Quality management of intermodal public transport services: diagnosis and optimization

The project combines diagnosis and optimization methods to improve the quality of intermodal services in urban public transport. This system will support decisionmaking of mobility operators and authorities, in planning, monitoring and optimizing intermodal operations and in the definition of urban policies. Positive impacts are expected, with an increase of public transport utilization, and a reduction of energy costs and pollutant emissions. Research will be based on a participative process and on large amounts of data obtained from transport operators and urban contexts. The project is structured around three main components: (i) visualization (multimedia) and knowledge extraction (data-mining and machine-learning) methods that allow an easy and efficient identification of patterns affecting the quality of services; (ii) optimization (meta-heuristics) techniques to improve the quality levels of these services; and (iii) information system that support decision making.