 Where near-side stops are present, an advance signal can be highly effective in giving the bus a head start, however the bus stop location needs to consider the detection strategy used for the advance signal phase so that the bus is detected only after it is done serving the bus stop.It is preferable to provide a receiving lane on the far side of the intersection to provide an acceleration/merging area, however this is not always a requirement when an advance signal is used.When an advance signal is used, it should be actuated by an approaching bus to avoid needlessly delaying other traffic when there is no bus present.