THE PERFORMANCE OF BUS BAYS

The report compares three options for bus bays at an urban bus stop: (I) the provision of the standard design of Ministry of Transport (doe) bay; (II) the provision of a novel and deeper asymmetic bay; (III) no bus bay i.e. a roadside bus stop. An experiment was undertaken at a site on a 30 ft road in Peterborough where each type of bay was established and observed in turn. A film analysis gave bus manoeuvre details and delays, and traffic flows were also recorded. These observations gave times of buses to enter, unload, load and leave the bay in each case and the relationship of exit times to traffic flow. Record was also made of times to go through a standard length of road with and without the bus present. The results were used in a cost-benefit-analysis exercise which took into account the costs of construction and the values of time of passengers, crews, and occupants of passing vehicles which had been obstructed. The views of bus crews were obtained by interviews. The conclusions are that the deeper, asymmetric bay gave rise to greater difficulties in the exit manoeuvre, and hence greater delays, than did the standard bay which in turn was worse in these respects than having no bay at all. It is also concluded that if a bus bay is used it should be as long and shallow as feasible. /TRRL/

• Corporate Authors:

  Institute of Technology, Germany

  Berlin,   Germany 
• Authors:
  • RICHARDS, M J
• Publication Date: 1976-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 53 p.
• Serial:
  • CRANFIELD CTS REPORT
  • Publisher: Centre for Transport Studies

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Boarding; Bus bays; Bus stops; Buses; Cinematography; Intersection elements; Maneuverability; Passengers; Public transit; Size; Traffic flow; Travel time; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 6752: Cinematography; 226: Cost benefit analysis; 9014: Dimension; 425: Exit; 1094: Passenger station; 744: Public transport; 671: Traffic flow; 8119: United Kingdom; 313: Urban area
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00137783
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: CTS Rpt. No. 9
• Files: ITRD, TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 13 1981 12:00AM