Two different bus stop layout designs : A traffic simulation study in Vissim

Abstract: Bicycles are one of the most efficient way to travel within short-distance trips due to its relatively low maintenance and operation costs (Gao, Liu, & Feng, 2012). Besides to their efficiency, bicycles provide more flexibility for their parking and its ease of use. With the increasing transportation demand in major cities, transportation authorities will encourage to use the bicycle more. However, accommodating bicycles would require physical road geometry modifications such as introducing dedicated bicycle-lanes. Cycling appears to be a sustainable form of transportation across virous countries in Europe, as a result the authorities are planning and implementing upgrades to make the transportation system safer, convenient and sustainable which is necessary to encourage more people to use bicycles as a form of transportation. This thesis is a case study which examines current traffic conditions on a bus stop at Långholmsgatan in the city of Stockholm, Sweden and evaluates the effects of different designs for bicycles and buses. At this bus stop in Långholmsgatan, the bicycle lane is located to the right of the traffic road and to the left of the bus stop in the upstream direction. Buses need to cross the bicycle lane in order to arrive and departure the bus stop. Consequently, a conflict will also be created between bicycles and buses that are crossing the bicycle lane. In this thesis, an alternative design is evaluated in which buses and bicycles are separated from each other. However, this will result in a new conflict between bicycles and pedestrians. These two designs are evaluated in terms of travel time and delay and the analysis was done using micro-simulation software VISSIM. The study shows that the current design at the bus stop of Långholmsgatan should be preferred over the alternative design when considering travel time and delay for bicycles. If buses should be considered, the alternative design should be preferred over the current design.