Transit Priority Measures at Unsignalized Intersections

Bus delays at unsignalized intersections (UIs) present a unique and persistent operational challenge, particularly for bus routes crossing from the minor approaches of these intersections. In addition, existing transit priority strategies were heavily focused on arterial corridors, leaving the UI case with limited or no options to prioritize buses. As transit agencies seek cost-effective solutions to improve transit reliability without imposing significant impacts on general traffic at these locations, there is growing interest in localized strategies that can be implemented without fully retrofitting the UI intersection area. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate a systematic framework for identifying candidate UIs for transit priority measures and to assess the operational and economic impacts of such priority strategies aimed at reducing transit delays from these intersections. A data-driven prioritization framework was developed using traffic and transit operational datasets to rank UIs based on their suitability and need for operational improvements through priority measures. The selected intersections from the proposed framework were then modelled using the traffic microsimulation platform VISSIM to evaluate geometric and regulatory measures, as well as combinations of these measures. Performance was evaluated based on the defined measures of effectiveness related to vehicle delay and travel time for both transit and general traffic. A simplistic benefit-cost analysis was conducted to assess the economic feasibility of the proposed solutions at each intersection. The results indicate that the effectiveness of the proposed solutions is site-dependent, with movement restrictions (P4, P4-T), actuation of pedestrian flashing beacons (P1), dropped transit lane (G2) or combination of specific measures demonstrated efficient transit delay reduction at most of the study intersections, minimal delay increase for general traffic for major road users and significant transit travel time savings. Meanwhile, benefit-cost ratios suggest that several proposed solutions are economically viable. Overall, the findings highlight the effectiveness of non-signal transit priority measures in improving transit performance at UIs. The proposed prioritization framework provides a practical, scalable decision-support tool for agencies to prioritize locations and systematically assess potential measures. This work advances transit priority applications beyond signalized intersections and arterial corridors, supporting more reliable and efficient transit service in mixed-traffic conditions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MSc)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Engineering – Civil

Grantor

Schulich School of Engineering

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Roman, Ian Christopher

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• de Barros, Alexandre Gomes

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Demissie, Merkebe Getachew
• Zangeneh, Pouya

• transit priority measures
• traffic microsimulation
• public transit
• unsignalized intersections
• criteria importance through intercriteria correlation
• traffic operations
• multimodal transportation analysis

Statement dc:rights

• Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51172

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/124320