Leetcode #1396: Design Underground System
In this guide, we solve Leetcode #1396 Design Underground System in Python and focus on the core idea that makes the solution efficient.
You will see the intuition, the step-by-step method, and a clean Python implementation you can use in interviews.
Problem Statement
An underground railway system is keeping track of customer travel times between different stations. They are using this data to calculate the average time it takes to travel from one station to another.
Quick Facts
- Difficulty: Medium
- Premium: No
- Tags: Design, Hash Table, String
Intuition
Fast membership checks and value lookups are the heart of this problem, which makes a hash map the natural choice.
By storing what we have already seen (or counts/indexes), we can answer the question in one pass without backtracking.
Approach
Scan the input once, using the map to detect when the condition is satisfied and to update state as you go.
This keeps the solution linear while remaining easy to explain in an interview setting.
Steps:
- Initialize a hash map for seen items or counts.
- Iterate through the input, querying/updating the map.
- Return the first valid result or the final computed value.
Example
Input
["UndergroundSystem","checkIn","checkIn","checkIn","checkOut","checkOut","checkOut","getAverageTime","getAverageTime","checkIn","getAverageTime","checkOut","getAverageTime"]
[[],[45,"Leyton",3],[32,"Paradise",8],[27,"Leyton",10],[45,"Waterloo",15],[27,"Waterloo",20],[32,"Cambridge",22],["Paradise","Cambridge"],["Leyton","Waterloo"],[10,"Leyton",24],["Leyton","Waterloo"],[10,"Waterloo",38],["Leyton","Waterloo"]]
Output
[null,null,null,null,null,null,null,14.00000,11.00000,null,11.00000,null,12.00000]
Explanation
UndergroundSystem undergroundSystem = new UndergroundSystem();
undergroundSystem.checkIn(45, "Leyton", 3);
undergroundSystem.checkIn(32, "Paradise", 8);
undergroundSystem.checkIn(27, "Leyton", 10);
undergroundSystem.checkOut(45, "Waterloo", 15); // Customer 45 "Leyton" -> "Waterloo" in 15-3 = 12
undergroundSystem.checkOut(27, "Waterloo", 20); // Customer 27 "Leyton" -> "Waterloo" in 20-10 = 10
undergroundSystem.checkOut(32, "Cambridge", 22); // Customer 32 "Paradise" -> "Cambridge" in 22-8 = 14
undergroundSystem.getAverageTime("Paradise", "Cambridge"); // return 14.00000. One trip "Paradise" -> "Cambridge", (14) / 1 = 14
undergroundSystem.getAverageTime("Leyton", "Waterloo"); // return 11.00000. Two trips "Leyton" -> "Waterloo", (10 + 12) / 2 = 11
undergroundSystem.checkIn(10, "Leyton", 24);
undergroundSystem.getAverageTime("Leyton", "Waterloo"); // return 11.00000
undergroundSystem.checkOut(10, "Waterloo", 38); // Customer 10 "Leyton" -> "Waterloo" in 38-24 = 14
undergroundSystem.getAverageTime("Leyton", "Waterloo"); // return 12.00000. Three trips "Leyton" -> "Waterloo", (10 + 12 + 14) / 3 = 12
Python Solution
class UndergroundSystem:
def __init__(self):
self.ts = {}
self.d = {}
def checkIn(self, id: int, stationName: str, t: int) -> None:
self.ts[id] = (t, stationName)
def checkOut(self, id: int, stationName: str, t: int) -> None:
t0, station = self.ts[id]
x = self.d.get((station, stationName), (0, 0))
self.d[(station, stationName)] = (x[0] + t - t0, x[1] + 1)
def getAverageTime(self, startStation: str, endStation: str) -> float:
x = self.d[(startStation, endStation)]
return x[0] / x[1]
# Your UndergroundSystem object will be instantiated and called as such:
# obj = UndergroundSystem()
# obj.checkIn(id,stationName,t)
# obj.checkOut(id,stationName,t)
# param_3 = obj.getAverageTime(startStation,endStation)
Complexity
The time complexity is , and the space complexity is . The space complexity is .
Edge Cases and Pitfalls
Watch for boundary values, empty inputs, and duplicate values where applicable. If the problem involves ordering or constraints, confirm the invariant is preserved at every step.
Summary
This Python solution focuses on the essential structure of the problem and keeps the implementation interview-friendly while meeting the constraints.