Optimizing Bus Use of Urban Highways

The widespread reliance on bus transport underlies current efforts to improve bus service, to establish bus priorities on city streets, and to achieve efficient bus utilization of highway facilities. These efforts reflect the national search for mobility options which minimize highway construction in high-density areas. This paper evaluates contemporary bus priority measures such as bus lanes, bus streets, and busways. It identifies relevant planning parameters, establishes planning principles, and suggest warrants for installation. Bus priority planning should minimize person delay and balance investments with demands. Measures should be viewed as a system of treatments designed to expedite bus flow. Equally significant are community policies regarding the role of buses in the transportation system.