Optimal First- and Last-Mile Mobility Services

The research addresses evolving travel patterns requiring more adaptable public-transit options. Leveraging actual demand and vehicle-trajectory data, the team evaluated and optimized services for an existing first-mile / last-mile operation in Robinson Township, PA. We developed a generalized model to assess system performance — including travel time and day-to-day reliability — across various operational approaches accounting for spatio-temporal demand variation and network dynamics.

Key findings included an 18.6% reduction in total user costs through ride coordination with fixed-route transit, modest improvements via predictive routing, and substantial gains (51% travel-time reduction, 53.8% reliability improvement) when passengers requested trips in advance. The research demonstrated that trip prioritization could enhance time-sensitive trip reliability without raising overall costs, with results remaining consistent across different demand densities.