Statistical Analysis of Bus Networks in India

PLoS One. 2016 Dec 19;11(12):e0168478. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168478. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

In this paper, we model the bus networks of six major Indian cities as graphs in L-space, and evaluate their various statistical properties. While airline and railway networks have been extensively studied, a comprehensive study on the structure and growth of bus networks is lacking. In India, where bus transport plays an important role in day-to-day commutation, it is of significant interest to analyze its topological structure and answer basic questions on its evolution, growth, robustness and resiliency. Although the common feature of small-world property is observed, our analysis reveals a wide spectrum of network topologies arising due to significant variation in the degree-distribution patterns in the networks. We also observe that these networks although, robust and resilient to random attacks are particularly degree-sensitive. Unlike real-world networks, such as Internet, WWW and airline, that are virtual, bus networks are physically constrained. Our findings therefore, throw light on the evolution of such geographically and constrained networks that will help us in designing more efficient bus networks in the future.

MeSH terms

  • Automobiles*
  • Humans
  • India
  • Models, Theoretical*

Grants and funding

The authors acknowledge the support from Center of Excellence in Urban Transport at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, sponsored by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India and the Information Technology Research Academy, a Division of Media Labs Asia, a non-profit organization of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, funded by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.