Robust Optimal Control Method to Improve Bus Schedule Adherence Considering Stochastic Bus Operations under Mixed Traffic
Publication: ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract
Mixed traffic often results in large deviations in bus schedules due to the influence of stochastic factors on bus operations. In order to improve bus schedule adherence, signal priority is often employed at signalized intersections by adjusting signal timing. However, traditional deterministic optimization methods that treat bus travel time as a constant are not effective in meeting the challenges posed by changes in bus operations. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a robust signal priority control method that aims to improve the reliability of bus operations. However, because of the limited adjustable range of signal timing, signal control used independently only works a little in large bus headways. In order to further enhance control performance, bus holding is introduced in this study, leading to the development of an integrated robust signal priority and holding control (RHC) method. The RHC method improves bus schedule adherence and reliability in bus operations and is designed based on a bus schedule deviation model that takes stochastic bus speed and the number of queuing vehicles at intersections into account under mixed traffic. Through simulation experiments, the effectiveness of the proposed calculation models is verified. Furthermore, the RHC method can boost bus schedule adherence by 38% while limiting the negative impact on car delays to only 3%.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education (Grant No. 23YJCZH120), Shanghai University Students’ Project for Innovation and Entrepreneurship under Grant Nos. XJ2023160, SH2023078 and 202310252023.
Author contributions: Shidong Liang contributed to the study conception and design, data collection, and draft manuscript preparation. Rongmeng Leng contributed to the study conception and design, analysis and interpretation of results, and draft manuscript preparation. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Published In
ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 10 • Issue 1 • March 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 16, 2023
Accepted: Oct 18, 2023
Published online: Dec 30, 2023
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: May 30, 2024
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