Studying the Influences of Bus Stop Type and Specifications on Bicycle Flow and Capacity for Better Bicycle Efficiency

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the effects of type and specifications of bus stop on bicycle speed and cycle track capacity. This paper investigates the traffic flow operations of tracks at basic sections, curbside stops, and bus bays by video recording. T-test and comparative study were used to analyze the influences of stop types on bicycle speed and capacity of track. The relationships between stop specifications and speed and capacity of track are analyzed with correlation analysis. The main results are as follows: (1) Without passengers crossing, bus bays have significant impact on bicycle speed, while it is not for curbside stops; (2) except platform length, there are strong negative relationships between bicycle speed and density of platform access, total width of platform accesses (TWPA), total width of platform accesses-to-platform length ratio (TWPA-to-PL ratio), total width of platform accesses-to-track width ratio (TWPA-to-TW ratio); (3) curbside stop and bus bay reduce track capacities by 32% and 13.5% on average, respectively; and (4) in contrast to bus bays, curbside stops have more significant impact on capacity of track, which also presents in the influence of the setting parameters of stops. Based the results above, some suggestions on stop specifications are finally proposed.