Spatial Policy Model

What this model does

This model simulates a rural landscape with village communities, outlying homes, and local secondary schools. It maps exactly how pupils get from their homes to school and groups them into transport options (buses, minibuses, or taxis) based on different policies.

The key question it answers: Does splitting up school routes make transport more messy and more expensive?

Catchment Area Policy

Historically, school transport has been based on Catchment Areas (local school boundaries). Under this rule, all children living in the same village or community are assigned to the same local secondary school.

Because students in a village travel to the same school, they can be pooled into shared, high-capacity buses, which generally represents a cost-efficient use of vehicles.

Nearest School Policy

Under this policy, eligibility for free transport is determined strictly by the closest school to a child's household.

Since households within a single village are geographically distributed, the closest school can vary between properties, causing students from the same community to be assigned to different schools.

Impact on Transport Capacity and Routing

When student cohorts are divided across multiple destinations:

• Bus route viability decreases: High-capacity school buses may become unviable if the number of eligible students assigned to a specific school drops below a cost-effective threshold.
• Smaller vehicle contracts increase: The system may require multiple smaller vehicles, such as minibuses or taxis, to service the fragmented routes.
• Increased travel distance: Vehicles must perform multiple separate runs down rural roads to pick up isolated students, leading to higher overall mileage and operational costs.

How to test the model yourself

The simulator maps a virtual rural area and calculates exactly how many buses, minibuses, and taxis are needed under both rules.

• Use the controls to adjust school capacities, village sizing, and taxi rates.
• Toggle between Catchment Policy and Nearest School Policy to see the immediate change in routes and vehicles.
• Run a Bulk Simulation (Batch Run): Instead of testing just one map, you can run up to 1,000 randomized maps in a single click. The simulator will compile the results of hundreds of runs to show you the overall win/loss percentages, average costs, and savings margins across a wide variety of rural scenarios.