Commuter Bus Operation Rules under Two Traffic Scenarios and Two Weather Conditions: Naturalistic Driving Study on Vehicle Speed and Clearance

Qiuju Huang, Shumin Feng, Guosheng Zhang, Yu Zhang and Yong Adilah Shamsul Harumain
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Qiuju Huang: School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Shumin Feng: School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Guosheng Zhang: Research Institute of Highway, Ministry of Transport, Beijing 100088, China
Yu Zhang: School of Automobile, Harbin Vocation and Technical College, Harbin 150081, China
Yong Adilah Shamsul Harumain: Center of Transportation, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: This study provides insights into the building of environmentally and socially sustainable and livable cities by investigating commuter buses’ vehicle speed and clearance, considering two traffic scenarios (working days and weekends) and two weather conditions on urban roads. Thirty participants drove ten different routes during natural driving. The drivers were observed under the following traffic conditions: free flow (Grade I), steady flow (Grades II and III), unsteady flow (Grade IV), working days and weekends, and sunny and heavy snow weather. A method for collecting accurate traffic flow data was developed using a radar sensor to measure the real-time distance between vehicles. The real-time vehicle spacing and speed were detected using a radar sensor and a mobile app, respectively. The results showed that speed decreased obviously from 11.2% to 16.5% on working days compared to a similar situation on weekends, especially in heavy snow weather (from 33.8% to 40.7%). The lowest average speed was obtained in the traffic environment Grade IV. Commuter buses maintained a minimum vehicle clearance during working or heavy snow days in traffic environment Grade IV. Policymakers should consider the insights of this study to develop new, dynamic commuter schedules under diverse conditions.

Keywords: natural driving; commuter bus; driving speed; vehicle clearance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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