The Role of DSRC in Giving Priority to Emergency Vehicles and BRT at Intelligent Intersections

Nowadays, due to the development of communication infrastructure, there is an opportunity to improve the level of service (LOS) with regard to the intelligent transportation system (ITS). One of the benefits of these systems is the intelligent control of traffic lights in order to prioritize the emergency vehicles and the transit, which accelerates the relief operation and increases the utility of public transportation for citizens. On the other hand, the new DSRC automotive communications technology enables V2V communication with off-road equipment (V2I). Combining this technology with the control system, the signals allow allocation of green time and extend it until crossing the intersection. However, this priority causes a delay in the evacuation of traffic for other approaches. This paper examines the amount of delay and stops at the intersections of Mandela-Haghani for firefighting vehicles, and Ashraf-Marzdaran for BRT by using DSRC. The delay is evaluated by the calculated parameters of SCATS as an intelligent central control system. The results obtained from the comparison of the delay and the stops indicate that the presence of the emergency vehicle and the BRT have extended by the green time on those approaches allowed the passing of special vehicles.