A Performance Evaluation of Bus Stop Placements near a Signalized Intersection by a Microscopic Traffic Simulation

In this paper, data from an on-site survey in Seoul, Korea and the microscopic traffic simulation are used to evaluate the performances of Bus Rapid Transit bus stops operated on different placements to their nearest traffic signals: far-side, and near-side. The influence of Bus Priority Signal Systems is also analyzed. The results reveal that a near-side bus stop performs better under the current ordinary signal control situation. However, the performance of a far-side bus stop can be improved more significantly by the adoption of a Bus Priority Signal System and becomes even better (-13.3% average value and -22.2% range of bus travel times) than a near-side bus stop especially under a more congested traffic demand. The results are applicable not only for the practical choice of the placements of new bus stops, but also for improving the existing ones.