Simulation Analysis and Benefit Evaluation of Bus and Right Turn Exclusive Lanes

Abstract

Setting a lane to be exclusively for bus use often causes problems such as low utilization of road resources, increased traffic pressure in adjacent lanes, and chaotic driving in different time period. To address these problems, this paper proposes a method of creating bus and right-turn-exclusive lanes based on the concept of vehicle separation. The method allows buses to share a lane with right-turn vehicles in order to achieve a balance between maintaining bus priority and reducing the impact on private-use vehicles. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the scheme in accordance with the road research environment, this work first proposed a lane group simulation flow based on the traffic generation and timing optimization models. Then, the average vehicle delay and per capita delay were used as the evaluation indices to establish a dual-indicator-delay comprehensive evaluation matrix model considering the driving characteristics of right-turn vehicles and red lights. Finally, the model was applied using MATLAB and VISSIM, to analyze and evaluate the benefits of three models: a traditional lane model, a bus- and right-turn-exclusive lane model, and an exclusive bus lane model. The analysis of the key influencing factors was also included. The results indicate that the average vehicle delay and per capita delay in the bus and right-turn-exclusive lane model are lower in most situations, although the exclusive-bus-lane and traditional lane models also have their respective advantages. This work concludes that the bus and right-turn-exclusive lane model is suitable under certain conditions, and it can effectively prioritize buses to reduce delays for private vehicles. The scheme is suitable as a transitional or alternative model to the exclusive bus lane model in engineering practice.