Bus impact evaluation tool for major road incidents

A collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Transport for NSW (Transport) to support better decision making during major road disruptions affecting the bus network.

Transport for NSW Passengers wait for bus at Railway Square.

This project is being undertaken through the iMOVE CRC.

Background

Building on the success of a previous research collaboration, Transport is again working with UTS to integrate data sources to produce a tool that can provide real-time critical insights on the impact of road network disruptions for customers. This tool will help build network resilience during emergencies.

During major road disruptions, decision-makers lack real-time insights into affected bus routes and the scale of customer impacts, hampering emergency response efforts. Various complexities mean road incidents require a more dynamic approach to manage cascading effects on bus networks.

Currently, fragmented data sources and manual processes can delay the identification of disrupted routes and prevent accurate estimation of affected passengers. This presents challenges in deploying timely mitigation strategies, such as alternative transport options or appropriately reallocate resources. By integrating road network mapping, advanced GIS analytics, and historical data, this project will develop an interactive bussing tool to visualise disruptions, quantify customer impacts, and recommend actionable responses. 

Objectives

The research will:

  • identify affected bus stops and routes at specific locations through dynamic mapping of disruptions, leveraging GIS road network data to pinpoint impacted bus sections during major road incidents
  • estimate the number of impacted customers using advanced analytics on historical patronage data such as OPAL data and bus load data, enabling evidence-based resource allocation for emergency responses such as replacement buses or alternative transport options
  • develop a data-driven impact estimation tool integrating advanced GIS road network data and historical patronage patterns to dynamically visualise affected bus routes, stops, and customer impacts during major road incidents. This centralised tool will empower decision-makers with actionable insights for rapid emergency response.

Further updates will be provided as this project progresses.

This research is being delivered in partnership with iMOVE CRC and supported by the Cooperative Research Centres program, an Australian Government initiative.