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PILOT: Thessaloniki (EL); USE CASE: Re-design of the interconnection between bus and metro nodes

CONTEXT AND
CHARACTERITICS OF PILOT

A new metro line will soon be introduced to the public transport network of the city of Thessaloniki. This fact entails significant implications for the existing public transport system which exclusively offers transportation services via public buses along fixed routes. The introduction of the metro line provides the opportunity for redesigning existing bus lines to function as feeder services to the latter metro system. 

Therefore, the city needs alternative scenarios encompassing redesigned bus lines, relocated bus stops, and coordinated timetables to enable integration between the two systems and promote multimodality and sustainability in the city of Thessaloniki. With this pilot, the city expects to: improve connectivity and accessibility, increase efficiency and reliability, reduced car dependency, cost savings, environmental and health benefits, enhanced user experience, social equity, traffic congestion reduction, etc.

Scope (What will be analysed/assessed/evaluated by MITHOS? What is ultimately expected to be obtained?)

CERTH will execute macroscopic traffic simulation model to estimate trip distribution, mode choice, and traffic assignment per alternative scenario regarding the design of bus line in the city. Additionally, the estimated demand per mode (Origin-Destination Matrix per mode) from the macroscopic analysis will be input to a microscopic traffic simulation model developed in SUMO that includes both the metro system and the urban arterial corridor that runs parallel to the metro line. All these data of speed profiles and traffic volume will be processed by FDM. Then, COPERT will estimate emission and energy consumption curves depending on the traffic situation (congested/non-congested) for the city. These emission and energy functions will be integrated into the DSS to evaluate alternative scenarios with regard energy consumption, GHG and air pollutant emissions. The best solution provided by MITHOS will be determined and compared against the baseline. Thus, DSS module will generate the optimal redesign of bus stops that will not only ameliorate congestion but concurrently promote sustainable system operation, considering the interconnection with other sustainable transport modes.

Data / tools needed

Traffic count data from local TMC, FCD from taxi fleet and Bluetooth sensors, travel demand data from Thessaloniki’s SUMP, passenger demand, timetables, vehicle capacities, performance metrics of buses, traffic volumes, speeds, travel times, queues, distribution of fleet types, statistical data.

MITHOS validation in use case

  1. KPI Efficiency: time lost per vehicle per km. Baseline: Average speed per link (VISUM) and per vehicle (SUMO). Target: 30% reduction with new metro line and redesign of bus lines by 2030
  2. KPI operating costs: transport operation costs. Baseline: Annual operation cost with current public transport system. Target: 20% reduction due to redesign of bus lines by 2030
  3. KPI fossil fuel consumption. Baseline: Annual fuel consumption of current public system. Target: 20% reduction in fossil fuel consumption by 2030
  4. KPI infrastructure failure probability. N/A
  5. KPI emissions. All regulated pollutants, i.e. NOx, NO, VOCs, NMVOCs, NH3, CO, exhaust & non-exhaust (from brake, tyre and road wear) PM and GHG. Baseline: Emissions of current public system considering that the share of new registrations of electrically chargeable urban buses have been increased from 2% in 2023 to 52% in the first quarter of 2024 in Greece23. Target: 30% reduction by 2030
  6. KPI nº of accidents. N/A.

Stakeholders and end users involved in the use case

THETA will provide operation data of public transport (bus lines/stops/schedules) in Thessaloniki and will support the implementation of MITHOS in the city. Also, they will involve public transport users through local workshops.