A Two-Lane Cellular Automaton Model to Evaluate the Bus Lane with Intermittent Priority

Abstract

Bus lanes with intermittent priority (BLIPs) are lanes where general traffic is required to give way to approaching buses. BLIPs can improve the reliability of bus services and help maximize the use of road resources. It can be seen as an innovative sharing mobility, such as carsharing, carpooling, and lane sharing. However, implementation of BLIPs has never been feasible until vehicle communications could accommodate the idea. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications have broad application prospects in the deployment of BLIPs. This paper develops a two-lane cellular automaton (CA) model to simulate BLIPs and assesses the benefits of connected vehicles for bus operation. In the model, lane-changings are asymmetric with an improved mandatory BLIP lane-changing rule underlying. The effects of BLIPs are explored through numerical simulations, including BLIPs’ impacts on neighboring lanes, travel time saving, fuel consumption, and the punctuality rate of buses. Analysis of traffic flow characteristics of corridors using BLIPs reveals that there is a strong connection among the bus departure interval, clear distance, and road capacity.