in the recent weeks some players asked me about how to approach bus routing. Due to specific constraints and requirements this topic is special and I gathered some trivia from our experts from development and the data department. So this posting is just starting to provide info which may not be part of standard documentation. Feel free to ask questions so we can add more and more information here. Now let the party begin:
- In fact the core data dealers of PTV (TOMTOM, HERE) provide specific segment information dealing with bus properties but this data is not part of the standard binary maps provided by PTV. From a technical point of view PTV is able to prepare specific maps containing the bus properties on a project level (infividual pricing
). Standard binary maps deal with the categories CAR, TRUCK and PEDESTRIAN. - If a routing specifies the vehicle type as a BUS it is matched to the CAR conditions, i.e. segments that are forbidden for TRUCKS but allowed for CARS will be used by the BUS (as long as no other constraints prevent the router from using the segments, e.g. weight restrictions within additional TruckAttributes).This way of categorising may have an impact on postprocessing topics such as emission calculation and toll.
- Physical properties such as weight, length, ... are not linked to the BUS category itself but are treated value-wise: if the segments maximum value is exceeded by one of the the vehicles values the segment is forbidden - whether it is a BUS, a CAR or whatever.
- Special constraints such as "closed for truck with trailers, exceeding a given weight" do not apply for a BUS because the BUS is treated as a large CAR (check FeatureLayer PTV_TruckAttributes).
- If you want to model a BUS on your own you should ensure the following properties
- totalPermittedWeight > 3500
- loadType = PASSENGER
- driveType = MOTOR_VEHICLE or MOTORIZED
Have a nice weekend
Bernd