Multiobjective Transit Passenger Information System Design Using GIS

This paper presents a multiobjective generalized cost (GC) based passenger information system (PIS) design for multimodal transit system that integrates geographical information system (GIS) processing, network analysis, user interfacing, and database management. The GC approach for trip planning is especially important in the Indian scenario, where the various modes of transport are generally not harmonized, and the transfer time from one mode to another may be very large. It also imitates the natural tendency of public transport users to attach differential importance to various legs of a trip (walking, waiting, travel time, etc.) while planning for it. The proposed PIS gives answers to user queries like optimum path based on time, cost, distance, or generalized cost, and other related information for making a trip. It is implemented on a multimodal integrated transit network developed through past work for the city of Thane in India.