Demand-Responsive Transport for Students in Rural Areas: A Case Study in Vulkaneifel, Germany

In rural areas with low population density, demand-responsive transport (DRT) is considered a promising alternative to conventional public transport (PT). With a fleet of smaller vehicles, DRT provides a much more flexible and convenient service. This characteristic makes DRT also a potential mode of transport to serve students in rural areas. If DRT vehicles are used to serve students, then the funding for conventional school buses (or adapted public transport schedules) can be reinvested in the DRT system. This may help to relieve the financial burden experienced by DRT operators and enable the operation of a large-scale DRT service in rural areas. In this study, a demand model for school commutes based on real-world, open-source data for Landkreis Vulkaneifel, a rural region in Germany, is built. Then a feasibility study is carried out using an agent-based transport simulation framework. In the feasibility study, various setups and operational schemes are explored, which are followed by a systematic cost analysis. Based on a conservative estimation, an annual budget of around 1600 Euro per student will be needed to maintain and operate a fleet of DRT vehicles that can transport all the students in the region from home to school on time in the morning. During the remaining time of the day and on school holidays, the vehicles can be used for conventional DRT service for the public.