Comparative Analysis of Bus Lane Operations in Urban Roads Using Microscopic Traffic Simulation

Abstract

The research focuses on comparative analysis of three popular types of bus lane operation including roadside exclusive bus lane, bus priority lane and ordinary lane. The analysis is firstly conducted based on simulation tests in PARAMICS with assumed data about traffic situations as well as input parameters. In order to evaluate the results more practically, the research introduces a case study. This case study is conducted at an urban street where there are large numbers of buses and high traffic volumes in Nagaoka City. The results show that with the current traffic situation, the bus priority lane type can help reduce the passenger travel time by 1.2 sec on the 500-meter long segment when compared with the current ordinary lane type. In terms of travel time saving, the paper finally figures out suitable areas for bus lane type applications under various conditions of the main road traffic volume and the number of passengers on the bus.