Reduce Bus Bunching with a Real-Time Speed Control Algorithm Considering Heterogeneous Roadway Conditions and Intersection Delays
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146, Issue 7
Abstract
This paper investigates bus bunching issues encountered with a single bus line. A real-time speed control model was proposed with the objective of minimizing variations in bus headway. Three cases of a typical road infrastructure for bus lines were studied. Two main factors that influence the stability of bus service–namely, signalized intersection delays and heterogeneous roadway conditions—were studied in the modeling process. In addition, other common variables were considered, including the time required for passengers to board a bus and alight from it. Compared with findings from prior literature, that frequently assumed homogeneous roadway infrastructure conditions and ignored intersection delays. The built model output the degree of speed adjustment required in accordance with different roadway configurations and the congestion level at each road section. A case study was designed to test the performance of the proposed model, based on the data collected from 40 bus stops, on Bus route No. 600 in Xi’an, China. Results showed that the proposed model could effectively restrain the problems posed by headway deviations and reduce travel time for the passengers.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request (including Bus route No. 600 and numerical analysis data set).
Acknowledgments
This study is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFB1600900).
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146 • Issue 7 • July 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 7, 2019
Accepted: Nov 13, 2019
Published online: Apr 18, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 18, 2020
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