Modeling exclusive bus corridors in microsimulators based on GPS-derived speed profiles

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58922/transportes.v34.e3207

Keywords:

Public transport, Automatic vehicle location, Exclusive bus corridor, Traffic microsimulation.

Abstract

The calibration of microsimulation models for exclusive bus corridors still faces limitations due to the lack of real data on vehicle speed variation. This study proposes a method to estimate spatial profiles of speed variation based on data from automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems. These profiles were used to calibrate the Gipps car-following model in the Aimsun Next software. The application to a BRT corridor in Fortaleza showed that the estimated profiles effectively capture the expected speed variations in bus behavior along the corridor. However, the calibration and validation revealed discrepancies attributed to operational variability, particularly in passenger boarding and alighting volumes and times at stops, as well as failures in traffic signal coordination, highlighting the need for adjustments. The proposed method demonstrates the potential of using GPS data to calibrate microsimulators, contributing to advancements in modeling and evaluating public transport systems.

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Author Biography

Francisco Moraes de Oliveira Neto, Universidade Federal do Ceará

Possui Graduação em Engenharia Civil pela Universidade Federal do Ceará (2002), Mestrado em Engenharia de Transportes pela Universidade Federal do Ceará (2004), e Doutorado pela University of Tennessee-Knoxville (2010). Entre 2010 e 2013, realizou estágio pós-doutoral no Centro de Pesquisa em Análise de Sistemas de Transportes (CTA - Center for Transportation Analysis) do Laboratório Nacional de Oak Ridge (ORNL - Oak Ridge National Laboratory), USA. Atualmente, realiza estágio pós-doutoral na Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES), em Bogotá, Colômbia, no período de abril a setembro de 2025. Professor Adjunto do Departamento de Engenharia de Transportes da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) e do Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia de Transportes da UFC (PETRAN). Leciona disciplinas em Análise e Planejamento de Sistemas de Transportes, Avaliação de Projetos em Engenharia, Transporte Público, Otimização e Simulação em Transportes, e Modelagem Estatística. Coordenador do Grupo de Pesquisa em Operação, Planejamento e Avaliação do Transporte Público - OPA-TP. Possui experiência profissional e acadêmica em Gerenciamento e Simulação de Sistemas Urbanos de Tráfego, e em Pesquisa Operacional. Tem interesse nas seguintes áreas: Análise de Sistemas de Transportes, com ênfase na Modelagem de Redes de Transportes de Passageiros, Modelagem Comportamental e Análise Espacial em Transportes.

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Published

2026-03-09

How to Cite

Iran Gonçalves Vieira Neto, Antônio Claudio Dutra Batista, Nelson de Oliveira Quesado Filho and Moraes de Oliveira Neto, F. (2026) “Modeling exclusive bus corridors in microsimulators based on GPS-derived speed profiles”, Transportes, 34, p. e3207. doi: 10.58922/transportes.v34.e3207.

Issue

Vol. 34 (2026)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Iran Gonçalves Vieira Neto, Antônio Claudio Dutra Batista, Nelson de Oliveira Quesado Filho, Francisco Moraes de Oliveira Neto

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Last update: 11/27/2025