TECHNICAL PAPERS
Nov 13, 2009

Simulating Heterogeneous Traffic Flow on Roads with and without Bus Lanes

Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 15, Issue 4

Abstract

Exclusive bus lanes are intended to enhance the level of service of bus transport in terms of speed, reliability, safety, etc. This paper is concerned with application of a newly developed microsimulation technique to study the effect of provision of reserved bus lanes on the flow of nonlane-based heterogeneous traffic on urban roads in India. The aim of the study reported here is to modify and validate a newly developed simulation model of heterogeneous traffic flow using field observed data and to apply the validated model to study the effect of exclusive bus lanes on traffic flow. The effect is measured in terms of the reduction in the speeds of other categories of vehicles due to the possible reduction in the available road space for these vehicles. The results of the study indicate that it is possible to introduce exclusive bus lanes on carefully selected urban roads to enhance the level of service of bus, simultaneously ensuring a satisfactory level of service to the other vehicles on the road.

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Published In

Go to Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 15Issue 4December 2009
Pages: 305 - 312

History

Received: Aug 20, 2007
Accepted: Feb 6, 2009
Published online: Nov 13, 2009
Published in print: Dec 2009

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Authors

Affiliations

V. Thamizh Arasan [email protected]
Professor and Head, Transportation Engineering Div., Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
P. Vedagiri [email protected]
Research ScholarTransportation Engineering Div., Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India. E-mail: [email protected]

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