Improving Efficiency and Reliability of Bus Rapid Transit
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2018
Subject Area
place - north america, place - urban, mode - bus rapid transit, infrastructure - bus/tram priority, infrastructure - traffic signals, technology - ticketing systems, technology - geographic information systems, operations - reliability
Keywords
bus rapid transit, dwell time, fare collection, global positioning system, optimization, simulation, traffic signal priority
Abstract
In recent years, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems have been gaining increasing popularity because of their effectiveness in improving urban mobility. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is the primary public transit provider in Salt Lake City and has implemented a 10.8-mile BRT route along 3500/3300 South in Salt Lake City. A total of 106 miles of BRT lines are planned throughout Utah, to be implemented by 2030, in an effort to alleviate congestion and increase ridership along major corridors. This research aims to utilize a modeling and simulation approach to help improve the efficiency and reliability of the high-capacity service, which makes BRT an appealing system for potential riders. First, a microscopic simulation is created to test a series of GPS-based transit signal priority (TSP) scenarios and evaluate their impact on transit and traffic operations. Second, a data-driven optimization method is implemented to understand the contributing factors of BRT dwell time and the benefits of an off-board fare collection system.
Rights
Permission to publish the abstract has been given by the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, copyright remains with them.
Recommended Citation
Liu, X.C., Zlatkovic, M., Porter, R.J., Fayyaz, K., & Yu, S. (2018). Improving Efficiency and Reliability of Bus Rapid Transit, Report No. MPC-18-349. North Dakota State University - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Fargo: Mountain-Plains Consortium.
