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TRANSIT TCRP SYNTHESIS 83 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM Sponsored by Bus and Rail Transit the Federal Preferential Treatments in Transit Administration Mixed Traffic A Synthesis of Transit Practice

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TCRP OVERSIGHT AND PROJECT TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2010 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE* SELECTION COMMITTEE* CHAIR OFFICERS ANN AUGUST Santee Wateree Regional Transportation Chair: Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Authority Governments, Arlington Vice Chair: Neil J. Pedersen, Administrator, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore MEMBERS Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board JOHN BARTOSIEWICZ McDonald Transit Associates MEMBERS MICHAEL BLAYLOCK Jacksonville Transportation Authority J. BARRY BARKER, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KY LINDA J. BOHLINGER ALLEN D. BIEHLER, Secretary, Pennsylvania DOT, Harrisburg HNTB Corp. LARRY L. BROWN, SR., Executive Director, Mississippi DOT, Jackson RAUL BRAVO DEBORAH H. BUTLER, Executive Vice President, Planning, and CIO, Norfolk Southern Raul V. Bravo & Associates Corporation, Norfolk, VA JOHN B. CATOE, GREGORY COOKJR. WILLIAM A.V. CLARK, Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Washington Veolia Transportation Metropolitan Area Transit TERRY Authority GARCIA CREWS Los Angeles GREGORY COOK StarTran EUGENE A. CONTI, JR., Secretary of Transportation, North Carolina DOT, Raleigh Veolia Transportation ANGELA IANNUZZIELLO NICHOLAS J. GARBER, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, and TERRYConsultants ENTRA GARCIA CREWS Director, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Virginia, Charlottesville StarTran JOHN INGLISH JEFFREY W. HAMIEL, Executive Director, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis, MN KIM R. Utah Transit GREENAuthority PAULA J. HAMMOND, Secretary, Washington State DOT, Olympia GFI GENFARE SHERRY LITTLE EDWARD A. (NED) HELME, President, Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, DC ANGELA Spartan Solutions, IANNUZZIELLO LLC ADIB K. KANAFANI, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley ENTRA Consultants JONATHAN H. MCDONALD JOHN HNTB INGLISH Corporation SUSAN MARTINOVICH, Director, Nevada DOT, Carson City Utah GARY Transit W. MAuthority CNEIL DEBRA L. MILLER, Secretary, Kansas DOT, Topeka JEANNE GO W. KRIEG Transit SANDRA ROSENBLOOM, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, Tucson Eastern Contra MICHAEL Costa Transit Authority P. MELANIPHY TRACY L. ROSSER, Vice President, Corporate Traffic, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Mandeville, LA JONATHAN Motor Coach H. MCDONALD Industries STEVEN T. SCALZO, Chief Operating Officer, Marine Resources Group, Seattle, WA BRADFORD MILLER Stantec Consulting HENRY G. (GERRY) SCHWARTZ, JR., Chairman (retired), Jacobs/Sverdrup Civil, Inc., Des GARYMoines W. M Area Regional Transit Authority CNEIL St. Louis, MO FRANK OTERO GO Transit BEVERLY A. SCOTT, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid PACO MICHAELTechnologies P. MELANIPHY KEITH PARKER Motor Coach Industries Transit Authority, Atlanta, GA VIA Metropolitan FRANK OTERO Transit DAVID SELTZER, Principal, Mercator Advisors LLC, Philadelphia, PA PETER ROGOFF PACO Technologies DANIEL SPERLING, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy; FTA KEITH PARKER Director, Institute of Transportation Studies; and Interim Director, Energy Efficiency Center, JEFFREY ROSENBERG VIA Metropolitan Transit University of California, Davis Amalgamated PETER ROGOFF Transit Union KIRK T. STEUDLE, Director, Michigan DOT, Lansing RICHARD FTA SARLES DOUGLAS W. STOTLAR, President and CEO, Con-Way, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority JEFFREY ROSENBERG C. MICHAEL WALTON, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of MICHAEL Amalgamated SCANLON Transit Union San Mateo County RICHARD SARLES Transit District Texas, Austin MARILYN SHAZOR New Jersey Transit Corporation Southwest MICHAEL Ohio Regional Transit Authority SCANLON EX OFFICIO MEMBERS JAMES San MateoSTEM County Transit District PETER H. APPEL, Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S.DOT United BEVERLY Transportation SCOTT Union J. RANDOLPH BABBITT, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S.DOT GARY THOMAS Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Dallas JAMES Area STEM Rapid Transit REBECCA M. BREWSTER, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, FRANK TOBEY United Transportation Union Smyrna, GA First FRANK Transit TOBEY GEORGE BUGLIARELLO, President Emeritus and University Professor, Polytechnic Institute MATTHEW First Transit O. TUCKER of New York University, Brooklyn; Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering, North MATTHEWCountyO. Transit TUCKERDistrict Washington, DC PAM North WARD County Transit District ANNE S. FERRO, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S.DOT Ottumwa PAM WARD Transit Authority LEROY GISHI, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of ALICE Ottumwa WIGGINS-TOLBERT Transit Authority the Interior, Washington, DC Parsons Brinckerhoff ALICE WIGGINS-TOLBERT Parsons Brinckerhoff EDWARD R. HAMBERGER, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC EX OFFICIO MEMBERS JOHN C. HORSLEY, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and EX OFFICIO MEMBERS WILLIAM W. MILLAR Transportation Officials, Washington, DC APTA WILLIAM W. MILLAR DAVID T. MATSUDA, Deputy Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S.DOT ROBERT APTA E. SKINNER, JR. VICTOR M. MENDEZ, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.DOT TRB ROBERT E. SKINNER, JR. WILLIAM W. MILLAR, President, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC JOHN TRB C. HORSLEY ROBERT J. PAPP (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of AASHTO JOHN C. HORSLEY VICTOR AASHTO MENDEZ Homeland Security, Washington, DC FHWA VICTOR MENDEZ CYNTHIA L. QUARTERMAN, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety FHWA Administration, U.S.DOT TDC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PETER M. ROGOFF, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S.DOT TDC EXECUTIVE LOUIS SANDERS DIRECTOR DAVID L. STRICKLAND, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, APTA LOUIS SANDERS U.S.DOT APTA JOSEPH C. SZABO, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S.DOT SECRETARY SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER W. JENKS POLLY TROTTENBERG, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, U.S.DOT TRB CHRISTOPHER W. JENKS ROBERT L. VAN ANTWERP (Lt. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding TRB General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC *Membership as of June 2010. *Membership as of July 2010.

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TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM TCRP SYNTHESIS 83 Bus and Rail Transit Preferential Treatments in Mixed Traffic A Synthesis of Transit Practice CONSULTANT ALAN R. DANAHER PB Americas, Inc.--Transit and Rail Systems Orlando, Florida S UBSCRIBER C ATEGORIES Design · Operations and Traffic Management · Public Transportation Research Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in Cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2010 www.TRB.org

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TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM TCRP SYNTHESIS 83 The nation's growth and the need to meet mobility, environ- Project J-7, Topic SA-22 mental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit ISSN 1073-4880 systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of ISBN 978-0-309-14302-8 upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, Library of Congress Control Number 2009942374 and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is nec- © 2010 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. essary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to introduce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Pro- COPYRIGHT INFORMATION gram (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for meet demands placed on it. obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce Report 213--Research for Public Transit: New Directions, pub- material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. lished in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Federal Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or recognized the need for local, problem-solving research. TCRP, practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document modeled after the longstanding and successful National Coopera- for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment tive Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the technical activities in response to the needs of transit service provid- material, request permission from CRP. ers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, fa- cilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and ad- NOTICE ministrative practices. The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Co- TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. operative Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research authorized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Effi- Council. ciency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and agreement outlining TCRP operating procedures was executed by to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with the three cooperating organizations: FTA, the National Academy of regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical Sciences, acting through the Transportation Research Board panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a Governing Board of the National Research Council. nonprofit educational and research organization established by The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent govern- of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those ing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selec- of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the tion (TOPS) Committee. program sponsors. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodi- cally but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the re- The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National search program by identifying the highest priority projects. As Research Council, and the sponsors of the Transit Cooperative Research part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' levels and expected products. names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, ap- object of the report. pointed by TRB. The panels prepare project statements (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide technical guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative re- search programs since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on disseminating TCRP results to the intended end users of the re- Published reports of the search: transit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other supporting material developed by TCRP research. are available from: APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and Transportation Research Board other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban Business Office and rural transit industry practitioners. 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can coop- eratively address common operational problems. The TCRP results and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore support and complement other ongoing transit research and train- ing programs. Printed in the United States of America

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The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished schol- ars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and techni- cal matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad- emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve- ments of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academys í p urposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad- emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scien- tific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Insti- tute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisci- plinary, and multimodal. The Board's varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation depart- ments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

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TCRP COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT J-7 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF CHRISTOPHER W. JENKS, Director, Cooperative Research Programs CHAIR CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research DWIGHT A. FERRELL Programs Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, GA GWEN CHISHOLM SMITH, Senior Program Officer EILEEN P. DELANEY, Director of Publications MEMBERS DEBRA W. ALEXANDER TCRP SYNTHESIS STAFF Capital Area Transportation Authority, Lansing, MI STEPHEN R. GODWIN, Director for Studies and Special Programs DONNA DeMARTINO JON M. WILLIAMS, Program Director, IDEA and Synthesis Studies San Joaquin Regional Transit District, Stockton, CA DONNA L. VLASAK, Senior Program Officer MARK W. FUHRMANN DON TIPPMAN, Editor Metro Transit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN DEMISHA WILLIAMS, Senior Program Assistant ROBERT H. IRWIN DEBBIE IRVIN, Program Associate Consultant, Calgary, AB, Canada PAUL J. LARROUSSE TOPIC PANEL Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ GUZIN AKAN, City of Norfolk, Virginia DAVID A. LEE TUNDE BALVANYOS, Pace Suburban Bus Service Connecticut Transit, Hartford, CT DAVID T. CROUT, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District FRANK T. MARTIN JIM DALE, PTV America, Inc., Austin, TX PBS&J Tallahassee, FL JEFF LaMORA, Utah Transit Authority EMEKA MONEME HERBERT S. LEVINSON, Wallingford, CT Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, DC JEROME M. LUTIN, New Jersey Institute of Technology HAYWARD M. SEYMORE, III PETER SHAW, Transportation Research Board Q Straint, Shelton WA JONATHAN B. WALKER, SR, Washington Metropolitan Area PAM WARD Transit Authority Ottumwa Transit Authority, Ottumwa, IA STEVE MORTENSEN, Federal Transit Administration (Liaison) FTA LIAISON MICHAEL BALTES Federal Transit Administration LISA COLBERT Federal Transit Administration TRB LIAISON PETER SHAW Transportation Research Board

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FOREWORD Transit administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which infor- mation already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and prac- tice. This information may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviat- ing the problem. There is information on nearly every subject of concern to the transit industry. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with problems in their day- to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and evaluating such useful information and to make it available to the entire transit community, the Transit Coopera- tive Research Program Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee authorized the Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, TCRP Project J-7, "Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Problems," searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute a TCRP report series, Synthesis of Transit Practice. This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format, without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems. PREFACE This synthesis provides a review of the application of a number of different transit pref- By Donna L. Vlasak erential treatments in mixed traffic and offers insights into the decision-making process that Senior Program Officer can be applied in deciding which preferential treatment might be the most applicable in a Transportation particular location. The synthesis is offered as a primer on the topic area for use by transit Research Board agencies, as well as state, local, and metropolitan transportation, traffic, and planning agency staffs. This synthesis is based on the results from a survey of transit and traffic agencies related to transit preferential treatments on urban streets. Survey results were supplemented by a literature review of 23 documents and in-depth case studies of preferential treatments in four cities--San Francisco, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), and Denver. Eighty urban area tran- sit agencies and traffic engineering jurisdictions in the United States and Canada were con- tacted for survey information and 64 (80%) responded. One hundred and ninety-seven indi- vidual preferential treatments were reported on survey forms. In addition, San Francisco Muni identified 400 treatments just in its jurisdiction. Alan R. Danaher, PB Americas, Inc., Orlando, Florida, collected and synthesized the information and wrote the report, under the guidance of a panel of experts in the subject area. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged on the preceding page. This syn- thesis is an immediately useful document that records the practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand.

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CONTENTS 1 SUMMARY 3 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background, 3 Scope, 3 Report Organization, 4 5 CHAPTER TWO TYPES OF TRANSIT PREFERENTIAL TREATMENTS Overview, 5 Median Transitways, 5 Exclusive Transit Lanes, 5 Stop Modifications, 9 Transit Signal Priority, 11 Special Signal Phasing, 13 Queue Jump Lane, 13 Curb Extensions, 13 17 CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW General, 17 Exclusive Lanes, 21 Transit Signal Priority and Special Signal Phasing, 22 Queue Jump/Bypass Lanes, 25 Curb Extensions, 27 Summary, 28 31 CHAPTER FOUR SURVEY RESPONSES Introduction, 31 Transit Agency Survey, 31 Traffic Agency Survey, 41 47 CHAPTER FIVE CASE STUDIES Introduction, 47 San Francisco, California, 47 Seattle, Washington, 50 Portland, Oregon, 55 Denver, Colorado, 56 60 CHAPTER SIX WARRANTS, COSTS, AND IMPACTS OF TRANSIT PREFERENTIAL TREATMENTS Warrants and Conditions for Application, 60 Capital and Operating Costs, 62 Impacts on Transit Operations, 64 Analysis Methods, 68 Summary of Treatment Analysis Methods, 77

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78 CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSIONS Introduction, 78 Survey Responses, 78 Warrants, Costs, and Impacts of Transit Preferential Treatments, 79 Decision-Making Frameworks, 79 Intergovernmental Agreements, 81 Further Research Needs, 81 85 REFERENCES 87 APPENDIX A TRANSIT AGENCY SURVEY AND RESPONSES 138 APPENDIX B TRAFFIC/ROADWAY AGENCY SURVEY AND RESPONSES 149 APPENDIX C SAMPLE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS