Improving the efficiency of BRT lane utilization by allowing taxis driving in during released period based on rail block technique

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is now serving as a kind of public transit which has larger transport capacity and higher transport efficiency than regular buses in most large cities in China. However, the efficiency of BRT lane utilization in some city of China is quite low because of the exclusive using rule and has been denounced by citizens all the way, especially during rush hours. In this paper, an efficiency improving scheme for BRT lane utilization is proposed based on rail block technique which is used in rail transit vehicle control by separating certain BRT lane into several block sections and define their status as blocked or released according to if there are buses approaching to, running in, or leaving from it. Certain signal lights are used in showing the section status and allow taxis which are also serve as public transportation driving in during released period. Simulation with Hangzhou model based on multi-agent software MATSim has shown that the efficiency of BRT lane utilization has been remarkably improved by employing this scheme.