HOW CAN THE DESIGN OF BUS STOPS HELP IN REDUCING CONGESTION

Severe congestion problems can occur during peak periods at bus stops in cities where buses are the main mode of transport for the population. Bus priority is not an issue because traffic flows smoothly at junctions and the conflicts are between buses at the stopping places. The measures required to reduce congestion at bus stops is quite different from that designed to provide bus priorities. The paper deals with such measures, concentrating on design techniques. An overview is given of the relevant congestion phenomena based on recent research results. Methods of avoiding or mitigating congestion at bus stops through the provision of adequate capacity are discussed. Research shows that bus stop size is of minor importance, passenger demand rate and operating rules have the greatest effect. For the covering abstract see IRRD 879918.