Intersection control delay is one of the most important performance indicators for evaluating the traffic level of
service and intersection capacities. In current traffic data detection infrastructure, control delay is not directly measurable.
Although video-based detection approaches have been applied, their detection accuracy and reliability are constrained by
application conditions and detection environments. Manual control delay data collection is labour-intensive, tedious, and
time-consuming. High-resolution global positioning system (GPS) data provide an effective means of estimating control
delays at intersections, but computationally intensive algorithms and hardware support are needed to handle a large
network and impede their wide applications. In this study, a computationally cost-effective control delay estimation
algorithm is developed based on low-resolution GPS-based transit bus trajectory data. Transit bus travelling behaviour
is formulated to facilitate delay estimation. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is examined and verified by
the field data and the results indicate that the proposed algorithm provides accurate and reliable control delay
estimation at intersections under various conditions.