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Title: A Note on Walking Versus Waiting
Authors: Anthony B. Morton
Categories: math.HO History and Overview (math.OC Optimization and Control)
Comments: 5 pages
MSC: 00A08; 97A20
Abstract: This mathematical recreation extends the analysis of a recent paper, asking
when a traveller at a bus stop and not knowing the time of the next bus is best
advised to wait or to start walking toward the destination. A detailed analysis
and solution is provided for a very general class of probability distributions
of bus arrival time, and the solution characterised in terms of a function
analogous to the hazard rate in reliability theory. The note also considers the
question of intermediate stops. It is found that the optimal strategy is not
always the laziest, even when headways are not excessively long. For the common
special case where one knows the (uniform) headway but not the exact timetable,
it is shown that one should wait if the headway is less than the walking time
(less bus travel time), and walk if the headway is more than twice this much.
In between it may be better to wait or to walk, depending on one's confidence
in being able to catch up to a passing bus.
Owner: Anthony Morton
Version 1: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:01:03 GMT