Pace Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Initiative Evaluation Report
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Pace Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Initiative Evaluation Report for the Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project Prepared for Prepared by March, 2012 1 Table of Contents EVALUATION HIGHLIGHTS ..……………………………………………………………....ii SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... ii What is the purpose of this document? .................................................................................. iii TSP 101: What is TSP and how does it work? ...................................................................... iii What is the Pace Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Initiative?................................................ viii What are the Goals and Objectives of the Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project? .... ix How do the Pace TSP Initiative and the Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project align with efforts to improve transit service throughout the Chicago metropolitan area? ........ xi What do I need to know about the Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project? .............. xii What have we learned from the Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project, and what are the key findings? ..................................................................................................................... xv 1.0 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................... - 1 - 1.1 Report Organization ...................................................................................................... - 1 - 1.2 Background .................................................................................................................... - 1 - 1.3 Task 2 Demonstration Project Area ............................................................................. - 3 - 1.4 Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project – Traffic Signal Timing Improvements - 5 - 1.5 Goals and Objectives ..................................................................................................... - 5 - 2.0 QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION METHODOLOGY ............................................ - 9 - 2.1 Measures of Effectiveness.............................................................................................. - 9 - 2.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. - 10 - 2.3 Analysis Methods ......................................................................................................... - 15 - 3.0 QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION RESULTS ......................................................... - 16 - 3.1 Comparison of Before (Existing) and After (TSP On) Conditions.......................... - 16 - 3.1.1 Transit Mobility ...................................................................................................... - 16 - 3.1.2 Transit Reliability ................................................................................................... - 16 - 3.2 Signal Optimization Results ........................................................................................ - 19 - 3.2.1 Transit Mobility ...................................................................................................... - 19 - 3.2.2 Transit Reliability ................................................................................................... - 20 - 3.2.3 General Traffic Mobility ......................................................................................... - 21 - 3.3 TSP Implementation Results ...................................................................................... - 22 - 3.3.1 Transit Mobility ...................................................................................................... - 22 - 4.0 QUALITATIVE EVALUATION MEASURES ........................................................ - 40 - 4.1 Experiences and Lessons Learned in TSP System Deployment .............................. - 40 - 4.1.1 TSP System Planning and Design........................................................................... - 40 - 4.1.2 TSP System Deployment ........................................................................................ - 42 - 4.2 Institutional Considerations ........................................................................................ - 42 - 4.3 Other Factors that Impact TSP Benefits ................................................................... - 44 - 5.0 KEY FINDINGS and NEXT STEPS.......................................................................... - 47 - 5.1 Key Findings ................................................................................................................. - 47 - 5.2 Next Steps ..................................................................................................................... - 47 - i Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project Evaluation Highlights The Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project (Phase 1) was successfully implemented and tested in 2010 along Pace bus routes 350, 352 and 364, operating on Sibley Boulevard, Halsted Street, and 159 th Street, respectively, realized significant benefits as detailed below. Not only did Pace reduce its costs by reducing delays, but Pace riders saw a reduction in travel time and were more often on time. Pace equipped 20 intersections and 55 buses with TSP equipment , and a TSP Central Management System was established at Pace headquarters. The following are some key benefits found during the Harvey TSP Demonstration Project Deployment: • Bus Travel times were reduced up to 15% (by a range of 25 seconds to 3.3 minutes). • Cumulative Daily Delay for buses was reduced by 27 minutes at TSP- equipped intersections during AM and PM Peak Periods. • Average travel time for all traffic was reduced by as much as 6 minutes during peak hours. • The number of stops made by buses at signalized intersections with TSP at a corridor level was reduced by a range of 3 to a maximum of 13 on a directional basis by route. In conclusion, Harvey TSP Demonstration Project was successful both in terms of benefits to Pace riders and technology implementation. Pace plans to start Phase 2 deployment of the project by mid-year 2012 and begin subsequent region wide TSP deployment along major Arterial Rapid Transit (ART) corridors. ii SUMMARY What is the purpose of this document? This document presents an evaluation of the Harvey Area Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Demonstration Project, a component of the Pace TSP Initiative. The evaluation report includes both qualitative and quantitative findings and emphasizes both the invaluable experience gained by Pace during the process of planning, procuring, constructing, testing, and operating the TSP system that has been deployed as part of the demonstration project as well as the measurable benefits of improved schedule adherence and travel time savings. TSP 101: What is TSP and how does it work? TSP gives transit vehicles a little extra green time or a little less red time at signalized intersections to reduce the time they are slowed down by traffic signals. “TSP is an operational strategy that facilitates the movement of in-service transit vehicles, either buses or streetcars, through traffic signal controlled intersections. [S]ignal priority modifies the normal signal operation process to better accommodate transit vehicles…. [O]bjectives of TSP include improved schedule adherence, improved transit efficiency, contribution to enhanced transit information, and increased road network efficiency. 1” By reducing the time that transit vehicles spend delayed at intersection queues, TSP can reduce transit delay and travel time and improve transit service reliability, thereby increasing transit quality of service. It also has the potential for reducing overall delay at the intersection on a per- person basis. At the same time, TSP attempts to provide these benefits with a minimum of impact on other facility users, including cross-traffic and pedestrians. 2” Objectives of TSP The objectives of TSP include 3: • Improved schedule adherence • Reduced delay • Improved transit efficiency • Contribution to enhanced transit information • Increased road network efficiency Improving schedule adherence can reduce waiting time and passenger anxiety by lessening the extent to which riders need to add additional time as a contingency (e.g., catching an earlier bus, leaving for bus stop early) in order to arrive on time at their destination. Reduced delay—but not iii elimination of delay -- to transit vehicles can enhance transit efficiency as well as potentially improve schedule adherence. TSP may also facilitate the provision of enhanced rider information by enabling real-time detection information to be used for other purposes. Any resulting increases in ridership and the higher occupancies on transit vehicles can also contribute to the significance of reductions in transit vehicle delay. Since transit service is typically much more frequent than rail or emergency vehicle service, use of priority rather than preemption allows the system to maintain a higher level of performance. Key Components of a TSP System 4 The basic components of a TSP system are described in the following section. See Figure ES-1 for a simplified representation of how TSP works. • Vehicle detection system – The vehicle detection system provides vehicle data (location, arrival time, approach, etc.) to a Priority Request Generator (PRG). For the Pace Harvey Area TSP Demonstration Project, satellite (GPS)-based vehicle detection is utilized;