POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO TRANSIT IN SETTING TRAFFIC SIGNALS

Although it is common to optimize signal settings for fixed-time operation, this serves neither transit nor private vehicles adequately when their interaction is not considered appropriately in defining the total system. The TRANSYT model claims to account for transit operation along with private vehicles, but there are some potentially fatal flaws in its representation of mixed transit and private operation. However, incorporating additional modeling techniques can lead to more realistic representations. The resultant modeling formulation is applied to a 4-mi streetcar route in central Toronto to estimate an upper bound on the potential savings in streetcar delays due to setting traffic signals to accommodate streetcar operation. This is done by considering the idealized case where dwell times are kept constant at each given stop, varying only from stop to stop, so that a fixed-time traffic network can respond best to the streetcar arrivals. The potential gain may be worthwhile and practical effects, such as varying dwell times, should be incorporated into the modeling procedure.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr221/221-047.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309047137
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Board Special Report No. 221, Light Rail Transit: New System Successes at Affordable Prices - Papers presented at the National Conference on Light Rail Transit, May 8-11, 1988, San Jose, California, Conducted by the Transportation Research Board. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Yagar, Sam
  • Heydecker, Benjamin
• Conference:
  • National Conference on Light Rail Transit
  • Location: San Jose California, United States
  • Date: 1988-5-8 to 1988-5-11
• Publication Date: 1989

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 657-667
• Monograph Title: LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT: NEW SYSTEM SUCCESSES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 221
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0360-859X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Conferences; Dwell time; Light rail transit; Pretimed traffic signal controllers; Streetcars; Traffic delays; Traffic simulation
• Geographic Terms: Toronto (Canada)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00483698
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0-309-04713-7
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: May 31 1990 12:00AM