Simulated analysis of exclusive bus lanes on expressways: Case study in Beijing, China

Abstract

Deploying exclusive bus lanes is considered an important strategy for supporting public transit priority policy. This paper uses a simulation approach to evaluate planned exclusive bus lanes on expressways in Beijing, China. Two scenarios for deploying exclusive bus lanes-a curbside bus lane scenario and a median bus lane scenario-were designed. Then, a micro-simulation network platform using VISSIM was established and calibrated, with all relative errors between the simulated timevarying speeds and the field speeds less than 15 percent. Afterwards, the two bus lane scenarios were simulated, evaluated, and subsequently compared with current traffic conditions without bus lanes. It was found that for both the mainline and the whole network, the operational efficiencies of buses, general traffic, and all mixed traffic are improved with the deployment of exclusive bus lanes. Further, the median bus lane scenario slightly outperforms the curbside bus lane scenario in this case.