With　increased　urbanization,　the　rapid　growth　in　the　travel　demand　of　rural　residents　has　put　enormous　pressure　on　public　transit　systems.　The　above-average　running　length　costs　long　turnover　time　inevitably.　Sometimes　the　ridership　fluctuates　with　high　opportunity　cost　in　the　urban　segment.　The　ridership　and　bus　arrival　time　(BAT)　from　smart　card　data　(SCD)　are　introduced　to　analyze　the　travel　demand　and　the　bus　operation　conditions.　Semi-buspool　scheduling　is　proposed　to　improve　the　flexibility　and　the　utility　of　the　intercity　bus　operation.　The　pooling　is　operated　at　a　key　station,　where　the　first　bus　runs　along　the　initial　route　to　the　terminal　in　the　central　city　with　the　pooling　passengers,　whereas　the　following　bus　turns　back　as　the　zone　bus　route.　The　optimization　object　of　this　scheduling　is　to　maximize　the　ridership　and　minimize　the　transit　opportunity　cost,　in　terms　of　the　benefit.　The　restrictions　address　both　the　operation　resource　and　the　service　level　for　the　passengers,　including　the　waiting　time　and　the　load　factor.　An　intercity　bus　line　of　38　kilometers　in　Beijing　is　taken　as　the　case　study,　with　2,718　OD　pairs　of　SCD　at　the　morning　peak.　Under　the　novel　bus-pooling　schedule,　the　operation　efficiency　is　optimized　as　the　transit　ridership　can　increase　by　20.0%　with　notably　opportunity　cost　decrease.　©　2019　IEEE.