Microscopic traffic simulation model for bus transport operations under heterogeneous traffic conditions.

This research presents a microscopic traffic simulation model-based approach to evaluate the performance of bus operations where data about the operation is limited. Automated model development and calibration process using SUMO is proposed to quickly incorporate changes to the network and demand into the model development and calibration process. Traffic counts and speed information from previously published sources were used to develop and calibrate the model. Dwell times of buses were generated using appropriate distributions. One of the major arterial corridors in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was used to test the developed methodology. Currently, no method (e.g., GPS) is available to capture the actual operating speeds of buses in this corridor. The simulation platform was used to understand the speed variations of buses in two corridor sections during the morning peak period. The results show that the busses operate at moderate speeds (Section 1: 17.96 kmph ± 4.94, Section 2: 22.53 kmph ± 5.33). This simulation platform is intended to develop further to assess the impact on bus operations arising from different traffic management interventions, such as bus priority measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]