Buses in Dublin to get green light priority at junctions

LXFlyer

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/buses-in-dublin-to-get-green-light-priority-at-junctions-1.2477960

Dublin’s traffic controllers will be able to give green light priority to buses at junctions on all Dublin bus corridors from 2016.

The Centralised Bus Priority Project, which has been used on a trial basis on four bus routes in the city, allows a traffic engineer to hold a green light in favour of a bus approaching a junction.

The system, which has been used on Malahide Road, Rock Road, Ballymun and Swords bus corridors, has resulted in journey time savings of up to four minutes and an improvement in journey times travelling through junctions of up to 41 per cent, Dublin Bus said.

AlanG

Pretty sure this was introduced on the 39 route about 20 years ago, is it just being centralised now rather than using the sensors on the lights.

thomasj

AlanG wrote:

Pretty sure this was introduced on the 39 route about 20 years ago, is it just being centralised now rather than using the sensors on the lights.

It was never introduced on the 39, the plans were canned.

LXFlyer

thomasj wrote: »

It was never introduced on the 39, the plans were canned.

It most certainly was introduced on the 39, when the CitySwift service was launched.

But it was subsequently canned (very quietly) due to DCC being of the opinion that it was causing unnecessary delays to motorists.

lil5

from the above mentioned IT article

“Every journey matters to us and we are committed to bringing in new technologies. The extension of the project to all bus corridors in 2016, which works alongside the Automated Vehicle Location across our fleet of 950 buses, and 96 per cent accurate Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) technologies, show we continue to head in the right direction.”

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=98284023&postcount=92

You'll be seeing the phrase that "Every Journey Matters" a lot over the next few months I would suspect as the company tries to market itself in a positive light as a cuddly customer focused forward thinking business, ...

A manually controlled solution in the 21st century. Progress the DB way.

Van.Bosch

lil5 wrote: »

from the above mentioned IT article


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=98284023&postcount=92



A manually controlled solution in the 21st century. Progress the DB way.

Harsh to criticise DB, I would imagine it is a DCC solution?

pclive

I was at a presentation recently and this project was mentioned. I don't think the Irish Times article is fully accurate when it maintains that manual intervention is required. My understanding is that the bus priority system is a fully automated one.
The project also covers improving signing and lining, adding bus lanes where possible and the review of traffic signals along each bus route

Carawaystick

On Livedrive then mention that there is some massaging of the greentime for certain junctions, so I presume this is the manual intervention talked about.

Spanish Eyes

Please forgive what is probably a stupid question, but let's say three lines of traffic approach the lights. One buslane and two car lanes.

Is it a case that ALL modes get a longer green light? I can't see how a bus only would get through, unless there is a separate "bus light".

I'm sure you have the answer, and thanks!

LXFlyer

Yes - all would get a longer green light.

Spanish Eyes

lxflyer wrote: »

Yes - all would get a longer green light.

So calling it priority for buses is a bit of a misnomer then.....

But if it helps journey times, that's good.

LXFlyer

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

So calling it priority for buses is a bit of a misnomer then.....

But if it helps journey times, that's good.

Well it would only happen where a bus is approaching the junction - so that would be the driver for it.

artanevilla

Up to four minutes!

LXFlyer

artanevilla wrote: »

Up to four minutes!

Over the course of a day that could mean an extra half-journey (one terminus to another) for each bus meaning less resources required to operate a route and more room for expansion.

L1011

artanevilla wrote: »

Up to four minutes!

Cumulatively useful for the bus firm and also could be the un-straw the un-breaks (there isn't a good reversal of that cliche...) using the bus for someone. Most people would have a time figure in their head of what a journey needs to take to be useful for them, a few minutes can be enough to break that.

Now, I suspect the main thing putting people off using buses is capacity, but this can help with that a bit as lxflyer explains.

Spanish Eyes

lxflyer wrote: »

Well it would only happen where a bus is approaching the junction - so that would be the driver for it.

Ah I know that, but all modes benefit just the same!

monument

artanevilla wrote: »

Up to four minutes!

Could be the decider between using a car or the bus.

L1011 wrote: »

Now, I suspect the main thing putting people off using buses is capacity, but this can help with that a bit as lxflyer explains.

That and reliability, but both are linked.

Cookie_Monster

It'll be interesting to see it in practice at say end of Leeson street or Donnybrook at rush hour when there can be 5-10 buses lined up within a few second of each other. how long does the green remain regardless of oncoming buses triggering it.

loyatemu

Would it be possible to introduce something similar at O'Connell St. for the Luas?

I understand the trams don't get priority as there are so many buses using OCS, but I've often been on a tram that is held at the lights with no buses going through in the other direction - some form of algorithm that is aware of how many buses are approaching could be used to improve priority for the trams maybe?

braniganl

About bloody time! Sick of sitting at reds at junctions on a packed bus as cars with 1 person sail through the lights.

devnull

loyatemu wrote: »

Would it be possible to introduce something similar at O'Connell St. for the Luas?

I understand the trams don't get priority as there are so many buses using OCS, but I've often been on a tram that is held at the lights with no buses going through in the other direction - some form of algorithm that is aware of how many buses are approaching could be used to improve priority for the trams maybe?

That junction coming from Georges Dock to Busaras can have long waits too, especially when some idiot car driver blocks the tram track so it takes several cycles of the lights for the tram to even more.

josip

Am I correct that traffic lights in Dublin are sequenced? Sorry, I have to ask
What impact does this additional time then have on neighbouring traffic lights?
Does the extra time granted to the bus direction get subtracted from the next green turn for the cars travelling across that junction so that all lights in the locality remain synchronised?
Or is traffic on most routes handled on a junction per junction basis?

AlekSmart

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Ah I know that, but all modes benefit just the same!

It's worth while bearing in mind,that the system can also recognize buses running ahead of time,and extend the Red Signal phases accordingly......;)

Schadenfreudia

Call me cynical if you will, but I see this being introduced and then abandoned because the disruption exceeds the benefits.

This is yet another rouse to avoid investing in a metro system.....

jimmycrackcorm

Schadenfreudia wrote:

Call me cynical if you will, but I see this being introduced and then abandoned because the disruption exceeds the benefits.

It would be one of the best initiatives to get people to move to public transport if it allowed buses on corridors to sail through junctions with minimal delays. Of anything were to disrupt it then that would be some sort of half hearted compromise.

Schadenfreudia wrote:

This is yet another rouse to avoid investing in a metro system.....

A metro system would only cover a small fraction of the public transport system unless going full hog.

Schadenfreudia

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

It would be one of the best initiatives to get people to move to public transport if it allowed buses on corridors to sail through junctions with minimal delays. Of anything were to disrupt it then that would be some sort of half hearted compromise.

A metro system would only cover a small fraction of the public transport system unless going full hog.

I would certainly be advocating a very extensive hog; DU, the Luas extensions to Bray, Rathfarnham and Lucan now abandoned, Metro West and Metro north as well as properly engineered QBCs.

Without that, clogging everything bar buses at critical junctions will merely drive economic activity to the periphery.