SmartBRT: A Bus Rapid Transit Modeling and Evaluation Tool

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SmartBRTA Bus Rapid TransitModeling and
Evaluation Tool

• The SmartBRT Team
• California PATH, UC Berkeley
• Contact Joel VanderWerf
• vjoel_at_path.berkeley.edu, 510-231-9446

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What is SmartBRT?

• Simulation and visualization software
• Developed specifically for Bus Rapid Transit
  (BRT)
• Captures transportation system, BRT
  infrastructure, and BRT operation concepts
• Also studies traditional (non-BRT) transit.

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Why Do We Need SmartBRT?

• Aids in understanding interactions and tradeoffs
• within the rapid transit system
• between the rapid transit system and the rest of
  the transportation system
• Quickly performs what if studies
• Without expense of field operational tests
• Simulates and visualizes
• Effects of implementing intelligent
  transportation system (ITS) technologies in rapid
  transit operation
• Minimizes the need for expensive field tests

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What does SmartBRT do?

• SmartBRT is developed to aid in
• Planning new BRT systems
• Evaluating new and existing BRT infrastructure
  and operation concepts
• Planning and evaluating BRT deployment stages
• Communicating the above through visualization

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Who will be SmartBRTs Users?

• SmartBRT has a wide spectrum of users
• Transit operators
• Need to study high-level concepts
• Do not need detailed description of roadway
  geometrics and parameters
• Transit planners and engineers
• Need to study very detailed concepts
• Need very detailed description of roadway
  geometrics and parameters

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Applications of SmartBRT, 1

• What if studies
• What if we
• implement Signal priority?
• implement dedicated lanes?
• use buses with more doors?
• Compare fare collection methods
• What effects reliability the most?
• What effects travel time the most?

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Applications of SmartBRT, 2

• Trade-off analysis
• Effect of articulated buses at lower frequency on
  overcrowding
• Effect of signal priority on cross traffic delay
• Cost-effectiveness analysis
• Small buses at high frequency VS. articulated
  buses at lower frequency
• Threshold analysis
• When to switch from mixed traffic to dedicated
  lane
• ITS technology evaluation
• Effect of precision docking on travel time

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Using SmartBRT

• Analysis
• Travel time
• Dwell time
• etc.

• INPUT
• Geometrics
• Traffic
• Signal
• Transit

• OUTPUT
• Log files
• Statistics

Run Simulation
Animation
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Geometry InputShorthand Geometry Format

• Input can come from CAD drawings, manual
  observation, maps, etc.
• Shorthand format encodes lengths, curvature, lane
  configuration, junction shape, signal, bus stops,
  medians,
• Compact and easy to type or write longhand

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CAD Drawings ? Shorthand
- 3w 3e m 220 80 Brockton Ave. sw signal 1s20
1n20 - 3w 3e wltl 90
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Traffic Input

• Data required
• Turning ratios at junctions
• Flows into corridor from side streets, main
  street
• Signal phasing
• Can be entered in tabular form, or
• Can be converted automatically from output of an
  analysis program, such as Traffix

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BRTML

• Bus Rapid Transit Modeling Language
• Unified data language/database for BRT project
• Geometry and traffic data
• Automatically read from Shorthand and from
  Traffix (http//www.traffixonline.com) output
  files, or
• BRT planner can manually edit
• Transit data added by planner (see next slide)

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BRTML Adding Transit Data, 1

• Terminals
• Location, route, bus count
• Headway and headway hold policy
• Stops
• Passenger arrival rate, transfer stops
• Enclosed or not, number of bus docks
• Signals
• Green hold time for signal priority

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BRTML Adding Transit Data, 2

• Bus lane usage policy, overtaking policy
• Bus
• Door count, board/alight policy
• Payment methods
• Base dwell time, maximum speed
• Passengers
• Payment types and mobility types
• Affect board/alight time
• Distributions of these types in population

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BRTML Simulation Plan

• Duration, start time, time step
• Statistics to be collected
• Options to output detailed data
• Passengers
• Vehicle trajectories
• Debugging and tracing options

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Run Simulation

• SmartBRT combines
• Ambient traffic model of Paramics
• Paramics is a high-performance commercial traffic
  microsimulation
• http//www.paramics-online.com
• Custom transit model (as a plug-in)
• Buses, stops, passengers, signals, and terminals

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Collect Output Data

• Statistics files
• Many performance measures (next slide)
• Per passenger data
• Origin and destination
• Time spent waiting, sitting, and standing
• Trajectory data for animation
• Vehicle position at each time step
• Signal state at each time step

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Performance Measures

• Variables include
• Bus headways, travel times/speeds
• Board/alight times, dwell times
• Priority time given
• Passenger seated time, travel speed
• Measured per stop, per signal, per route, etc.
• Choice of min, max, mean, variance, or all values
• Options per statistic include
• Delay, calculation window, reporting period

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Visualization

• Runs off-line from simulation
• Uses outputs from SmartBRT simulation
• Uses road geometry defined in BRTML document
• Can customize for specific site
• Can insert buildings photographic textures
• Can insert trees, signs, etc.

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Animation
SmartBRT
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Future Work

• Add functionality
• Benefit/Cost analysis
• On-line 3D visualization within Paramics
• Connect to transit scheduling software
• Feeder network studies
• Linking BRT with scheduled service
• Tutorial
• Introduce potential users to BRT and to the use
  of SmartBRT

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Acknowledgement

• Two-year project, started in June 2000
• Funded by
• Caltrans simulation tool development for Bus
  Rapid Transit (BRT) and case site studies
• FTA visual simulation (year 1)
• Data supplied by the Los Angeles Metropolitan
  Transportation Authority