajeros en una línea de tren ligero

  2016cites this paper
• Adaptive Cities: A Cybernetic Perspective on Urban Systems

  2016cites this paper
• Cybernetic cities: designing and controlling adaptive and robust urban systems

  2016cites this paper
• User-Based Solutions for Increasing Level of Service in Bike-Sharing Transportation Systems

  2016cites this paper
• Improving Urban Mobility by Understanding its Complexity

  2016cites this paper
• When slower is faster

  2015cites this paper
• Modified circle map model for complex motion induced by a change of shuttle buses

  2013cites this paper
• Therapeutic Efficacy of Silibinin on Human Neuroblastoma Cells: Akt and NF-κB Expressions May Play an Important Role in Silibinin-Induced Response

  2012cites this paper
• Delay effect on schedule in shuttle bus transportation controlled by capacity

  2012cites this paper
• Building a Self-Organizing Urban Bus Route

  2012cites this paper
• Facing Complexity: Prediction vs. Adaptation

  2011cites this paper
• Living in Living Cities

  2011cites this paper