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Influence of Bus-Stops on Urban Traffic Flow Characteristics

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 IJSRD - International Journal for Scientific Research & Development| Vol. 4, Issue 09, 2016 | ISSN (online): 2321-0613

Influence of Bus-Stops on Urban Traffic Flow Characteristics

Supritha DK1 Archana Shagoti2 Somanath Khot3
1,2,3
Department of Civil Engineering
1,2,3
Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi
Abstract— Transport is an important part of India economy. transport system, various modes of public in different cities
since the economic liberalization 90’s there has been a includes metro rail, buses, auto rickshaws, taxis, rickshaws
tremendous increase in economic activities followed closely and local trains. As the income of the families has started to
by great increase in the travel demand in the cities. A variety increase in past two decades the dependence on the bus
of transport modes are being used in different cities to meet transport has started to decrease due to the fact that many
the ever increasing travel demand .public transport is the people can afford two wheelers and four wheelers now and
main source of transportation in cities very few in Indian prefer to make trips in their own vehicles. Liberalization
cities currently have and organized transportation system. followed with licenses to manufacture of the different
There are only seven cities with local commuter rail service. brands, types, etc., made it a buyers’ market offering
Organized bus service now operates in 65 cities as compared innumerable choices to buy two wheelers, this followed by
to 20 cities in 2006. Bengaluru city has one of the most attractive financing schemes. Even though the usage of
extensive bus transport network in India. Buses are the main public transport has started to decrease but its importance to
mode of transportation in the Bengaluru city. The buses in the cities can never be neglected. Public transport still
Bengaluru city are maintained and owned by Bengaluru remains the cheapest mode of transport and it is safer than
metropolitan transport corporation or BMTC, which most other modes of transport. Usage of private vehicles
operates on about 2400 routes and has a fleet six of 6700 may be possible for smaller families on certain particular
buses, these buses are the main source of mobility in occasions but it is not possible for even small families to use
Bengaluru city, besides the buses the auto rickshaws also private vehicles all the time so they also have to make use of
play an important role in transportation. The main objective public transport. A large section of our society still cannot
of the present study is to study the effect of number of buses afford to travel in private vehicles, so it becomes very
stopping at field location on flow parameters like delay, important to have an efficient public transport system.
congestion etc. of traffic flow. Based on the studies three Traffic congestion significantly affects economic
alternate proposals are suggested for implementation which performance of the nation. In majority of urban areas, travel
would have tremendous effect on the smooth flow of traffic. demand exceeds highway capacity occasionally during peak
If proposition is implemented it will reduce traffic periods. In addition, events such as crashes, vehicle
congestion, increase speed of vehicles and cause less noise, breakdowns, work zones, adverse weather, suboptimal
air pollution and accident. Also, this study is aimed at signal timing, etc. cause temporary losses in capacity, often
studying the spacing of bus-stops on the chosen route and deteriorating the situations on already congested road
finding the optimal spacing between the bus-stops on this networks. These temporary capacity losses have significant
route. The main aim of the work is to help in optimization of impact on delay, reduced mobility, and reduced reliability of
the stop spacing on the route which will help in reducing the the roadway network. They may also cause the drivers to
travel time on the route and reduce the number of buses change their routes or reschedule their trips. The traffic
plying per hour on this route. By carrying out optimization characteristics of a road section can be influenced by various
of bus-stops it is possible to increase the spacing between factors such as surface type, shoulder and roadway width,
bus-stops which results in the reduction of number of bus- terrain, driver skills, side friction or side activities, road
stops on the transportation in Bengaluru. maintenance, etc. However, among all the factors, side
Key words: Transportation, Travel demand in Bengaluru, frictions like bus-stops, on-street parking, encroachments
Bengaluru metropolitan transport corporation (BMTC) and Frontage access significantly reduce the performance of
an urban road. through traffic stream. The methodology
I. INTRODUCTION however does not directly account for capacity constraints
The share of travel by buses in the cities is very small such as on-street parking, narrow bridge, bus stop,
compared to the two wheelers, auto rickshaws and cars. As bottlenecks, etc.
per the National Transport Development Policy Committee Today BMTC carries over 5 million people each
report the share of buses has declined from 11.6 percent to day, which is over 50% of the total population of Bengaluru
1.1 percent in last five decades and the share of two (8.5 million people as in 2011 Census). BMTC is thus the
wheelers has increased from 8.8% in 1951 to 71.8% in 2011. single largest and dominant transportation mode for people
This is an indication that there has been a tremendous of Bengaluru.
growth in two wheelers and cars but the government has not
invested significantly in the public transport especially II. METHODOLOGY
buses. The spacing of the bus-stops clearly or the number of stops,
The lack of reliability of public transport especially clearly affects operating speed of the system, the headway,
bus transport is one of the main reasons that has led to the the potential capacity and the fleet size. When the busstops
people shifting from buses to other modes of transport .The are closely spaced and passengers can easily access these
best and the cheapest mode of transportation for the large stops, however the problem of having closely spaced bus-
section of our population in all the cities is the public stops is that there are frequent stops, increased travel times,

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 Influence of Bus-Stops on Urban Traffic Flow Characteristics
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increased emission rates increased stress on the driver, and speed corridors, whereas the main source of mobility within
increased disruption on the traffic flow. However, if the bus- a city has been ignored. The percentage of two wheelers
stops are spaced at larger spacing the problem that arises is increased tremendously I past five decades, whereas the
that the accessibility to the bus-stops decreases and the percentage of buses in the total volume on the road has
commuters have to walk more. The basic aim of the transit decreased substantially in the same time. This decrease in
agency is to maximize the accessibility and minimize the volume of buses can be attributed to the lack of attention
tradeoff. The preferred policy for transit stop spacing is one that has been paid to improve the bus transit system. The
that attempts to balance the two issues. graphs below show the increase and decrease of various
1) The review into the past research has revealed two urban transport modes in India in last 50 years
categories of work. The first study is related to
B. BUS-STOP Requirement
minimizing the total travel times and maximization of
transit patronage. This approach gives an insight into it is clear that bus-stop system consists of numerous factors
the benefits that are derived from the optimization of which play a vital role in bus-stop location and design.
the busstop spacing. The second category of research Additionally, it important to emphasize the need for
involves studying the effect of the bus-stops on the Bus drivers and conductors need to be trained on
speed, acceleration and deceleration of the other how to approach and leave a bus stop. Drivers must be
vehicles in the interrupted flow. trained for service than for competing with other buses for
2) This project work is the extension of both the categories monetary gains or perks. Showing appropriate hand and
of previous research. The optimization of bus-stop blinking signals while approaching a bus-stop and also at the
spacing can be used for determining the fleet size. The time of leaving, would ensure the safe mobility of buses at
interrupted traffic flow due to bus-stops can be bus-stops. It will also add to the credibility of the BMTC as
evaluated by carrying out surveys on field data, dwell a safe service.
time, volume count and speed of the other vehicles. Bus needs to have low flooring entrance as to
3) Small spacing between the bus-stops leads to increase accommodate elderly, disabled, children, people with
in the travel time due to frequent stoppage at bus-stops. luggage, etc. Bus should have a clear display system of
On the other hand, if the spacing between the bus-stops route number and availability of seats inside the bus. This
is large then the buses can attain a maximum speed can be developed through research connecting the ticketing
which is the allowable speed limit on the road. However machine of the bus to online display unit.
there exists a bus-stop spacing threshold beyond which Vehicles apart from bus should not be parked or
the operating speed will not increase. From the various moved between bus and bus-stops.
studies conducted throughout the world it has been foun Each bus-stop should be convenient to passengers
in terms of accessibility and services provided their in.
III. FIELD STUDY Bus-stops should have connectivity to bus-stops,
which should be kept in mind about blind and elderly
Field study is a general method for collecting data about the people. There should be separate indicators for blind people
study area, advantages and disadvantages of the present to recognize a bus-stop.
facilities, population studies etc. A prominent route is Bus-stops should be secure. Safety to passengers
selected, with three bus-stops. It includes the examination of during night hours and remote localities is a must. Well-lit
the design of bus-stop on the streets within the urban area, bus-stop ensures safety to certain extent, hiring a security
minimum spacing of these bus-stops, usability of these bus personal is also advised for remote localities.
stops and the bus-stop environment. Suitability of the study Bus-stops should possess flags and posts to indicate
area to carry out the field work. (Magadi road junction for both passengers as well as bus drivers.
Bengaluru). An all season shelter should be provided in each
The following is the field data collected: bus-stop. Seasonal rains and hot summers are well marked
Width of footpath: 1.6 meters. in Bengaluru. Shelters should be able to withstand these
Width of the road: 7 meters. conditions. Bus-stops should be covered from only two sides
Median width: 2.5 meters. fully and on the third side it can be partially covered or
Distance between each bus-stop: covered fully with transparent covering. This side should be
From bus-stop A to bus-stop B: 190 meters. the approaching side of the bus, such that people will not
From bus-stop B to bus-stop C: 400 meters. stand on the carriage way to look at the approaching bus.
Length of the Stretch: 600 meters Each bus-stop should possess a waste bin, letter box, public
A. Growth of Urban Transportation In India telephone and passenger information system
India has seen a tremendous surge in the number of vehicles
in the past three decades. The per capita income of the IV. IDEAL BUS-STOP REQUIREMENTS
people has increased which has led to people buying more  Maximum usage of the bus-stops
personal vehicles. One the one hand there is a tremendous  Rear entry and front exit for the buses can reduce the
increase in the number of cars and two wheelers but there delay time of bus at the bus-stop preferably on one side
has been a decrease in the percentage of people using public of the bus.
transport particularly bus services. The governments have  Reservation for senior citizens, ladies, physically
not been paying proper attention towards improving the bus challenged passengers.
network in cities. The focus has been to build the other  Spacing should be between 750-1000m.
modes of transportation like high speed railways and high

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 Influence of Bus-Stops on Urban Traffic Flow Characteristics
(IJSRD/Vol. 4/Issue 09/2016/196)

 Based on the requirement of the community & to V. ANALYSIS OF DATA

minimize traffic problems, the bus stop location should The route is between KBS Majestic to Vijayanagar is of
be established. length 7.1 kilometres, it is a very busy route with high
 The request stops should not be made permanent as it is volume of vehicles, it serves as an important link in joining
untraditional. the areas around Majestic, Magadi road, Yeshwanthpur,
A. Problems Associated With Urban Transportation towards Rajajinagar and Vijayanagara. This route has 8 bus-
stops in total. In this route we have only selected Magadi
Congestion: There has been a tremendous surge in the
Road stretch. The list of bus-stops considered:
number of vehicles in India in the past two decades, the
a) Magadi Road 1st cross bus-stop
increase in number of vehicles is due to the increase in the
b) Magadi Road 5th cross bus-stop
income of the people, having a vehicle in the family has
c) Magadi Road 10th cross bus-stop
brought lot of comfort and convenience to the people but it
Distance between each bus-stop:
has created larger problems, even though the number of
From bus-stop A to bus-stop B: 190 meters.
vehicles has increased by large proportions but the road
From bus-stop B to bus-stop C: 400 meters.
width has not increased by same proportions which leads to
Length of the Stretch: 600 meters.
the congestion on the roads. The roads are occupied with
Analysis is done studying the data collected from the field.
vehicles beyond their capacity which leads to congestion on
the roads A. Magadi Road 5th Cross Bus-Stop
Limitations to road widening: There has been a Following is the field data collected:
tremendous growth in the number of vehicles in past Width of footpath: 1.6 meters.
two/three decades but the expansion of the road network has Width of the road: 7 meters.
not matched the increase in number of vehicles. There have Median width: 2.5 meters.
been various factors which prevent the expansion of roads; Distance between the each bus-stop:
the unplanned construction in the most cities has led to From 1st cross bus-stop to 5th cross bus-stop: 190 meters.
people constructing various establishments on the land AVERAGE SPEED IN KMPH( PEAK HOURS)
reserved for road expansion. The situation is worsened by 5th 9AM TO 0 14.4 24 17.8 13.8
the improper design of roads which doesn’t allow for CROSS 12PM 1 14.2 15.18 10.8 6.4
segregation of vehicles travelling at different speeds. BUS 4PM TO 2 7.8 9.7 4.8 4.7
Mobility of all the vehicles is thus limited to the speed of the STOP 7PM 3 4.8 4.9 4 3.2
slowest vehicle on the road. The average speed on the
Table 1:
Bengaluru city during peak hours is less than 15 to 20 km
From the above data, it can be inferred that, the speed of
Declining reliance on road transport: The most important
vehicle reduces when the number of buses stopping
factor that has led to increase in the problems of urban
simultaneously increases.
transport is that people have started to avoid the public
transport system; one of the factors for decreasing
dependence on the public transport is the inefficiency of the
public transport and also the higher usage of private vehicles
Declining usage of non-motorized modes: The usage of non-
motorized modes of transport has reduced drastically in the
past decades, people hardly use bicycle for making trips
anymore, and the walking which was a common thing of the
past has literally vanished. The reason for the decrease in
non-motorized trips is due to the increase in risk of walking
and riding on the roads, the other reason for decrease in non-
motorized trip is due to the increasing length of the trips.
High level of air pollution and noise pollution: The public
transport has brought people close and made different places
in city easily accessible but the urban transport has led to the
Fig. 1:
high air pollution in cities. The petrol and the diesel cars
th
used in the cities release a large amount of pollutants in the B. MAGADI ROAD 10 CROSS BUS-STOP
atmosphere which has led to degradation in the air quality of The following is the field data collected:
the cities causing various health problems to the people Width of footpath: 1.6 meters.
which are a matter of concern for the government. Width of the road: 7 meters.
Road accidents: There has been a tremendous Median width: 2.5 meters.
increase in the number of accidents with the increase in the Distance between the each bus-stop:
number of vehicles on the Indian roads. Due to the careless From 5th cross bus-stop to 10th cross bus-stop: 400 meters.
driving of few people the accidents have increased AVERAGE SPEED IN KMPH( PEAK HOURS)
Increase in consumption of petroleum products:
10th 9AM TO 0 14.8 20.7 12.5 15.15
With the increasing number of vehicles the consumption of CROSS 12PM 1 13.8 8.2 9.8 11.5
the petroleum products has increased several folds, India has BUS 4PM TO 2 6.27 6.7 5.2 6.92
to import large amount of petroleum products and a large STOP 7PM 3 4.85 2.93 3.6 4.8
part of the foreign exchange is spend on it.
Table 2:

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 Influence of Bus-Stops on Urban Traffic Flow Characteristics
(IJSRD/Vol. 4/Issue 09/2016/196)

[10] Optimal bus-stop Spacing Through Dynamic

Programming and Geographic Modelling by Adam B.
Rahbee and Peter G. Furth
[11] Huan Li and Robert l.Bertini, “Assessing a Model for
Optimal Bus-stop Spacing with High-resolution
Archived Stop-level Data” Optimization of bus-stop
locations for improving transit accessibility by Steven I.
Chien and Zhaoqiong Qin.
[12] Effect of bus-stop design on suburban arterial
operations. Kay Fitzpatrick and R. Lewis Nowlin.
[13] Modeling of transit vehicle services and stop spacings
for Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA). Uddi MD. Zahir,
Hiroshi Matsui and Motohira Fujita.

Fig. 2:
As seen in 5th cross the variation of speed is
similar but the speed of vehicles is not reduced as it is in the
5th cross .The distance between the bus-stop is 400m thus it
is very near to the IRC recommendation for the distance
between the bus-Stop.
The 10th cross is also located near the Metro station
thus this bus-stop is important, as it is easy for public to
reach the destination being the connectivity as being very
near.

VI. CONCLUSIONS
From the above discussions it can be inferred that, removing
the first end bus-stop and shifting the middle bus outwards
satisfies the minimum spacing distance.
Thus, optimization of bus-stops can be done. From
the study it is clear that there is a possibility to reduce the
frequency of buses. It is possible to reduce the number of
buses plying on other routes by similar procedure. The
change in the spacing of bus-stops helps in reducing the
overall travel time. The change in spacing of bus-stops helps
in reducing the operational cost.

REFERENCES
[1] “Determining Impact of Bus-Stops on Roadway
Capacity” by Dr.Johnnie Ben-Edigbe and Mrs.Nordiana
Mashros.
[2] [BEN-EDIGBE, MASHROS: Bus-Stops and Capacity]
[3] “Implications of Curbside Bus-Stops on Traffic Flow of
Urban Arterials” by Sai Chand and Satish Chandra.
[4] “Influence of Various Types of Bus-Stops on Traffic
Operations of Bicycles, Vehicles and Buses” by
Fangwei Zhang, Zhibin Li, De Zhao, Yong Wang, Wei
Wang and Jianbo Li.
[5] “Study on main road capacity influenced by harbour
style bus-stop” by Jiao Yao, Shiba Ma, Jiegiong Xu and
Jing Zhao.
[6] IRC – 86. “Geometric design standards for Urban
Roads in Plains
[7] L.R.Kadiyali. “Traffic Engineering and Transport
Planning”
[8] Dr.S.K.Khanna and Dr. C.E.G Justo, “Highway
Engineering”
[9] Anthony A. Saka, “Model For Determining Optimum
Bus-Stop Spacing In Urban Areas”

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