Microscopic Traffic Simulation Approach to the Capacity Impact Analysis of Weaving Sections for the Exclusive Bus Lanes on an Urban Expressway
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 10
Abstract
This paper presents a microscopic traffic simulation approach to the capacity impact analysis of weaving sections caused by the installation of exclusive bus lanes (XBLs) on urban expressways. Three typical configurations of XBL in Beijing are identified, including median bus lane with off-on-ramp, curbside bus lane with on-off-ramp, and curbside bus lane with off-on-ramp. Then, the weaving section length, headway, mainline volume, as well as off-ramp and on-ramp volumes for general traffic are considered as parameters in designing simulation scenarios. Finally, the microscopic simulation is executed, by which the capacity of general traffic for weaving sections is estimated and the impact of the weaving section length and headway on the capacity is evaluated. It is found that the weaving section length and headway have different impacts on the capacity of general traffic in different configurations. The results also provide that the weaving section length and headway are more sensitive in the on-off-ramp than in the off-on-ramp scenario with the curb bus lane.
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Acknowledgments
The writers acknowledge that this paper is prepared based on the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) (Grant No. UNSPECIFIED2008AA11Z202), the project of Foundation of Beijing Jiaotong University (Grant No. UNSPECIFIED2007XM021), and the projects (Grant Nos. UNSPECIFIEDT07L0620 and UNSPECIFIEDCZ200704) funded by the Beijing Transportation Research Center. The writers would also like to thank the efforts for improving the paper when it is included in the Transportation Research Board’s 2009 Compendium of Papers DVD. The MOE Key Laboratory for Transportation Complex Systems Theory and Technology of Beijing Jiaotong University also supports the research in this paper.UNSPECIFIED
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 10 • October 2010
Pages: 895 - 902
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 8, 2009
Accepted: Mar 16, 2010
Published online: Mar 18, 2010
Published in print: Oct 2010
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