In this paper we investigate a new form of automated public transportation, named ‘modular transit’, configured to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional bus, including the first- and last-mile problem, low occupancy, and low levels of comfort, accessibility, and flexibility. The modular transit system consists of a set of trailer modules who can travel locally to serve demand and connect travelers to main modules for long-distance trips. We mathematically model this system on a time-expanded network, thereby reducing the size of the optimization problem and rendering the problem amenable to being solved with commercial optimization engines. We conduct extensive numerical experiments and sensitivity analyses to study the performance of modular buses under various configurations. Finally, we compare the modular transit service with a door-to-door shuttle service as benchmark to showcase the benefits of modular transit.

在本文中，我们研究了一种称为“模块化交通”的新型自动公交系统，其配置旨在克服传统公交车的缺点，包括首英里和最后一英里的问题，占用率低，舒适度，可及性低，和灵活性。模块化运输系统由一组拖车模块组成，这些拖车模块可以在本地旅行以满足需求，并将旅行者连接到主要模块以进行长途旅行。我们在时间扩展网络上对该系统进行数学建模，从而减小了优化问题的规模，并使该问题可以通过商业优化引擎解决。我们进行了广泛的数值实验和灵敏度分析，以研究各种配置下模块化总线的性能。最后，