A mobile application for real-time multimodal routing under a set of users' preferences

In this article an application for mobile navigation is introduced with the intention to serve users who either do not have access to a private vehicle or prefer combining a vehicle with a public transport mode provided that it yields a reduction to their total travel time. This application guides users to their destination by integrating the use of private and public transport and differs from in-vehicle route guidance systems that suggest routes only for private vehicle users, and from other conventional mobile route guidance systems that propose either a route for public transport users or a route for private vehicle users. In addition, the proposed application suggests intermodal routes that comply with each individual's preferences in an attempt to fulfill the user's needs in complex, urban networks. The data requirements for the mobile application are covered by a real-time database that is handled by a central server (processor) and contains information about traffic congestion, train and bus schedules, and more. Finally, two algorithms are presented in order to serve the computational part of the application and determine optimal paths in intermodal networks with respect to a predetermined set of users' preferences. The data requirements, the structure and the architecture of the application, the required technologies, the underpinning mathematical context of the proposed algorithms, and the performance of this application in random networks are also presented.