Design and Management of Multi-functional Exclusive Lane for the Integrated Service to Various Vehicles with Priority

Priority to emergency vehicles, buses, high occupancy vehicles (HOVs), and priced low occupancy vehicles (LOVs) is critical to their efficiency and reliability, where multi-functional exclusive lane (MFEL) serves as a salient element with independent operation environment. To enhance MFEL utility and balance the demand between prioritized and non-prioritized vehicles, this research proposes an optimization model for MFEL design and management to comprehensively serve the trip modes with various priority levels and distinct operation patterns, considering the delay from lane access, bus stop dwelling, signalized intersections, and ride-sharing. Case study follows to calibrate and validate the proposed model under varying passenger demand and emergency vehicle frequency, finding that MFEL may reduce total travel time in all scenarios especially under high traffic demand. Sensitivity analyses test the effect of road lane count and bus occupancy on MFEL design and management, where the road with more lanes is more flexible to accommodate increased passenger demand without increasing HOV critical occupancy or LOV price rate. Moreover, higher bus occupancy assists in avoiding significant increase of LOV price rate to promote trip equity. This research may lay foundation to MFEL implementation to mitigate traffic congestion and promote transport sustainability.