Analytical Approach to Evaluating Transit Signal Priority

Successful deployment of transit signal priority (TSP) systems requires thorough laboratory evaluation before field implementation. Traffic simulation is a powerful tool in this regard; however, it requires tremendous efforts toward network coding, data collection, and model calibration. Besides, simulation models tend to be project specific, and the models developed for one project are often discarded upon the completion of that project. In this paper, it is shown that the impacts of two fundamental TSP strategies (early green and extended green) can be evaluated using an analytical approach. The impacts of the above two strategies on both the prioritized and the nonprioritized approaches are illustrated using graphical as well as analytical methods. A simulation study is then conducted for comparison analyses, followed by a statistical approach for the test of generality.