Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Implementation Study for South ... - pctpa

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Implementation Study for south Placer CountySeptember 8, 2006Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have played an important role to help transit agencies increasesafety, operational efficiency and quality of BRT service. ITS applications are also fundamental to greatlyenhancing BRT operations and achieving BRT system objectives including safety, reliability, efficiency, andpassenger information availability. The main ITS elements for BRT include the following (TCRP Report 90):• Automatic Vehicle Location and Control (AVLC)• Passenger Information System• Traffic Signal Priorities• Automated Passenger Counting• Electronic Fare Collection• Vehicle Guidance and ControlAccording to TCRP Report 90, bus delays at traffic signal account for 10 to 20 percent of overall bus traveltimes and 50 percent or more of all delays. Traffic signal controls for BRT pre-emption as well as a range ofpriorities (i.e., passive, active, and real-time). Pre-emption is the highest level of control as it results inchanges to the normal signal phasing and sequencing; it has had limited use, though, given its impact onsignal coordination and pedestrians. The implementation of real-time signal priorities, which consider bothauto and bus arrivals when making adjustments to the traffic signal, have been somewhat limited given theneed for specialized equipment. The most frequently applied signal priorities are active or passive signalpriority, which improve BRT speeds by modifying existing signal operations.38