Simulation Analysis of Capacity Evaluation of Bus Stops under Connected and Automated Vehicles Environment

Abstract

The application of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) technology has changed the operation characteristics of vehicles. Investigating the traffic capacity of bus stops under a CAVs environment can allocate traffic flow more reasonably, which is effective in alleviating traffic congestion. Therefore, this paper proposes a method that can be used to evaluate the traffic capacity of bus stops under a CAVs environment. First, two evaluation indexes, failure duration time (FD) and forced lane-changing rate (FLR) are proposed. Second, the simulation scheme with ten scenarios is determined, and simulation experiments are conducted. Then, the relationships between FD, FLR, and traffic flow under different penetration rates of CAVs are analyzed. Finally, the relationship models between FD, FLR, and traffic capacity are fitted to verify their validity for traffic capacity analysis. Additionally, a predictive model is proposed for estimating capacity under a CAVs environment using indicators from HV traffic flow. Results indicate that: (i) FD and FLR both positively correlate with capacity, and perform well in capacity evaluation of bus stops; (ii) FD and FLR can be utilized to predict the capacity under a CAVs environment; (iii) the higher the penetration rate of CAVs, the smaller the impact of the bus failure phenomenon and forced lane change on traffic flow.