Capacity models on expressway near a bus bay stop with an access

Abstract

To determinate the expressway capacity near a bus bay stop with an access, capacity models on the expressway near a bus stop with an access were developed on the basis of gap acceptance theory and queuing theory. Depending on a bus stop position to an entrance or an exit ramp, the capacity models were developed for four cases. Bus bay stops with overflow and bus bay stops without overflow were considered. A comparison of simulation experiment and model calculation was carried out. Results show that the suggested models have high accuracy and reliability, at bus arrival rate below 60 vehicles per hour (veh/h) or vehicle volumes at the entrance and the exit below 200 passenger cars units per hour (pcu/h), and there are no significant difference in the capacities for four cases. When bus arrival rate is above 240 veh/h, the capacities of all four cases will decline rapidly. With berth number increasing, the increasing of the capacities is no obvious for four cases. As the bus arrival rate and vehicle volumes at the entrance and the exit increase, bus stops located downstream of an entrance and upstream of an exit have a remarkably effect on the capacities. The latter case is much heavier than the former. Those results can be used to traffic design and optimization on urban expressway near a bus stop with an access.