Identification of Bus Stations on the Urban Transport Network Based on GPS Tracking Data

Abstract

In contemporary urban settings, inhabitants use public transportation to engage in events and commercial transactions; therefore, transportation holds significant relevance. This study introduces an approach for identifying critical public transportation stations based on integrating information from sensors on the pedestrian walkway of the sector and GPS locations. Urban transportation systems can incorporate technologies that generate large amounts of information, which can be analyzed to obtain valuable insights related to mobility. In the first place, the topology of the road network is considered as the dynamic characteristics of the flow of traffic, to develop a mechanism that identifies the autobus stations considering the spatiotemporal ones from the GPS traces obtained from the spatial detection of the affluence of people. Later, an algorithm is presented that uses the structure of the road network and the influence of traffic between nearby roads to identify critical roads based on traffic volume. Finally, the bus-GPS track sector data compiled in Santa Elena, Ecuador is analyzed. We conducted a thorough analysis to observe the spatiotemporal changes in bus services, the most relevant routes, and intersections. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient has been used to evaluate the algorithm’s performance in identifying multiple critical points. The findings indicate that this method is more effective and practical than the conventional congestion index analysis. The research carried out should be useful in the management of urban transport and the creation of alternative stations.