Traffic Flow Simulation in a Scenario with Signalized Intersection and Bus Stop

Abstract

In the real road traffic system, local congestion always occurs near the intersections or bus stops, which have become the main bottlenecks of urban traffic development. Considering the scenario with signalized intersection and a near-by bus stop, this paper investigates the lane-changing and dwelling behaviors in a two-lane mixed traffic and conducted the simulation using a cellular automaton model under open boundary condition. Simulation results show that for different proportions of bus flow over the whole flow, a critical probability sending vehicles into the system exists and represents the decreasing trend with respect to the bus flow proportion. Within the critical value, traffic is always the free flow and the flow increases with the probability; whereas, beyond the critical value, the traffic will be saturated. The paper proposes that during rush hours, the queuing upstream the intersection can stretch to the bus stop and then disturb the normal dwelling operation of buses. Therefore, it is necessary to reasonably design the position of signalized intersection and the corresponding cycle time.