A study to find the relative effect of buses and cars on the speed of traffic has been carried out at two sites in London, the Strand and Putney High Street. Each site is a shopping street 1200 ft long, containing six uncontrolled intersections. The Strand is a four-lane road with three stops for buses travelling in the direction studied; Putney High Street is a two-lane road with one bus stop in the direction studied. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the effect on the speed of private cars of the flow of other vehicles, the flow of other vehicles, the flow of pedestrians crossing the road and the number of parked vehicles. By comparing the regression cc-efficients for buses and light vehicles it was deduced that the passenger car equivalent of a bus at each site was between 3 1/2 and 4.
Abstract