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1-1-2002 Effectiveness of Bus Signal Priority CUTR
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Scholar Commons Citation CUTR, "Effectiveness of Bus Signal Priority" (2002). Research Reports. 197. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cutr_nctr/197
This Technical Report is brought to you for free and open access by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) Archive (2000-2020) at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research Reports by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EFFECTIVENESS OF B US SIGNAL PRIORITY FINAL REPORT JANUARY 2002
TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. NCTR-416-04
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Effectiveness of Bus Signal Priority January 2002 Final Report 6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Chada, Shireen and Newland, Robert
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. National Center For Transit Research (NCTR) 11. Contract or Grant No. University of South Florida CUT 100 DTRS98-G-0032 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Office of Research and Special Programs Florida DOT U.S. Department of Transportation 605 Suwannee Washington, DC 20590 Tallahassee, Florida 32399 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes Supported by a Grant from the USDOT Research and Special Programs Administration, and the Florida Department of Transportation
16. Abstract
Effectiveness of Bus Signal Priority (BSP) study evaluates BSP’s impact on traffic operations. The goal was to examine how different situations, such as the level of congestion, placement of bus stops, presence of express bus service, and number of transit vehicles on route, require different techniques of BSP such as real-time or fixed-time based control. Those techniques also utilize a variety of different control strategies such as phase suppression, synchronization, compensation, and green recall. In order to guide transportation agencies in this decision-making process, a framework for an ideal bus priority system was developed. Based upon that information, the “Pre-Implementation Checklist” was designed. The checklist focuses on the most critical factors in BSP and recommends pursuing BSP if an area has enough characteristics in place to make BSP effective. A set of “Operational and Design Guidelines” for BSP were developed to assist an agency in choosing the most appropiate BSP method that complements the area characteristics. To establish how BSP can be most effective, ten transit professionals (planners and engineers) involved in installing BSP projects were interviewed. Five agencies utilizing BSP around the country were studied to determine which types of priority are used in certain conditions and what technology is being implemented.
17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Signal Priority Available to the public through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Transit Signal Priority 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, (703) 487-4650, and through the Bus Signal Priority NCTR web site at http://www.nctr.usf.edu/
19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 40
Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-69)
Effectiveness of Bus Signal Priority
Prepared by:
Shireen Chada Research Associate
Robert Newland Student Assistant
National Center for Transit Research Center for Urban Transportation Research College of Engineering University of South Florida 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CUT 100 Tampa, Florida 33620-3120 813.974.3120 http://www.nctr.usf.edu/
Project Manager Gene Glotzbach, FDOT Contract Number BC 137-16
Florida Department of Transportation 605 Suwannee Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0450 850.414.4500
Research and Special Program Administration U.S. Department of Transportation RSPA/DIR-1, Room 8417 400 7th Street, SW Washington, DC 20590 http://www.rspa.dot.gov/
The opinions, findings, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Florida Department of Transportation or the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The document was prepared in cooperation with the State of Florida Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
iii
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1
INTRODUCTION ...... 2
TERMINOLOGY...... 2
EARLY WORK...... 3
BSP STRATEGIES...... 4
BSP SYSTEMS...... 6
PROS/CONS OF PRIORITY METHODS ...... 7
PROJECTS IN NORTH AMERICA ...... 10
WHEN IS NON-TRANSIT TRAFFIC LEAST AFFECTED? ...... 16
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL BSP SYSTEM ...... 17
PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS ON BSP...... 18
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES OF BSP...... 22
IMPLEMENTING BSP...... 24
CONCLUSIONS...... 29
REFERENCES ...... 31
APPENDIX A (BSP SPREADSHEET – SEE ATTACHED DISK) ...... A-1
iv
List of Tables
TABLE 1 SUMMARY OF BSP STRATEGIES ...... 6
TABLE 2 Pros and Cons...... 9
TABLE 3 PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS ...... 18
TABLE 4 PRE-IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST POINT SYSTEM ...... 27
TABLE 5 RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON SATURATION LEVEL ...... 27
TABLE 6 OPERATIONAL AND DESIGN GUIDELINES ...... 28
v EFFECTIVENESS OF BUS SIGNAL PRIORITY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Effectiveness of Bus Signal Priority (BSP) study was funded by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR). This study evaluates BSP’s impact on traffic operations. The goal was to examine how different situations, such as the level of congestion, placement of bus stops, presence of express bus service, and number of transit vehicles on route, require different techniques of BSP such as real-time or fixed-time based control. Those techniques also utilize a variety of different control strategies such as phase suppression, synchronization, compensation, and green recall. In order to guide transportation agencies in this decision-making process, a spreadsheet was developed to help an agency determine if signal priority is viable in a specific corridor. A set of guidelines was then developed to determine the most beneficial method of priority to pursue.
To establish how BSP can be most effective, ten transit professionals (planners and engineers) involved in installing BSP projects were interviewed. Traffic engineers interviewed stated that agencies must develop control strategies that are appropriate for the given intersections in their area. Transit planners interviewed for this study explained that BSP did not create any significant delays to non-transit vehicles. A literature search also uncovered statements on the significant issues of BSP, such as considering the volume of bus passengers, degree of existing congestion level, and delay to non-transit vehicles. The literature search revealed the benefits of direct priority strategy in areas with low congestion and an indirect priority strategy for areas with a high degree of congestion. Agencies utilizing BSP around the country were studied to determine which types of priority are used in certain conditions and what technology is being implemented.
It was determined that an effective bus priority system must ensure transit vehicles in all directions can be assisted without excess delay to non-transit vehicles. BSP offers fewer benefits in areas with extremely high bus volumes or very light traffic. The most appropriate priority method may be one that combines the various elements of existing priority techniques. Real-time control strategy offers the greatest benefits, although any system must be designed with the particular area needs in mind. As a result of the information gathered, a framework for an ideal bus priority system was developed. Based upon that information, the “Pre-Implementation Checklist” was designed. The checklist focuses on the most critical factors in BSP and recommends pursuing BSP if an area has enough characteristics in place to make BSP effective. The “Operational and Design Guidelines” for BSP assist an agency in choosing the most appropriate BSP method that complements the area characteristics.
1 EFFECTIVENESS OF BUS SIGNAL PRIORITY
INTRODUCTION
BSP is being more widely deployed in North America to address traffic congestion, caused by traffic signals, for on-street transit service. Signal priority for transit vehicles is expected to improve transit operations and service quality. In theory, an improvement in transit performance provides additional incentive for people to switch modes and reduce traffic congestion. This has been an issue of debate, both among traffic engineers and transit planners. The traffic engineers’ resistance to implementation has often been based on a concern that overall traffic performance may be unduly compromised when signal timing intended to optimize traffic flow is overridden to provide a travel advantage to transit vehicles. For purposes of this report transit signal priority (TSP) will be referred to as bus signal priority (BSP)
This research project evaluates how traffic operations are affected by bus signal priority. The effectiveness of bus signal priority on transit vehicles and the impact on traffic operations are explored. Funding for this study was provided by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) at Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR). This study also addressed all the implications of BSP thus giving a more objective analysis of the advantages and disadvantages. It attempted to provide missing information to transit planners and traffic engineers across the nation as they become more involved in the deployment of BSP.
TERMINOLOGY
Terminology in this report is based in part on the Sunkari et al (22) study on models to evaluate bus priority.