UNIT 5.
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS PLANNING
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
8TH SEMESTER
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
CE 40181
Introduction
With the increasing growth of population and traffic in cities, there is a
demand for better traffic facilities.
There are several cases of traffic accidents and congestion on urban roads.
Transportation systems planning is therefore a very important requirement
for developing a future traffic infrastructure or transportation system and
up gradation of existing infrastructure.
A transportation system can be defined as a planned network of
components or elements that play a role in the efficient movement of
persons or goods from one point to another.
Introduction
Transport planning is the process of preparing physical facilities and
services of all modes of transport for future transportation needs.
Transport planning also includes planning of operation and
management of facilities for safe economic and efficient movement
of people and goods.
Introduction
A transportation system is made up of three factors:
Fixed facilities: These include facilities of a traffic system that are fixed
in space, like roadways, railway lines, bus stations, railway stations etc.
Flow entities: These are entities that move on or between the fixed
facilities. Flow entities include people (passengers) and vehicles.
Control systems: These are the means that guide the traffic and permit
smooth and safe operation of streams of vehicles. Traffic signs, signals and
markings are the entities that make up the control systems.
Urban Transportation Planning Process
The transportation planning process is developed in a series of
stages:
Inventories (Zoning)
Trip generation
Trip distribution
Modal split
Traffic assignment
Plan preparation and evaluation
Inventories
Information related to land use, economic activity, population, travel
characteristics, and transport facilities are collected through a series of
surveys.
For this purpose, the area under study is subdivided into a number smaller
zones. This step is also known as ‘zoning’.
Inventories
The zones are expected to have the following characteristics:
They should be homogeneous in land use
They should be of homogeneous traffic generating characteristics
They shouldn’t be too large to generate errors.
They should preferably have a geometrical shape for easy determination of
the centroid.
Inventories
Detailed surveys are then conducted in each zone to gather the
following information:
Population data
Socio-economic characteristics of the people
Land use and economic activities
Travel time and traffic volume
Inventory of the streets and highways network
The information collected is analyzed with respect to past trends
and future expectations.
Inventories
The data collected from the inventories is used for
the next stage of transportation planning known as
‘trip generation’.
Trip generation
Trip generation deals with estimation of the number of trips
produced or attracted to a given traffic zone.
It is concerned with the number of trips that begin or end in a given
traffic analysis zone.
A Trip is defined as a ‘one-way movement having a single purpose
and mode of travel between a point of origin and destination’.
Trip generation
Home based trip: A trip which either ends or begins at home for the
traveler.
Non-home based trip: The trip neither begins nor ends at home for
the traveler.
Categories of trips (Home based include):
Work trips
School trips
Shopping trips
Recreational trips
others
Factors affecting trip generation
• Income level of the person or family
• car ownership
• household structure (family, individual )
• family size
• value of land
• residential density
Factors affecting trip generation
Office space
Commercial space
Educational space
Recreational space
Type of employment (private / government)
Estimation of trip generation
Method of regression
It is a statistical method that can be used to estimate the number of
trips generated or attracted to a particular zone.
It gives a relationship between the number of trips generated as a
function of the factors affecting trip generation.
T = f (x1, x2, x3….)
There are two types of regression analyses:
Simple linear regression
Multiple regression analysis
Estimation of trip generation
Simple linear regression
It is a linear relationship between the dependent variable (Trips) and one
independent variable.
It is of the form:
Y = a + bX
Where Y is the number of trips, X is one of the independent variables
( income, family size, car ownership etc. )
a and b are regression coefficients that are determined from the study of
the inventory data
The coefficient of correlation (R2) determines how accurate the equation
is.
Estimation of trip generation
Multiple variable regression
In this case a relationship is developed between the trips generated in the
region and the various socio-economic factors affecting the trip generation
in that zone. It is of the form:
Y = a + bX1 + cX2 +d X3 …
Here a, b, c, d etc are regression coefficients determined from the study of
inventory data.
This model is more accurate than simple linear regression, but has some
limitations.
The coefficient of correlation (R2) determines how accurate the equation
is.
Example
The following equation estimates the number of trips generated per family
in a day.
Y = 1.2 + 0.07X1 +0.5 X2 - 0. 42 X3
Here X1 is the mean family income (in thousands), X2 is the number of
family members and X3 is the distance from the bus stop (in Km).
Calculate the number of trips for a 4-member family with mean income
30,000 Rs, living 1.5 km away from the nearest bus stop.
Ans. Y = 1.2 + 0.07X1 +0.5 X2 - 0. 42 X3
Y = 1.2 + 0.071 (30) + 0.5 (4) -0.42 (1.5)
Y = 4.67 ( 5 trips )
Limitations of linear regression model
The relationships between the variables may not always be linear
All the variables may not be fully independent
No model is fully accurate
The data changes with time, so the model may not predict future
scenarios very well.
Trip distribution
