Understanding coupling dynamics of public transportation networks

Subway and bus networks work as an integrated multiplex transportation system and play an indispensable role in modern big cities. Even though a variety of works have investigated the coupling dynamics of multiplex transportation networks, empirical data that validates the determinant coupling factors are still lacking. In this paper, we employ smartcard data of 2.4 million subway and bus passengers in Shenzhen, China to study the coupling dynamics of subway and bus networks. Surprisingly, the coupling of subway and bus networks is not notably influenced by the time-varying speed ratio of the two network layers but is jointly determined by the distribution of travel demands and transportation facilities. Our findings highlight the important role of real travel demand data in analyzing the coupling dynamics of multiplex transportation networks. They also suggest that the speed ratio of different network layers, which was regarded as a key factor in determining coupling strength, has a negligible effect on travelers’ route selections, and thus the coupling dynamics of multiplex transportation networks.