Micro-simulation based evaluation of Queue Jump Lane at isolated urban intersections: an experience in Kolkata

Abstract

Article Info AbstractKeywords: bus priority queue jump lane signalized intersection VISSIM urban IndiaPoor service quality is one of the major causes for declining share of buses in urban India. Improvement of bus travel time by implementing bus priority measures at intersections is well regarded as an effective instrument to improve bus service by reducing the travel time. However, only a few research works have been reported in the literature on bus priority strategies in Developing countries such as India. This paper documents an experience of using micro-simulation software VISSIM© to evaluate the impact of providing Queue Jump Lane (QJL) as a bus priority strategy for three representative four-arm isolated signalized intersections in Kolkata, India. The study shows that QJL is expected to be beneficial even in a heterogeneous traffic environment that is prevalent in Indian scenario. The effectiveness of QJL is found to be influenced by various factors such as traffic volume, vehicle composition and road geometry. The study encourages further investigations in terms of validation of results based on field implementation of QJL and identification of the domain of applicability of QJL in signalized intersections of urban India. IntroductionThe travel demand in urban India is growing steadily due to rapid urbanization and growth of private vehicle ownership. On the other hand, the scope of augmentation of road infrastructure in urban India is often limited due to physical constraints. As a result there is a growing imbalance between the demand and the supply of road transport which is aggravating congestion and pollution in urban India (Maitra & Sadhukhan, 2013). Public transit has the potential to alleviate the negative externalities and achieve the goals of urban traffic management (Atkins, 2004;Kirchhoff, 1995). It is, thus, necessary to increase patronage for the public transport facilities like bus, metro, etc. Buses are one of the most flexible, space-efficient and cost-effective means of public transport in urban areas (Hensher, 1998;Hess et al., 2005;Mackett & Edwards, 1998). Bus ridership may be improved if the bus is made more efficient by making the journey time comparable to that of cars (Beirão & Sarsfield Cabral, 2007). This can be accomplished by providing proper priority measures to the buses at intersections (Janos & Furth, 2002;Urbanik et al., 2002). Urban development and public transport prioritisation should go hand in hand for ensuring a stable and sustainable road environment in urban India. However, adequate investigation has not been conducted to understand where bus priority should be implemented and what could be the expected benefits in urban Indian scenario.There are several potential issues pertaining to effective implementation of bus priority techniques in Indian scenario. Although, a dedicated bus lane is expected to be an effective priority treatment (Arasan & Vedagiri, 2009), due to lack of road space, a bus lane for the entire route is not a feasible option for most of the In...

Effects of Queue Jump Lane on Public Transport: Case Study Using Microsimulation

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Empirical Performance Analysis of Bus Speed and Delay at Intersections for Emerging Spot Improvement Programs

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Implementation of Bus Priority with Queue Jump Lane and Pre-Signal at Urban Intersections with Mixed Traffic Operations: Lessons Learned?

“…However, the effectiveness of such facilities for bus priority in the present context has not yet been adequately investigated. Only a few studies have been reported in literature, which are highly case-specific and based on traffic micro-simulation evaluation ( 30 , 31 ). The majority of the works related to bus QJL in other traffic environments have also been based on analytical and simulation modeling ( 32 – 34 ).…”