A RULE-BASED REAL-TIME TRAFFIC RESPONSIVE SIGNAL CONTROL SYSTEM WITH TRANSIT PRIORITY: APPLICATION TO AN ISOLATED INTERSECTION

Real-time, traffic responsive signal optimization techniques have been shown to improve traffic operations at individual signalized intersections in urban areas. However, these techniques have focused primarily on the impact on private automobiles. This paper develops and evaluates a fully distributed, real-time traffic responsive model, Signal Priority Procedure for Optimization in Real-Time (SPPORT), which was created with the objective of explicitly considering the unique characteristics of transit vehicles. The model is designed to provide effective transit priority while still giving appropriate consideration to other traffic. SPPORT explicitly considers the interference caused to the general traffic by transit vehicles stopping in the right of way to board and discharge passengers. It also explicitly quantifies, when considering priority passage for transit vehicles, the potential effects that such preferential treatment might have on other traffic. This paper describes the structure of SPPORT and demonstrates its capabilities on an isolated intersection for a range of traffic demands and with and without transit vehicles. Results indicate that the model can provide effective real-time traffic signal control at individual isolated intersections with time varying traffic demands. The application of the model to an isolated intersection significantly reduced total passenger delays when compared to both fixed-time and traffic actuated signal operation. The model will next be applied to a corridor containing several signalized intersections to determine the model\u27s network control abilities