Sustainable Transportation Engineering

Joerg Schweizer
February 22, 2016

Contents
2 Vehicles
2.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Static vehicle equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.1 Forces acting on vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2 Resistances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.3 Velocity at equilibrium condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3 Vehicle dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1 Speed and way profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.2 Time discrete solution microsimulation . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.3 Example: The phases of a typical speed profile . . . . . . . . .
2.4 Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.1 Energy types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.2 Energy preservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.3 Example: Energy consumption during different phases of the
speed profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.4 Transport energy efficiencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5 Flows, density and capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.1 Definitions and characteristics of a vehicle flow . . . . . . . . .
2.5.2 Vehicle spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.3 Optimum vehicle spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.4 Vehicle spacing in road traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.5 Vehicle spacing in rail traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.6 Random models of vehicle flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.7 Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 2

Vehicles
Vehicles provide the space in which persons or goods are transported. But also a
person itself can be considered a vehicle. Vehicles do usually contain propulsion
systems (motor and transmission). For microscopic traffic analyses it is necessary to
consider also the driver interacting with the vehicle. The type of vehicle determines
significantly the level of service and the performance of a transportation system, for
an exhaustive analyses see [1]. On the other hand level of environmental impact per
kilometer is also determined significantly by the choice of the vehicle.
This chapter introduces the forces, energies, the basic dynamics of vehicles, vehicle
flows and random flows.

2.1

Basics

What basic quantities do we want to know from the vehicles ?

The relevant quantities of vehicles and interacting vehicles is shown in Tab. 2.1.
v(t)
Forces, speed, power, energy

(a)
d(t)
(b)

Distances, flows, capacity

(c)

Average arrival rates, probability for n to pass by a point.

Table 2.1: Overview of important quantities treated in this chapter. (a) Quantities
regarding a single vehicle; (b) quantities of a vehicle string; (c) quantities regarding
a random vehicle flow and interrupted vehicle flow.

How is a generic vehicle defined ?

From a transport planning perspective, a generic vehicle (car, bus, bike, train, tram)
is characterized by the following parameters:
2

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

[h!] Vehicle construction mass

Number of allowed passengers
Passenger mass
Payload
Maximum motor power
Motor force
Transmission efficiency
Rolling resistance coefficient
Air drag coefficient
Auxiliary power (heating, A/C)

MV
Npax
Mpax
Mpay = Npax Mpax
Pmax
FM (v, t)
T
cR
cW
Paux

Additional parameters are required to describe also the usage of the vehicle, see
Fig. 2.1 :
Maximum velocity or line speed
Maximum comfort acceleration
Maximum emergency acceleration
Maximum comfort jerk
Brake actuation time or reaction time
Driver aggressively

System

Driver

VL
aC
aE
JC
TE
D

Input

Vehicle
Motor
FM (t)
Transmission
FR (t)

FT (t)
Output
v(t)
s(t)
P (t)

Figure 2.1: The vehicle drive model with vehicle and driver.
The basic physics applied in the subsequent sections is summarized in Tab. 2.2.
A good introductory textbook is Feynmans lectures on physics [3].

2.2

Static vehicle equations

In this section we study a simple vehicle models that allows to determine the principle
forces, power and energy consumption of a vehicle at a constant speed v.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES
Quantity
Velocity
Acceleration
Jerk
Force
Power
Energy

stationary
v = s/t, a = 0
a = v/t, j = 0
dj(t)
j = a/t,
=0
dt
F = ma
P = Fv
W = P t = F s

dynamic
v(t) = ds(t)
dt
a(t) = dv(t)
dt

unit
m/s
m/s2

da(t)
dt

m/s3

j(t) =

F (t) = M a(t)
P (t) = FR(t)v(t)
R
W (t) = P (t)dt = F (s)ds

N
W
J = Ws

Table 2.2: Collection of the basic physical quantities and their relation. Attention:
With stationary we mean that the respective quantity does not change with time.

2.2.1

Forces acting on vehicle

The forces acting upon a generic vehicle are shown in Fig. 2.2. For the static case
dv
= 0) the sum of all forces
(velocity v is constant or
dt
FT (v) FR (v) Fgrav = 0.

(2.1)

In the dynamic case where the speed v(t) is changing with time, the sum of forces
do no longer equate to zero but equal to the inertia ME dv
dt . This mean Eq. 2.2
becomes a differential equation, see Eq. 2.2. The vehicle dynamics can be determined
by solving this differential equation as explained in the next Sec. 2.3. Below, we
explain the single force components in Eq. 2.1.
The traction force FT (v) = T FM (v) is the force between the wheels or chains and
the street or rail that is pulling or pushing the vehicle. The traction force depends
on motor type. For simplicity, we assume an ideal motor which provides a constant
maximum motor power PM , independent of the velocity v. In reality only electric
motors can provide this speed independent performance, for all other motors the
motor power depends on the velocity. For example internal combustion engines have
a lower power at low speeds. However, with the gear-box, the rotating speed of the
motor can be kept at a point where the motor gives a nearly maximum power. This
means the constant power assumption is approximately satisfied.
As PM = FM v we find the maximum speed dependent motor force FM (v) = PvM .
As there is always some energy lost in the transmission system (between motor and
wheels) we need to introduce an efficiency factor T 1 which takes into account the
transmission losses, thus the maximum speed dependent traction force is
FT (v) = T FM (v) = T

PM
v

The resistance FR (v) = Froll (v)+Fair (v) is the sum of the rolling resistance Froll (v)
and the air drag Fair (v). Both depend on v; we will propose some simple heuristic
models further below.
The gravitational forces Fgrav are proportional to the total vehicle mass Mtot =
MV + Mpay . For a small slope , Fgrav becomes
Fgrav = Mtot g sin() FG .

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

M tot

dt

dv /
E

v)
F R(
F grav

v)
FT (

FG = Mtot g

Figure 2.2: Forces acting upon a vehicle.

2.2.2

Resistances

Real resistances to the movement of the are known to dissipate (unrecoverable energy)
energy. Below are simple models to estimate the main resistances of a vehicle.
Rolling resistance
With a simple, but common heuristic model, the rolling resistance Froll (v) is proportional to v 2 :
Froll (v) = (r0 + kv 2 ) FG cos()
using the following parameters:
r0 : constant parameter, without unit.
k: constant parameter for quadratic component in

s2
m2

The parameters r0 and k depend depend on the type of contact between tire (or wheel)
and road (or rail). For low speeds k 0 and r0 is typically within the following ranges:
Tire on Street ro = 0.010 0.015
Steel wheel on steel rail ro = 0.002 0.003

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

Air drag
The commonly used air drag model is
Fair (v) =

1
cx Sv 2
2

with
cx : air drag coefficient or shape factor characterizes the shape of the vehicle.
cx 0.3 0.5 for cars and cx 0.5 0.6 for tram or bus.
: specific density of the air 1.25kg/m3
S: cross section of vehicle 4 8m2
v: velocity in m/s

2.2.3

Velocity at equilibrium condition

The vehicle is at maximum speed vmax if the forces are in equilibrium clearly:
FT (vmax ) = FR (vmax ) + Fgrav
In other words, vmax is the speed where traction force FT (vmax ) equals the sum
of the resistances FR (vmax ) and gravity Fgrav , as shown for a numerical example in
Fig. 2.3.
The behavior of the vehicle outside this equilibrium point is treated in the next
section.

2.3

Vehicle dynamics

In this section we will consider the case where the vehicle is changing speed, means
that it accelerates/decelerates. This is the case if FT (v) FR (v) Fgrav 6= 0. If the
sum of these forces is positive, the vehicle will accelerate, and decelerate in case the
forces are negative.
The general vehicle dynamics can be captured by a simple first order, (non-linear)
differential equation
dv
FT (v) FR (v) Fgrav = ME
(2.2)
dt
which is equal to Eq. 2.1, but with the inertia ME dv
dt on the right hand site, opposing the traction forces. The inertia is a virtual force as it only exists for non zero
acceleration a(t) = dv(t)
dt . The inertia points always in the opposite direction of the
movement of the vehicle.
The equivalent mass ME = (1 + )Mtot is a mass that takes into account the
masses that rotate inside the vehicle (essentially, axles, transmission and wheels) as
they need to be accelerated too as a vehicle gains speed. Generally the equivalent
mass coefficient is not known unless provided by the vehicle manufacturer. Some
typical values are shown in Tab. 2.3.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

80
Traction FT [kN]

70
60

Force [kN]

50

FR + Fgrav at 18%

40
30

FR + Fgrav at 10%

20
10
0

FR + Fgrav at 5%

FR + Fgrav at 0%
0

10

20

30

40
50
v [km/h]

60

70

80

Figure 2.3: Speed dependent forces FT (v) and FR (v) + Fgrav for an urban bus. The
later forces have been calculated for different slopes (5%, 10% and 18%). Point A
marks the equilibrium speed at 5% and Point B marks the equilibrium speed at 18%.
Note the discontinuity of FT (v) at v = 20km/h due to a change of the transmission
system (hydraulic to fixed gears) at that speed. This means efficiency T is different
for different transmission systems.
Car, fast gear
Urban bus
Electric trolley bus

= 0.09 . . . 0.11
= 0.22
= 0.10 . . . 0.12

Table 2.3: Typical values of the equivalent mass coefficient .

2.3.1

Speed and way profile

The speed profile is the diagram of a vehicles velocity v(t) over time t. The way profile
is way or distance s(t) over time.
Below, we shall discuss all phases of a speed profile that contains all phases of
a simple start-stop cycle. More realistic speed profiles, as shown in Fig. 2.4, are a
composition of these elementary phases. The speed profile v(t) is obtained formally
Rt
by solving (integrating) of the differential equation in Eq. 2.2, v(t) = 0 a( )d with
a(t) =

FT (v, t)FR (v)+Fgrav (t)

.
ME

The way profile s(t) is obtained by integrating the speed profile over time, thus
Rt
s(t) = 0 v( )d .

v [km/h]

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10

50

100

150

200

250

300

200

250

300

t [s]
3000
2500

s [m]

2000
1500
1000
500
0

50

100

150
t [s]

Figure 2.4: Speed profile and respective distance of an urban bus.

First integration of differential equation
First we shall, at least formally, solve the differential equation Eq. 2.2 (without gravitational forces for the sake of simplicity). The differential equation can be rewritten
as
ME
dv
dt =
FT (v) FR (v)
and integrated on both sides with the boundary conditions t0 and t for the time
integral and v0 and v for the velocity integral.
Z t
Z v
ME
d =
d.
F
()
FR ()
T
t0
v0

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

Applying this formal integration to specific motor forces, resistances and boundary
condition, we can obtain a relation between t and v(t).
Z v(t)
ME
t=
d + t0
F
()
FR ()
T
v0
In general, this integral cannot be solved, but approximated and integrated with
numerical methods. This is often necessary as the traction force FT (t) is actually set
by the driver (operating the accelerator) and varies therefore in time, as the vehicle
moves through the network. However in particular cases the differential equation
system can be solved, for example if FT and FR are assumed constants.
Second integration of differential equation
If v(t) were known explicitly, we could apply a second integration and obtain the
distance s(t) over time:
ds
v(t) dt = ds
dt
Integrating again at both sides we obtain:
Z t
Z s(t)
v( )d =
dx = s(t) s0
v(t) =

t0

s0

and finally
Z

v( )d s0 = s(t).
t0

Also this integration is generally not solvable and numerical methods are used, as
show in the section below.
In case of a constant resistance FR (v) = FR and traction force FT (t) that is
constant during some time periods, the above integrations can be solved easily. An
example of such a speed profile is shown in Fig. 2.5.

2.3.2

Time discrete solution microsimulation

In modern traffic simulators like VISSIM, Paramics or SUMO, the speed profile of
each single vehicle of the network can be simulated. For this purpose it is sufficient to
solve Eq. 2.2 at discrete time steps tk = kTS where TS is the constant sample time,
usually a fraction of a second and k = 0, 1, 2, 3 is a discrete, integer counter. Thus,
all time-dependent quantities can be written as a function of t = tk . For example the
speed v(tk ) can also be written as v(k), for the sake of simplicity, see Fig. 2.6.
The most simple iteration is based on the assumption that v(t) and a(t) do not
change during (or change little) one time interval [kTS , (k + 1)TS [ In this case it is
simple to solve Eq. 2.2 numerically: The 2 integration for Step k k + 1 are for the
speed
FM (k) FR (v(k))
TS
v(k + 1) = v(k) +
M
and for the way
s(k + 1) = s(k) + v(k)TS
Here the driver generates the time dependent motor force FM (k) dependent on current
drive conditions (maximum speed, vehicle ahead, etc). Different strategies to keep a
certain spacing between vehicle is treated in Sec. 2.5.

10

T1 T2 T3

a(t)

Fi (t)

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

a1

t
v1

s(t)

v(t)

a3
v1
s1

v3
v3

s2

s3

s3
s2
s1
t

Figure 2.5:
Simplified integration with constant FR . Here
P
a(t) = MFEi (t)
System

Driver

Fi (t) = FT (t)FR+Fgrav ,

Input

Vehicle
Motor
FM (k)
Transmission
FR (k)

FT (k)
Output
v(k)
s(k)
P (k)

Figure 2.6: Car drive system with discrete time steps tk = kTS .

2.3.3

Example: The phases of a typical speed profile

We will now go through the various phases of a start-top speed profile to see discover
the different quantities change.
Typical speed profile: Acceleration phase
Time interval: 0 < t ta
FT (v, t) > FR (v) + Fgrav , FT (v) FR (v) Fgrav = ME

dv
dv
ME
>0
dt
dt

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

11

maintain
v(t)

coast

brak

acceleration
dt

ME

dv /

F R(
F

v)

v
gra

FT (

v)

dwell

ta

Typical speed profile: constant line speed phase

Time interval: ta < t ta + tm
FT (v, t) = FR (v) + Fgrav , FT (v, t) FR (v) Fgrav = 0 ME

dv
=0
dt

v(t)

maintain
M

ME

d
dv /

F R(

v)

FT (

v)

v
F gra

ta

Typical speed profile: the coasting phase

Time interval: ta + tm < t ta + tm + tc
FT (v, t) = 0, FR (v) Fgrav = ME

dv
dv
ME
<0
dt
dt

tm

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

12

v(t)

coast
M

ME

dt
dv /
v)
F R(

FT (

v)

v
F gra

ta

tm

tc

Typical speed profile: the braking phase

Time interval: ta + tm + tc < t ta + tm + tc + tb
dv
dv
ME
<0
dt
dt

v(t)

FT (v, t) < 0, FT (v, t) FR (v) Fgrav = ME

brake
t
v /d
d
ME
)
R(v
v

F gra
v)
T(

ta

Typical speed profile: the dwelling phase

Time interval: ta + tm + tc + tb < t ta + tm + tc + tb + td
FT (v, t) = Fgrav , FR (v) = 0 0 = ME

dv
dt

tm

tc

tb

13

v(t)

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

dt

ME

dv /

v)
F R(
v
F gra

FT (

v)

dwell

ta
Averaging over the speed profile
Total time: Ttot = ta + tm + tc + tb + td
Total distance: Stot = sa + sm + sc + sb
Stot
Average speed: v =
Ttot

tm

tc

tb td t

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

2.4

14

Energy

In theory, the movement of matter from one position to another does not require any
energy: the energy required to accelerate a mass could be recovered entirely while
braking it. Yet, we have seen in the introductory chapter that the transport sector
consumes approximately one third of all the energy consumed by humans! Hence
there are some forms of energy generated during the movement that dissipate and
cannot be recovered in an efficient manner, or some motor technologies do not allow
energy recovery, like the internal combustion engine.
Energies that can be recovered are essentially the kinetic energy and the potential
energy. Energies that cannot be recovered is principally dissipated heat energy (as
produced in motors, frictions, resistances, brakes and suspension systems).
The fact that energies do not depend on the speed profile but rather on the endconditions often simplifies calculations. The different types of energies are determined
based on the vehicle dynamics treated in the previous section. Once the energies are
known, the energy efficiencies can be determined, essentially by dividing the useful
energy output of the systems by the total energy input of the system.

2.4.1

Energy types

Here we briefly introduce the forms of energy relevant for the movement of vehicles:
Rt
Motor energy: WM (t) = 0 FM (v, )v( )d . If FM is constant then WM (t) =
FM s(t), independent of speed profile or path. The motor energy will be used
to overcome friction, gravitation and to accelerate the vehicle. If the motor is
braking then this energy is transformed into heat in case of an ICE engine and
into electrical energy (and heat) in case of an electrical motor. In the latter
case the electrical motor acts as a generator of electrical current which can be
stored.
Rt
Traction energy: WT (t) = 0 T FM (v, ) v( )d = T WM (t) The traction energy
{z
}
|
FT (v, )

is the energy that is used to move the vehicle. It can be calculated from the
motor energy, multiplied by transmission efficiency T .
Rt
Friction losses: WB (t) = 0 FB ( )v( )d . Friction losses are energies lost on the
road due to air and rolling resistances. If FR is constant then WB (t) = FB s(t),
independent of speed profile or path. Friction losses cannot be recovered, this
energy is lost.
Brake energy:
R If FB (v(t)) are the forces to the vehicle applied by the brakes then
WB = FB (v(t))v(t)dt. If FB is constant then WB = FB s, independent of
speed profile or path. If brake energy is transformed into heat energy (for
example in brake blocks) then the energy is lost. If instead the braking is
performed by the motor acting as a generator (FB = FT ) then the energy (or
a part of it) can be recovered and stored in an on-board battery. This method
is called regenerative braking.
Kinetic energy: accelerating (or decelerating) a mass Mtot from v(0) to v(t) at time
1
t will require the kinetic energy WK (t) = Mtot (v 2 (t) v 2 (0)) and does neither
2
depend on the speed profile nor on the path. In case v(0) > v(1) the vehicle is

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

15

decelerating and the energy WK becomes negative. The kinetic energy is the
pure energy to accelerate the mass, without taking into account friction losses.
A part of the kinetic energy can be recovered, as mentioned above.
Potential energy: lifting (or lowering) a mass Mtot from height h(0) to h(t) at time
t will require the kinetic energy WP (t) = Mtot g(h(t) h(0)) and does only
depend on the heights difference h(t) h(0). Potential energy can be recovered.
For example by letting the vehicle run down the potential energy is converted
in kinetic energy, which in turn can be converted in electrical energy.

2.4.2

Energy preservation

If in a (transport) process all but one energies are known, then the unknown energy
can be determined using the energy preservation equation, see Fig. 2.7
WT (t)

s(t)

v (t)

Mass M

Mass M

v(0)

h(t)

Figure 2.7: Vehicle energy calculation in two time instances: initially the vehicle at
time 0 is at height h(0) and v(0); while at a generic time t the vehicle is at level h(t)
and has speed v(t).
The Energy preservation equation says that the sum of all energies of a system is
zero at all times t. In case of a vehicle we have
WK (0) + WP (0) = WK (t) + WP (t) + WR (t) + WB (t) WT (t).
That means the traction energy WT (t) required during time 0..t must compensate
friction losses, brake energy (if any), as well as the difference in kinetic- and potential
energy.

2.4.3

Example: Energy consumption during different phases

of the speed profile

Taking the phases from Sec. 2.3.3 one can determine the different energy consumption
for each phase:
The Traction energy consumption during ta + tm becomes
Z ta +tm
WT (t) =
FT ( )v( )d FT ( ) > 0.
0

The friction energy

Z
WR (t) =

ta +tm +tc +tb

FR (v( ))v( )d
0

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

16

is generated by the different resistance at all times 0 . . . ta + tm + tc + tb during the

vehicle movement.
The Brake energy consumption during tb becomes
Z ta +tm +tc +tb
WB (t) =
FB ( )v( )d
ta +tm +tc

v(t)

Note that a negative traction force can act as braking force , thus FB = FT .
As initial and final speed is zero, the kinetic energy WK (t) = 21 Mtot (v 2 (ta + tm +
tc + tb ) v 2 (0)) = 0. Also the potential energy is zero in case the vehicle runs on a
horizontal road.
Figure 2.8 shows the evolution of the different energy types over the entire cycle.
Note that at the end the kinetic energy is entirely converted into friction and brake
energy. We will see later that a share of the brake energy can be reused in regenerative
braking, while the friction energy is lost in the atmosphere.

ta

tm

tc

tb

t
WR

WT
WB
WK

Figure 2.8: Energy flow chart of example speed profile.

2.4.4

Transport energy efficiencies

The energy efficiency is generally the traction energy of the vehicle (the energy that
makes the vehicle move) divided by the consumed energy. It is obvious that a vehicle
with a higher energy efficiency can run further with the same amount of energy than
a vehicle with a lower energy efficiency. However, it is important to look at the entire
energy chain, from primary energy generation to the usable kinetic energy.
The energy efficiency chain
A general energy chain is shown in Fig. 2.9 In this chain we distinguish between the
following efficiencies:
Well-To-Tank This is the energy efficiency from the primary energy source to the
energy fed into the vehicle. This can be the fuel tank, a battery or direct
electricity if there is no storage medium available. The Well-To-Tank energy
efficiency is determined by
WV
WTT =
Wprim

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

17

where WV is the fuel energy entering the vehicle and Wprim is the primary
energy (energy of raw fuels from natural or regenerative resources).
Tank-To-Wheel This is the energy efficiency from the energy fed into the vehicle to
the kinetic energy (usually this is the energy transmitted by the wheels). The
Tank-To-Wheel energy efficiency is determined by
TTW =

WT
WV

where WT is the traction energy provided by the vehicle over a typical speed
profile.
Well-To-Wheel The overall energy efficiency, the Well-To-Wheel efficiency is finally
given by
WT
WTW =
= WTT TTW
Wprim
Primary
Energy

System
Well to Wheel Efficiency WTW

Wprim

WT

Ground facilities

Wprim

Traction
Energy

Vehicles

Well to tank Efficiency

Tank to Wheels Efficiency
(WTT)
(TTW)
WV
WTT
TTW

Traction
energy
WT

Figure 2.9: General energy chain

In order to quantify the different efficiencies they must be further broken down in
technical system of which the efficiency is known. An example is given in Fig. 2.10.
Primary
Well to tank (WTT)
Tank to Wheels (TTW)
energy
TransWprim Generation Storage Distribution WV Storage Motor mission
G
S
D
SV
M
T

Traction
energy
WT

Figure 2.10: Example of a simple transport energy efficiency chain for a vehicle.
The energy flow scheme in Fig. 2.10 has the following components:

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

18

G is the efficiency of the energy generation, or extraction. In case of electrical

power, this is the efficiency of the electrical power station. In case of gasoline
this is the energy efficiency for extraction and refining. Extracting and refining
are typically very energy efficient. However, this efficiency drops significantly if
oil is extracted from tar sand (Fragging).
S is the energy storage efficiency. In case of electricity the efficiency cannot
be stored directly (S = 1) but it can be converted into chemical or potential
energies, in which case the efficiency depends on the efficiency of the stores. In
case of petroleum, the storage efficiency of tanks is typically very high and close
to one.
D is the efficiency of the distribution. In case of electricity this is the efficiency
of electric wires. High voltage wires do actually get hot and the losses are
proportional to the length of the power consumer (the vehicle) from the electric
power station. Generally the efficiency D is between 0.85 and 0.95. In case of
petroleum, the distribution is usually by lorries.
In case of gasoline WTT 0.9. In case of electricity WTT depends essentially
on G , that is how the electricity is generated. Most electric energy is generated
with thermal power stations. In this case G = thermal EL , where thermal is the
thermodynamic efficiency (typically 35-45%) and EL in the efficiency of the power
generator (approximately 99% for larger power plants).
With these components, the Well to tank efficiency becomes
WTT =

WV
= G S D
Wprim

whereas the Tank to wheel efficiency yields

TTW =

WT
= SV M T
WV

For transport systems it is usual to determine a distance based Tank to wheel

efficiency
WT (t)
WV (t)

=
TTW
=
s(t)
s(t) SV M T
where the consumed fuel energy WV (t) is measured experimentally while running the
vehicle over distance s(t) during time t in a typical environment (city, motorway,
etc).
Regenerative braking
The energy flows for vehicle components with energy recovery is shown in Fig.2.11.
It is assumed that a share of the braking energy Wrec = rec WB can be recovered
and fed back into the vehicles energy store (for example battery or fuel cell).
Note that the recovery of braking energy is only feasible with electric engines (because they can be used as electric generators, when braking) or mechanically through
flywheels. Here, we do not want to go into the details of energy losses of individual
vehicles technologies (we will do this later in the course when we look deeper into
different transport technologies).
The net effect of the recovery system is that the traction energy increases, WT =
SV M T (WV + rec Wrec ) where rec is the brake energy recovery efficiency. In other
words for the same vehicle fuel energy WV more traction energy becomes available.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

19

Primary
Well to tank (WTT)
Tank to Wheels (TTW)
energy
TransWprim Generation Storage Distribution WV Storage Motor mission
G
S
D
SV
M
T
+

Traction
energy
WT

Recovery
rec

Wrec

Figure 2.11: Example transport energy efficiency chain for a vehicle with energy
recovery.

2.5

Flows, density and capacity

The analyses in this section focus on multiple vehicles moving along a line (road, rail,
path, river). Vehicles must keep a certain distance to other vehicles, which means
they have to adapt their speed accordingly. This is sometimes referred to as dynamic
coupling (as opposed to physical coupling with hooks, etc.). The macroscopic quantity
that describes the movement of vehicles is the flow, which is the number of passing
vehicles or passengers per time unit (usually per hour).
Thereafter we will address the calculation of the capacity of a transport link.
The capacity represents the maximum flow that can be achieved on a specific transportation link. The vehicle spacing strategy (or technology) does ultimately limit the
capacity of the transport system. We will see that different transport systems have
different spacing concepts and therefore different transport capacities.
Comparing the capacity of the physical transport system of a link against the
(estimated) transport demand on this link (demand being number of estimated vehicles/persons per hour) one can verify whether the implemented transport system is
sufficient to meet the demand. The estimation of the demand will be addressed in a
successive chapter.

2.5.1

Definitions and characteristics of a vehicle flow

Snapshot of a continuous vehicle flow

A continuous vehicle flow can be characterized by the following quantities (see also
Fig. 2.12):
L = constant vehicle length in m.
d = constant Distance between 2 vehicles in m.
TH = constant time headway in s. This is the (constant) time from vehicle nose
to vehicle nose.
SH is the spacial headway in m. This is the (constant) distance from vehicle
nose to vehicle nose.
v = constant vehicle speed in m/s.
Time headway TH and space headway SH are redundant information as SH = vTH
v
. The space headway can also be determined from SH = d + LV .
and TH =
SH

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

20

Space

Time

s
d

TH =

1
f

SH = v TH

Figure 2.12: Illustration of the quantities characterizing a vehicle flow.

Definition of vehicle flow
If a time interval of duration T and length s = v T contains N = TTH vehicles then
the vehicle flow f is defined as the number of vehicles N per time interval T , thus
f=

1
N
=
.
T
TH

(2.3)

The vehicle flow is often expressed in vehicles per hour per direction (vphpd).
f=

3600
.
TH

With average time headway TH and an average vehicle occupancy of NP passengers

the average passenger flow can also be expressed in passengers per hour per direction
(pphpd):
3600
f = NP
.
TH
Definition of vehicle density
Vehicle density is defined as the number of vehicles N per distance s, thus
N
f
1
= =
.
(2.4)
s
v
SH
Likewise, f = v. The vehicle density is often used to quantify the level of service on
a road.
=

Dependency between f , v and

The flows of a transport system (vehicle + infrastructure) does depend on the average
speed and other operational characteristics. The three quantities f , v and are often
inter dependent. Such interdependence can be expressed in a flow model (sometimes
called load model). Taking as independent variable then the flow model is as follows:
f () = v().

(2.5)

where v() is here a velocity function that is dependent on the density (see Greenshield
model further below). This flow model expresses simply that the velocity v at which
a vehicle flow moves does depend on the density . Further below we will explain
some canonical models. One intuitive example is the road traffic: as traffic density
increases, the vehicle speed decreases, thus v depends on the density .

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

21

Definition of capacity
The line - capacity Q is defined as the maximum (physically possible) flow f . Just
as the flow itself, the capacity can be expressed in vehicles per hour per direction
(vphpd) or in passengers per hour per direction (pphpd). If there is an analytical
flow model available, such as the one in Eq. 2.5 then the capacity can be determined
by finding the maximum flow analytically: In a first step we would find the = crit
that maximizes f (). In practice we need to find a that satisfies:

df () 
=0
d =crit
Then the capacity is given by Q = f (crit). In the next section we will determine Q
for some typical vehicle flows.
Definition of capacity factor
The capacity factor is defined as
=

f
Q

where f is the average measured flow and Q is the theoretical capacity.

The capacity factor is an important indicator to quantify how near the real vehicle flows are at their theoretical capacity limit. A low capacity factor means that
either the transport system has too much capacity (is over dimensioned for the traffic
volumes) or for some logistical/technical reason the transport system does not allow
higher flows.

2.5.2

Vehicle spacing

In any vehicle flow the distance between two successive vehicles is determined by
some distance control laws. These control laws can be implemented in control systems
(usually in trains) or they are intuitively followed by a human driver (cars, buses).
Here are some examples of control laws:
Car driver: the driver of the trialling vehicle would see the vehicle in front and
prevent collisions (automobiles, bike, trucks); or he would stop at intersections
(red light, priority of another vehicle). Otherwise she would try to reach the
maximum allowed speed.
Fixed time tables + driver: The fixed departure time sets the time-headway
and distance between successive vehicle. If a vehicle were falling behind, the
driver of the successive vehicle would prevent collisions (most road based public
transport like bus, tram, etc.).
Fixed time tables + signaling: As above, but driver is supported by signals to
prevent collisions (trains).
Fixed time tables + automation: There are fixed time-tables but the train is
primarily run under automatic control which keeps time tables and prevents
collisions (automated metros).

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

22

In the following subsections we will first determine the flows and capacities of an
ideal transport system, which sets an upper bound for the capacity for any transport
systems. Successively we treat automobile flows on (intersection-free) roads and train
traffic on current rail lines.

2.5.3

Optimum vehicle spacing

With optimum vehicle flow we refer to a situation where all vehicles keep exactly a
minimum safe distance. This ideal transport system would allow the maximum
flow on a transport link at any given line speed. However, with modern automatically
controlled vehicles, this maximum may become soon feasible.
Figure 2.13 shows the general situation of 2 following vehicles. Note that the time
dependent space headway SH (t) = d(t) + LV will determine the capacity Q.
v2 (t)
Trailing vehicle

v1 (t)
d(t)

Lead vehicle

sH (t) = d(t) + LV
Figure 2.13: Vehicle follower situation.
In the ideal case, the distance d(t) between vehicles must be kept just large enough
to satisfy simultaneously the following criteria:
Minimum safe distance criteria: This criteria defines a distance to be maintained
to avoid collision in an emergency case (or worst case failure case, see below)
Comfort criteria: This criteria defines a distance to be maintained that guarantees
maximum acceleration (and jerk levels) during normal operation. Clearly this
distance must be sufficient to prevent the vehicles from doing an emergency
brake (which is usually not within the comfort limits).
Maximum velocity: The maximum allowed speed is does implicitly the maximum
distance between successive vehicles.
Below we quantify each of these criteria.
Minimum safe distance criteria
This criteria guarantees no collision during a worst case scenario. A simple, but
common model of a worst case scenario is based on constant deceleration rates: We
assume that the lead vehicle suddenly decelerates at a certain maximum failure deceleration rate aF and the following vehicle brakes at a minimum emergency deceleration
rate aE after a fixed system delay time TE .
The minimum emergency deceleration aE is the minimum deceleration that a
vehicle can guarantee in case of emergency. In practice, dependent on the vehicle
type, there are 2 limits: (1) for road vehicles there is the adhesion between tires and
road which can be as low as aE 3m/s2 . (2) for public transport the maximum
emergency deceleration is aE 2.7m/s2 for vehicles with standing passengers. At an
deceleration of aE 5.0m/s2 even sitting passengers would be lifted off their seats
without safety belt.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

23

The maximum failure deceleration of leading vehicle aF depends on the assumed

worst case scenario. Sometimes aF is given through a regulatory framework. This
deceleration can be considered the worst case deceleration that a vehicle can experience in a failure case. For trains, it is assumed for safety reasons that a train can stop
instantly in a failure case (aF = ). This would correspond to the event that the
train would run against a thick wall (for this reason the name brickwall criteria).
Even in this extreme case, the following train must be able to stop without collision.
If one can exclude that a vehicle can crash into standing objects (for example with
a physically separated track), one could also assume that at a worst case, the lead
vehicle can do an emergency brake, thus aF = aE .
The system delay time TE is simply the time between the start of the failure deceleration of the lead vehicle and the initiation of the emergency braking of the following
vehicle. The time TE does entirely depend on the analyzed transport systems. In case
of a human driver, it is simply the human reaction time (approximately 1s), whereas
in case of automatically controlled vehicles the reaction times can be much shorter
(in the range of 100ms).
If maximum, constant failure deceleration rate aF , minimum, constant emergency
deceleration rate aE and a system delay time TE were known then we can find the so
called minimum safe distance criteria:
d(t) > dS (v2 (t), v1 (t)) = TE v2 (t) +

1 2
1 2
v (t)
v (t)
2aE 2
2aF 1

(2.6)

This criteria guarantees that there will never be a collision. In other words, if the current distance d(t) is greater than dS (v2 (t), v1 (t)) then the following vehicle can brake
safely at emergency deceleration and stop even if the lead vehicle brakes suddenly at
failure deceleration aF .
Keeping the minimum save distance dS (v, v) for any constant line speed v would
result in the maximum possible vehicle flows. However, for safety- or technical reasons,
the minimum save distance cannot be achieved by most systems. The human driver
cannot even measure precisely what the minimum instantaneous save distance would
be. In fact, a cautious driver should add some safety margins. Below, we describe
the most important distance control alternatives, adopted by various technical and
human transport systems.
Comfort criteria
The comfort criteria can imply acceleration limits |a(t)| aC and jerk limits |j(t)|
JC .
If only acceleration limits |a(t)| < aC are taken into account then the comfort
criteria is met if
d(t) > dC (v2 (t), v1 (t)) = TC v2 (t) +

1
v22 (t) v12 (t)
2aC

(2.7)

Comfort conditions must be respected during nominal driving or operations. For

passengers, a comfortable acceleration is generally below aC = 2.5m/s2 and the jerk
should be below JC = 2.25m/s3 . Note that the comfort conditions are not necessarily
respected during emergency braking and do therefore not influence the minimum save
distance.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

24

Maximum velocity criteria

There are velocity limits for all transport systems. Such limits are in most cases
to guarantee a comfortable ride (safety criteria have already bee covered with the
minimum safe distance).
The maximum velocity can be expressed by the inequality 0 v(t) VL , with
maximum line speed VL . Maximum velocity, or maximum line speed can vary along
the line. The maximum velocity depends on the type of vehicle and transport system
as a whole. Generally vehicles must reduce maximum speed in curves (which implies
maximum transversal comfort accelerations) or when pedestrians are likely to cross
the road/rail etc. As we shall see, the capacity depends on the line speed and it is
possible for some systems (for example cars) to increase vehicle flows by decreasing
the line speed.
Flow equation at minimum distance spacing


The vehicle flow f (v) at minimum distance d(v) = dS (v, v) = TE v + 2a1E 2a1F v 2
1
at constant speed v can be determined from the relations f (v) =
and TH (v) =
TH (v)
dS (v, v)
, thus
v
f (v) = 3600

v
3600
=
v
dS (v, v) + L
TE + 2 ( a1E

1
aF

)+

L
v

in vehicles per hour. An example with realistic parameters is shown in Fig. 2.14.

3000

Flow f (v) [veh/h]

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0

10

20

30
40
50
Velocity v [km/h]

60

70

80

Figure 2.14: Flows over velocity. With vehicle parameters TE = 0.50s, aE =

3.00m/s2 , aF = 5.00m/s2 , L = 3m .

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

25

Capacity at minimum safe distance spacing

With the definition of the capacity as Q = maxv f (v) we need to find the v = vcrit at
which the flow f (v) becomes a maximum. As there is a unique maximum in the f (v)
curve (see Fig. 2.14), vcrit van be determined by setting the first derivative of f (v) to
zero and solving for v:
df (v)
= 
dv

1
aE

a1

2

L
v

1
aE

a1

L
v2

2 = 0

+ TE

Therefore, we find that flow f (v) is maximum at v = vcrit =

capacity can be determined analytically by
Q = f (vcrit ) =

1
TE +

qa a L
F
2 aEF a
and the
E

2L

aE aF L
aF aE

The capacity is shown in Fig. 2.15 with the previous parameter set.

3000
Q

Flow f (v) [veh/h]

2500

2000

1500

1000

500
vcrit
0
0

10

20

30
40
50
Velocity v [km/h]

60

70

80

Figure 2.15: Flows over velocity. With vehicle parameters TE = 0.50s, aE =

3.00m/s2 , aF = 5.00m/s2 , L = 3m the critical speed vcrit = 24.15km/h, the capacity q = 2581veh/h.

2.5.4

Vehicle spacing in road traffic

Level of service for uninterrupted flow conditions

The analyses of road traffic flows for uninterrupted flow conditions (no intersections)
is centered around the vehicle density. This is because the Level of service (LOS) for

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

26

A: Free flows

B: slightly restricted

C:noticebly restricted

D:noticeably limited

E:lane changes can

cause a disruption

F:lane changes do cause

a disruption

Table 2.4: Images of different Levels of services (LOS).

uninterrupted flow conditions depends on the vehicle density . Images with verbal
descriptions of different road conditions are shown in Tab.2.4. The quantification in
terms of densities is shown in Tab.2.5.
LOS
A
B
C
D
E
F

[veh/km]
0-7
7-11
11-16
16-22
22-28
>28

Table 2.5: LOS for highways without intersections. Source: The Highway Capacity
Manual 2000 [2]

The Greenshields flow model for intersection-free roads

Also the flow on roads depends on the velocity. The simplest flow model, developed be
Greenshield, is based on measurements of the traffic density and velocities, as shown
in Fig. 2.16(a).
The Greenshields model is a commonly used road traffic flow model that assumes
a linear relation between average velocity v and vehicle density , see Fig. 2.16(b).
Thus



v() = VF 1
J
where J is a constant representing the density at congestion (jam) and VF is the
free flow speed, the speed when no other cars are present, see Fig. 2.16(b). v() =

27

Const. speed v

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

VF

(a)

J
Density
(b)

Figure 2.16: (a) Measurements of speed versus density in the Holland tunnel, New
York in 1963. (b) Greenshields model with linear approximation.


with J density at congestion (jam) and VF free flow speed.

J
With vehicle density (v) = fv we express the the density-dependent vehicle flow
with f () = v(). Replacing v() with the Greenshields model we obtain the flow




2
v2
f () = VF
or f (v) = J v
J
VF
VF

With the Greenshield model we can further derive the capacity of an intersectionfree road. The capacity Q is obtained by finding again the critical velocity v = vcrit
that maximizes flow f (v):

VF
VF J
df (v) 
= 0 vcrit =
Q = f (vcrit ) =

dv v=vcrit
2
4
With J = 100veh/km,VF = 90km/h, Vcrit = 45km/h we obtain the capacity of
Q = 2250veh/h, see Fig. 2.17.
Note that the vehicle flow f (v) can be increased by decreasing the speed. This
means that speed limits above the critical speed of Vcrit 45km/h would increase
the the maximum flow, which is somewhat counterintuitive.
Capacity of bikeways
It has been shown that bicycles behave similar to cars in terms of speed and densities,
compare Fig. 2.18 with Fig. 2.16.
As the density in Fig. 2.18 (b) refers to an area (ft2 ), the flows can be scaled
to any width of the bikeways. Assuming a bike lane of 3.5m width, we obtain
a J 1036 bikes/km (0.0275 bikes/f t2 or 0.3 bikes/m2 ) and VF 19.3km/h
(or 12miles/h). Applying the Greenshield model, we can find the critical speed
vcrit = V2F = 9.6km/h and the capacity Q = J4VF = 5002 bikes/h/lane, as shown in
Fig. 2.19.
Level of service LOS for interrupted flow conditions
Streets with interrupted flows is typical for urban traffic. Here we need to make a
distinction between signalized intersections and unsignalized intersections.
In both cases, the flow dynamics are entirely different and much more complex
compared with the uninterrupted flow condition. This is why we limit ourself to

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

28

2500

Q = 2250veh/h

Flow f (v) [veh/h]

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0

10

20

30

40
50
60
Velocity v [km/h]

70

80

90

Figure 2.17: Vehicle flow over average speed and maximum flow (= capacity) using
the Greenshield model.

(a)

(b)

Figure 2.18: (a) Experimental set-up where pneumatic tubes detect passing bikes;
(b) Speed in function of bike density (in bikes per ft2 ) Source: G. Gold and A. Karner.
present some numerical results for typical urban situations. For detailed models,
consult the Highway Capacity Manual 2000 [2].
In any case, for a specific project it is mandatory to make a detailed simulation of
the traffic flows. Even small changes in the traffic light phasing or road marking can
make significant changes in the capacities and wait times.
The LOS for urban streets is different. The highest vehicle flows are usually

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

29

6000
Q = 5002veh/h

Flow f (v) [veh/h]

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
0

10
Velocity v [km/h]

15

20

(a)

(b)

Figure 2.19: (a) bike flow, critical speed and capacity of a bike lane of 3.5m width;
(b) measurements in flow per foot over density in bicycles per foot2 . Source: G. Gold
and A. Karner.
obtained for the lowest LOS. Urban street LOS is based on average through-vehicle
travel speed v for the segment, or entire urban street under consideration. Thus, the
Urban street LOS can be expressed in percentage of free-flow speed VF , which is in
urban areas always the maximum allowed speed, see Tab. 2.6. For instance in most
LOS
A
B
C
D
E
F

V
0.9VF
0.7VF
0.5VF
0.4VF
0.33VF
0.25VF

Table 2.6: LOS for interrupted flow conditions. Source: The Highway Capacity Manual 2000 [2]
European cities the general speed limit is VF = 50km/h and a (congested) road with
12km/h average speed corresponds clearly to LOS F.
Capacities on streets with unsignalized intersections
Consider a normal bidirectional (one lane per direction) urban road with unsignalized
intersections. Then the flows on one lane will depend on two main factors:
The flow on the opposite lane.
The share of vehicles turning left, because they need to stop and wait. until
they find a gap in the opposite stream to turn left.
The maximum achievable flows, dependent on these two factors, can be represented
in a table. The capacities shown in Tab. 2.7 have been determined experimentally.
Note that with a symmetric flow (flow opposite flow), the capacity of this urban
road is down to 250vphpd for a 30% left-turn rate and 450vphpd for a 5% leftturn rate. Flows can be improved by implementing turn pockets for those who must
turn left.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

30

Table 2.7: Capacities on unsignalized intersections. Source: The Highway Capacity

Manual 2000 [2]
Capacities on streets with signalized intersections
Consider a 4-approach junction with traffic lights. In this case the flows on the main
direction depend mainly on:
The share of vehicles turning left.
The number of traffic lights per km (Signal density) along the main direction.
The free flow speed VF .
The duration of the entire traffic light cycle (cycle length).
The relative duration of the green phase in main direction.
These parameters are not independent. For example in central urban areas, the signal
density is highest and the free flow speed is lowest. The led to the idea to group roadtypes into classes, each with its own set of parameters, see Tab. 2.8.

Table 2.8: Classes with parameters for signalized urban intersections, all with 10%
left turns. Source: The Highway Capacity Manual 2000 [2]
The resulting flows for the different classes and 10% left turns are shown in
Tab. 2.9. Note that the Highway Capacity Manual has been written for traffic regulations in the US. For European conditions where the free-flow speed in cities is limited
to 50km/h the flows are between those corresponding to classes III and IV.
As overall finding of Tab. 2.9 we can state that at a LOS C and street class III
(V = 27.5km/h and a traffic light each 330m) the vehicle flow is 570vphpd per lane,
with a per-lane flow slightly increasing with additional lanes. The same street with
LOS E and class IV (V = 18.3km/h) will have a flow of 830vphpd per lane.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

31

Table 2.9: Flows for signalized urban intersections for different classes, lanes and LOS
levels and 10% left turns. Source: The Highway Capacity Manual 2000 [2]
In a congested city centers, typical average speeds are even lower. With V =
15km/h, which would correspond to class IV and LOS E (traffic light each 166m),
the highest vehicle flow would be 780vphpd per lane.
Note that these numbers assume 10% left turns only, more left turns will further
decrease traffic flows.

2.5.5

Vehicle spacing in rail traffic

Rail signaling technologies

A large variety of manual and automated train signaling techniques have been developed to control and assure the spacing between trains on rails:c
Automatic fixed block control and variants is the most wide-spread technology
and will be explained in this section.
Communication based train control (CBTC) is a modern technology where
trains communicate their position and speed to ground facilities and conflicting
trains. Based on these information the following train adjust its speed according to safe distance criteria. The European Rail Traffic Management System
(ERMTS) will be based entirely on CBTC. However, the new technology will
be introduced set-wise and hybrid systems (CBTC with fixed block).

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

32

Axle counter: By counting the axles that enter or leave a rail section, it is
possible to detect whether a train is present or not present. This technology is
used only in train sections with low traffic volumes.
As the theoretical capacities of CBTC are similar to the minimum safe distance
criteria we focus here on the analyses of fixed block train control.
Capacity with automatic fixed block control rail signaling
Most railways have a so called fixed block signaling system which works as follows:
the rail line is divided into blocks of length LB , as shown in Fig. 2.20.

GREEN

YELLOW

n2

RED!

n1

RED!

GREEN

LB

LT
DH

Figure 2.20: Principle of automatic fixed block control rail signaling.

If any axle of a train is detected in block n then the traffic light for this block
will turn red. This means that the block is occupied and the driver is not allowed to
enter a red block. Simultaneously, the traffic light at the beginning of the previous
block n 1 will turn yellow. This means that the successive block is occupied and
the driver must apply the brakes when entering a yellow block. In modern systems
the emergency brakes apply automatically when passing a yellow signal.
In order to avoid collisions, one block length LB corresponds to a minimum safe
2
with the maximum allowed line speed
baking distance, thus LB (vmax ) = 2a1E vmax
vmax .
As railway regulations require that no collision occurs even if a train stops instantly (Brick wall stopping criteria), the worst case failure deceleration must be set
to infinity, aF = .
If we want that all trains on a line run at full speed vmax and no train must brake
(no driver sees a yellow signal) then the minimum distance between 2 trains becomes
DH = LE + LT + 2LB (vmax ) with safety margin LE 150m. This safety margin is
required for the driver to see the signal and operate the emergency brake, if required.
LE + LT + 2LB (vmax )
The minimum headway between 2 trains becomes TH =
vmax
and the capacity is finally
Q=

2.6

3600
vmax
= 3600
TH
LE + LT + 2LB (vmax )

Random models of vehicle flows

In the previous sections we assumed average, constant headways TH . Now we will

briefly look at their probability densities.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

33

If time headways tH are random headways (random time interval between 2 successive vehicles), with a mean time headway TH , then the probability density pdf(tH )
is often modeled as an exponential function.
pdf(tH ), = 0.1

Figure 2.21: Probability density function pdf(tH ) of headways tH .

With average flow =
time headway becomes

1
the exponential probability density function pdf of the
TH


pdf(tH ) =

exp(tH ) if tH 0
0
if tH < 0

Average and variance of a random vehicle flow

1
, where is the vehicle flow

1
2
= TH
= 2

As already stated, the average of tH is E{tH } = TH =

f of the arriving vehicles1 . The variance of tH is t2H
Number of arrivals with a random vehicle flow

The number of arrivals n during time t of a random flow with exponentially distributed
headways has a Poisson-type probability function:
P(n) =

(t)n exp(t)
, t = constant
n!

Average arrivals during time t is E{n} = NA = t =

t
TH

Built-up of a queue
Queues are a common traffic phenomenon and are in stark contrast with the previously
treated continuous vehicle flow, where vehicle have a constant speed (or the speed is
1 We

use the notation here because it is common in literature.

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

34

Figure 2.22: pdf(n) for different t

nLV

tH (t)
LV

LB = NB LV

Figure 2.23: Example of a build-up queue at a traffic light.

distributed around an average speed). Here we look at an (important) example that
shows how a queue is build up by a random flow of vehicles.
The random flow model allows to determine the probability that a queue of a
certain length n builds up in a defined time t. This would be sufficient to model the
build-up of a queue at traffic light or stations.
However, there is a significant limitation with respect to a complete queuing system
(which is not treated here): In the built-up queue we assume that all vehicles in the
queue can leave the intersection during the green period, such that the queue will
build up from zero as the traffic light turns red. Another example is the built-up of
passengers at a bus-stop in case the arriving bus takes all waiting passengers.
But if this is not the case, and some vehicles will will remain after a green period,
or not all persons can enter the arriving bus and have to wait for the next one then
we deal with a general queuing systems which requires queuing theory.
Figure 2.23 shows a simple traffic light which is, for the considered branch, TR
seconds red and TG seconds green. We assume again a Poisson distributed vehicle
flow with average headway TH and that during the green phase all vehicles in the
queue will enter the intersection.
A common task is to determine the probability that the number of vehicles in
the queue after time TR is longer than a certain buffer length LB . In other words,
the probability that the queue will become longer as the foreseen space. On a road
network such a situation may have dramatic effects as it may lead to a grid-lock where
a queue from one traffic light is growing into the intersection of the upstream traffic
light.
Basic geometry tells us that the maximum allowed number of vehicles in the
queue is NB = LB /LV . The probability P (n > NB ) that the number n of vehicles

CHAPTER 2. VEHICLES

35

accumulated during the red period TR is greater than NB can be found using the
previous results:
NB
X
(TR )n exp(TR )
P (n > NB ) = 1
n!
n=0
with = 1/TH .

2.7

Concluding remarks

These are a few lines to reflect on what has been learned in this chapter. The main
lines of thought were on the performance of the vehicle itself in terms of speed and
energy and of vehicles flows in terms of transport capacity. We have learned the
theoretical capacities of different transport systems.
The section on random flows allows to determine the probability that a queue
grows beyond a certain limit in a given time. These calculations address the space
requirements of queues in a transport system. Space requirements is an important
issue in urban transport and has significant impacts on infrastructure costs.
In particular, the chapter should have provided the answers to the following questions:
What forces act on vehicles ?
How to construct a speed profile, how to determine maximum and average
velocities ?
How much energy vehicles need to move, where if the energy generated and
dissipated ?
How is the vehicle spacing organized for different means of transport, and how
to determine flows and capacities ?
How are headways distributed in random flows ?
What is the probability the n vehicles pass by a point during a defined time
period ? the expected in the queue for the user.

Bibliography
[1] E. Cascetta. Transportation systems engineering: theory and methods. Kluwer
Academic Publisher, Boston/Dordrecht/London, 2001. (Italian version available).
[2] National Research Council, editor. Highway Capacity Manual. The National
Academy of Science, 2000. ISBN 0-309-06681-6.
[3] R.P Feynman, R.B. Leighton, and M. Sands. Feynmans lectures on physics.
California Institute of Technology, 2010.

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