Why can irregular buses make you wait longer?
Two services can have the same average gap between buses yet create different average waits. If passengers arrive steadily without consulting a timetable, more of them arrive during long gaps than short ones. Uneven service therefore gives the longest gaps extra weight in the passenger experience.
Questions you could explore
- Which assumptions change when people plan around a timetable or cannot board a full bus?
Start reading
- MIT OpenCourseWareLecture 9: Performance Models, transcript
The MIT lecture transcript explains random incidence and the relationship between headway variability and expected waiting time.
Ready to try your ideas aloud?
Your topic carries over. Record up to 2½ minutes, depending on your plan.