A Bus Signal Priority Model at Oversaturated Intersection under Stochastic Demand

This paper focuses on the optimization of bus signal priority with the consideration of the stochastic traffic demand. Based on a situation of the variability of traffic composition, the phase clearance reliability (PCR) value of each phase and traffic composition ratio is introduced to reflect the traffic condition at intersection. Then, a bus signal priority optimization model is proposed with the purpose of the maximum of the total vehicular departure as the optimization goal. In order to obtain the optimal solution, an improved algorithm is designed by introducing the PCR value search strategy. Finally, two cases’ study is exhibited to demonstrate the reasonability of the model, theory, and algorithm. The result shows that the model can not only clear the queue under the condition of continuous dynamic traffic flow but also reduce the vehicle queuing and passenger delay.

An Overlapping Phase Approach to Optimize Bus Signal Priority Control under Two-Way Signal Coordination on Urban Arterials

With the consideration of the uneven traffic volume distribution at intersections on urban arterials, this paper aims to minimize the overall passenger delay (buses and private vehicles) at intersections and identify the applicable conditions of the proposed method with field data. The overlapping phase-based signal control logic and the bus priority control algorithm under two-way signal coordination on arterial roads are proposed. The vehicular capacities and occupancies for buses and passenger cars are considered in the evaluation of the method performance. A field test was carried out at two major intersections on an arterial road in Hefei, China. With the test data, the proposed method is examined and the possible influencing factors are analyzed for identifying the corresponding applicable conditions. The analysis result shows that the application of the overlapping phase helps to provide a relatively flexible signal control for the varying traffic demands at intersections. Compared to the conventional phase, it isof more practical significance to consider overlapping phase and apply bussignal priority control under two-way signal coordination according to the condition of uneven traffic volumedistribution at intersections on urban arterials. The proposed method can effectively decrease the total passenger delay at the intersections on urban arterials under certain applicable conditions. The possible factors influencing the method applicability are identified as well. It is verified that bus signal priority control under the two-way signal coordination, based on overlapping phases, is more conducive to improving traffic efficiency on urban arterials. Regarding the influencing factors and the applicability of the proposed method, the results show that not all situations are conducive to decreasing passenger delay at intersections. The proposed method should be applied under certain applicable conditions and principles in order to efficiently and effectively improve the traffic efficiency on arterial roads.

Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Bus Signal Priority at Intersections under Hybrid Energy Consumption Conditions

The acceleration of the motorization process creates severe environmental problems by affecting the energy consumption of urban traffic. As a major source of traffic pollution, vehicle exhaust deserves more attention when making traffic policy. Actually, the acceleration, deceleration, and idling conditions of vehicles cause more pollution than usual, which mainly happens at intersections of the road network. Besides, in the context of giving priority on public transport development, bus signal priority (BSP) at intersections becomes a quite prevalent measure to reduce average capita delay for travelers, while long-term practice also indicates that the unreasonable setting of bus lane further worsens the running conditions for other vehicles by occupying excessive traffic capacity, which highlights the indirect environmental effects of BSP. This paper provides a simulation-based method for evaluating the adaptability of BSP to find an optimum balance between efficient and environmental care. Specifically, the traffic volume, bus mixed rate of the intersection and energy types of vehicles consist of hybrid energy consumption conditions collectively. A VSP (vehicle specific power)-based exhaust emission models for both buses and other vehicles are employed to estimate the environmental cost of the entire intersection. Moreover, the overall efficiency of gasoline and electric vehicles is further evaluated to offer more implications for traffic control practice.