Modelling and evaluation of a novel intermittent bus lane with time-division multiplexing

As a promising bus priority technique, intermittent bus lanes (IBLs) can effectively utilise the idle road resources in dedicated bus lanes (DBLs). Existing IBL systems still have certain limitations in practice, so the authors propose a novel intermittent bus lane with time-division multiplexing (BLTDM) for lane sharing and bus prioritisation. To explore the benefits and applicable traffic conditions of BLTDM operation, cellular automaton traffic models are constructed with different bus priority strategies and a simulation analysis is conducted. In particular, a new model of fuzzy logic lane-change probability is developed. Comparing the traffic flow characteristics with DBL, IBL and BLTDM in the three cases, the operational effects and the applicable traffic conditions for each strategy are quantitatively evaluated. Results show that IBL and BLTDM are beneficial just within the certain traffic conditions. BLTDM has a wider applicable range of input car flow and a stronger adaptability to the bus operation frequency, and can balance the stability of traffic flow, in the sense that the BLTDM strategy has great advantages and provides a new direction for the development of intermittent bus lanes.