Robustness Assessment of Public Transport Networks in Various Graph Representations: Systematic Review, Decision Support, and Case Study

The analysis of certain properties of the underlying graph of a public transport network generates insights about the network's structure. Hereby, the choice of the graph representation depends on a trade-off between complexity reduction and information preservation to adequately model a public transport network. The structure of the graph determines the robustness of the network and how resilient it is to disturbances like the breakdowns of stations. In this article, local and global properties of a graph are examined, which can be utilized as robustness indicators for long-term infrastructure planning, as well as the interplay with the choice of the graph representation, data availability, and assessment method. Furthermore, decision support is provided to guide the evaluation of the robustness of real-world public transport networks from multiple perspectives using open data sources. These concepts are illustrated in a case study for the rapid transit and subway system in Hamburg, Germany.