ANALYZING TRANSIT PERFORMANCE

This paper summarizes detailed analyses of transit speeds, delays, and dwell times based on surveys conducted in a cross section of U.S. cities. The relationships and parameters provide inputs for planning service changes and assessing their impacts. The surveys and analyses find that car speeds are consistently 1.4 to 1.6 times as fast as bus speeds; the typical bus spends about 48-75 percent of its time moving 9-26 percent at passenger stops and 12-26 percent in traffic delays; and peak-hour bus travel times approximate 4.2 min/mile in suburbs, 6.0 min/mile in the city, and 11.50 min/mile in the central business district. Bus dwell times (including door opening and closing) approximate 5 plus 2.75 times the number of passengers; during peak hours local buses stop at 68-78 percent of the designated stops. Bus travel times and speeds were derived as a function of stop frequency, stop duration, and bus acceleration and deceleration times observed in the field. Reducing bus stops from 8/mile to 6/mile and dwell times from 20 to 15s would reduce travel times from 6 to 4.3 min/mile--a time saving greater than that to be achieved by eliminating traffic congestion. Transit performance should be improved by keeping the number of stopping places to a minimum. Fare collection policies, as well as door configurations and widths, are important in reducing dwell time, especially along high density routes. Such time saving will likely exceed that achieved from providing bus-priority measures or improving traffic flow.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Prepared for the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, January 17-21, 1983 and appears in TRB Record 915.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Connecticut, Storrs

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 261 Glenbrook Road
  Storrs, CT  United States  06269-2037
• Authors:
  • Levinson, H S
• Publication Date: 1983

Media Info

• Pagination: n.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus priority; Bus transportation; Dwell time; Peak periods; Performance; Performance evaluations; Speed and delay studies
• Uncontrolled Terms: Performance indicators
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Motor Carriers; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00376938
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 30 1983 12:00AM