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Paper No. 500+

SIMULATION OF HETEROGENEOUS TRAFFIC TO DERIVE CAPACITY AND SERVICE VOLUME STANDARDS FOR URBAN ROADS
By DR. V. T HAMIZH A RASAN * & R EEBU ZACHARIAH K OSHY ** CONTENTS Page 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction Background The Simulation Model Model Validation Model Application Conclusions
SYNOPSIS Highway capacity is the maximum number of vehicles that can reasonably be expected to pass a section of road in unit time under prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions; whereas, service-volume is the maximum number of vehicles that can be accommodated at a specified Level of Service (LOS). The performance of urban road networks depends on the practical capacity and actual volume of traffic on each of the links that constitute the network. The heterogeneous traffic existing on urban roads of developing countries like India is characterised by the presence of vehicles of wide ranging static and dynamic characteristics. The unrestricted movement of these vehicles on road space makes the lane concept and expression of flow values, based on standard lane width, invalid. Also, when different types of vehicles share the same road space without any physical segregation, the extent of vehicular interactions varies widely with variation in traffic mix. To arrive at an estimate of practical capacity of road links, it is necessary to study the influence of roadway, traffic and other relevant features on vehicular movement using appropriate techniques. Modelling of traffic flow is the widely accepted technique for studying the flow characteristics over a wide range of the involved variables. Hence, there is a need for development of models to replicate heterogeneous traffic flow; and such models would be of significant assistance to traffic planners while making key decisions. The design service volumes recommended for urban roads are for a LOS of C (about 0.7 times the maximum capacity). Capacity and service volumes being
+ Written Comments on this Paper are invited and will be received upto 31st December 2004 Transportation Engineering Division, Department of Civil * Professor, Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai - 600 036 * * Research Scholar,

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expressed in Passenger Car Units (PCU), the PCU values for the different types of vehicles are needed for quantifying traffic flow corresponding to LOS C.

Simulation, from microscopic through macroscopic, is increasingly becoming a popular traffic-flow modelling tool for analysing traffic operations and highway capacity. This paper deals with the development and application of a heterogeneous traffic-flow simulation model to develop capacity and service-volume standards for urban roads. The simulation model was first validated and used to estimate PCU values of different categories of vehicles, applicable to traffic flow at LOS C. These PCU values have then been used to convert heterogeneous traffic streams of varying compositions to equivalent homogeneous (passenger-cars-only) streams. The results were found to be consistent, establishing the credibility of the PCU values derived using the model. Service volumes for 7.5 m and 11.0 m wide urban roadways were also arrived at, as an illustration of the application of the model. Development of a general purpose traffic simulation model to replicate the lane-less nature of heterogeneous traffic flow for comprehensive study of the traffic flow characteristics, and application of the model to derive relatively accurate PCU values to develop capacity standards are the unique features of the research study presented here. 1. INTRODUCTION With the increasing urbanization, improved transportation technology and an expanding economy, additional roads and highways are built, in an effort to balance roadway capacity and demand. At the same time, traffic volumes and travel distances continue to increase, and the new roadway facilities get filled up shortly after completion. Traffic congestion and safety are serious problems, impacting on the economy, environment and quality of life in our cities. In designing highways, traffic engineers must anticipate the amount and type of traffic that will use the road, in order to make the highway match its anticipated use. The capacity of a highway is defined as the number of vehicles that can reasonably be expected to pass a point or section of the highway during a given period of time under prevailing roadway, traffic, and control conditions. Highway capacity is usually expressed in terms of number of vehicles per hour. Knowledge of capacity of a road is essential in planning, design and operation of roads. Capacity refers to the rate of flow during a specified period; and any change in the prevailing conditions results in a change in the capacity of the facility. Also, capacity is assumed to be stochastic in nature because of differences in individual driver behaviour and changing roadway and weather conditions (Minderhoud, et al. 1997). 15

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The concept of level of service (LOS) describes operating conditions within a traffic stream, and their perception by motorists and passengers. A level-of-service definition generally describes these conditions in terms of such factors as speed, travel time, freedom to manoeuvre, traffic interruptions, comfort and convenienced, and safety. The Highway Capacity Manual special report 209 of Transportation Research Board (TRB), USA defines six levels of service. They are given letter designations from A to F with A representing the best operating conditions and F representing the worst. Very often, the flow reflects the quality of traffic movement on a road. When traffic volumes approach the capacity of a road, traffic becomes congested and the flow of traffic is considered undesirable. LOS is thus one mechanism used to measure the quality of traffic flow. Another mechanism used to measure the quality of traffic flow is the volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratio. It is a measurement of traffic service or flow quality that compares the number of vehicles using or expected to use a given road or segment of a road during a single hour with the number of vehicles that the facility is designed to handle safely in a single hour. Use of V/C ratio for analysis allows the evaluation of potential demand compared to the capacity of the facility in question. Volume can never exceed the capacity of the facility, yet demand can. If the demand for a facility is greater than the capacity, a break down situation occurs. Highway capacity values and speed-flow relationships used for planning, design and operation of highways, in most of the developed countries, have been based on Manuals and Codes of practices, which are valid for fairly homogeneous traffic comprising vehicles of more or less uniform static and dynamic characteristics. Even under nearly homogeneous traffic conditions, it is necessary to convert heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks, which constitute a small proportion of traffic, into equivalent number of a standard type of vehicle (usually passenger cars) to measure the traffic flow using a single unit. The road traffic in most developing countries such as India comprises vehicles of wide ranging physical dimensions, weight and dynamic characteristics. Also, the motorized and non-motorized vehicles share the same road space without any segregation. The speeds of these vehicles vary from about 5 to over 100 km/h. Due to the highly varying physical dimensions and speeds, it becomes difficult to make the vehicles to follow traffic lanes. Consequently, they tend to choose any advantageous position on the road based on space availability. Also, the extent of vehicular interactions varies widely with variation in traffic mix. Vehicles, which are less mobile in terms of manoeuvrability, cause significant level of friction to the movement of other vehicles in the traffic stream. The extent of friction

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realized by the different categories of vehicles depends on their static and dynamic characteristics. For example, at higher traffic volumes a large proportion of motorized two-wheelers and bicycles may be able to move with speeds closer to their free speeds because of their ability for utilizing smaller gaps in the stream for movement, while the large-size vehicles such as buses and trucks may be subjected to considerable speed reduction. Traffic engineers account for the impact on capacity from the different types of vehicles by assigning each class of vehicle a passenger car equivalent (PCE or PCU) value. This value represents the number of passenger cars that would consume the same percentage of the highways capacity as the vehicles under consideration under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions. This study deals with development of a simulation model to replicate heterogeneous traffic flow on urban roads of developing countries such as India and the application of the model to derive PCU values for the different types of vehicles in heterogeneous traffic streams, and hence arrive at capacity standards.
2. BACKGROUND

There are different approaches to estimate the capacity of a road. Fig. 1 shows the various methods, which are based on direct empirical and indirect empirical approaches (Minderhoud et al. 1997)15. There are four different methods available for capacity estimation under the direct empirical approach. The observed headway models (e.g. Branstons generalised queueing model, Beckleys semi-Poisson model, etc.) are based on the theory that, at capacity level of flow on the road, all driver-vehicle elements are constrained. These models can be applied only for a single lane. In the case of multiple lane roads, the lanes are treated separately. An example for capacity estimation technique based on observed traffic
CAPACITY ESTIMATION

DIRECT EMPIRICAL

INDIRECT EMPIRICAL

Observed headways

Observed volumes

Observed volumes and speeds

Observed volumes, densities and speeds

Guidelines

Simulation models

Fig. 1. Methods of capacity estimation

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volumes is the observed extreme value method which estimates the capacity of a road by using only known maximum traffic volumes observed over a certain period. The product limit method is an example for road capacity estimation based on both traffic volume and speed data. On line procedures for actual capacity estimation and the fundamental diagram method are capacity estimation techniques based on traffic volumes, speeds and densities. Fundamental diagram method is based on the relationships between traffic flow, speed and density. It is sufficient to measure two of the three variables to construct one diagram. Traffic must be observed at different volumes to make a curve fitting possible. The capacity-estimation guidelines by TRB (HCM), Indian Roads Congress (IRC) and similar agencies are based on indirect empirical methods using appropriate theoretical techniques. Outputs from a traffic flow simulation model can be used to construct fundamental diagrams of flow, thereby making it possible to estimate the capacity of a facility. Though several methods, as indicated (Fig. 1) are available for estimation of capacity, the microscopic simulation models are now widely used as the most effective analytical tool for studying the traffic problems and for assessing the effectiveness of traffic management measures. This is because, these models, once validated, can be used to study the traffic flow characteristics over a wide range of values of the involved variables to get more acceptable results. In the current Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2000) 20 procedures, there is an implicit assumption that safety, an important measure of the service a facility provides, is automatically considered when LOS is specified. The notion is that the better the LOS, the safer a facility will be and that the usual practice of designing for a median LOS of C or D produces a desirable balance among cost, safety and operational measures. The methodologies presented in HCM do not generally deal with full hour volumes, but rather with equivalent hourly flow rates during a peak 15 min interval within the analysis hour. The basic capacity value of 2,000 PCU per hour per lane for freeways and multilane roads thus refers to the maximum flow that could be accommodated in a 15 min. period. The IRC recommends that LOS C be adopted for design of urban roads (IRC:106-1990) 8. At this level, the volume of traffic will be around 0.7 times the maximum capacity, and this is taken as the design service volume for urban roads. Maitra, et al. (1999) 13 proposed 10 levels of services with 9 in a stable flow zone (conventional LOS A to E region) and one representing the unstable flow (presently LOS F), as a means of quantifying congestion on urban roads. They assumed capacity values of study locations on urban roads as 3,500 and 4,500 PCU per hour for road widths of 7.0 and 10.3 m respectively in one direction.

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There have been several attempts to derive PCU values applicable for homogeneous and heterogeneous traffic environments (e.g. Huber 1982 , Krammes and Crowly 1986, Cunagin and Messer 1983, Sumner, et al. 1984, Elefteriadou, et al. 1997, Chandra and Sikdar 2000, Tiwari, et al. 2000)6,10,4,19,5,2, & 21. There is general agreement among researchers that the PCU of a vehicle type will decrease with increase in its own proportion in the traffic stream, and that for a given road width, an increase in flow level will result in smaller PCU value for a vehicle type. Recently (2003)3, Chandra and Kumar proposed capacity values for various road widths under mixed traffic conditions. They used a new concept for estimating PCU of various types of vehicles based on their projected areas on the road surface. The PCU factors, for urban roads, recommended by IRC are available in the IRC Code IRC:106-19908. The PCU values have been given in the Code for two levels of traffic mix, namely the percentage composition of a vehicle type being 5 per cent and 10 per cent and above. There had been quite a few attempts to apply the techniques of simulation to study the characteristics of mixed traffic. Ramanayya (1988) 17 developed a simulation model to study the traffic flow for single lane oneway, two-lane one-way, and two-lane two-way roads considering the lane concept. Issac (1995)9 developed a mixed traffic flow simulation model for estimation of urban road capacities and studied the effect of variation in traffic composition. A simulation model of traffic operations on two-lane highways was developed by Kumar and Rao (1996) 11 . Rajagopal and Dhingra (2002) 16 investigated the usefulness of traffic simulation in assessment of traffic management strategies. Marwah and Singh (2000) 14 did simulation studies of traffic flow on Kanpur urban roads using twolane one-way traffic simulation model. Arasan and Kashani (2003) 1 studied the platoon dispersal characteristics of heterogeneous traffic streams using simulation technique. All these studies, however, are limited in scope, and further the models developed are specific to certain roadway and traffic conditions. The review of literature has led to the following capacity related observations. There is substantial variation in the capacity values estimated by various researchers, by virtue of the variations in the roadway and traffic conditions considered for the studies and the uncertainties associated with mixed traffic and its characteristics. Computer simulation models can be advantageously used to estimate capacity and PCU values of various categories of vehicles expected in an urban heterogeneous traffic environment. The formulation to establish PCU for a vehicle type on a particular roadway should necessarily be based on the variables that reflect the combination of factors contributing to the overall influence of

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the type of vehicle on the quality of service provided by the roadway. Simulation logic of mixed traffic flow models takes care of the dimensions of vehicles, their free speeds, acceleration characteristics, space gap requirements in a traffic stream, etc. Hence, the speed reduction caused to the reference vehicle (passenger cars) by the addition of a specified number of vehicles of a particular type, is a satisfactory basis for estimating the PCU value of that vehicle. For the planning and design of urban traffic facilities, traffic-flow level at LOS C (V/C ratio about 0.7) is usually recommended. Therefore, the PCU factors used for the conversion of mixed traffic to obtain service volume standards for urban roads must be derived using such factors relevant to this flow level. In this study, it was decided to develop a general purpose microscopic heterogeneous traffic-flow simulation model, because, it facilitated representation of all the relevant characteristics of mixed traffic, and permitted the variation of all the parameters over a wider range, than what might have been possible with field observed data.
3. THE SIMULATION MODEL

In the absence of program packages for simulating heterogeneous traffic flow, a computer program was newly developed by the authors for the purpose, and the program code was written in C language. The model addresses the stochastic and dynamic nature of heterogeneous traffic flow. It is a discrete-event traffic simulation model, using interval-scanning technique with fixed-increment time advance. At higher traffic flow levels, there is a chance of more vehicle arrivals during each scan interval one second. To address this issue, a separate clock with precision (scan interval) of 0.05 second is provided in the headway-generation-module to generate inter arrival times with 0.05 second accuracy. The model is also capable of showing the animation of simulated traffic movements over the road stretch. For the purpose of modelling, the entire road space is considered as single unit, without any lane separation. The vehicles are then represented, with dimensions, as rectangular blocks, and their longitudinal and lateral movements on the road surface are tracked using a co-ordinate system. The traffic-simulation model was validated by comparing the simulated and field observed data on a set of roads (Sardar Patel road and GST road) in Chennai City. The modelling concepts are only briefly explained here as the emphasis of this paper is on the estimation of capacity and service-volume standards for urban roads. The basic structure of the model is depicted in Fig. 2. The model, as indicated in the figure, has three major modules, namely, Vehicle Generation, Vehicle Placement, and Vehicle Movement. Inputs required for the model are:

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Start

Inputs and Initialization

Generation of Vehicle Arrivals

Vehicle Placement

Vehicle Movement

Is Simulation Time Over?

No

Yes Print Outputs

End

Fig. 2. Simulation framework

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traffic volume, composition, free speeds of different types of vehicles, length of road stretch for simulation, width of roadway, overall dimensions (length and breadth) of different types of vehicles, acceleration and deceleration characteristics, total simulation period, etc. For generation of headways, free speed, etc., the model uses several random-number streams, which are generated by specifying separate seed values. Any generated vehicle is placed at the beginning of the simulation stretch, considering the safe headway (which is based on the free speed assigned to the entering vehicle), lateral gap, and the overall width of the vehicle with lateral clearances. If the longitudinal gap is less than the minimum required safe gap, the entering vehicle is assigned the speed of the leading vehicle, and once again the check for safe gap is made. If the gap is still insufficient to match the reduced speed of the entering vehicle, it is kept as backlog, and its entry is shifted to the next scan interval. During every scan interval, the vehicles remaining in the backlog will be admitted first, before allowing the entry of a newly generated vehicle. A continuous increase in the number of vehicles as backlog during the simulation run indicates 100 per cent platoon condition (capacity flow) on the road stretch. Placement and movement of non-motorized vehicles (Bicycles and Tricycles) based on field observation, is restricted to the left most part of the road only. The simulation model uses the time-interval scanning technique to update the state of the system, the chosen interval being one second. During each scan interval, the positions of all vehicles in the system are updated using the formulated movement logic. The movement logic also includes the overtaking and car-following logics as applicable to heterogeneous traffic. The model measures the speed maintained by each vehicle when it traverses a given reference length of roadway which is specified by the user, in addition to the various other flow characteristics of interest. Fig. 3 displays a snapshot of animation screen while simulating mixed traffic in one direction on a 7.5 m wide road space.
4. MODEL VALIDATION

The validation is concerned with determining whether the conceptual simulation model is an accurate representation of the system under study (Law and Kelton, 2000)12. It is a crucial element in assessing the models value for making policy decisions and is aimed to produce a model that represents true system behavior so that the model can be used as a substitute for the physical system. Since no simulation model can be expected to capture real behavior exactly, formulating appropriate performance measures or evaluation functions is fundamental to the validation process. Sacks, et al. (2002) 18 suggest visual comparison of

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Fig. 3. Traffic flow animation snapshot

graphical output (animation) with field data as a validation technique for simulation models capable of showing animation. Though this process of visual validation is highly informal and subjective in nature, it is of great value in assessing the capability of the model to emulate reality as well as identifying sources of trouble. As a measure of validation, the simulation model was used to replicate the mixed traffic flow on a stretch of road. The total length of road stretch for simulation was taken as 1000 m. The initial 200 m length at the entry point was used as a warm up zone and a similar 200 m long stretch at the exit end was also excluded from the analysis. To eliminate the initial transient nature of traffic flow, the simulation clock was set to start only after the first 50 vehicles reached the exit end of the road stretch. The traffic composition considered for the purpose of simulation (field observed value) is shown in Fig. 4. The data of overall dimensions and free speeds of the different categories of vehicles, given as input for

SIMULATION OF H ETEROGENEOUS TRAFFIC TO DERIVE CAPACITY AND SERVICE VOLUME STANDARDS FOR URBAN ROADS Light Commercial Vehicles 3.0% Autorickshaws 10.0%

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Bicycles 4.5%

Motorized two-wheelers 50.0%

Trucks 2.5%

Buses 5.0% Cars 25.0%

Fig. 4. Composition of field observed traffic

model validation, are shown in Table1. The data of acceleration characteristics of the vehicles are shown in Table 2. The model measures the speed maintained by each vehicle when it traverses a given reference length of roadway which is specified by the user. The output also includes the number of each category of vehicles generated, the values of all the associated headways generated, number of vehicles present over a given
TABLE-1. DATA OF FREE SPEED AND OVERALL DIMENSIONS OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF VEHICLES Sl. No. Type of Vehicle Mean (1) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. (2) Bus Truck LCV Car Auto-rickshaw MTW Bi-cycle Tri-cycle (3) 53.01 51.50 50.30 58.90 44.90 45.05 16.00 15.30 Free Speed in km/h Standard Deviation (4) 7.2 6.6 7.7 14.3 7.7 12.4 3.0 3.2 Average Overall Dimensions in m Length (5) 10.3 8.4 5.0 4.2 2.6 1.8 1.9 2.5 Breadth (6) 2.5 2.5 1.9 1.7 1.4 0.6 0.5 1.3

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TABLE-2. DATA
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ACCELERATION CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE

D IFFERENT T YPES

OF

V EHICLES

Type of Vehicle

Acceleration Value at Various Speed Ranges (m/s 2 ) 0 - 20 km/h 20 - 40 km/h (3) 0.45 0.45 0.60 1.30 0.58 1.03 a a Above 40 km/h (4) 0.33 0.33 0.35 1.00 0.34 0.37 a a

(1) Bus Truck Light Commercial Vehicle Car Auto-rickshaw Motorised Two-wheeler Bicycle Tricycle Note:
a

(2) 0.89 0.79 0.82 1.50 1.01 1.35 0.10 0.07

Not applicable

length of road (concentration), number of overtaking manoeuvre made by each vehicle, speed profile of vehicles, etc. The simulated traffic characteristics (headway and speed) were then compared with respective field values to assess the goodness of fit. The model was first validated by examining the observed and simulated headways of traffic, moving in one direction on a 7.5 m wide road space at various volume levels. The results of the experiment, for two levels of traffic volume, are shown in Fig. 5. It can be noted that the observed and simulated cumulative frequency distributions match to a greater extent in both the cases, indicating the validity of the model. To further ensure the credibility of the models behaviour under heterogeneous traffic conditions, the model was used to simulate one-way traffic on a 7.5 m wide road space with different traffic volumes. The traffic speeds simulated by the model were compared with observed speed values. It was found that the observed and simulated speeds are matching to a greater extent in all the cases. Fig. 6 depicts, for example, the comparison of observed and simulated speeds for a volume level of 2,150 vehicles/hour (v/h) for a known traffic composition (Fig. 4). It can be seen that the simulated speeds of different categories of vehicles match with the corresponding observed values to a greater extent. The details of the statistical validation of the model, based on observed and simulated speeds of the different categories of vehicles, as example, is shown in Table 3. It can be seen that the simulated speed values significantly replicate the field observed speeds of the different categories of vehicles.

SIMULATION OF H ETEROGENEOUS TRAFFIC TO DERIVE CAPACITY AND SERVICE VOLUME STANDARDS FOR URBAN ROADS Traffic Volume = 2608 v/h

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120 Cumulative Frequency (% ) 100 80 60 40 observed 20 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 Headw ay (s) simulated

Traffic Volume = 5880 v/h

120 Cumulative Frequency (% ) 100 80 60 40 observed 20 0 0 1 2 Headw ay (s)

Fig. 5. Model Validation by comparison of headways

simulated 3 4

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Simulated 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Light Commercial Vehicles Motorized twowheelers Cars Buses Autorickshaws Bicycles
(5) 0.0001 4.84 8.41 2.89 1.69 1.59 0.36 19.78

Observed

Speed (km/h)

Fig. 6. Model validation by comparison of speeds

TABLE-3. STATISTICAL VALIDATION OF THE MODEL BASED ON OBSERVED AND SIMULATED SPEEDS Vehicle Type Observed Simulated Difference Squared Average Average (Deviation) Deviation Speed (km/h) Speed (km/h) (2) 40.00 47.00 42.00 40.60 40.10 39.00 13.00 SUM (3) 40.01 44.80 39.10 38.90 38.80 37.74 12.4 (4) -0.01 2.20 2.90 1.70 1.30 1.26 0.60 9.95

(1) Motorised two-wheelers Cars Buses Trucks Light Commercial Vehicles Auto-rickshaws Bicycles

dmean = Mean of observed difference = 9.95/7 = 1.42 t statistic of observed speeds, to = dmean /(Sd/k), where k = Number of data sets =7 Sd2 = 19.78/(k-1) = 19.78/6 = 3.30, where Sd is the Standard Deviation; Sd =1.82 Therefore, t o = 1.42/(1.82/ 7) = 2.06. The critical value of t statistic for 0.05 level of significance and 6 degrees of freedom, obtained from standard t-distribution Table, is 2.45. Thus, it can be seen that the value of t statistic calculated based on the observed data (t o) is less than the corresponding Table value. This implies that the simulated speeds significantly represent the observed speeds.

Trucks

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The model was first used to simulate homogeneous (100 per cent passenger cars) traffic flow, at various volume levels, in one direction, on 7.5 and 11.0 m wide road spaces, which are common on major divided urban roads in India. Speed-flow relationships obtained by simulating traffic-flow on these roads are presented in Figs. 7 and 8 for 7.5 m and 11.0 m wide road spaces respectively. The simulation runs were repeated using three different-random number streams to check for the consistency of the results. Simulation run-lengths were varied according to the input traffic volumes, to obtain adequate data for the calculation of average speeds.
70 60
Speed (km/h)

50 40 30 20 10 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Flow (Cars per hour)

Fig. 7. Speed-flow relationship for cars-only traffic on 7.5 m wide road space

Capacity values of 7.5 m and 11.0 m wide road spaces, with traffic in one direction, were then obtained as about 3,200 and 4,500 cars per hour respectively (refer Figs. 7 and 8). The tentative capacity values, for mixed traffic, as per IRC:86-19837, for one-way traffic movement, on twolane (7.5 m) and three-lane (10.5 m) urban arterial are, respectively, 2,400 and 3,600 PCU per hour. It may be noted that the capacity values obtained through the present study are higher than the capacity values recommended by IRC:86. The relatively lower values given in the IRC code may be attributed to the approximation that might have been made in assigning PCU values for the different types of vehicles on urban roads in India.

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70 60
Speed (km/h) p ( p )

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50 40 30 20 10 0 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Flow (Cars per hour)

Fig. 8. Speedflow relationship for cars-only traffic on 11.0 m wide road space

Assuming LOS C for urban road design (V/C ratio=0.7), the service volumes of 7.5 m and 11.0 m wide roads are found (by multiplying the capacity values by 0.7) to be about 2,250 PCU/h and 3150 PCU/h respectively. For the conversion of heterogeneous traffic into equivalent homogeneous traffic, PCU factors of different categories of vehicles are required. In this study, an attempt was made to derive PCU values for the vehicles in the mixed traffic with flow rates at LOC C, which is commonly taken as the basis for design of urban road facilities. For this purpose, passenger-cars-only streams were simulated at various flow levels to obtain the speed- flow relationship of homogeneous traffic. From the flow of passenger-cars-only stream at LOC C, a specified number of cars are removed and an equivalent number of the chosen vehicle type is added, so that they create more or less the same effect on the traffic stream that is equivalent to that of the cars removed from the stream. Then, the number of cars removed divided by the number of other vehicle type introduced will give the PCU value of the vehicle type. The procedure was repeated by varying the composition of the chosen vehicle type over a wide range. In general, it was found that for most of the vehicle types, there was a decreasing trend in PCU values as their percentage composition in the traffic stream increased. The trends of variation of PCU values, due to variation in the percentage composition of these vehicles, are depicted

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in Figs. 9 to 14. These trend curves of PCU values of the different types of vehicles will be very useful to select a more appropriate value of PCU for a given vehicle type based on the percentage composition of the type of vehicle in the traffic stream. For example, in the case of buses (Fig.10) on a 7.5 m wide road space, the PCU will be 2.7 when the composition is 10 per cent, and it will be 1.8 when the composition is 80 per cent.

7.5 m w ide road 2.00

11.0 m wide road

1.50 PCU

1.00

0.50

0.00 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Percentage Composition of Two-wheelers 80%

Fig. 9. Variation of PCU of motorised two-wheelers

7.5 m wide
4.00

11.0 m wide road

3.00

PCU

2.00

1.00

0.00 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percentage Composition of Buses

Fig. 10. Variation of PCU of buses

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7.5 m wide road 4.00

11.0 m wide road

3.00 PCU

2.00

1.00

0.00 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percentage Composition of Trucks

Fig. 11. Variation of PCU of trucks

7.5 m wide road road 3.00 2.50 2.00 PCU 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

11.0 m wide

80%

90%

100%

Percentage Composition of Bicycles

Fig. 12. Variation of PCU of bicycles

SIMULATION OF H ETEROGENEOUS TRAFFIC TO DERIVE CAPACITY AND SERVICE VOLUME STANDARDS FOR URBAN ROADS
7.5 m wide road
2.50

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11.0 m wide road

2.00

1.50 PCU 1.00 0.50 0.00 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percentage Composition of Auto-rickshaws

Fig. 13. Variation of PCU of auto-rickshaws

7.5 m wide road

4.00

11.0 m wide road

3.00

PCU

2.00

1.00

0.00 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Percentage Composition of LCVs

Fig. 14. Variation of PCU of light commercial vehicles

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To assess the effect of PCU values derived in this study on the service volumes of 7.5 and 11.0 m wide urban road spaces, the following methodology was adopted. As a first step, three common urban traffic compositions were assumed. These assumed compositions are shown in Table 4. For each of these compositions, the traffic flow was simulated to obtain the respective speed-flow relationships. The speedflow relationships thus obtained for one-way traffic flow on a 7.5 m wide road space is depicted in Fig. 15. As depicted in the figure, the capacity flows observed during simulation runs were 3,558, 4,077, and 3,568 v/h respectively for the assumed traffic compositions 1, 2 and 3. A similar exercise for traffic flow on a 11.0 m wide road space yielded capacity values of 5,138, 5,976, and 5,306 v/h respectively for compositions 1, 2 and 3 (Fig. 16).
TABLE-4. TRAFFIC COMPOSITIONS CONSIDERED FOR THE STUDY Percentage composition Vehicle type Composition 1 Motorised Two-wheelers Cars Buses Trucks Light Commercial Vehicles Auto-rickshaws Bicycles 50 25 5 2.5 3 10 4.5 Composition 2 60 15 3 1.5 2 15 3.5 Composition 3 40 25 3 1.5 2 20 8.5

60 50
Speed (km/h)

40 30 20 10 0 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Flow (v/h)

comp.1

comp.2

comp.3

Fig. 15. Speed-flow relationships on 7.5 m wide road space

SIMULATION OF H ETEROGENEOUS TRAFFIC TO DERIVE CAPACITY AND SERVICE VOLUME STANDARDS FOR URBAN ROADS
60 50

239

Speed (km/h)

40 30 20 10 0 0 2000 4000 6000 8000

Flow (v/h)
c om p . 1 c om p . 2 com p. 3

Fig. 16. Speed-flow relationships on 11.0 m wide road space

As the next step, the service volumes for these roads, in terms of heterogeneous traffic flow, for each of the compositions, were estimated based on a V/C ratio of 0.7. The service volumes in terms of heterogeneous traffic were then converted to equivalent passenger cars using the PCU factors derived in this study. The details are shown in Tables 5 and 6 respectively for 7.5 m and 11.0 m wide road spaces. It can be noted that the results are consistent (error being 4.3 to 8.8 for the different compositions) establishing the credibility of the PCU values derived using the model.
TABLE-5. COMPARISON
OF

SERVICE VOLUMES OF C ARS-ONLY AND M IXED T RAFFIC 7.5 M WIDE R OAD S PACE Traffic flow 3200 2250 Composition 1 Composition 2 4077 2854 2367 5.20%

ON

Road width=7.5 m Capacity flow for cars-only traffic (cars/h) Flow at LOS C for cars-only traffic (cars/h)

Composition 3 3568 2498 2450 8.88%

Capacity flow (v/h) Flow at LOS C (v/h) Flow at LOS C (PCU/h) Difference in flow at LOS C between cars-only and mixed traffic

3538 2447 2381 5.80%

240
TABLE-6. COMPARISON
OF

DR. ARASAN & K OSHY ON

S ERVICE VOLUMES OF C ARS-ONLY 11.0 M WIDE R OAD S PACE
AND

M IXED T RAFFIC

ON

Road width=11.0 m Capacity flow for cars-only traffic (cars/h) Flow at LOS C for cars-only traffic (cars/h) Composition 1 Capacity flow (v/h) Flow at LOS C (v/h) Flow at LOS C (PCU/h) Difference in flow at LOS C between cars-only and mixed traffic 5138 3597 3285 4.30%

Traffic flow 4500 3150 Composition 2 5976 4183 3339 6.00% Composition 3 5306 3714 3381 7.30%

6 . CONCLUSIONS

The following are the important conclusions of the study: 1. 2. Through the research work, a model to simulate heterogeneous traffic flow on mid block sections of urban roads has been developed. The results of validation of the model indicate that the model is capable of replicating the mixed traffic flow on urban roads to a highly satisfactory extent. The trend lines developed to indicate the extent of variation of PCU value will be useful to pick an appropriate PCU value for the different types of vehicles in mixed traffic streams based on the observed composition of the vehicles in the stream. Based on the simulation study, it has been found that the service volumes at LOS C for one-way traffic flow on 7.5 m and 11.0 m wide road spaces are 2,250 and 3,150 PCU per hour respectively. It has been found that the effect of heterogeneity of traffic on the variable PCU values is only marginal (the difference in service volume values between cars-only and heterogeneous traffic streams lies between 4.3 and 8.8 per cent) and hence the PCU trend lines can be used to pick out PCU values for different vehicular compositions of heterogeneous traffic streams.

3.

4.

5.

SIMULATION OF H ETEROGENEOUS TRAFFIC TO DERIVE CAPACITY AND SERVICE VOLUME STANDARDS FOR URBAN ROADS

241

Limitations of the Study: 1. The application of the model has been demonstrated only for two road widths though similar results can be obtained for any normal widths of road space using the model. The model, in its present form, can simulate only one-way traffic movement which restricts its application for only one-way streets and divided urban roads.

2.

Scope for Further Research: 1. The model can be modified to replicate two-way traffic flow on undivided roads by incorporating suitable simulation logic for movement of vehicles in opposing streams of traffic. The model can be extended to cover traffic flow through intersections so that the flow of traffic on a corridor can be simulated which will provide more useful outputs for traffic management.
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