Bus priority at traffic signals: investigating the options

Bus priority remains one of the principal strategies adopted in many towns and cities to improve levels of service for bus passengers and to encourage modal change. Interest in recent years has centred on priority facilities using traffic signals, taking advantage of new technologies such as automatic vehicle location (AVL) and advanced control systems. There are a range of system architectures available for using AVL in bus priority. The paper describes the opportunities and options available for the UK and also summarises some bus priority architectures used in Europe. Other issues discussed include: the influence of bus detection strategy on bus benefits where there are bus stops close to the traffic signals, options for high priority strategies and issues related to bus priority at signalised pedestrian crossings. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues of implementation and integration with alternative or complementary measures to help buses, such as demand management. The paper is based on research undertaken within the EC-funded project PRISCILLA, and within continuing studies of bus priority at traffic signals for Transport for London (TfL).