Time Differential Pricing Model of Urban Rail Transit Considering Passenger Exchange Coefficient

Abstract

Passenger exchange coefficient is a significant factor which has great impact on the pricing model of urban rail transit. This paper introduces passenger exchange coefficient into a bi-level programming model with time differential pricing for urban rail transit by analysing variation regularity of passenger flow characteristics. Meanwhile, exchange cost coefficient is also considered as a restrictive factor in the pricing model. The improved particle swarm optimisation algorithm (IPSO) was ap-plied to solve the model, and simulation results show that the proposed improved pricing model can effectively re-alise stratification of fares for different time periods with different routes. Taking Line 2 and Line 8 of the Beijing rail transit network as an example, the simulation result shows that passenger flows of Line 2 and Line 8 in peak hours decreased by 9.94% and 19.48% and therefore increased by 32.23% and 44.96% in off-peak hours, re-spectively. The case study reveals that dispersing pas-senger flows by means of fare adjustment can effectively drop peak load and increase off-peak load. The time dif-ferential pricing model of urban rail transit proposed in this paper has great influences on dispersing passenger flow and ensures safety operation of urban rail transit. It is also a valuable reference for other metropolitan rail transit operating companies.