Researchers have developed a world-first flow model that could cut public transport commuter times on busy roads by identifying and removing bottlenecks. Case studies have shown commuters saved close to 2000 hours (between 7am-9am) and about 11,000 hours of passenger travel time during a normal weekday.

When this flow model was implemented to improve the worst traffic bottlenecks across Melbourne, commuters saved close to 2000 hours of travel time during a single morning peak period (7am-9am) and approximately 11,000 hours of passenger travel time during a normal weekday.

Ameliorating major traffic bottlenecks also contributed to a more than 23 per cent improvement in reliability of Melbourne’s public transport network, on average, during weekdays and by up to 26 per cent on weekends.

Most bottlenecks were those that cut through the Melbourne central business district, yet links connecting suburban sites such as La Trobe and Monash universities, and Chadstone shopping centre to the metro train network were among the most critical bottlenecks in Melbourne’s transport network.

Research by Monash University and RMIT University, published in Nature Communications, introduced a novel flow model — built upon the so called Unaffected Demand (UD) concept — to examine the impact of road congestion on travelling passengers using the bus and tram networks.

A flow network is the mathematical model for any system with a network structure where connections are a means for carrying some kind of flow from one component to another.

Story Source: Materials provided by Monash University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.