The newest public transport system applied to turbo roundabouts

Abstract

An integrated study based on the development of road infrastructure related to transport modes is one of the main methods to reduce both social and safety and pollution impacts. In this sense, optimal planning aims to reduce the use of private vehicles and reduce pollutant emissions and accidents. In general, the most successful cities have been those where different types of interventions have been applied in an integrated way to reinforce each other. This paper aims to show the impact of the existence of innovative public transport systems, such as the bus rapid transit. In particular, an unconventional urban intersection geometry – namely, the turbo roundabout – was chosen for investigation. The assessment of pollutant emissions was analysed by traffic microsimulation with the Vissim 9 software program, comparing different geometry scenarios with or without the presence of dedicated lanes and taking into account the ascent and descent areas that are reasonably far away from the typical manoeuvres of an urban at-grade intersection.