Continuous Approximation Model for a Demand Responsive Feeder Service with Meeting Points

This paper adopts the empirical modelling approach to derive a Continuous Approximation (CA) model for the total vehicle kilometers of a demand responsive feeder service (DRFS) with meeting points (MPs). Meeting-point-based approaches are receiving increasing interest as a means of improving the efficiency of DRT provision. However, MPs introduce additional complexity since the number of pick-up locations is no longer equal to the number of passengers. We propose a functional form for this CA model and fit it to data from a full a DRFS simulation, covering a wide range of scenarios. We show that the resulting CA accurately captures the key characteristics of the system, offering a practical tool for optimizing meeting-point-based DRFS systems.