Temporal Analysis of a Bus Transit Network

Transit networks are essentially temporal with their topology evolving over time. While there are several studies on the topological properties of bus transit networks, none of them have captured the temporal network characteristics. We present a temporal analysis of a bus transit network using snapshot representation. We propose a supply-based weight measure, called the service utilization factor (SUF), and define it as the passenger demand per trip between two bus stops. We evaluate the complex network properties in three weighted cases for a bus network in India, using the number of overlapping routes, passenger demand between routes and SUF as weights. The study network is well-connected with 1.48 number of transfers on average to travel between any two stops over the day. The temporal analysis indicated an inadequate number of services in peak periods and route redundancy across the time periods. We identified the existing and potential hubs in the network, which were found to vary across time periods. The network has strongly connected communities that remain constant across the day. Our conclusions exemplify the importance of temporally analyzing transit networks for improving their efficiency.