Hindawi

Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society

Volume 2017, Article ID 1659176, 13 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1659176

Research Article
Evaluating Operational Effects of Bus Lane with Intermittent
Priority under Connected Vehicle Environments

Dingxin Wu,1,2,3 Wei Deng,1 Yan Song,3 Jian Wang,4 and Dewen Kong1
1
School of Transportation, Southeast University, Si Pai Lou No. 2, Nanjing 210096, China
2
Key Laboratory for Traffic and Transportation Security of Jiangsu Province, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian 223003, China
3
Program on Chinese Cities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
4
School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to Dingxin Wu; wdx198137@126.com

Received 31 August 2016; Revised 26 January 2017; Accepted 6 March 2017; Published 19 April 2017

Academic Editor: Aura Reggiani

Copyright © 2017 Dingxin Wu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Bus lane with intermittent priority (BLIP) is an innovative method to improve the reliability of bus services while promoting efficient
usage of road resources. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication is an advanced technology that can greatly enhance the vehicle
mobility, improve traffic safety, and alleviate traffic jams. To explore the benefits of BLIP operation under a connected environment,
this study proposed a three-lane cellular automata (CA) model under opening boundary condition. In particular, a mandatory
BLIP lane-changing rule is developed to analyze special asymmetric lane-changing behaviors. To improve the simulation accuracy,
a smaller cell size is used in the CA model. Through massive numerical simulations, the benefits and influences of BLIP are explored
in this paper. They include impacts on neighborhood lanes such as traffic density increasing and average speed decreasing, lane-
changing behaviors, lane usage, and the impacts of bus departure interval and clear distance on the road capacity of BLIP. Analysis
of traffic flow characteristics of BLIP reveals that there is a strong relationship among bus departure interval, clear distance, and
road capacity. Furthermore, setting conditions for deployment of BLIP under the V2V environment such as reasonable departure
interval, clear distance, and traffic density are obtained.

1. Introduction like intersections, which means each section may not be equal
in length. The section-based BLIP works as follows: when
To reduce traffic congestion in urban areas, many strategies a bus is approaching a roadway section, the BLIP in this
have been proposed to improve the operational efficiency and roadway section becomes a bus lane; private vehicles running
attractiveness of public transportation systems. The dedicated in front of the bus are required to leave the BLIP lane for
bus lane (DBL) is perhaps one of the most popular bus the oncoming bus using variable message signs; when the
priority strategies that seeks to provide high-quality transit bus passes this roadways section, the BLIP lane is reopened
service and improve operation speed. While DBL is able to to private traffic again; private vehicles behind the bus are
improve the service level of the transit system, it requires allowed to enter the BLIP lane at any time [2, 3].
the reservation of a whole lane for buses and forbids the Numerous researches have been conducted to explore
entrance of private vehicles during a certain period. This may the system components. Implementation of BLIP relies on a
reduce the usage of limited road resources, leading to serious number of transportation infrastructures such as automatic
congestion of neighborhood lanes. To address this problem, vehicle location, central control system, information panel,
Eichler [1] proposed an innovative bus priority approach in-pavement lights, and bus detection [4, 5]. A simulation
called the bus lane with intermittent priority (BLIP). The conducted by US Department of Transportation reveals that
basic idea of the original BLIP concept is to divide the road the BLIP reduces the travel time by 14% through improv-
segment into a few sequential sections. The length of each ing the intersection delays [6]. This outcome, however, is
section is predetermined by the geometry of road networks, challenged by some other studies where BLIP is found to
2 Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society

negatively contribute to traffic delay and the road capacity The paper is structured as follows: the next section
[1, 2]. Albeit so many efforts devoted to the study of BLIP, a presents the modeling framework and lane-changing rules
number of associated challenges still prevent the fully exploit for BLIP in the V2V communication environment. The per-
of its potentials. First, the road capacity is still wasted too formance of BLIP including road capacity, lane usage under
much if BLIP is too long; second, the sections of varied various lane-changing behaviors, bus departure intervals, and
lengths may cause unsymmetric benefits of BLIP. To address clear distances is explored in Section 3. The final section
this problem, Wu et al. [7] proposed a connected vehicles concludes this research and proposes further research topics.
(CV) based BLIP, where the section lengths are assumed
to be fixed and all vehicles are capable of vehicle-to-vehicle 2. Model
(V2V) communications to assist lane-changing decisions.
Based on V2V communication, real-time information such In this section, a three-lane CA model for BLIP under V2V
as vehicular location and speed could be exchanged between environment is presented. The traffic condition under which
vehicles. A predetermined clear distance for private vehicles the BLIP can be implemented will also be studied.
could then be set in BLIP to clear the road for coming buses.
Although the impact of BLIP is investigated in recent 2.1. Model Definition. The hypothetical BLIP simulation sys-
researches, studies related to BLIP under V2V environment tem consists of three parallel single lanes (left, middle, and
are very rare and some major issues still remain untacked, right). It is based on V2V technology, which means each
for example, the interrelationship between fundamental dia- private vehicle can evaluate whether it is in the clear distance
gram, speed-density relationship, and road capacity of V2V- range of a rear bus or not according to real-time information
based BLIP, the impact of various factors on BLIP such as (like location and speed). Since bus stops are often deployed
lane-changing rules, long bus departure intervals, vehicle near intersections to utilize the red-light time for boarding
lengths, and acceleration, and frequently ping-pong lane- passengers [20, 21], thus, the BLIP lane itself can be seen as
changing pattern. This prevents the full exploration of the the key factor in urban traffic flow and the model focuses on
inhomogeneous phenomena associated with the bus priority how the BLIP affects traffic flow on the road and does not take
strategy. Furthermore, as one of the most promising enabler bus stations and intersections into account.
technologies, a comprehensive guideline for implementation The model is defined on a one-dimensional array of 𝐿
of BLIP in the connected environment and an approach to cells per lane. In previous CA models, each cell has a uniform
quantify the corresponding impact on traffic flow and road length of 7.5 m, and each vehicle has the uniform size and
capacity are yet to be found. occupies exactly one cell. Such cell size is too coarse, which
Most of existing studies explore BLIP using theoretical leads to unrealistic acceleration rates. A smaller cell size can
methods such as kinematic wave theory. However, these simulate the acceleration behavior with higher resolution
studies mainly focus on analyzing the macroscopic traffic which can mimic the physical features of vehicular move-
flow characteristics and pay little attention to microscopic ments better [22, 23]. In this study, each cell represents a divi-
details which are fundamental for operation of BLIP. In sion of the road of 1.5 m. There are two types of vehicles on the
𝑐
addition, theoretical methods are not flexible enough to deal road: regular cars with maximum speed Vmax = 15 cells/s
𝑏
with complex traffic environments like V2V communication (≈81 km/h) and buses with maximum speed Vmax = 10 cells/s
[8]. In certain context, the simulation-based method is more (≈54 km/h). Each car occupies 5 cells and each bus occupies
robust which allows researchers to comprehensively study 10 cells. Clear distance for bus 𝑙cd ∈ {150 m, 300 m, 450 m,
the traffic flow through holistically considering the potential 600 m}. One time step corresponds to one second in practice.
impact factors. For example, the cellular automaton (CA) Most key variables and parameters used in the model are
had been proved to be a powerful tool to study traffic flow summarized in Variables and Parameters.
under both macro- and microenvironments [9]. It is, thereby,
extensively adopted to study the traffic flow pattern. 2.2. Rules for Vehicle Movements. As can be seen from
𝑐
The CA model (NS) for a single lane was first formulated Figure 1, with each time step, if the first Vmax cells of each lane
by Kai and Schreckenberg [10]. Based on the NS model, CA are empty and a vehicle is allowed to enter the left boundary
models have been extended to study two-lane and three-lane of the road (𝑝 ≤ 𝑝in ), a new vehicle would be created at the left
traffic flow models. Chowdhury et al. [11] extended it to a two- boundary of each lane and runs forward at maximum speed.
lane model with stochastic lane change rule. Daoudia and When a vehicle reaches the end of the lane, it is removed
Moussa [12] used it to build a three-lane model with sym- from the right boundary if the vehicle is allowed to leave
metric lane change rule. Several attempts have been made so (𝑝 ≤ 𝑝out ). Otherwise, it remains in its position. Particularly,
far in this direction, and different lane-changing procedures with every time interval 𝑡depart , a new bus 𝑖 is created at the
have been proposed [13–16]. CA models for mixed vehicle left of the BLIP lane, which means that bus 𝑖 departs from
traffic such as mixed private vehicles with buses or trucks bus station A (or intersection A). When the bus 𝑖 reaches the
have also been studied [15, 17–19]. These studies found that right boundary of the lane, it is removed from the system (if
the CA model can efficiently characterize some traffic flow 𝑝 ≤ 𝑝out ), which means that the bus reaches bus station B (or
phenomenon occuring in multilane and mixed traffic flow intersection B). Each bus can only operate in the BLIP (right)
scenarios. To take advantage of CA model, this study pro- lane and is not allowed to change its lane at any time.
𝑗
posed a three-lane CA model to study the influence of V2V- In the CA model, the variable gap𝑖 represents the total
𝑗
based BLIP on urban traffic flow. number of empty cells in front of a vehicle 𝑖 in lane 𝑗; if 𝑥𝑖
Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society 3

Bus station A (or intersection A) Bus station B (or intersection B)

Left
Middle
Right (BLIP)
Clear distance
L cells

Figure 1: Diagram of three-lane traffic using V2V-based BLIP.

𝑗
represents the position of the vehicle 𝑖 in lane 𝑗, then gap𝑖 = original lane for at least 4 seconds before it starts to change
𝑗 𝑗 𝑗 lanes to avoid ping-pong lane-changing behaviors [14]. The
𝑥𝑖+1 − 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑙𝑖+1 . This variable determines the progress of all
vehicles. The randomization parameter 𝑝rand = 0.25 is used. methods to model these criteria of common lane-changing
At each discrete time step, the following four rules are used behaviors are presented as follows.
to update the movements of all vehicles. Let gap-f ront𝑘𝑖 (resp., gap-rear𝑘𝑖 ) be the number of free
cells between a car 𝑖 in lane 𝑗 and its front (resp., rear)
(1) Acceleration. If the velocity of a car (or a bus) 𝑖 in lane 𝑗 is neighboring car in target lane 𝑘. When the car 𝑖 is blocked by
𝑐 𝑏
lower than Vmax (or Vmax ) and if there is enough space ahead the nearest vehicle ahead and cannot obtain its desired speed
𝑗 𝑗
(V𝑖 ≤ gap𝑖 − 1), then the speed is increased by one; that is, at time 𝑡, it might try to find a safe gap in the adjacent lane
and change lanes. If gap-f ront𝑘𝑖 in target lane 𝑘 is greater than
𝑗 𝑗 𝑗𝑐 𝑗 𝑗 𝑗
if (V𝑖 ≤ gap𝑖 − 1) then V𝑖 = min(Vmax , V𝑖 + 1) 𝑜𝑟 V𝑖 = gap𝑖 in its original lane 𝑗, the car 𝑖 could have a motivation
𝑏 𝑗
min(Vmax , V𝑖 + 1). to change lanes. If all lane-changing criteria are satisfied, it
𝑗
can make a discretionary lane change to any feasible lane. As
(2) Deceleration. If the next vehicle ahead is too close (V𝑖 ≥ shown in Figure 1, for a car in the left or the right lane, it
𝑗 𝑗
gap𝑖 + 1), then speed is reduced to gap𝑖 ; that is, can only change to the middle lane. For a car in the middle
lane which is not in a rear bus’s clear distance, it will change
𝑗 𝑗 𝑗 𝑗
if V𝑖 ≥ gap𝑖 + 1 then V𝑖 = gap𝑖 . to an available adjacent lane, either to the left lane or to the
right lane. If both adjacent lanes (left and right) are available,
(3) Randomization. The velocity of each vehicle (if greater a driver is encouraged to change to the left for two major
than zero) is decreased by one with probability 𝑝rand ; that is, reasons: (1) a better use of the middle lane for those cars in
𝑗 𝑗
with 𝑝rand : V𝑖 = max(V𝑖 − 1, 0). the BLIP lane that are forced to move in; and (2) encouraging
a faster car to move to the left. Common lane-changing rules
𝑗 can be summarized as follows:
(4) Position Update. Each vehicle moves V𝑖 cells forward at
each time step. 𝑗 𝑐 𝑗
If gap𝑖 < min(Vmax , V𝑖 + 1)
𝑗
2.3. Lane-Changing Rules. If the BLIP system has been & gap-f ront𝑘𝑖 ≥ min(Vmax
𝑐
, V𝑖 + 1)
equipped with V2V technology, drivers can easily get real- 𝑗
time-space headways in different lanes and decide whether & gap-rear𝑘𝑖 ≥ min(Vmax
𝑐 𝑐
, V𝑖 + 1) − min(Vmax 𝑘
, V𝑖+1 + 1) +
to change lanes or not. Generally, lane-changing rules can gapsafety
be symmetric or asymmetric with respect to the lanes or to then car 𝑖 changes lane from 𝑗 to 𝑘.
the vehicles. All changing behaviors in this model are divided
into the following two categories: the common lane-changing
with the symmetric rule, where the regular cars change lanes 2.3.2. BLIP Lane-Changing. As can be seen in Figure 1, cars in
randomly to a neighborhood lane if necessary; and BLIP lane- the left (or middle) lane and within the clear distance range
changing with the asymmetric rule, which means some cars of a rear bus are not encouraged to change lanes to the middle
are forced to leave the BLIP lane due to an oncoming bus if (or right) lane. This provides more spaces for mandatory lane-
they are in the range of the rear bus’s clear distance. changing from the BLIP lane to the middle lane. Cars in the
right lane and just in the clear distance range of a rear bus are
2.3.1. Common Lane-Changing. In normal driving contexts, forced to leave the BLIP lane as soon as possible if all lane-
the driver needs to change lanes to seek a better driving changing criterions are satisfied. If there is no safe gap, they
environment; this is labeled as common lane-changing in this will remain in the BLIP lane and try to merge to the middle
study. To mimic the common lane-changing behavior, the lane again at next time step, which can be described as follows:
following three essential criteria are used in the proposed
model: (1) the incentive criterion: a faster car wants to keep a If gap-f ront𝑘𝑖 ≥ gapsafety
desired high speed or avoid jamming traffic; (2) the security 𝑗
& gap-rear𝑘𝑖 ≥ min(Vmax
𝑐 𝑐
, V𝑖 + 1) − min(Vmax 𝑘
, V𝑖+1 + 1) +
criterion: a driver only change lanes when it is safe and his/her
gapsafety
behavior does not affect the movements of other vehicles on
target lane; and (3) the time criterion: a car must remain in the then car 𝑖 changes lane from 𝑗 to 𝑘.
4 Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society

Those cars in the BLIP lane but not in the clear distance to a decline in service quality. Such a situation is significantly
for a bus are not required to leave the lane for the oncoming improved by introducing the BLIP strategy (Figure 2(f)). The
buses. downstream cars in the BLIP lane will be forced to change
lanes (mandatory lane-changing) when a bus is coming.
3. Simulations and Discussions The trajectory of buses is consistent with the bus departure
interval and is less influenced by general traffic in Case B.
In this section, we conduct numerical simulations of an urban Recall that the mandatory lane changes are performed only
roadway under the opening boundary condition using the when those cars are in a clear distance range of a rear bus,
three-lane CA model. The main road length is 1600 cells which makes merging behaviors more complex in the middle
(2400 meters). The first 10000 time steps are discarded to and right lane. Besides, mandatory BLIP lane-changing may
reduce the negative effect of the transient time. The results are induce traffic jams in the middle lane (Figure 2(e)). Due to
obtained from 10001 to 10600 time steps. We discuss all sim- the BLIP, the traffic density of the right lane in front of buses
ulations under the following two traffic situations: the three- decreases. This makes the buses move more smoothly with
lane urban road with no bus priority and no BLIP lane-chang- higher speeds and fewer delays.
ing (labeled as Case A) and the three-lane urban road with the
BLIP strategy (labeled as Case B). 3.1.2. Average Speed Distributions. Average speeds of different
Denote 𝑁𝑗,type (𝑡) as the number of vehicles in lane 𝑗 at lanes are also studied and the inputs of variables are the same
time 𝑡 (pcu/lane, passenger car unit/lane), type ∈ {car, bus}. as those in Section 3.1.1. Figure 3 presents the average speed
Let 𝜌𝑗 (𝑡) denote the traffic density of lane 𝑗 at time 𝑡 (pcu/km), of each lane in Case A and Case B. It shows that the average
and V𝑗 (𝑡) (km/h), and 𝑗 ∈ {left, middle, right} denotes the speed difference between the different lanes is very small
average velocity of lane 𝑗. The following equations are used under the common lane-changing rule in Case A. But for
to calculate 𝜌𝑗 (𝑡) and V𝑗 (𝑡), respectively: the BLIP lane-changing rule, the average speed of the BLIP
lane increases by 50% as compared with its previous speed.
5 × 𝑁𝑗,car (𝑡) 10 × 𝑁𝑗,bus (𝑡) Each peak of average speed in the BLIP lane corresponds to a
𝜌𝑗 (𝑡) = + , trough in the left and middle lane when there are buses pass-
𝐿 𝐿
ing through the BLIP lane. Simulation results show that buses
1 can maintain a higher speed even in higher traffic density due
V𝑗 (𝑡) = { }
[𝑁𝑗,car (𝑡) + 𝑁𝑗,bus (𝑡)] (1) to the BLIP strategy. The average speeds of vehicles in both
left and middle lanes in Case B also increase due to the open
𝑁𝑗,car (𝑡) 𝑁𝑗,bus (𝑡) boundary and BLIP strategy.
𝑗 𝑗
× [ ∑ V𝑖 + ∑ V𝑖 ] . Figure 4(a) presents the average bus speed in Case A and
[ 𝑖=1 𝑖=1
] Case B. It is obvious that the average speed of buses in Case B
is much higher than in Case A. The mean of average bus speed
In this simulation, a vehicle is inserted into the left in Case A is about 35 km/h and increases to over 50 km/h in
boundary of each lane with the entry probability 𝑝in (0.025 ≤ Case B. This is perhaps because the disruptive behavior of reg-
𝑝in ≤ 1). It determines the input of traffic flow. ular cars on buses is significantly reduced by introducing the
To analyze the function of BLIP, eight aspects are BLIP strategy. Figure 4(b) compares the difference between
explored: effects of BLIP, average traveling time, effects of each average bus speed and the mean of average bus speed
bus departure interval, effects of clear distance, lane change in each time slot. It reveals that average bus speed in Case A
behavior, lane usage, traffic capacity, and suitable traffic deviates from the mean more seriously than in Case B.
conditions. Histograms shown in Figure 5 further justify such phe-
nomenon. Figure 5(a) obeys normal distribution, and it also
3.1. Effects of BLIP. Simulation is conducted with different illustrates that 36 km/h is the mean of average bus speed
lane-changing rules to evaluate the performance of the BLIP in Case A. However, atypical and asymmetric bus speed
strategy, including time-space distribution of traffic flow, distribution in Case B with dispersion and higher speed easily
average speed, average delay, lane-changing rate and frequen- ensures that buses have a smooth ride and are fuel efficient
cy, lane usage, average bus traveling time saving, and road which improves bus service significantly (Figure 5(b)).
capacity loss.
3.2. Average Traveling Time. The main purpose of providing
3.1.1. Traffic Time-Space Distributions. Figure 2 shows the the BLIP strategy is to eliminate the disturbances imposed
time-space distributions of traffic flow of the right lane under by general traffic. Figure 6 presents the average bus traveling
both Case A and Case B. The initial inputs for the variables are time in Case A and Case B in different traffic density
set as follows: 𝑡depart = 60 s, 𝑙cd = 300 m, 𝑝rand = 0.25, 𝑝in = 1, scenarios. Simulation results show that there is no difference
and 𝑝out = 0.7. The blue lines in Figures 2(c) and 2(f) represent between both cases when the traffic density is less than
trajectory of buses. 30 pcu/km, because all vehicles run at nearly free-flow speeds,
As we can see from Figure 2(c), upstream cars will always whereas for traffic density within the range of [30, 100] pcu/
slow down to follow buses or try to change lanes to overtake km, the average bus traveling time in Case B is less than that
the buses in Case A. Additionally, some buses cannot main- in Case A even during peak hours. The BLIP strategy reduces
tain their speeds due to downstream congestion and this leads bus traveling time by providing buses a temporary DBL.
Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society 5

0 0 0

100 100 100

200 200 200

Time (s)
Time (s)

Time (s)
300 300 300

400 400 400

500 500 500

600 600 600

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Space (cells) Space (cells) Space (cells)
(a) (b) (c)
0 0 0

100 100 100

200 200 200

Time (s)

Time (s)
Time (s)

300 300 300

400 400 400

500 500 500

600 600 600

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Space (cells) Space (cells) Space (cells)
(d) (e) (f)

Figure 2: Time-space distributions of Case A (a, b, c) and Case B (d, e, f). (a) Time-space distribution of the left lane in Case A. (b) Time-
space distribution of the middle lane in Case A. (c) Time-space distribution of the right lane in Case A. (d) Time-space distribution of the
left lane in Case B. (e) Time-space distribution of the middle lane in Case B. (f) Time-space distribution of the right lane in Case B.

65 65

60 60

55 55
Average speed (veh/km)

Average speed (veh/km)

50 50

45 45

40 40

35 35

30 30

25 25

20 20

15 15
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time (s) Time (s)

Case A, left lane Case B, left lane Case A, middle lane Case B, middle lane
Case A, blip lane Case B, blip lane Case A, blip lane Case B, blip lane
(a) (b)

Figure 3: Average speed distributions of Case A and Case B. (a) Average speed distributions of the left and right (BLIP) lane in Case A and
Case B. (b) Average speed distributions of the middle and right (BLIP) lane in Case A and Case B.
6 Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society

55 20

50 15

45 10

Deviations from the mean

Average speed (km/h)

5
40
0
35
−5
30
−10
25
−15
20 −20
15 −25
10 −30
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (s) Time (s)

Case A: average speed of bus Case A: average speed of bus

Case B: average speed of bus Case B: average speed of bus
(a) (b)

Figure 4: Average speed distributions of Case A and Case B. (a) Average bus speed in Case A and Case B. (b) Deviations from the mean of
average bus speed in Case A and Case B.

90 160

80 140
70
120
60
100
Frequency

Frequency

50
80
40
60
30
40
20

10 20

0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Average speed of bus (km/h) Average speed of bus (km/h)

Frequency of Case A Frequency of Case B

Normal distribution Normal distribution
(a) (b)

Figure 5: Histograms of average bus speed in Case A and Case B. (a) Histograms of average bus speed in Case A. (b) Histograms of average
bus speed in Case B.

Figure 7 indicates that, by introducing temporary prior- variable are set as follows: 𝑡depart ∈ {60 s, 90 s, 120 s, 150 s}, 𝑙cd
ity, the travel time is reduced by 5% when the traffic density is = 300 m, 𝑝rand = 0.25, 𝑝in = 1, and 𝑝out = 0.7. Simulation results
within the range of [40, 80] pcu/km. The reduction reaches imply that the average speed of the right lane reduces mono-
up to 7% when traffic density is around 45 pcu/km, which tonically with respect to reduced departure interval. This is
reduces bus traveling time delay and passenger waiting time perhaps because the vehicles change lanes more frequently
and improves service reliability. when departure interval decreases. In contrast, increasing
bus departure interval would reduce an occurrence of BLIP
3.3. Effects of Bus Departure Interval. Figure 8 shows the lane-changing behaviors and result in higher traffic density
speed-density relationship of the BLIP lane in Case B at in the BLIP lane. Hence, it is very important to choose a
different bus departure intervals. The initial inputs for each reasonable bus departure interval time to show the benefits of
Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society 7

900 and 𝑝out = 0.7, are used in this simulation scenario to evaluate
both symmetric and asymmetric lane change behaviors.
800

𝑛 𝑗
700 𝑁𝑖
LCfrequency(𝑗) = ∑ ,
600 𝑖=1 Δ𝑥 × Δ𝑡
(2)
Time (s)

𝑗
500 𝑁𝑖
LCrate(𝑗) = .
400 𝑁

300 Figure 10 investigates the lane-changing frequency of

each lane with different traffic densities. In general, the
200 lane-changing frequency is correlated with traffic density; it
100
increases in traffic densities. Due to the BLIP strategy, more
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 and more cars have to change lanes when traffic density
Density (pcu/km) increases. Thereby, the lane-changing frequency of each lane
in Case B grows much faster than in Case A. BLIP lane-
Average bus traveling time in Case A
Average bus traveling time in Case B
changing behaviors are observed in Case B. Under the BLIP
lane-changing rule, a large number of cars are forced to merge
Figure 6: Average bus traveling time in Case A and Case B in from the right lane to the middle and it leads to a lane-
different traffic density scenarios. changing frequency increase in the right lane. For those cars
in the middle lane, they have to find a large enough gap in
the left lane to maintain their speeds and make ways for those
BLIP. Longer bus departure interval is recommended because cars which are making BLIP lane changes from the right. They
it improves average speed, traffic density, and road capacity of might also return to the right lane once buses pass and there
the right lane. is enough space to accommodate them. Hence, there will be
more motivation to change lanes for cars in the middle lane.
Influenced by this, lane-changing frequency of the middle
3.4. Effects of Clear Distance. Figure 9 illustrates the speed-
lane increases dramatically. With respect to the right and
density relationship of the BLIP lane in Case A and Case
middle lane, a growth of lane-changing frequency of the left
B with different clear distances. The simulation scenario is
lane is smooth in Case B. A plateau appears when traffic
based on the following variables: 𝑙cd ∈ {150 m, 300 m, 450 m,
density 𝜌 is larger than 0.7. There is almost no lane-changing
600 m}, 𝑡depart = 60 s, 𝑝rand = 0.25, 𝑝in = 1, and 𝑝out = 0.7.
As shown here, clear distance has a certain impact on the frequency addition in both cases, and all vehicles are in a jam.
speed and traffic density. While a larger clear distance can Figure 11 indicates another evaluation metric of lane
change behavior, lane-changing rate. When 𝜌 ≈ 0.1, the
provide more space for buses, it also leads to more lane-
maximum lane-changing rate of each lane is reached and
changing behaviors and brings confusion to traffic flow.
the maximum difference between two cases is also observed
Therefore, more cars are forced to the middle lane with clear
because small traffic densities help all vehicles to find enough
distance increasing when traffic density is within the range
space to make lane changes, whereas, for 𝜌 ∈ [0.1, 0.5], lane-
of [0, 40] pcu/km, because there is enough space for those
changing rates of each lane begin to decrease in both cases
cars to change their lane from the right to middle. And there
because of increasing traffic density reducing free sites in the
will be more cars going back to the right lane after a bus
target lane making it harder to finish a lane change for each
passes within the traffic density area. It leads to more lane-
car. As 𝜌 > 0.5, there is only a slight change with traffic density
changing behaviors and causes lower average speed of BLIP
increasing, which indicates a congested state on the three-
lane. Similarly, clear distance changing may also cause the
lane road. Simulation results show that the middle lane has
change of the traffic density. Smaller clear distance offers
the largest proportion of lane-changing in Case A; the left
higher density and helps to improve road capacity.
lane and right lane have the medium and the smallest ratio
of lane-changing, respectively. For Case B, simulation results
3.5. Lane Change Behavior. Frequent and large numbers of prove that the BLIP strategy leads to many lane-changing
lane changes not only negatively affect the traffic flows but ratio changes. Although the middle lane still has the largest
also reduce the comfortability of driving. Here, we define lane-changing proportion, it is found that lane-changing rate
LCfrequency(𝑗) (times/lane/hour) and LCrate(𝑗) (lane-changing of the right lane has the highest increase which is up to 50%
𝑗
rate) as functions of average traffic density. 𝑁𝑖 is the number in comparison to Case A. The increase of lane-changing rate
of lane changes for vehicle 𝑖 in lane 𝑗, per kilometer (Δ𝑥) of of the left lane is much smaller than in the right lane, and that
road, and for each time interval (Δ𝑡) [24]. 𝑁 is the total num- confirms that the BLIP strategy restricts those cars in the left
ber of vehicles in lane 𝑗 for each time interval (Δ𝑡). The fol- lane to move to their adjacent lane. And it also indicates that
lowing variables, 𝑙cd = 150 m, 𝑡depart = 60 s, 𝑝rand = 0.25, 𝑝in = 1, lots of cars in the right lane are forced to leave their own lane.
8 Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society

80 7

70
6
60
5
50

Proportion (%)
Time (s)

4
40
3
30

20 2

10 1

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Density (pcu/km) Density (pcu/km)

Reducing of bus operation time Proportion of reducing time

(a) (b)

Figure 7: Average bus traveling time saving by BLIP in different traffic density scenarios. (a) Average bus traveling time saving by BLIP. (b)
Proportion of average bus traveling time saving by BLIP.

80 80

70 70

60 60
75
50 75 50
Speed (km/h)
Speed (km/h)

70
40 70 40
65
65
30 30 60
60
20 20
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30
10 10

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Density (pcu/km) Density (pcu/km)

Case B, 60 s 300 m (BLIP lane) Case B, 120 s 300 m (BLIP lane) Case B, 60 s 150 m (BLIP lane) Case B, 60 s 450 m (BLIP lane)
Case B, 90 s 300 m (BLIP lane) Case B, 150 s 300 m (BLIP lane) Case B, 60 s 300 m (BLIP lane) Case B, 60 s 600 m (BLIP lane)

Figure 8: Speed-density relationship under various bus departure Figure 9: Speed-density relationship under various clear distance
interval factors. factors.

3.6. Lane Usage. Here, we define 𝐿 usage(𝑗) (total length of slight differences among lane usage of each lane. As 𝜌 > 0.4,
vehicles/length of lane) as functions of average traffic density. differences gradually expand with traffic density increasing.
𝑗
𝑙𝑖 is the length of car 𝑖 in lane 𝑗. 𝐿 is the length of lane 𝑗. However, the maximum difference of lane usage between two
lanes does not exceed 5% in Case A. Because cars in both left
𝑗
∑𝑛 𝑙 and right adjacent lanes might have the motivation to change
𝐿 usage(𝑗) = 𝑖=1 𝑖 . (3)
to the middle lane, most of the cars are in the middle lane for
𝐿
all densities. But, Case B shows a completely different lane
We present Figure 12 in order to clarify how the lane usage usage situation. The lane usage of the right lane is always
changes each lane between Case A and Case B. When the the lowest for all densities which reflect that BLIP strategy
traffic density increases, the road occupancy rate grows sig- decreases the road occupancy rate of the right lane. There is
nificantly, whereas, for 𝜌 ∈ [0.1, 0.4] in Case A, there are only no significant difference between lane usage of the left and
Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society 9

3000 60
Lane changing frequency (times/km/h)

2500 50

Road occupancy rate (%)

2000 40

1500 30

1000 20

500 10

0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Density (𝜌) Density (𝜌)
Case A (left) Case B (middle) Case A (left) Case B (left)
Case A (middle) Case B (right) Case A (middle) Case B (middle)
Case A (right) Case B (BLIP) Case A (right) Case B (right)
Case B (left)
Figure 12: Lane usage of Case A and Case B.
Figure 10: Lane-changing frequency of each lane with traffic density
increasing in Case A and Case B.

22 the saturation flow of the right lane because the traffic flow
20 is dynamically disturbed by the moving buses. But it is not
difficult to determine the traffic capacity of each lane using
18
CA simulation.
16 Figure 13 presents the density-flow relationships with
Lane changing rate (%)

different clear distance in Case B. It is observed that traffic

14
flow of each lane decreases from more than 1800 pcu/h to
12 about 1700 pcu/h with clear distance increasing, and that
10 causes more road capacity loss. And the maximum traffic flow
occurs at a lower traffic density (𝜌 < 40 pcu/km) than that
8 in the case with smaller clear distance. For the density-flow
6 curve of the right lane, its right part is almost like an inclined
straight line, which becomes more and more bent with clear
4
distance rises.
2 The fundamental diagrams of the individual lanes also
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
show that the maximum traffic flow of the middle lane
Density (𝜌)
is greater than the maximum traffic flow of the left and
Case A (left) Case B (middle) right lane. It illustrates that the middle lane has the larger
Case A (middle) Case B (right) saturation flow and higher traffic density than the other two
Case A (right) Case B (BLIP) lanes. Because a moving road section of the right lane would
Case B (left) be prohibited for some cars, the traffic breaks down first in
Figure 11: Lane-changing rate of each lane with traffic density the right lane, while it still stays stable in the left or middle
increasing in Case A and Case B. lane. Traffic flow drops rapidly relative to the other two lanes
when 𝜌 ≈ 20 pcu/km. The values where the maximum flow is
reached depend on different combinations of bus departure
interval and clear distance.
that of the middle lane and both are up to 10% higher than Figure 14 displays the total road capacity of three lanes in
that in the right. Simulation results clearly indicate that cars Case A and Case B. In general, the increase of clear distance
are now predominantly in the left and the middle lane rather reduces the total road capacity significantly. It illustrates
than in the right lane when buses are passing by. that longer clear distance is not applicable to the actual
operation of BLIP. On the contrary, the increase of bus
3.7. Traffic Capacity. Buses are generally seen as disturbances departure interval notably improves the total road capacity.
and slow-moving bottlenecks in traffic flow. Due to the BLIP By comparing the total road capacity simulations results in
strategy, it is hard to calculate traffic capacity by measuring Case A and Case B, it is obvious to observe that the maximum
10 Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society

2000 1800
1800 1600
1600 1400
1400
1200

Flow (pcu/h)
Flow (pcu/h)

1200
1000
1000
800
800
600
600
400
400
200 200

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Density (pcu/km) Density (pcu/km)

Case B, 60 s 150 m (left) Case B, 60 s 300 m (left)

Case B, 60 s 150 m (middle) Case B, 60 s 300 m (middle)
Case B, 60 s 150 m (right) Case B, 60 s 300 m (right)
(a) (b)
1800 1800

1600 1600

1400 1400

1200 1200
Flow (pcu/h)
Flow (pcu/h)

1000 1000

800 800

600 600

400 400

200 200

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Density (pcu/km) Density (pcu/km)

Case B, 60 s 450 m (left) Case B, 60 s 600 m (left)

Case B, 60 s 450 m (middle) Case B, 60 s 600 m (middle)
Case B, 60 s 450 m (right) Case B, 60 s 600 m (right)
(c) (d)

Figure 13: Density-flow relationships with different clear distance in Case B. (a) 𝑙cd = 150 m. (b) 𝑙cd = 300 m. (c) 𝑙cd = 450 m. (d) 𝑙cd = 600 m.

capacity is reached at a smaller clear distance and a larger bus implementation under V2V environment are summarized in
departure interval. Table 1 to help transport agencies decide when to use this
The maximum road capacity is obtained when 𝑙cd = 150 m technique. Three traffic parameters are considered which are
and 𝑡depart = 120 s and is slightly greater than 5500 pcu/h. the bus departure interval, clear distance, and traffic density.
The minimum of total capacity loss is less than 100 pcu/h Table 1 suggests that the lower limit of bus departure
for three lanes. And the minimum capacity is achieved when interval is 90 s, which is very appropriate for buses of multiple
𝑙cd = 600 m and 𝑡depart = 60 s, which is slightly smaller than routes sharing one BLIP lane. The lower and upper limit of
5100 pcu/h. clear distance are 150 m and 300 m, respectively. This clear
distance range ensures that the BLIP strategy can not only
3.8. Suitable Traffic Conditions. Simulation results in the provide dynamic priority for buses, but also minimize the
above sections show that the operational effects of the BLIP effect on general traffic and the loss of total road capacity.
strategy are highly affected by traffic parameters in the three- The reasonable lower limit of traffic density is 30 pcu/km,
lane road segment. Based on the results, the recommenda- which avoids unnecessary road capacity loss. The reasonable
tions of traffic conditions that are most suitable for BLIP upper limit of traffic density is 90 pcu/km. It is actually a
Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society 11

5700 35 5600 35
5600 30 5500 30
5500 5400
25 25
5400
5300
5300 20 20
5200
5200 15 15
5100
5100
10 10
5000 5000

4900 5 4900 5

4800 0 4800 0
60 90 120 150 150 300 450 600
(s) (m)
Case A: road capacity of three lanes (pcu/h) Case B: road capacity of three lanes when
Case B: road capacity of three lanes when clear departure interval = 60 s (pcu/h)
distance = 150 m (pcu/h) Case B: road capacity of three lanes when
Case B: road capacity of three lanes when clear departure interval = 90 s (pcu/h)
distance = 300 m (pcu/h) Case B: road capacity of three lanes when
Case B: road capacity of three lanes when clear departure interval = 120 s (pcu/h)
distance = 450 m (pcu/h) Case B: road capacity of three lanes when
Case B: road capacity of three lanes when clear departure interval = 150 s (pcu/h)
distance = 600 m (pcu/h) Case B: average density for max traffic flow
Case B: average density for max traffic flow when departure interval = 60 s (pcu/km)
when clear distance = 150 m (pcu/km) Case B: average density for max traffic flow
Case B: average density for max traffic flow when departure interval = 90 s (pcu/km)
when clear distance = 300 m (pcu/km) Case B: average density for max traffic flow
Case B: average density for max traffic flow when departure interval = 120 s (pcu/km)
when clear distance = 450 m (pcu/km) Case B: average density for max traffic flow
Case B: average density for max traffic flow when departure interval = 150 s (pcu/km)
when clear distance = 600 m (pcu/km)
(a) (b)

Figure 14: Road capacity of three lanes in Case A and Case B with different bus departure interval and clear distance combinations. (a) Road
capacity of three lanes with different bus departure intervals. (b) Road capacity of three lanes with different distances.

Table 1: Suitable traffic conditions for BLIP implementation.

Bus departure interval Clear distance Traffic density

Lower limit 90 s 150 m 30 pcu/km
Upper limit — 300 m 90 pcu/km

very high traffic density, in which general traffic could barely lane. And it is also found that larger clear distance and higher
change lanes to provide temporary priority for buses. The bus departure frequency both increase the impact on general
above information is critical to the BLIP operation practices, traffic under the BLIP strategy. There is no doubt that the
which guarantee that the V2V-based BLIP plays a positive BLIP strategy could promote bus speed and save bus traveling
role in promoting bus service quality. time at a certain traffic condition range, but at the same time
it unavoidably reduces road capacity. The BLIP strategy par-
4. Conclusion tially sacrifices the interests of car users to support bus riders,
which seems reasonable for transportation equality. Accord-
This paper focuses on building a simulation framework ing to simulation results, the BLIP strategy reduces the total
to evaluate a V2V based BLIP system. Microscopic traffic capacity of three lanes by nearly 500 pcu/h in the worst situa-
characteristics such as lane-changing behaviors and lane tion. The BLIP strategy has a positive effect only when the
usage are investigated by setting a new BLIP lane-changing traffic condition is within the range of 𝜌 ∈ [30, 90] pcu/km,
rule. The three-lane CA model provides a useful tool to study 𝑙cd ∈ [150, 300] m, and 𝑡depart ∈ [90, +∞) s.
the influence of the BLIP on urban roads, explore suitable As a creative bus priority strategy, there is still much work
traffic conditions, and make better decisions in an application to be done before real implementation of BLIP. For example,
of the BLIP strategy under a connected vehicle environment. the influence of bus stops has not been considered in this
It is found that there are higher average speed and lower paper, which is similar to a temporarily fixed bottle-neck
traffic density in the BLIP lane with respect to the ordinary when a bus loads passengers. It is still possible to be analyzed
12 Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society

using our method if the model is slightly improved. Our work Jiangsu Government Scholarship for overseas studies (JS-
concentrates on studying the BLIP strategy on a three-lane 2016-K009), and the Social Science Fund of Jiangsu Province
roadway. Since our model proves that BLIP strategy works (15SHC007). The authors thank Dr. Ming Jing (Key Labo-
well in various scenarios, the benefits of the BLIP strategy ratory of Technology on Intelligent Transportation Systems,
would be more remarkable when there are four or more lanes Research Institute of Highway, Ministry of Transport of
in the roadway. More extensive simulation numerical experi- China) for assistance with CA modeling and Professor Daniel
ments need to be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the A. Rodriguez (Department of City and Regional Planning,
proposed strategy under different patterns of bus stops, pas- University of California, Berkeley) for sharing his pearls of
senger volumes, and a probability of private drivers who obey wisdom with them during the course of this research. Any
mandatory lane-changing rules. errors are the authors’ and should not tarnish the reputations
of these esteemed persons.

Variables and Parameters

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