Traffic Micro-Simulation-Based Evaluation of Bus Priority With Queue Jump Lane on an Urban Corridor With Heterogeneous Traffic Operations

Abstract

Queue jump lane (QJL) is a space-optimal facility-based priority measure for faster and smoother movements of buses in urban areas. This study presents an approach to identify the optimal configurations of QJL, bus advance area, and pre-signal for signalized intersections along an urban corridor in India with heterogeneous traffic operations. As this needs to be carried out before field implementation, the traffic impacts of different scenarios were evaluated utilizing a validated VISSIM traffic micro-simulation model. A validated EnViVer emission modeler was used to estimate the vehicular exhaust emissions. The QJL-based priority measures were found to be more effective than a dedicated bus lane along the corridor during the peak hour, which justifies their applicability in cities with restricted road spaces and high traffic demands. To identify the suitable combination of bus priority along the corridor, three additional scenarios were evaluated: bus-optimal, car-optimal, and passenger-optimal. While the passenger-optimal scenario yielded the best impact on travel time performances, the car-optimal scenario was more effective in total emissions performance at the expense of reduced travel time impacts. The conflict between traffic and emissions performances emphasizes the need for investigation of long-term mode and route choice indicators with implementation of bus priority to identify the future mode shares and subsequent impacts. The study was further extended to identify optimal bus stop operations for the baseline and priority scenarios based on multiple combinations of near-side and far-side stops.