published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / abstract / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Economics

published_or_final_version / abstract / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

published_or_final_version / abstract / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has adopted characteristics of rail systems to deliver a highquality transport service in a cost-effective way. Many cities across the globe have recently adopted BRT schemes as a promising strategy for relieving traffic problems. However, as a relatively new form of Mass Transit, the ability of BRT to provide a high quality transport service and its potential to stimulate land development remain largely unexplored. Following a review of international literature on the current issues relating to the land development impact of BRT, the thesis provides empirical-based evidence that examines the performance and effects of ITS-led BRT in Beijing, China. The study makes use of qualitative (interviews with stakeholders) and quantitative analysis (the questionnaire survey of passengers and longitudinal analysis of property price data) to investigate the impact of Beijing Southern BRT Line 1 on public transport service quality and land development along its corridor. The study clearly illustrates that the BRT system is an innovative approach of providing a high-quality transport service, comparable to a rail service but at a relatively low cost and short implementation time. The research suggests that a high-quality BRT system can offer accessibility advantage (specifically travel time savings) to adjacent properties and increase their attractiveness. The statistical analysis suggests improved accessibility conferred by BRT is capitalized into higher real-estate prices. The capitalization effect mostly occurs after the full operation of BRT, and is more evident over time and particularly observed in a place which lacks the alternative mobility opportunity offered by a Mass Transit system.

Exclusive bus lanes and the Transit Signal Priority are often not effective in saturated peak-traffic conditions. An alternative way of providing priority for transit can be queue jumpers, which allows buses to bypass and then cut out in front of waiting queue by getting an early green signal. Utah Transit authority deployed Bus Rapid Transit system at Salt Lake County, Utah along W 3500 S. This research evaluates the impacts of queue jumpers with TSP on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and private vehicular traffic. Four VISSIM models were developed for analysis : Basic scenario, no TSP with queue jumpers, TSP with no queue jumbers, and TSP with queue jumpers. In TQ scenario travel time was reduced between 13.2-19.82% with respect to basic scenario. At the same time, travel time of private traffic increased very little 0.38-3.28%. Two TSP strategies : green extension and red truncation are implemented in this research work. / by R.M. Zahid Reza. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Includes bibliographical references. / by Pamela Marshall Lebeaux. / M.C.P.

In practice, the design of bus routes and stop placement involves calculated trade-offs between service frequency, quality, and access. Increased stop density improves access but contributes to slow operating speeds and increased operating costs. In this thesis, a optimized bus stop spacing model is applied using the high resolution archived stop-level bus performance data from the Bus Dispatch System (BDS) provided by TriMet, the regional transit provider for the Portland metropolitan area. Two cost components are considered in the stop spacing model including passenger access cost and in-vehicle passenger stopping cost, and are combined and optimized to minimize total cost. A case-study is presented using one year's stop-level data from one bus route 19 in Portland, Oregon. The analysis considered both inbound and outbound stop spacing and determined the optimal average stop spacing based on an all-day, peak and off-peak time periods. Based on the analysis considering inbound trips over the entire day, the theoretical optimized bus stop spacing was about 1,200 feet, as compared to the current value of 890 feet. This paper also builds on the all day analysis and focuses on inbound and outbound trips during peak periods, resulting in optimized spacing of about 1,300 feet. The peak hour demand has a significant impact on the transit operation. A bus stop consolidation scheme is proposed for the analyzed bus route considering the peak hour transit demand. Finally, the thesis discusses trade-offs and presents an estimate of transit operating cost savings based on the optimized spacing. Given the growing availability of high-resolution archived data, the thesis illustrates that this modeling tool can be applied in a routine way across multiple routes as part of an ongoing service planning and performance measurement process.