Bus Lanes Research Articles

Urban factors influencing the vehicle speed of public transport

A smart and sustainable city views public transport as a policy priority. Tools to support decision-making of municipalities and bus operators are needed. Most of past studies focused on the effect of a single variable on bus travel time, being the most common studied variables the presence of bus lane and traffic signals at intersections. The analysis of the joint impact of several variables are promising, particularly using data that is commonly available to the bus operators. In this view, the present study applied a generalized linear model using bus speed as dependent variable to assess the effects of factors related to time and urban space. Data from four bus lines in the city of Porto operated by STCP (main bus operator) was considered, showing that all the analysed variables have impact on speed. The study findings confirm the relevance of bus lanes and traffic signals as spatial priority schemes. Future developments can be considering to include more variables in the model. Overall, the present study leads to relevant conclusions that can support the decisions of transit agencies and public transport operators. Additionally, the speeds obtained by the model can be used for calibrating simulation models.

Progression Control Model to Enhance Performance of Transit Signal Priority

Transit signal priority (TSP) plays an essential role in reducing traffic jams in a multimodal road traffic environment. Traffic experts expect that the demand for cars will be transferred to buses as the bus-service quality improves. This study proposes a multimodal environment TSP model with dedicated median bus lanes to simultaneously increase bus travel speed at signalized intersections and reduce car delay times. The proposed TSP model includes three optimization stages. The TSP is first optimized using a MAXBAND-based bandwidth model after a partitioned TSP control group is defined relative to a median bus stop to support non-stop bus movement. The optimal combination between these groups is selected using the delay-difference-of-offset technique. A kinematic wave-based offset optimization model is proposed to reduce the car delay time. We analyze the performance of this model in improving two-way bus speeds and reducing the car delay time in Seoul’s bus rapid transit system. The proposed TSP model decreases the stop ratio of buses by analyzing the bus trajectory from the micro-simulation. This model can be used as a center-based control to improve the mobility of buses and cars in a multimodal environment.

Increasing the Capacity of Traffic Signals with Dedicated Bus Lane: A Traffic-State-Based Strategy and Queueing-Analytic Approach

Increasing the Capacity of Traffic Signals with Dedicated Bus Lane: A Traffic-State-Based Strategy and Queueing-Analytic Approach

Study on Intersection Safety of Nagoya Key Route Bus Lane Based on Behavior Analyses

Study on Intersection Safety of Nagoya Key Route Bus Lane Based on Behavior Analyses

Integrated Performance Measures for Bus Rapid Transit System and Traffic Signal Systems Using Trajectory Data

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have been implemented in many cities over the past two decades. Widespread adoption of General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), the deployment of high-fidelity bus GPS data tracking, and anonymized high-fidelity connected vehicle data from private vehicles have provided new opportunities for performance measures that can be used by both transit agencies and traffic signal system operators. This paper describes the use of trajectory-based data to develop performance measures for a BRT system in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over 3 million data records during the 3-month period between March and May 2022 are analyzed to develop visualizations and performance metrics. A methodology to estimate the average delay and schedule adherence is presented along a route comprised of 74 signals and 28 bus stations. Additionally, this research demonstrates how these performance measures can be used to evaluate dedicated and non-dedicated bus lanes with general traffic. Travel times and reliability of buses are compared with nearly 30 million private vehicle trips. Results show that median travel time for buses on dedicated bi-directional lanes is within one minute of general traffic and during peak periods the buses are often faster. Schedule adherence was observed to be more challenging, with approximately 3% of buses arriving within 1 minute on average during the 5AM hour and 5% of buses arriving 6 - 9 minutes late during the 5PM hour. The framework and performance measures presented in this research provide agencies and transportation professionals with tools to identify opportunities for adjustments and to justify investment decisions.

Evaluation of atmospheric NO2 levels in public transport corridors

The objective of this work is to evaluate the operational plan for public transport in NO2 concentration levels. Poor air quality affects the environment, the health of the population and the economy, which requires special attention to the issue. The transport sector is the one that most impacts on air quality in urban centres, with emphasis on heavy vehicles, which represent the majority of the public transport fleet. There are several alternatives used to improve this system, such as exclusive bus lanes, often seeking gains in operational aspects, without considering the environmental impact of the system. Thus, in this study, transport corridors were evaluated in the city of Fortaleza-CE, through the association of passive NO2 sampling and the selection of road pairs with similar physical and operational characteristics, in order to enable comparative analysis. Sampling was carried out over a year of observations, seeking to verify the influence of traffic conditions, as well as meteorological conditions. The results obtained show that on roads with an exclusive lane for public transport, there is a positive influence on NO2 concentration.

Traffic Congestion and Efficient Ways to Deal with It in Tbilisi, Georgia

Traffic Congestion has become a new version of plague for urbanized areas. Massive breakthroughs in technology, increasing in production of motorized cars, global reduction in prices for automobiles and the rapid population growth in Tbilisi, Georgia has led to the urgence of complete rearrangement of transportation system in the city.
 As a post-Soviet Union country, Georgia has had rudiments like “Marshrutkas” (privately owned minibuses) as a primary mode of transportation. Serious research and actions started in 2019 when sustainable urban mobility plan was introduced in Tbilisi; which favors public transport and pedestrians. In the course of this project one of the main avenues was converted into complete street model and hourly parking was introduced in the city centers. However, the problem regarding traffic jams still stands. This paper contributes to analyzing current situation in Tbilisi and suggesting suitable solutions. It will cover how reversible lanes, road pricing, signalized Intersections, reserved bus lanes and parking can be adapted to Tbilisi in order to reduce traffic jams.

Investigation of Control Method for Connected-Automated Vehicle to Multiplex Dedicated Bus Lane

Dedicated bus lanes (DBLs) have been widely utilized to ensure public transport priority. To improve overall road efficiency, various control methods of multiplexing DBL are developed and discussed. In this study, we focus on the control method which is based on the connected-automated vehicle (CAV) technology, and the proposed method is validated by using microscopic traffic simulation. The simulation results show that two proposed control methods of multiplexing DBL can reduce the average delay and the average number of stops and increase the travel speed. In comparison, the real-time control method based on the CAV technology offers better effects than the improved signal light control method.

Network of Dedicated Bus Lanes: A Solution to Increase the Accessibility of the Urban Intermodal Transport

Abstract The public transport system has an essential role in the sustainability of the urban environment. The accessibility is one of the critical functions for the increase of public transport efficiency. In this framework, the paper presents a methodology to enhance the accessibility of the public transport network. The methodology aims to design a network of dedicated bus lanes to operate in areas with low accessibility and improve the connections to metro and tram lines that provide rapid and high-capacity services.

Sustainable Mobility and the Smart City: A Vision of the City of the Future: The Case Study of Cracow (Poland)

The vision of the smart city is inextricably linked with the concepts of intelligent transport, sustainable mobility and managerial decision making. Cities of the future not only entail the use of new technology, but also increasingly the interpenetration of technological and social aspects, with the simultaneous involvement of urban space users in the creation of such technologies. This provides an opportunity to introduce desired changes and create a more balanced space with a higher quality of life and improved energy efficiency. The article discusses the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable mobility with a particular emphasis on issues related to the smart city. The authors reviewed the various smart city solutions that have been implemented in the field of urban transport in Cracow, whose authorities have taken steps over the last few years to make the city smarter and more modern. The aim of the research was to assess the contribution made by smart city solutions to improving the attractiveness and reliability of public transport in Poland’s second-largest city. The undoubted added value of this analysis is the application of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method to evaluate the implemented solutions. It should be pointed out that such an analysis constitutes a new approach in this area. Until now, these models have been used to assess consumer behavior. The results showed that some of the implemented intelligent solutions increase the attractiveness of public transport in Cracow, but this does not square with users’ assessment of reliability. According to users, ecological solutions have no impact on the attractiveness of public transport. Nor do conveniences such as bus lanes, giving priority to public transport vehicles at intersections, and adjusting traffic light regulation to traffic volume, have a positive impact on perceptions of public transport as a reliable means of getting around the city. The results may be of particular importance for the city’s authorities and other stakeholders engaged in strategic activities and the building of a city of the future.

Optimal control to improve reliability of demand responsive transport priority at signalized intersections considering the stochastic process

Bus priority has been proposed for many years to improve traffic congestion, energy conservation, and emissions reduction. Transit signal priority is a main measure of executing bus priority. Moreover, because the time that buses arrive at an intersection should be predicted quite precisely to make a signal control scheme in advance, bus lane is an important segment in transit priority at signalized intersections to avoid disturbances from other vehicles on the road. However, in practice, the bus route of demand responsive transport is widespread, which is not inappropriate to set bus lane for each bus route because of low frequency. Therefore, in this paper, a robust optimization control method is proposed to solve the bus priority problem at signalized intersections without exclusive bus lanes and improve reliability of demand responsive transport priority at signalized intersections. First, the bus delay probability density function is formulated to describe the interaction mechanism about the bus and other vehicles at the signalized intersection. Then, the accurate bus delay expectation and variance calculation mathematical models are formulated based on the bus delay probability density function. Furthermore, a robust optimal signal control method is proposed followed by the discussions of boundary conditions. Finally, simulation test and case study were conducted to illustrate the performance of the robust optimization control method proposed in this paper. The results show that the proposed control method could significantly improve bus delay compared to considering the bus operation process as stable.

Service-oriented distributionally robust lane reservation

Most existing lane reservation studies usually consider a static transportation network with assuming constant link travel times. However, in reality the link travel times are highly uncertain due to various factors such as weather, accidents, road maintenance, intersections, etc. Moreover, the precise link travel time probability distribution is usually difficult to be obtained. This paper studies a new stochastic bus lane reservation problem with partial link travel time information, i.e., only the mean and covariance matrix are known. The objective is to maximize the bus service level measured by the probability of the event that all lines are jointly scheduled on time. For the problem, we formulate a service-oriented distributionally robust optimization model. Its complexity is shown to be NP-hard. To solve the problem, a sample average approximation (SAA)-based method is first adapted. Since the SAA-based approach is computational expensive, a new approximated mixed integer second-order cone programming (MI-SOCP)-based approach is developed. Computational results on a real-life case show that the proposed MI-SOCP-based approach can efficiently obtain satisfactory solutions of high quality. Besides, our results indicate that the proposed model and algorithm can provide better solutions with higher service level, as compared with general stochastic models with known distributions and without considering service levels.

Ethical AI for Automated Bus Lane Enforcement

There is an explosion of camera surveillance in our cities today. As a result, the risks of privacy infringement and erosion are growing, as is the need for ethical solutions to minimise the risks. This research aims to frame the challenges and ethics of using data surveillance technologies in a qualitative social context. A use case is presented which examines the ethical data required to automatically enforce bus lanes using camera surveillance and proposes ways of minimising the risks of privacy infringement and erosion in that scenario. What we seek to illustrate is that there is a challenge in using technologies in positive, socially responsible ways. To do that, we have to better understand the use case and not just the present, but also the downstream risks, and the downstream ethical questions. There is a gap in the literature in this aspect as well as a gap in the actual thinking of researchers in terms of understanding and responding to it. A literature review and detailed risk analysis of automated bus lane enforcement is conducted. Based on this, an ethical design framework is proposed and applied to the use case. Several potential solutions are created and described. The final chosen solution may also be broadly applicable to other use cases. We show how it is possible to provide an ethical AI solution for detecting infringements that incorporates privacy-by-design principles, while being fair to potential transgressors. By introducing positive, pragmatic and adaptable methods to support and uphold privacy, we support access to innovation that can help us mitigate current emerging risks.

Improving the Service Quality of Public Transit with Exclusive Bus Lanes: A Perspective from Passenger Satisfaction

Exclusive bus lanes have been widely regarded as an effective way to promote bus priority and improve the service quality, while they have not attracted more passengers to travel by bus in China. Also, more attention is usually paid to the infrastructure and facilities of exclusive bus lanes, but not much attention is paid to the passenger satisfaction of public transit with them. Therefore, this paper studies how to improve the service quality of public transit with exclusive bus lanes from a perspective of passenger satisfaction. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was developed to investigate the mechanism of relationships between passenger satisfaction and the factors influencing the service quality of public transit with exclusive bus lanes. A total of 2087 respondents from Shanghai, China, participated in this study. Also, a comparison model of different groups using public transit including captive riders, choice riders, and captive by choice riders was established. Results show that passengers were dissatisfied with the current service of public transit with bus lanes, while they would prefer to take buses in the near future. In addition, travel environment, facilities, and convenience, rather than operational efficiency, had significant effects on passenger satisfaction. Through the comparison model, it was found that choice and captive by choice users might prefer public transit with bus lanes and captive users might be unable to bear the financial burden of private motorized travel. “Crowdedness in the buses on bus lanes during peak hours” especially for choice riders and “driving stability” especially for captive riders were the improvement direction for attracting more passengers to travel by bus. The results and the proposed policies of this study can benefit for the planning and operations of exclusive bus lanes in Shanghai and other similar cities around the world.

Analysis of Air Pollution Characteristics for Boarding Positions at Bus Stop of an Exclusive Bus Lane

Analysis of Air Pollution Characteristics for Boarding Positions at Bus Stop of an Exclusive Bus Lane

Analysis of incentive policies for electric vehicle adoptions after the abolishment of purchase subsidy policy

The purchase subsidy policy for electric vehicles (EVs) has considerably stimulated the purchase preferences of price-sensitive consumers and helped to increase the penetration rate of EVs in China. However, the purchase subsidy also brings increased financial burdens to governments; therefore, it is viewed as a short-term policy and will phase out. Considering the price sensitivity of different consumer categories, this paper aims to investigate the impact of several substitutional incentive policies to continue stimulating the adoption preference of EVs after the purchase subsidy phase-out. A latent class binary logit (LCBL) model is established to explore consumers’ EV adoption preferences in different price-sensitive categories. Four substitutional incentive policies, including mileage subsidy, congestion fee discount, parking fee discount, and bus lane driving permission, are proposed to cope with the abolishment of purchase subsidy. The results show that the incentive effect of the purchase subsidy policy on price-sensitive consumers is 1.6 times that of price-insensitive consumers. To avoid the reduction in EV adoption rate caused by the abolishment of purchase subsidy, mileage subsidy, parking fee discount, or congestion fee discount should be set at 0.93 CNY/km, 4.43 CNY/hour, or 16.09 CNY/time, respectively.

Speed planning for connected electric buses based on battery capacity loss

Connected battery electric buses (CBEBs) equipped with Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) have great potential for improving bus performance, through aspects such as energy saving and travel time reduction. For CBEBs, intelligent speed planning determines the energy consumption, which directly affects the charging or discharging of current to the battery and furthermore affects the battery degradation. This paper develops a speed planning model, aiming to minimize the total battery capacity loss of a battery electric bus by optimizing the bus speed of driving intervals and avoiding stopping delays at intersections along a bus line with a bus lane. Motor modeling, battery modeling, bus operation modeling, and constraints such as cruise time, arrival time, travel speed, acceleration and deceleration are all involved. A Q-Learning-based solution algorithm is proposed to solve the developed model. A case study based on a specific bus line with a bus lane is conducted. Results indicate that the developed method has an obvious advantage in reducing the total battery capacity loss compared with the greedy policy strategy. This study provides potential for future CBEB operation design.

Evaluation of the PCC slabs of the bus corridors of Anapolis according to its extension

The Brazilian law N° 12.587/12 on urban mobility, currently in effect, aims to ensure the improvement of accessibility, and the trafficability of people and cargo in cities, as well as integrate transport modes, and study mechanisms for infrastructure management. Cities with a population of more than 20,000 had to create their urban mobility plans, according to the requirements of the Ministry of the City. The objective of the plan is to conceive projects that aim to mitigate operational and functional problems in the transportation network within the municipalities. One of these cities that is creating a mobility plan is Anápolis-GO, where its plan includes the implementation of bus lanes on the main avenues of the municipality. In these corridors, there was the substitution of the flexible pavement by slabs of PCC (Portland cement concrete), at the boarding and alighting points, due to the sudden braking events and occasional acceleration. Given this scenario, the study aimed to analyze the stopping distance at these locations, as a function of road speed and braking rate, to assess whether the length of these slabs would be sufficient to what was proposed. In addition, it was sought to monitor the pavement against the performance of the PCC slabs, given the incident loads of braking and acceleration, as well as the performance of the flexible pavement, predicting the possible consequences and/or pathologies that may occur due to the operation, since the existing traffic in the corridors should be compatible with that of a high-speed road.

Multiscalar Deliberative Transportation Planning

Problem, research strategy, and findings At what scale should we plan transportation to shift to more sustainable modes? In this study I explore the multiscalar effort by London’s (UK) boroughs and the traffic director for London to expand bus priority in London, viewing it as a real-world case of Iris Marion Young’s “empowerment without autonomy” regional governance model. Using archival data, media analysis, and interviews, I found that the boroughs acted as a source of policy alternatives to reshape the problem–solution nexus around congestion, a forum for diverse interests to discuss this transition to more sustainable transport, and a deliberative partner for the new regional actor with sufficient capacity and expertise to reshape the policy to better meet community needs. The establishment of the position of traffic director for London in 1991 created the empowered but not autonomous structure, giving the traffic director veto power over some borough roads but empowering them to manage parking. Working together, the traffic director and the boroughs installed 524 bus lanes between 1991 and 2000, more than doubling the total number of lanes and demonstrating that a deliberative process need not sacrifice speed. Because this is a single case, more research is needed to confirm the mechanisms of the empowerment without autonomy model and how those mechanisms are most easily replicated in other contexts. Takeaway for practice Transit planning is best done at both the local and regional levels, in an empowered but not autonomous structure that forces regional and local actors to deliberate with each other on how best to achieve the goals of each scale.

Parameter Sensitivity Analysis of a Cooperative Dynamic Bus Lane System With Connected Vehicles

This paper aims to evaluate the sensitivity of the proposed cooperative dynamic bus lane system with microscopic traffic simulation models. The system creates a flexible bus priority lane that is only activated on demand at an appropriate time with advanced information and communication technologies, which can maximize the use of road space. A decentralized multi-lane cooperative algorithm is developed and implemented in a microscopic simulation environment to coordinate lane changing, gap acceptance, and car-following driving behavior for the connected vehicles (CVs) on the bus lane and the adjacent lanes. The key parameters for the sensitivity study include the penetration rate and communication range of CVs, considering the transition period and gradual uptake of CVs. Multiple scenarios are developed and compared to analyze the impact of key parameters on the system’s performance, such as total saved travel time of all passengers and travel time variation among buses and private vehicles. The microscopic simulation models showed that the cooperative dynamic bus lane system is significantly sensitive to the variations of the penetration rate and the communication range in a congested traffic state. With a CV system and a communication range of 150 m, buses obtain maximum benefits with minimal impacts on private vehicles in the study simulation. The safety concerns induced by cooperative driving behavior are also discussed in this paper.