Simulation of Two-Lane Traffic Flow Considering the Combined Effect of Intersection and Bus Stop

Abstract

In the real road traffic system, local congestion always occurs near the intersections or bus stops, which have become the main bottlenecks of the urban traffic. Considering the combined effect of intersection and a near-by bus stop, this paper investigates the lane-changing and dwelling behaviors in a two-lane mixed traffic and carries out the simulation by using a cellular automaton model under open boundary condition. Simulation results show that, for different proportions of bus flow over the total flow, the critical probabilities of sending vehicles into the system exist and have a decreasing trend with the bus flow proportion. Within the critical value, the traffic is the free flow state and the flow increases with the probability; on the other hand, beyond the critical value, the traffic is saturated. The results also demonstrate that, during rush hours, the queuing upstream the intersection may stretch to the bus stop and then disturb the normal dwelling operation of buses. It is necessary, hence, to adjust the position of signal light and the cycle time.