Benefits of Pilot Implementation of Public Transport Signal Priorities and Real-Time Passenger Information
Abstract
A public transport telematics system was launched in Helsinki, Finland, in 1999. The system provides several public transport telematics functions such as real-time passenger information, bus and tram priorities at traffic signals, and schedule monitoring. The impacts, socioeconomic benefits, and technical performance of the telematics applications were investigated. The methods included before-and-after field studies, an interview and survey, a simulation, and socioeconomic evaluation. The results indicate that delays at signals were reduced by more than 40%. The regularity and punctuality of the service were considerably improved. On both lines, the number of passengers increased from the level before the system was implemented. The studies indicated reductions of 1% to 5% in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. The information systems were regarded very positively, and the systems were considered useful. In particular, the information displays on stops were considered necessary and were used often. Most effects were more substantial on the bus line than on the tramline because of the longer intervals between buses and the fact that the tramline already had signal priorities before the system was introduced. The benefit–cost ratio of the system was calculated to be 3.3. For the transport operator, the return on capital increased by 6% on the bus line and decreased by 1% on the tramline.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
1. Ehdotus liikenneminisrtiön joukkoliikennestrategiaksi [A Proposal for the Public Transport Strategy of the Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland]. Publications of Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland, 18/2000, Helsinki, 2000.
2. Haataja S. Joukkoliikenteen Matkustajalaskennat Helsingissä Syksyllä 1999 [Public Transport Passenger Counts in Helsinki in the Autumn of 1999]. 7/00, HKL Suunnitteluyksikkö S, Helsinki, Finland, 2000.
3. Helsinki Urban Traffic Control Centre. Public Transport Telematics in Helsinki. City of Helsinki. http://www.hel.fi/liikenteenohjaus/int/pt_telematics.htm. Accessed July 20, 2001.
4. Peters J. Intelligent Transportation Systems Benefits: 2001 Update. U.S. Department of Transportation, 2001.
5. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) City Pioneers Consortium. ITS Toolbox, Intelligent City Transport. European Road Transport Telematics Implementation Co-ordination Organisation (ERTICO), Brussels, Belgium, 1998.
6. Socioeconomic Impacts of Telematics Applications in Transport. Assessment of Results from the 1992–1994 Transport Telematics Projects. European Commission, Brussels, Belgium, 1996.
7. European Commission. Selected Validation Results from the Transport Sector of the Telematics Applications Programme. Telematics Applications Programme (1994–1998). Fourth Framework Programme, Brussels, Belgium, 2000.
8. Kulmala R., Hyppönen R., Lähesmaa J., Manunen O., Oinas J., Pajunen-Muhonen H., Pesonen H., and Ristola T. Guidelines for the Evaluation of ITS Projects. Publications of Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland. 24/1999, Helsinki, 1999.
9. Koskinen O. H., and Sauna-aho J. Vehicle Motion Simulation Based on Kinematics. An Efficient Tool for Analysis of Fuel and Emission Amounts, Operating Costs, Driving Time, Traffic Safety etc. (CD-ROM). From Vision to Reality. Proc., 7th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, Nov. 6–9, 2000, Turin, Italy. Intelligent Transportation Systems Congress Association, Brussels, Belgium, 2000.
10. Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV). Joukkoliikenteen Lippulajitutkimus 1999 [Public Transport Ticket Study 1999]. Pääkaupunkiseudun Julkaisusarja B, Oct. 2000, Finland, 2000.
Cite article
Cite article
Cite article
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published: January 2002
Issue published: January 2002
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Journals metrics
This article was published in Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board.
VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICSArticle usage*
Total views and downloads: 94
*Article usage tracking started in December 2016
Altmetric
See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores
Articles citing this one
Receive email alerts when this article is cited
Web of Science: 0
Crossref: 28
- The Impact of Priority in Coordinated Traffic Lights on Tram Energy Co...
- Estimation of value-of-time and a comparison of an ex ante and an ex p...
- Safety assessment of local cooperative warnings and speed limit inform...
- Guidance for Design and Implementation of Queue Jump Lane with Presign...
- Ex Post Estimation of Value-of-Time and Willingness to Pay for Shared ...
- A stochastic model for bus injection in an unscheduled public transpor...
- Empirical Performance Analysis of Bus Speed and Delay at Intersections...
- Analyzing the Costs and Benefits of Installing Unmanned Parcel Lockers...
- A literature review of the passenger benefits of real-time transit inf...
- Implementation of Bus Priority with Queue Jump Lane and Pre-Signal at ...
- A stochastic model for bus injection in a public transport service
- Design of real-time actuated control system for modern tram at arteria...
- Dissipating traffic congestion of emergency events through information...
- The effects of mobile real-time information on rural passengers
- Effects of real-time transit information services on the patronage beh...
- Potential for using automatic vehicle location in the Cairo public tra...
- Users' views on current and future real‐time bus information systems
- Bus rapid transit – a review
- Ridership effects of real-time bus information system: A case study in...
- Latent Class Approach to Estimate the Willingness to Pay for Transit U...
- Spatio-temporal effects of bus arrival time information
- Public Transport Monitoring and Control: The Case of Porto Alegre, Bra...
- The effect of Advanced Traveller Information Systems on public transpo...
- Dynamic at-stop real-time information displays for public transport: e...
- Examining the Political and Practical Reality of Bus-based Real Time P...
- REDUCING GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS AND FUEL CONSUMPTION
- GPS and Vehicular Travel
- Information Systems to Improve Surface Transportation
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Get access
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
loading institutional access options
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
