{"ID":3083712,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-05T06:46:15.197025399Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-07T03:54:17.966829144Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.06189","arxiv_id":"2606.06189","title":"A Swarm Approach to Public Transit Using On-demand Routing in a Slime-Mold-Inspired Framework","abstract":"Demand-responsive transit (DRT) is a flexible alternative to traditional, fixed-route mass-transit networks. Although DRT can function well in low-density communities, high operating costs and low reliability are common issues. We propose that these issues can be mitigated by moving from a centralized, manually-scheduled scheme to a distributed system capable of dynamically routing multiple vehicles using a slime-mold-inspired routing algorithm to maximize network effectiveness. We additionally introduce the method of dynamic transfers to further optimize transit network efficiency. All passenger allocation and dynamic transfers are handled via a continual cooperative bidding process by the buses. In this paper, we present simulated results for a swarm-driven transit network in suburban, urban, and semi-rural scenarios, using map networks pulled from OpenStreetMap. We show that our approach increases passenger delivery rates relative to a fixed-network approach by 28%, 49%, and 101%, respectively, and results in over 75% reduction in walking time in all cases.","short_abstract":"Demand-responsive transit (DRT) is a flexible alternative to traditional, fixed-route mass-transit networks. Although DRT can function well in low-density communities, high operating costs and low reliability are common issues. We propose that these issues can be mitigated by moving from a centralized, manually-schedul...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.06189","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.06189v1","authors":"[\"Lindsay Burke\",\"Maxfield Comstock\",\"Jason Graham\",\"Ruth Malenda\",\"Simon Garnier\",\"Petras Swissler\"]","published":"2026-06-04T13:59:24Z","proceeding":"cs.MA","tasks":"[\"cs.MA\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}