The intended way to create a line?

[teebodk]

I was wondering how the developers intended line creation to work. Is it:
a) create a line (variant) for each direction, so one from a to z and one from z to a
or
b) create a single line consisting both of the trip from a to z and then back to a

If using option b) then the first trip of each day from z to a will leave quite late since the bus first have to drive all the way from a , so if a to z takes 60 min and the first one starts at 5 am, then the first trip z to a can't start any earlier than 6 am.

I have a feeling, that using method a) will somehow require more buses, but it would also be asier to adjust the frequencies in each direction to fit the varying flow of passengers throughout the day. Morning rush hour should see a lot of people going from suburbs to city, and afternoon rush hour the opposite.


The obvious answer to my question would probaly be, that there's no right or wrong way, so that's not what I'll ask, instead I'll simply inquire: how did the programmers, playtesters and idea-developers do it?

[ShinSH]

Personally I'm doing the option B, but you need to be careful with stop placement, as if you pick the same stop on the way back, the bus will need to reach the wrong side of the road hence doing an U turn and wasting time. Usually I just create the stops opposite of the initial stop (the snap function doesn't make it easy) and my busses run fine

[shawa]

Originally posted by ShinSH:

Personally I'm doing the option B, but you need to be careful with stop placement, as if you pick the same stop on the way back, the bus will need to reach the wrong side of the road hence doing an U turn and wasting time. Usually I just create the stops opposite of the initial stop (the snap function doesn't make it easy) and my busses run fine

I had this problem at first, but I found out that you can place stops right on the street line without any problem. So, that's what i've been doing. No need to precisely place two stops on the side of a road, when 1 in the middle works.

[teebodk]

Yeah, but having 2 stops in busy areas is probably better since you get full waiting capacity in each direction. Also it's easier to see at a quick glance where bottle necks may exist.

[shawa]

Originally posted by teebodk:

Yeah, but having 2 stops in busy areas is probably better since you get full waiting capacity in each direction. Also it's easier to see at a quick glance where bottle necks may exist.

I have seen no evidence of stops having a capacity maximum.

[Charlie Fox]

There definitely isn't a waiting capacity, as one of my stops regularly ends up with well over 1,000 passengers waiting (the one in the city centre which all my lines stop at).

[teebodk]

Ok, good to know. I just thought they had a max capacity due to colour coding from green to red and the surrounding "bar" filling up.

[Charlie Fox]

I wouldn't say that having 1,000 people at a stop is a good thing! Certainly, it means that bus will always be overcrowded

[Charlie Fox]

So is the general consensus, that we need to essentially create a loop? Starting and finishing on the same stop?

Ideally we should have our routes overlap by sharing bus stops so that people can get from one line to another? Or do the AI not do this?

Also, do all our stops need to be at or near a POI, or do residential and industrial zones also generate passengers and demand do we know?

[André]

Originally posted by Charlie Fox:

So is the general consensus, that we need to essentially create a loop? Starting and finishing on the same stop?

Ideally we should have our routes overlap by sharing bus stops so that people can get from one line to another? Or do the AI not do this?

Also, do all our stops need to be at or near a POI, or do residential and industrial zones also generate passengers and demand do we know?

Hi, there is no general consensus, you can play like you want.

They may be "a best way" when you just want to make the biggste profit, but this is more like a personal choice.

[Lord_TCG]

I've only just started playing the game now, sorry to jump onto an old discussion, but this topic is exactly what I'm thinking about. I feel like the game is forcing me to make A-Z-A routes but locally we have A-Z & Z-A. However, in game I believe an A-Z driver will just drive empty back to A once he reaches Z. So I'm then forced to make A-Z-A & Z-A-Z routes to stay optimal 🤔

Unless I'm missing something?

[󠀡󠀡]

PeDePe. Ahhhhh, put money back in my pocket. No thanks.

[JayBee1971]

Originally posted by Lord_TCG:

I've only just started playing the game now, sorry to jump onto an old discussion, but this topic is exactly what I'm thinking about. I feel like the game is forcing me to make A-Z-A routes but locally we have A-Z & Z-A. However, in game I believe an A-Z driver will just drive empty back to A once he reaches Z. So I'm then forced to make A-Z-A & Z-A-Z routes to stay optimal 🤔

Unless I'm missing something?

I even think (assume) that the bus going from Z back to A will carry passengers who needs to go all the way to A or maybe even the first couple of stops after A on the route back to Z. As that is the route of the bus A-B-C-...-Z-A-B-C...-Z, etc.
So, I do not think it would make sense to do it like that.

Instead, there is a guide out here explaining how you can create two time schedules on the A-Z-A route with starting time for each route. Maybe that solves the issue?
The guide can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2990935862
EDIT: Removed brackets so the link should work now.

Tough I do really wonder what the bus is doing when it arrives at point Z. Will it take the next scheduled time back starting at Z going back to A or will it go back directly to A or even to the depot?
I have not tested this out.

[JayBee1971]

I have done some limited testing.

Two routes, one A-Z and one Z-A, without a route back when asked for, will be a waste of time. The bus will start at A, go to Z and then straight back to A. The other will do the same in opposite direction. The waste is in the bus driving empty back to their starting point.

The method as described in the guide works perfect.
Based on the split schedule buses will start on either side of the route. When they arrive at the other side of the route, they will wait till the next scheduled time will take them back.

[Damo]

Originally posted by JayBee1971:

I have done some limited testing.

Two routes, one A-Z and one Z-A, without a route back when asked for, will be a waste of time. The bus will start at A, go to Z and then straight back to A. The other will do the same in opposite direction. The waste is in the bus driving empty back to their starting point.

The method as described in the guide works perfect.
Based on the split schedule buses will start on either side of the route. When they arrive at the other side of the route, they will wait till the next scheduled time will take them back.

Not always. Most of the time it works for me, A to Z will form Z to A. But for some routes I have had the issue you describe. It depends on the schedules as well.

[kinez777]

Originally posted by JayBee1971:

Originally posted by Lord_TCG:

I've only just started playing the game now, sorry to jump onto an old discussion, but this topic is exactly what I'm thinking about. I feel like the game is forcing me to make A-Z-A routes but locally we have A-Z & Z-A. However, in game I believe an A-Z driver will just drive empty back to A once he reaches Z. So I'm then forced to make A-Z-A & Z-A-Z routes to stay optimal 🤔

Unless I'm missing something?

I even think (assume) that the bus going from Z back to A will carry passengers who needs to go all the way to A or maybe even the first couple of stops after A on the route back to Z. As that is the route of the bus A-B-C-...-Z-A-B-C...-Z, etc.
So, I do not think it would make sense to do it like that.

Instead, there is a guide out here explaining how you can create two time schedules on the A-Z-A route with starting time for each route. Maybe that solves the issue?
The guide can be found here: (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2990935862)

Tough I do really wonder what the bus is doing when it arrives at point Z. Will it take the next scheduled time back starting at Z going back to A or will it go back directly to A or even to the depot?
I have not tested this out.

Why is link blocked?