IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/phsmap/v451y2016icp373-387.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A method of examining the structure and topological properties of public-transport networks

Author

Listed:
  • Dimitrov, Stavri Dimitri
  • Ceder, Avishai (Avi)

Abstract

This work presents a new method of examining the structure of public-transport networks (PTNs) and analyzes their topological properties through a combination of computer programming, statistical data and large-network analyses. In order to automate the extraction, processing and exporting of data, a software program was developed allowing to extract the needed data from General Transit Feed Specification, thus overcoming difficulties occurring in accessing and collecting data. The proposed method was applied to a real-life PTN in Auckland, New Zealand, with the purpose of examining whether it showed characteristics of scale-free networks and exhibited features of “small-world” networks. As a result, new regression equations were derived analytically describing observed, strong, non-linear relationships among the probabilities of randomly chosen stops in the PTN to be serviced by a given number of routes. The established dependence is best fitted by an exponential rather than a power-law function, showing that the PTN examined is neither random nor scale-free, but a mixture of the two. This finding explains the presence of hubs that are not typical of exponential networks and simultaneously not highly connected to the other nodes as is the case with scale-free networks. On the other hand, the observed values of the topological properties of the network show that although it is highly clustered, owing to its representation as a directed graph, it differs slightly from “small-world” networks, which are characterized by strong clustering and a short average path length.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimitrov, Stavri Dimitri & Ceder, Avishai (Avi), 2016. "A method of examining the structure and topological properties of public-transport networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 451(C), pages 373-387.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:451:y:2016:i:c:p:373-387
    DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2016.01.060
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437116001072
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.physa.2016.01.060?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hadas, Yuval, 2013. "Assessing public transport systems connectivity based on Google Transit data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 105-116.
    2. C. von Ferber & T. Holovatch & Yu. Holovatch & V. Palchykov, 2009. "Public transport networks: empirical analysis and modeling," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 68(2), pages 261-275, March.
    3. Mishra, Sabyasachee & Welch, Timothy F. & Jha, Manoj K., 2012. "Performance indicators for public transit connectivity in multi-modal transportation networks," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1066-1085.
    4. Latora, Vito & Marchiori, Massimo, 2002. "Is the Boston subway a small-world network?," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 314(1), pages 109-113.
    5. Sybil Derrible & Christopher Kennedy, 2011. "Applications of Graph Theory and Network Science to Transit Network Design," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 495-519.
    6. Sybil Derrible & Christopher Kennedy, 2010. "Characterizing metro networks: state, form, and structure," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 275-297, March.
    7. Hadas, Yuval & Ranjitkar, Prakash, 2012. "Modeling public-transit connectivity with spatial quality-of-transfer measurements," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 137-147.
    8. Seaton, Katherine A. & Hackett, Lisa M., 2004. "Stations, trains and small-world networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 339(3), pages 635-644.
    9. Chung-Yuan Huang & Chuen-Tsai Sun & Hsun-Cheng Lin, 2005. "Influence of Local Information on Social Simulations in Small-World Network Models," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 8(4), pages 1-8.
    10. Xu, Xinping & Hu, Junhui & Liu, Feng & Liu, Lianshou, 2007. "Scaling and correlations in three bus-transport networks of China," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 374(1), pages 441-448.
    11. Chen, Yong-Zhou & Li, Nan & He, Da-Ren, 2007. "A study on some urban bus transport networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 376(C), pages 747-754.
    12. Jingyi Lin & Yifang Ban, 2013. "Complex Network Topology of Transportation Systems," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 658-685, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiang, Ruoyun & Lu, Qing-Chang & Peng, Zhong-Ren, 2018. "A station-based rail transit network vulnerability measure considering land use dependency," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 10-18.
    2. Yin, Rong-Rong & Yuan, Huaili & Wang, Jing & Zhao, Ning & Liu, Lei, 2021. "Modeling and analyzing cascading dynamics of the urban road traffic network," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 566(C).
    3. Alessandra Cornaro & Daniele Grechi, 2023. "Evaluation of Railway Systems: A Network Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Mussone, L. & Viseh, H. & Notari, R., 2022. "Novel centrality measures and applications to underground networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 589(C).
    5. Rahimi-Golkhandan, Armin & Garvin, Michael J. & Brown, Bryan L., 2019. "Characterizing and measuring transportation infrastructure diversity through linkages with ecological stability theory," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 114-130.
    6. Kopsidas, Athanasios & Kepaptsoglou, Konstantinos, 2022. "Identification of critical stations in a Metro System: A substitute complex network analysis," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 596(C).
    7. Lu, Qing-Chang, 2018. "Modeling network resilience of rail transit under operational incidents," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 227-237.
    8. Mo, Baichuan & Koutsopoulos, Haris N. & Zhao, Jinhua, 2022. "Inferring passenger responses to urban rail disruptions using smart card data: A probabilistic framework," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Tang, Junqing & Xu, Lei & Luo, Chunling & Ng, Tsan Sheng Adam, 2021. "Multi-disruption resilience assessment of rail transit systems with optimized commuter flows," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    10. Liping Ge & Stefan Voß & Lin Xie, 2022. "Robustness and disturbances in public transport," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 191-261, March.
    11. Lin Zhang & Jian Lu & Bai-bai Fu & Shu-bin Li, 2018. "A Review and Prospect for the Complexity and Resilience of Urban Public Transit Network Based on Complex Network Theory," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-36, December.
    12. Qing-Chang Lu & Shan Lin, 2019. "Vulnerability Analysis of Urban Rail Transit Network within Multi-Modal Public Transport Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, April.
    13. Lu, Qing-Chang & Zhang, Lei & Xu, Peng-Cheng & Cui, Xin & Li, Jing, 2022. "Modeling network vulnerability of urban rail transit under cascading failures: A Coupled Map Lattices approach," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    14. Li, Tao & Rong, Lili, 2020. "A comprehensive method for the robustness assessment of high-speed rail network with operation data: A case in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 666-681.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luo, Ding & Cats, Oded & van Lint, Hans & Currie, Graham, 2019. "Integrating network science and public transport accessibility analysis for comparative assessment," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Liu, Chengliang & Duan, Dezhong, 2020. "Spatial inequality of bus transit dependence on urban streets and its relationships with socioeconomic intensities: A tale of two megacities in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Lin Zhang & Jian Lu & Bai-bai Fu & Shu-bin Li, 2018. "A Review and Prospect for the Complexity and Resilience of Urban Public Transit Network Based on Complex Network Theory," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-36, December.
    4. Derrible, Sybil & Kennedy, Christopher, 2010. "The complexity and robustness of metro networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 389(17), pages 3678-3691.
    5. Manjalavil, Manju Manohar & Ramadurai, Gitakrishnan, 2020. "Topological properties of bus transit networks considering demand and service utilization weight measures," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 555(C).
    6. Cats, Oded, 2017. "Topological evolution of a metropolitan rail transport network: The case of Stockholm," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 172-183.
    7. Zhang, Mengyao & Huang, Tao & Guo, Zhaoxia & He, Zhenggang, 2022. "Complex-network-based traffic network analysis and dynamics: A comprehensive review," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 607(C).
    8. Xueguo Xu & Chen Xu & Wenxin Zhang, 2022. "Research on the Destruction Resistance of Giant Urban Rail Transit Network from the Perspective of Vulnerability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-26, June.
    9. Shanmukhappa, Tanuja & Ho, Ivan Wang-Hei & Tse, Chi Kong, 2018. "Spatial analysis of bus transport networks using network theory," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 502(C), pages 295-314.
    10. Wang, Zhiru & Niu, Fangyan & Yang, Lili & Su, Guofeng, 2020. "Modeling a subway network: A hot-point attraction-driven evolution mechanism," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 537(C).
    11. Hadas, Yuval & Gnecco, Giorgio & Sanguineti, Marcello, 2017. "An approach to transportation network analysis via transferable utility games," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 120-143.
    12. Aldrich, Preston R. & El-Zabet, Jermeen & Hassan, Seerat & Briguglio, Joseph & Aliaj, Enela & Radcliffe, Maria & Mirza, Taha & Comar, Timothy & Nadolski, Jeremy & Huebner, Cynthia D., 2015. "Monte Carlo tests of small-world architecture for coarse-grained networks of the United States railroad and highway transportation systems," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 438(C), pages 32-39.
    13. Dong-Joon Kang & Su-Han Woo, 2017. "Liner shipping networks, port characteristics and the impact on port performance," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 19(2), pages 274-295, June.
    14. Dupuy, Gabriel, 2013. "Network geometry and the urban railway system: the potential benefits to geographers of harnessing inputs from “naive” outsiders," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 85-94.
    15. Cats, Oded & Krishnakumari, Panchamy, 2020. "Metropolitan rail network robustness," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 549(C).
    16. Feng, Shumin & Hu, Baoyu & Nie, Cen & Shen, Xianghao, 2016. "Empirical study on a directed and weighted bus transport network in China," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 441(C), pages 85-92.
    17. Yang, Xu-Hua & Chen, Guang & Chen, Sheng-Yong & Wang, Wan-Liang & Wang, Lei, 2014. "Study on some bus transport networks in China with considering spatial characteristics," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-10.
    18. Zhang, Jianhua & Zhao, Mingwei & Liu, Haikuan & Xu, Xiaoming, 2013. "Networked characteristics of the urban rail transit networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 392(6), pages 1538-1546.
    19. Rui Ding & Norsidah Ujang & Hussain Bin Hamid & Mohd Shahrudin Abd Manan & Rong Li & Safwan Subhi Mousa Albadareen & Ashkan Nochian & Jianjun Wu, 2019. "Application of Complex Networks Theory in Urban Traffic Network Researches," Networks and Spatial Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1281-1317, December.
    20. Rahimi-Golkhandan, Armin & Garvin, Michael J. & Brown, Bryan L., 2019. "Characterizing and measuring transportation infrastructure diversity through linkages with ecological stability theory," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 114-130.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:451:y:2016:i:c:p:373-387. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/physica-a-statistical-mechpplications/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.