TRANSPORTATION

CAPACITY ANALYSIS
O Capacity and Level of service are two related
terms.
O Capacity analysis tries to give a clear
understanding of how much traffic a given
transportation facility can accommodate.
O Level of service tries to answer how good is
the present traffic situation on a given
facility.
O Thus it gives a qualitative measure of traffic,
where as capacity analysis gives a
quantitative measure of a facility.
O Capacity and level of service varies with the
type of facility, prevailing traffic and road
conditions etc.
O Capacity is defined as the maximum
number of vehicles, passengers, or the
like, per unit time, which can be
accommodated under given conditions
with a reasonable expectation of
occurrence.
O Capacity is independent of the demand.
O It speaks about the physical amount of
vehicles and passengers a road can
afford.
O It does not depend on the total number
of vehicles demanding service.
O On the other hand, it depends on
traffic conditions, geometric design of
the road etc.
O For example, a curved road has lesser
capacity compared to a straight road.
O Capacity is expressed in terms of units
of some specific thing (car, people,
etc.), so it also does depend on the
traffic composition.
O In addition, the capacity analysis
depends on the environmental
conditions too.
O Capacity is a probabilistic measure
and it varies with respect to time
and position.
O Hence it is not always possible to
completely derive analytically the
capacity.
O In most cases it is obtained,
through field observations.
 Level of Service (LOS)
O Level of service (LOS) is a measure used
by traffic engineers to determine the
effectiveness of elements of transportation
infrastructure.
O LOS is most commonly used to analyze
highways by categorizing traffic flow with
corresponding safe driving conditions.
O The concept has also been applied to
intersections, transit, potable water,
sanitary sewer service, solid waste removal,
drainage, and public open space and
recreation facilities.
 Level of Service
OA
(LOS)
term closely related to capacity and
often confused with it is service volume.
O When capacity gives a quantitative
measure of traffic, level of service or
LOS tries to give a qualitative measure.
O A service volume is the maximum
number of vehicles, passengers, or the
like, which can be accommodated by a
given facility or system under given
conditions at a given level of service.
O For a given road or facility, capacity could be
constant. But actual flow will be different for
different days and different times in a day
itself.
O The intention of LOS is to relate the traffic
service quality to a given flow rate of traffic. It
is a term that designates a range of operating
conditions on a particular type of facility.
O Highway capacity manual (HCM) developed by
the transportation research board of USA
provides some procedure to determine level
of service.
O It divides the quality of traffic into six levels
ranging form level A to level F.
O Level A represents the best quality of
traffic where the driver has the freedom to
drive with free flow speed and level F
represents the worst quality of traffic.
O Level of service is defined based on the
measure of effectiveness or (MOE).
O Typically three parameters are used under
this and they are speed and travel time,
density, and delay.
O One of the important measures of service
quality is the amount of time spent in travel.
Therefore, speed and travel time are
considered to be
LEVEL OF SERVICE
A
 Level A: free flow.
OTraffic flows at or above the posted
speed limit and motorists have complete
mobility between lanes.
OThe average spacing between vehicles
is about 550 ft(167 m) or 27 car lengths.
OMotorists have a high level of physical
and psychological comfort. The effects
of incidents or point breakdowns are
easily absorbed.
OLOS A occurs late at night in urban
areas, frequently in rural areas.
LEVEL OF SERVICE
B
 Level B: reasonably free
flow
OLOS B speeds are maintained,
maneuverability within the traffic
stream is slightly restricted.
OThe lowest average vehicle
spacing is about 330 ft (100 m) or
16 car lengths.
OMotorists still have a high level of
physical and psychological comfort.
LEVEL OF SERVICE
C
 Level C: stable flow, at or near free
flow
OAbility to maneuver through lanes is
noticeably restricted and lane changes
require more driver awareness.
OMinimum vehicle spacing is about 220 ft (67
m) or 11 car lengths.
OMost experienced drivers are comfortable,
roads remain safely below but efficiently close
to capacity, and posted speed is maintained.
OMinor incidents may still have no effect but
localized service will have noticeable effects
and traffic delays will form behind the
incident.
 Level D: approaching unstable
flow
OSpeeds slightly decrease as traffic
volume slightly increase.
OFreedom to maneuver within the
traffic stream is much more limited
and driver comfort levels decrease.
OVehicles are spaced about 160
ft(50m) or 8 car lengths. Minor
incidents are expected to create
delays.
 Level E: unstable flow, operating at
capacity
OFlow becomes irregular and speed varies
rapidly because there are virtually no usable
gaps to maneuver in the traffic stream and
speeds rarely reach the posted limit.
OVehicle spacing is about 6 car lengths, but
speeds are still at or above 50 mi/h(80 km/h).
Any disruption to traffic flow, such as merging
ramp traffic or lane changes, will create a
shock wave affecting traffic upstream.
OAny incident will create serious delays.
Drivers' level of comfort become poor
LEVEL OF SERVICE
F
 Level F: forced or breakdown
flow
OEvery vehicle moves in lockstep with
the vehicle in front of it, with frequent
slowing required.
OTravel time cannot be predicted, with
generally have more demand than
capacity.
OA road in a constant traffic jam is at
this LOS, because LOS is an average or
typical service rather than a constant
state.
 Level of Service Calculation
Methods
Freeways
OA freeway is defined as a divided highway
facility with two or more lanes in each
direction and full control of access and
egress.
OIt has no intersections; access and egress
are provided by ramps at interchanges.
OAccording to the latest version of the
Highway Capacity Manual (1994 HCM), the
LOS of freeway segments is based on the
density of vehicles, expressed in passenger
cars per mile per lane.
O The LOS can also be evaluated with
volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratios, average
travel speeds, and maximum service flow
rates.
O The specific LOS criteria for freeways are
presented in Table B-1.
O The selected LOS method for freeway segments is
based on calculating V/C ratios for each direction
of travel, wherein the traffic volume for each
segment is divided by the capacity of the
segment.
O The volumes are obtained from counts for existing
conditions or from a travel forecasting model for
future conditions.
O The capacity is estimated as the number of lanes
multiplied by 2,200 vehicles per hour per lane
four-lane freeway segments and 2,300 vehicles
per hour per lane for segments with six or more
lanes.
O The V/C ratios are calculated and related to LOS
based on the relationships presented in Table B-1.
 Multilane Highways
O Multilane highways generally have
posted speed limits of between 40 and
55 miles per hour (mph).
O They usually have four or six lanes,
often with physical medians or two-way
left-turn lane medians, although they
may also be undivided (have no
median).
O Unlike freeways, multilane highways are
interrupted by intersections or
driveways.
O The level of service criteria for
multilane highways are similar to the
criteria for freeways.
O The specific criteria from the HCM are
presented in Table B-2.
O The LOS calculation method is identical
to the calculation method for freeways.
The only difference is the range of V/Cs
and speeds for each LOS designation.
O The maximum ideal lane capacity for a
multilane highway segment is 2,200
vehicles per hour.
 Two-Lane Highways
O A two-lane highway is defined as a two-lane
roadway with one lane for use by traffic in each
direction.
O Passing of slower vehicles requires use of the
opposing lane.
O As volumes or geometric constraints increase,
the ability to pass decreases and platoons of
vehicles are formed.
O The delay experienced by motorists also
increases. The LOS for two-lane highways is
based on mobility.
O The specific LOS criteria from the 1994 HCM are
presented in Table B-3.
O For two-lane highways, the selected
method, based on V/Cs, takes into
account the volume in both directions.
O The total volume is divided by the
total capacity of 2,800 vehicles per
hour.
O The corresponding V/C is correlated to
a LOS based on the V/C ranges in
Table B-3.
O Average travel speeds for each LOS
designation are also presented in this
table.
 Arterials
O Levels of service for arterials (principal, main,
major, or trunk road) are dependent on the
arterial class denoted as Type I, II, or III. Type I
arterials are principal arterials with suburban
design, 1 to 5 signals per mile, no parking, and
free-flow speeds of 35 to 45 miles per hour (mph).
O Type III arterials have urban designs, with 6 to 12
signals per mile, parking permitted, and are
undivided with free-flow speeds of 25 to 35 miles
per hour.
O Type II arterials fall between Type I and III and
have free-flow speeds of 30 to 35 miles per hour.
O The LOS for an arterial is based on
maneuverability, delays, and
speeds.
O As the volume increases, the
probability of stopping at an
intersection due to a red signal
indication increases and the LOS
decreases.
O The specific LOS criteria from the
HCM are presented in Table B-4.
O The maximum service flow rate of a basic
freeway segment, under given conditions, is
calculated by means of the following formula:
MSFi = cj x (v/c)i
where MSFi = max. service flow rate at level
service I
cj = capacity under ideal conditions: 2200
PCPHPL for four-lane freeways and 2300
PCPHPL for six-or- more-lane freeways
(v/c)i = maximum volume-to-capacity ratio
for level of sevice i, from table B-1
O Service flow rate under less-than-
ideal conditions are given by
Sfi = MSFi x N x fw x fHV x fp
where
N = number of lanes in one direction
fw = adjustment factor for lane width
and lateral obstructions
fHV = adjustment factor for heavy
vehicles
fp = adjustment factor for driver
population
O The heavy vehicle adjustment factor f HV is
a bit more complicated.
O The HCM identifies two classes of heavy
vehicles: 1.) trucks and buses (considered
to be equal in their impact on traffic flow)
and 2.) recreational vehicles (RVs).
O Each heavy vehicle is thought of as being
equivalent to some number of passenger
cars.
O These passenger car equivalents vary with
the type of heavy vehicle, the percentage
of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream, and
the length and severity of grades.
O They are defined for both extended general
freeway segments, for which terrain is classified as
level, rolling, or mountainous and for specific
combinations of length and severity of upgrade
and downgrade.
O The factor fHV may computed from individual
passenger car equivalents values as follows:
fHV = 1
1 + PT(ET – 1) + PR(ER – 1)
where ET, ER = passenger car equivalents for
trucks/buses and recreational vehicles,
respectively
PT, PR = the proportion of trucks/buses and
recreational vehicles, respectively, in the traffic
stream.
O The adjustment factor for driver
population fp is given by HCM table.
O For urban weekday or commuter
traffic, fp is taken to be 1.0;
otherwise, it ranges from 0.75 to
0.99, with the exact value being set
in accordance with past experience
in a particular area.
Example
#1:
A rural freeway has two 12-ft lanes in
O
each direction, with obstruction within 4
ft on the median side but no obstructions
on the right side of the one-way
roadway. Traffic consists of 13% trucks
and buses and 8% recreational vehicles.
The design speed is 70 MPH, and the
adjustment for driver population factor is
estimated to be 0.80. If the maximum 15
min. flow rate is 1760 veh. per hour,
what is the level of service on a 1.0 mi –
long 3% upgrade?
Example
#2:
O Generalized terrain for the freeway
described in Example Prob. #1 is
rolling. How many lanes are required
to provide level of service B?