Method and apparatus for automated service schedule derivation and updating

An apparatus for deriving an estimated time of arrival of a bus for a particular bus stop based on arrival times received from reports of location data, the apparatus comprising at least one communications interface, at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

• receive location data, the location data received over a network via the communications interface, wherein the location data (a) comprises a plurality of Global Positioning System (GPS) location points and associated temporal data and (b) is captured by one or more localization devices, each localization device onboard a bus;
• aggregate the location data by route and direction to determine a trip count, the trip count being a number of trips along a route in a direction in a time period;
• identify a subset of the location data that is associated with a particular bus stop location, wherein an instance of location data that is associated with a particular bus stop is within a threshold distance of the particular bus stop location;
• partition the temporal data associated with the subset of the location data associated with the particular bus stop location into one of a plurality of clusters, the number of clusters being equal to the trip count for the particular bus stop location,
• calculate an arrival time for each cluster based on each instance of associated temporal data assigned to the associated cluster;
• generate at least one service schedule for the particular bus stop, wherein the service schedule is comprised of the particular bus stop location and a plurality of bus arrival times, the bus arrival times being the arrival times for each associated cluster in the time period;
• determine, based on the location data and the at least one service schedule, an estimated time of arrival of a bus at the particular bus stop location;
• and
• provide, via the at least one communications interface and an application program interface, the estimated time of arrival of the bus at the particular bus stop to a computing device.

A computer program product for deriving an estimated time of arrival of a bus for a particular bus stop based on arrival times received from reports of location data, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein with the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions configured to:

• cause reception of location data, wherein the location data (a) comprises a plurality of Global Positioning System (GPS) location points and associated temporal data and (b) is captured by one or more localization devices, each localization device onboard a bus;
• aggregate the location data by route and direction to determine a trip count, the trip count being a number of trips along a route in a direction in a time period;
• identify a subset of the location data that is associated with a particular bus stop location, wherein an instance of location data that is associated with a particular bus stop is within a threshold distance of the particular bus stop location;
• partition the temporal data associated with the subset of the location data associated with the particular bus stop location into one of a plurality of clusters, the number of clusters being equal to the trip count for the particular bus stop location,
• calculate an arrival time for each cluster based on each instance of associated temporal data assigned to the associated cluster;
• generate at least one service schedule for the particular bus stop, wherein the service schedule is comprised of the particular bus stop location and a plurality of bus arrival times, the bus arrival times being the arrival times for each associated cluster in the time period;
• determine, based on the location data and the at least one service schedule, an estimated time of arrival of a bus at the particular bus stop location;
• and
• provide, via the at least one communications interface and an application program interface, the estimated time of arrival of the bus at the particular bus stop to a computing device.