Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies to Improve Travel Time ...

SHRP 2 L11: Final Appendices
Application of ACS-Lite (FHWA adaptive control software) in Gahanna, OH; Houston, TX and Bradenton, FL resulted in fuel
savings of up to 7% (9).
• Energy/Environment: An Adaptive Signal Control system in Toronto reduced vehicle emissions by 3 to 6% percent and lowered
fuel consumption by four to seven percent (3).
The Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control System (ATSAC) in Los Angeles reported in 1994 a 13% reduction in fuel
consumption and 13% reduction in pollutant emissions (33).
Advanced Transportation Automation Systems, Signal Priority and AVL
• Safety: Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA) dispatchers estimate that response times to bus operator calls for assistance
have been reduced to 3 to 4 minutes with the AVL system from 7 to 15 minutes previously (62).
• Mobility: In Toronto, Canada transit signal priority reduced transit delay by 30 to 40 percent and travel time by 2 to 6 percent (3).
Experience in 13 cities in the U.S. and abroad show 1.5 to 15 percent improvement in bus travel time due to transit signal priority
(3).
In Denver, transit AVL decreased early and late arrivals by 12 and 21 percent, respectively (1).
In 1998, in Portland, Oregon an automatic vehicle location system with computer aided dispatching improved on-time bus
performance by 9 percent, reduced headway variability between buses by 5 percent, and decreased run-time by 3 percent (1).
Data from transit systems in Portland, Oregon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Baltimore, Maryland show that AVL/CAD systems
have improved schedule adherence by 9 to 23 percent (3).
The on-time performance (from one minute early to three minutes late) of Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA) (from one
minute early to three minutes late) improved from 78 % to 95 % after AVL installation (62).
San Pablo Corridor Transit Signal Priority (TSP) system reduced the total intersection delay by 16% (104 seconds), total running
time was reduced by 5% (118 seconds), and therefore bus average traveling speed was increased by 5% (64).
The field operational tests of the ATSP system at the seven intersections along the state highway 82 (El Camino Real) showed that
the average intersection delay for testing bus runs was reduced by 50% (65).
• Efficiency: In Scandinavia, vehicles equipped with a GPS-based tracking system and on-board monitoring systems were able to
reduce wasted mileage and emissions in southern and central Sweden, and increase freight movement by 15 percent (1).
A Kansas DOT survey of transportation agencies found that AVL applications for highway maintenance can have b/c ratios
ranging from 2.6:1 to 24:1 (2).
ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION AND QUANTITATIVE BENEFITS OF TRAVEL-TIME RELIABILITY STRATEGIES Page F-38