LSTM Forecasting and K-Means Clustering for Passenger Mobility Management at Bus Terminals

Rapid urban population growth has increased the need for efficient public transportation systems, particularly at bus terminals as major mobility hubs. To address operational challenges such as traffic congestion and limited infrastructure, this study proposes an innovative data-driven approach. A hybrid model is applied, integrating Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) for passenger volume forecasting and K-Means Clustering for mobility pattern segmentation at the Jepara Bus Terminal. Monthly passenger data was utilized, and the K-Means method was applied to group monthly mobility patterns into three categories: low, medium, and high. The optimal cluster selection (k=3) was based on the highest Silhouette score of 0.785, providing clear seasonal insights. Analysis results indicate that September is the peak mobility period, while months like January and February fall into the low category. Furthermore, an LSTM model was trained to predict future passenger volumes. The model's performance was carefully validated and proven accurate, with a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.0304 and a Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of 0.1745. These findings confirm that the model is reliable in capturing complex passenger movement patterns. Overall, this study concludes that the combination of LSTM and K-Means is an effective solution for supporting proactive decision-making. The results of this study can assist terminal managers in optimizing resource allocation and formulating more adaptive operational strategies, thereby contributing to the development of a more responsive and efficient intelligent transportation system.