Analyzing busway station potential capacity under mixed stopping and non-stopping operation

Busway stations are the interface between passengers and services. The station is crucial to line operation as it is typically the only location where buses can pass each other. Congestion may occur here when buses manoeuvring into and out of the platform lane interfere with bus flow, or when a queue of buses forms upstream of the platform lane blocking the passing lane. Further, some systems include operation where express buses do not observe the station, resulting in a proportion of non-stopping buses. It is important to understand the operation of the station under this type of operation and its effect on busway capacity. This study uses microscopic simulation to treat the busway station operation and to analyse the relationship between station potential capacity where all buses stop, and Mixed Potential Capacity where there is a mixture of stopping and non-stopping buses. First, the micro simulation technique is used to analyze the All Stopping Buses (ASB) scenario and then statistical model is tuned and calibrated for a specified range of controlled scenarios of dwell time characteristics Subsequently, a mathematical model is developed for Mixed Stopping Buses (MSB) Potential Capacity by introducing different proportions of express (or non-stopping) buses. The proposed models for a busway station bus capacity provide a better understanding of operation and are useful to transit agencies in busway planning, design and operation.