Viability of Simultaneous Utilization of BRT Lanes as Access-controlled Toll Roads

Abstract: This study investigates a theoretical scenario of the integration of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) roads as access-controlled toll roads including other vehicles in Bangladesh. A newly developed BRT road (BRT Line 3- Airport to Gazipur) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was considered for this study. We utilized PTV VISSIM to simulate the road network and analyze the potential impacts on traffic dynamics. The core objective of this study is to evaluate how many vehicles can be accommodated onto the BRT lane to enhance the operational efficiency of the BRT system without adversely affecting the overall traffic conditions and also generating revenue in the process. The PTV VISSIM simulation was used to assess how converting these roads into toll roads can affect traffic flow, travel time, and congestion. The traffic data for the road network was collected through automated video analysis using the YOLOv8 algorithm. Two main scenarios were simulated and analyzed under various traffic conditions; Scenario 1: BRT roads without toll implementation and Scenario 2: BRT roads with toll implementation. A survey was conducted to gauge the public's willingness to pay tolls. The simulation results present a comparison between the scenarios. The results show that letting other vehicles into the BRT network can maintain efficient traffic flow and travel times, making the entire transportation network more effective. The survey results show a trend where people's willingness to pay increases as traffic congestion in parallel (non-BRT) lanes increases.