Holistic, science-based bus acceleration – Combining simulation, computer vision and psychology to develop measures to prioritise public transport in urban areas

Transportation research procedia, vol. 72, pp. 1177–1184

Abstract

Buses play a particularly crucial role in connecting rural regions with cities. The goal of the approach described in this paper is to combine the three research fields: Traffic simulation, Computer Vision and Traffic Psychology in order to pursue a holistic approach that promises dependable bus acceleration with high acceptance by road users. First simulation results estimate a reduction in bus travel time by up to 59 percent between two bus stops. Moreover, the detection of 78 percent of cars and 73 percent of buses in the early development phase shows that a detection, which fulfills the strict data protection standards by using thermal cameras, can be used to control the bus acceleration. In combination with our approach to empirically validate adaptive bus acceleration measures from a psychological perspective we propose a novel holistic method of science-based bus acceleration.

Authors 4

1. Arnd Pettirsch corresponding Aachen Institute of Highway Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany

2. Moritz Berghaus Aachen Institute of Highway Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany

3. Maximilian David Aachen Institute of Highway Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany

4. Philipp-Armand Klee Aachen Institute of Highway Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany