Sharing is (s)caring? Interactions between buses and bicyclists on bus lanes shared with bicyclists

This paper presents the results of an observation study of interactions between bicyclists and buses on shared bus lanes. Straight sections of two bus lanes shared with bicyclists in Belgium have been observed, and all interactions between bicyclists and buses during two full weeks have been recorded and analysed. Additionally the lateral position and riding speed of bicyclists that are in interaction with buses is compared with the behaviour of a control group. One of the bus lanes is in line with road design guidelines in a number of countries that state that a sufficiently narrow bus lane (<3.5m) is hypothesized to be safer than a somewhat wider bus lane, the other bus lane is too wide according to these guidelines and is hypothesized to lead to unsafe overtaking manoeuvres. The results show that dangerous interactions between bicyclists and buses are relatively frequent at both types of analysed bus lanes. Dangerous overtaking manoeuvres (a bus overtakes a bicyclist with an insufficient lateral distance) as well as dangerous bicycle-following situations (a bus drives behind a bicyclist with a small time headway) are quite common at both analysed bus lanes. The analyses could not confirm the hypothesis that a sufficiently narrow bus lane is safer than the wider bus lane. On the contrary, unsafe interactions even seem slightly more common at the narrow bus lane. Slightly more dangerous overtaking manoeuvres seem to take place at the narrow bus lane, but the difference is not statistically significant. Additionally, more bicycle-following situations take place at the narrower bus lane because overtaking is more difficult. The results show that buses often maintain unsafe time headways in these situations. The presence of a bus has an influence on the behaviour of the bicyclists. Bicyclists that get overtaken by a bus, ride more closely to the edge than bicyclists that are not in interaction with a bus. While the road design guidelines assume that bicyclists take up a width of one meter from the edge on bus lanes shared with bicyclists, the observations show that bicyclists take up much less space while being overtaken. The presence of a bus does not have a significant influence on the lateral stability of the bicyclist. There are also some indications that bicyclists who are involved in an interaction with a bus ride faster than bicyclists who are not involved in an interaction with a bus.

Jaar van publicatie:2015

Trefwoorden:traffic safety, bicyclists, shared use bus lanes, bus-bicycle interactions, overtaking proximity, time headway

Toegankelijkheid:Open