

Now buses that approach the queue jumps no longer make early requests or face inconsistent detention by the system. The city and C-Tran found a solution by turning the emitter off as the bus approached the queue-jump intersections. “It was discovered shortly after the opening that the GPS signal used to identify the bus and place the queue-jump request did not have the level of accuracy and consistency that was needed, due to the close proximity of the bus stop to the intersection,” he said in an email. Trung Vo, a traffic signal engineer with Vancouver Public Works said the queue jump was part of the initial opening of The Vine, but the system required some fine tuning to give bus drivers more dependable and predictable timing. After a Vine bus has served the nearest station, the queue jump gives the bus a 10-second head start through the intersection while the lights are red for everyone else. Rather than relying on red and green signals to direct the bus, the signal uses white vertical and horizontal bars. The system works through an emitter on top of the Vine buses that communicates with the queue-jump signals that are mounted below and to the right of the regular traffic lights.
