Solving Traffic Congestion around School by using School Buses

Authors

  • Achiraya Sonsai Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Viroat Srisurapanon Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

Keywords:

Traffic Congestion, School Bus, Traffic Simulation Model

Abstract

Driving children to school can cause traffic congestion around school, especially during the morning peak hours. The present study therefore applied the queuing theory and traffic simulation software VISSIM to investigate impacts on traffic when school buses were used as a substitute for driving children to school in the morning peak hours. After arranging 8 school buses for 121 students, 68 cars were reduced from the system. As a result of estimation based on the M/M/1 queuing theory, the average waiting time to get off from the inner school road to the outer main road decreased from longer than 15 minutes to 3 minutes. VISSIM simulation results also showed that the average traffic speed around the school increased 30 – 38 percent, from 10.7 – 11.4 kph to 14.0 – 15.5 kph; the delay decreased 22 – 27 percent, from 2.67 – 2.87 minutes to 1.94 – 2.24 minutes.

References

Srisurapanon, V., Thongthip, P., Supakamolsenee, W., Junrallanaprida, P. And Plyasisarakul, N., 2014, “Ways to Reduce Traffic Congestion around School,” Proceedings of 8th SEATUC Symposium, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, pp. 41-44.

Zhang, R., Yao, E. And Liu, Z., 2017, “School Travel Mode Choice in Beijing, China,” Journal of Transport Geography, 62, pp. 98-110.

Deka, D., 2013, “An Explanation of the Relationship between Adults’ Work Trip Mode and Children’s School Trip Mode through the Heckman Approach,” Journal of Transport Geography, 31, pp. 54-63.

Lu, M., Sun, C. And Zheng, S., 2017, “Congestion and Pollution Consequences of Driving-to-school Trips: A Case Study in Beijing,” Transportation Research Part D, 50, pp. 280-291.

Bull, A., 2003, Traffic Congestion: The Problem and How to Deal with It, CEPAL, Santiago, Chile.

Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB), 1996, Design Manual for Roads and Bridges : Volume 12 Traffic Appraisal of Roads Schemes Schemes Section 2 [Online], Available: https://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/. [30 April 2021]

Vanichvetin, C., 1989, “M/M/1 Queueing System in Traffic Engineering”, Civil Engineering and Construction Journal K.U., 2 (2). (In Thai)

Statistics Planning Division, Department of Land Transport, Number of Registered (cumulative) Vehicles [Online], Available: https://web.dlt.go.th/statistics/. (In Thai) [1 November 2021]

European Environment Agency, 2019, EMEP/EEA Air Pollutant Emission Inventory Guidebook 2019.

PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited, Oil price in Bangkok and Vicinities, 2020 [Online], Available: https://www.pttor.com/oilprice-capital.aspx. (In Thai) [25 March 2020]

Energy Policy and Planning Office, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, LPG Price [Online], Available: http://www.eppo.go.th/epposite/index.php/th/. (In Thai) [13 May 2020]

Yaibok, C., 2014, Improving Traffic Flow at Four Intersections on Karnjanavanich Road in Hat Yai, Master of Civil Engineering Thesis, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University. (In Thai)

Wichiensin, M., Kanjanavaikoon, K. and Sangkhawut, K., 2017, “Traffic Congestion Alleviation for Ratchaprasong Road Closure,” KMUTT Research and Development Journal, 40 (2), pp. 315-331. (In Thai)

ISSEY MIYAKE INC., MDs’ MONEY | Did you know? The average cost of driving per kilometer [Online], Available:https://www.mendetails.com/money/ค่าใช้จ่าย-ขับรถ-drive-cost-nov19/. (In Thai) [17 April 2022]

Rujikiatkumjorn, W. and Wangjiranirun, W., 2013, “The Study of Energy Cost and Commuting Expenditure in Different Transportation Modes: Case Study on Saphan Mai – Silom Route,” Journal of Energy Research Institute, 10 (1), pp. 1-17. (In Thai)

PTV AG, 2017, PTV VISSIM 9 User Manual, Karlsruhe, Germany.

Daily News, Discouragingly, Road Speed Statistic in Bangkok Reveal the Speed Limits are 15 Kilometers per Hour [Online], Available: https://d.dailynews.co.th/bangkok/684105/?fbclid=IwAR3ZKy045RJvsnlVtpvEeU8DmrGiAzkCELpHPrwasidi5iPo0t-lttDeUys. (In Thai) [5 May 2022]

Downloads

Published

2022-06-30

How to Cite

Sonsai, A., & Srisurapanon, V. (2022). Solving Traffic Congestion around School by using School Buses. Science and Engineering Connect, 45(2), 247–260. retrieved from https://ph04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/SEC/article/view/10284

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 2 (2022): April - June

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2022 King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Any form of contents contained in an article published in Science and Engineering Connect, including text, equations, formula, tables, figures and other forms of illustrations are copyrights of King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. Reproduction of these contents in any format for commercial purpose requires a prior written consent of the Editor of the Journal.