Traffic Congestion

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Definition:
Traffic congestion is a condition on transport networks that occurs as use

increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular
queuing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic
demand is great enough that the interaction between vehicles slows the speed of the traffic
stream, this results in some congestion.
Congestion is a situation in which demand for road space exceeds supply. When
traffic demand is great enough that the interaction between vehicles slows the speed of the
traffic stream, this results in some congestion. It is understandable that many people
consider congestion a significant problem. Typical urban residents spend more than ten
hours a week driving of which 10-30% (one to three hours) occurs in congested conditions.
Traffic congestion reduces travel speeds, creates uncertainly and requires more driver
effort. It is a major source of frustration for busy, productive people. Motorists often feel
that reducing congestion would make their lives more efficient and satisfied. As a result,
conventional planning considers congestion a major problem and congestion reduction a
dominant planning objective.
As demand approaches the capacity of a road (or of the intersections along the road),
extreme traffic congestion sets in. When vehicles are fully stopped for periods of time, this
is colloquially known as a traffic jam or traffic snarl-up. Traffic congestion can lead to
drivers becoming frustrated and engaging in road rage.
With the evolution of society, economy and technology, the household

characteristics as well as the transportation system gets affected. The change in transport
system causes a change in transport behavior and locational pattern of the system. The
change in household characteristics, transport behavior, locational pattern, and other
growth effects result in the growth of traffic. But the change or improvement in road
capacity is only as the result of change in the transportation system and hence finally a
situation arises where the traffic demand is greater than the capacity of the roadway. This
situation is called traffic congestion.
1
BAPATLA ENGINEERING COLLEGE, BAPATLA
Transportation system consists of a group of activities as well as entities interacting
with each other to achieve the goal of transporting people or goods from one place to
another. Hence, the system has to meet the perceived social and economic needs of the
users. As these needs change, the transportation system itself evolves and problems occur
as it becomes inadequate to serve the public interest. One of the negative impacts of any
transportation system is traffic congestion. Traffic congestion occurs wherever demand
exceeds the capacity of the transportation system. This lecture gives an overview of how
congestion is generated, how it can be measured or quantified; and also the various
countermeasures to be taken in order to counteract congestion. Adequate performance
measures are needed in order to quantify congestion in a transportation system. Quality of
service measures indicates the degree of traveler satisfaction with system performance and
this is covered under traveler perception.
2
The flowchart represented below shows how traffic congestion is generated in a
transportation system.
3
1.2 Types of Traffic Congestion:
1. Congestion at Intersections
2. Congestion at Diversion roads
3. Congestion at Convergent section
4. Congestion at Busy areas
Congestion at Intersections:
The intersections are comprised of 4-legged and 3-legged road junctions selected
from different locations on major roads. The intersections serve as links to major routes
which connect different types of land use activities in the study area. All the studied
intersections are unsignalized but traffic flows are controlled by traffic wardens. Also,
common to all the intersections are the presence of road-side hawkers and traders, and the
location of retailing shops along the intersecting roads. These results in road-side
obstructions and parking problems from customers who patronize the sold products and
thereby impeding the free movements of vehicles. Associated with these problems are the
problems of narrowness and poor or no channelization of the intersecting roads to separate
the traffic streams.
SOURCE: https://goo.gl/2VBqqC
Congestion at Diversion roads:
In order to evaluate traveler's diversion and its impact, many studies have tried
various approaches, such as survey study and traffic simulations. Basically traffic
4
congestion at diversion occurs at diversion sections is due to unexpected path in view of
road users. Diversion of roads is taken when there is any work related to main road during
this condition there is a situation which demands for traffic diversion. If traffic diversion
taking place into another road, that road may be having sufficient capacity to take care of
that traffic but if it fails in traffic handling then it leads to a traffic congestion at entrance
of road diversion.
SOURCE : https://goo.gl/nYymXm
Congestion at Convergent section:
The term model convergence may relate either to the assignment step in four-step
models, or include feedback between the assignment step and trip distribution (or even trip
generation). In the context of this work, convergence relates to feedback between the
assignment step and trip distribution. At convergent sections road users need to make them
into the path which makes them to move unto it. All the road users wanted to get into that
road, so that this leads to the traffic congestion at convergent sections.
5
SOURCE : https://goo.gl/XNoQQ8
Congestion at Busy areas:

Traffic jam is a common sight in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Calcutta etc.
This is due to increasing population of the metropolitan cities. People from far off places
rush towards big cities to earn as big cities have many options and possibilities for them.
Then there are permanent citizens also. So, with the human traffic, vehicular traffic also
increases. As the standard of living is becoming high everyone wants to purchase his own
car. This movement of more and more cars adds fuel to the fire. The result is a traffic jam.
The impact of traffic jam is not limited to certain areas only. Moreover, public has not
Proper sense of traffic rules, this also becomes a reason for traffic jams. In big cities, there
are processions, agitations and demonstrations also. When they disturb the traffic, there is
a traffic jam for hours. See how much time, money and petrol or diesel is wasted.
6
SOURCE: https://goo.gl/eUbmFe
Traffic congestion may be of two types:
1. Recurrent Congestion: Recurrent congestion generally occurs at the same place, at the
same time every weekday or weekend day. This is generally the consequence of factors
that act regularly or periodically on the transportation system such as daily commuting
or weekend trips. Recurrent congestion is predictable and typically occurs during peak
hours. It displays a large degree of randomness in terms of duration and severity.
2. Non-Recurrent congestion: Non-Recurrent congestion is the effect of unexpected
,unplanned large events( road woks, accidents, special events and so on) that affect
transportation system more or less randomly and as such, cannot be easily predicted.
7
1.3. Causes of Traffic Congestion:
Following are the major causes for traffic congestion problems
Small roads for the number of cars and motor cycles.
When there is no sufficient space for carrying traffic through the road path, then it leads to
traffic congestion.
This small width of roads may be due to less land acquisition.
This is also due to failure of providing sufficient space for traffic parking, this leads to irregular
parking and finally comes into the situation of traffic congestion.
SOURCE: https://goo.gl/clz9Z6
Broken roads as people dont like to move from the broken part so traffic increases on rest
of the roads.
These broken are majorly seen in India.
These are formed due to the irregular planning (camber etc.,), failure in estimation of rainfall
data etc.,
Failure in restricting the heavy load vehicles on non-permissible roads.
SOURCE: https://goo.gl/MBMc21
8
The increase in the number of trucks and commercial vehicles also causes traffic
congestion, these vehicles move very slowly, sometimes stopping to unload goods, and
blocking traffic.
Lack of traffic sense among the people. People don't have traffic sense. Traffic
police and media should play their role in creating traffic sense amongst the
people.
In todays generation, most of the people are educating but they do not obey the
traffic rules.
Some people are having the psychological problems which they lead to the
disobeying of traffic laws.
At main and busy centers this may lead to the rage of road users.
SOURCE: https://goo.gl/1Pe3JM
Traffic congestion due to heavy rainfall.

This occurs mainly in developing countries like India.
The main cause for this congestion is improper designing of drainage system.
Other cause of this congestion is inadequate estimation of drainage capacity, due to
this it causes unexpected traffic congestion.
If the intensity of rainfall is also then it occurs.
9
SOURCE: https://goo.gl/G6vo4E
It is said that the high volume of vehicles, the inadequate infrastructure and the
irrational distribution of the development are main reasons for increasing traffic congestion.
The major cause leading to traffic congestion is the high number of vehicle which
was caused by the population and the development of economy.
If you live in an urban area, traffic congestion can be a major daily headache.
It's bad enough that there isn't enough road capacity for the increasing numbers of
vehicles travelling on them, and rude and aggressive drivers make a bad situation even
worse.
One of the most important is parking problems. People find it difficult to park
their cars especially in the city center.
The increase in the number of trucks and commercial vehicles also causes traffic
congestion, these vehicles move very slowly, sometimes stopping to unload
goods, and blocking traffic.
The vehicles are stopped at busy areas causing traffic congestion.
Illegal parking on the roads especially heavy vehicles causes major traffic
problems.
10
SOURCE: https://goo.gl/DnBDTP
Effects of congestion
Congestion has a large number of ill effects on drivers, environment, health and the
economy in the following ways.
Drivers who encounter unexpected traffic may be late for work and other
appointments causing a loss in productivity and their valuable time.
Since congestion leads to increase in travel time i,e.,vehicles are made to travel for
more time than required which consumes large amount of fuel there by causing fuel
loss and economic loss to the drivers.
One of the most harmful effects of traffic congestion is its impact on the
environment. Despite the growing number of vehicles ,cars stopped in traffic still
produces a large volume of harmful carbon emissions . Increase in pollutants
(because of both the additional fuel burned and more toxic gases produced while
internal combustion engines are in idle or in stop-and-go traffic)
Drivers who become impatient may be more likely to drive aggressively and
dangerously and leads to high potential for traffic accidents
Negative impact on people's psychological state, which may affect productivity at
work and personal relationships
Slow and inefficient emergency response and delivery services
Decrease in road surface lifetime: When a vehicle moves over the surface, the areas
of contact (where the vehicles' tyres touch the road) are deflected downwards under
11
the weight of the vehicle and as the vehicle moves forward, the deflection corrects
itself to its original position.
Vehicle maintenance costs; 'Wear and tear' on mechanical components of vehicles
such as the clutch and brakes is also considerably increased under stop-start driving
conditions and hence increasing the vehicle maintenance costs.
One beneficial effect of traffic congestion is its ability to encourage drivers to
consider other transportation options like a subway, light rail or bus service. These
options reduce traffic on the roads, thereby reducing congestion and environmental
pollution.
The summation of all these effects yields a considerable loss for the society and the
economy of an urban area.
One of the most harmful effects of traffic congestion is its impact on the
environment. Despite the growing number of hybrid vehicles on the road, cars stopped in
traffic still produce a large volume of harmful carbon emissions. Besides contributing to
global warming, these emissions can cause more short-term and localized problems, such
as smog and increased respiratory problems in a community due to poor air quality.
1.4. Factors responsible for Traffic congestion

A system is said to be congested when the demand exceeds the capacity of the section.
Traffic congestion can be defined in the following two ways:
1. Congestion is the travel time or delay in excess of that normally incurred under light
or free flow traffic condition.
2. Unacceptable congestion is travel time or delay in excess of agreed norm which
may vary by type of transport facility, travel mode, geographical location, and time
of the day.
Sure, there are a lot of cars on the road, but just to say thats what causes traffic
congestion is overly simplistic. Yet thats what many believe. Just get rid of all the cars,
encourage the use of bikes by building more bike lanes, and improve mass transit, and all
our congestion problems will be solved. We will all be healthier breathing in fewer
pollutants and we all would be better off.
12
Vehicle speed
Vehicle size
Drivers behavior
Time period
The truth is that traffic congestion is caused by multiple causes and here they are
not in the order of importance.
1- Too many cars for the roadway due to inadequate mass transit options or other reasons.
2- Obstacles in the road causing a blockage and merger. These can be any of the
following:
Double parking
Road work
Lane closure due to utility work
Road narrowing down
An accident
3- Traffic signals out of sync many times on purpose or occasionally when the computers
are malfunctioning.
4- Inadequate green time
5- Too many pedestrians crossing not permitting cars to turn
6- Too many trucks on the road due to inadequate rail freight opportunities
7- Overdevelopment in areas where the mass transit system is already overcrowded and
the road system is inadequate.
1.5 Alternate Route Concept:

An official alternate route is a special route that provides an alternate alignment
for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems and
various state and county route systems. Alternate routes were created as a means of
connecting a town (or towns) desired to be on a route that had been routed differently to
put another important town or city on the route.
Originally, the term for these routes was "optional," but in 1959, the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) changed the
designation to "alternate.
13
An "Alternate Route" shall be considered a route which starts at a point where it
branches off from the main numbered route, may pass through certain cities and towns, and
then connect back with the regular route some miles distant. Since it is the purpose of the
U.S. numbered system to mark the best and shortest route available, an alternate route
should be designated only where both routes are needed to accommodate the traffic
demand, and when the alternate route has substantially the same geometric and structural
design standards of the main marked routing. It is recommended that in case an alternate
route is marked, that the shorter and better constructed route be given the regular number
and the other section designated as the "Alternate Route". It is further recommended that
the Highway Department erect signs at the junction points of the regular and alternate routes
giving the distance between the cities or points concerned... In no instance should an
alternate routing be used for the purpose of keeping an obsolete section on the U.S.
numbered system after a new routing has been constructed and available to traffic.
In at least one case, the banner "Optional Route" was retained when a second
alternate route existed. Traffic engineers and planners need information about traffic. They
need information to design and manage road and traffic system. They use the information
for planning and designing traffic facilities, selecting geometric standards, economic
analysis and determination of priorities. They use this to justify warrant of traffic control
devices such as signs, traffic signals, pavement markings, school and pedestrian crossings.
The also use this information to study the effectiveness of introduced schemes, diagnosing
given situations and finding appropriate solutions, forecasting the effects of projected
strategies, calibrating and validating traffic models.
14
CHAPTER - 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Jian Xing and Jun Tanaka, 2016
Previous studies have shown that sag and tunnel sections on expressways can
become bottlenecks that cause congestion (Koshi, 1986). In these sections, when the traffic
volume is high enough, a difference in speed develops between vehicles traveling on the
outer and inner lanes and the number of vehicles traveling on the inner lane tends to surge.
In a previous study (Oguchi et al., 2001), a scheme to add an auxiliary lane to correct the
lane use rate and increase the road capacity to counter traffic congestion was introduced
and evaluated.
2.2 Yanli Wang, Xiaoyu Zhu, Linbo Li, Bing Wu,2012
Urban land redevelopment which is a reconstruction on a previously developed area

with existing transportation facilities is an important component of city evolution.
In this, we first analyzed why traffic congestion happened after urban land
redevelopment through some classical examples. We didnt stop at the apparent reason, but
do deep analysis.
we uncovered the traffic congestion after redevelopment is due to inappropriate land

use and transportation facilities under redevelopment, but the real cause is originated from
urban and transportation planning and management.
15
2.3 Traffic Congestion Evaluation using GIS Case Study: Jeddah City
Mazloh Al-Enazi Arab Academy for Science
GIS technology is appropriate for a variety of usages including resource

management, land surveying, and traffic planning. Traffic use GIS technology to solve
problems, find solutions for traffic congestion.
Traffic congestion is the phenomenon of increased disruption of traffic movement

on an element of the transport system, observed in terms of delays and queuing, that is
generated by the interactions amongst the flow units in a traffic stream or in intersecting
traffic streams.
The phenomenon is most visible when the level of demand for movement
approaches or exceeds the present capacity of the element and the best indicator of the
occurrence of congestion is the presence of queues.
Traffic congestion is aggravating due to increased growth rate, population,

modernization and improved lifestyle. Not only do traffic bottlenecks increase due to
these factors but weather conditions also intensify the situation. Transportation
professionals use traffic analysis tools to find the best transportation solutions for their
regions. However, as transportation solutions become more sophisticated and complex, so
do traffic analysis tools.
The simplest GIS tools that can be used for traffic congestion GIS application is
related to displaying and querying spatial and attribute data. For example, Arc GIS
software has several functions that can be used for data query and display.
This software can display attributes in relation to points, lines or polygons,

otherwise known as thematic mapping. Shortest path analysis is an essential precursor to
many GIS traffic applications.
16
2.4 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Traffic Diversion and Managed Lanes
on Highway Work Zones Steven Chien, Ph.D. Professor New Jersey
Institute of Technology Newark, NJ 07102 Liuhui Zhao Doctoral Candidate
N
The research team conducted a comprehensive review of available literature

relevant to this study. The summary of the exhaustive review of topics on work zone
impact analysis and optimization of work zone length and schedule is presented in this
section.
Work Zone Impact Analysis Several State DOTs have developed lane closure
policies that provide guidance in determining permitted lane closure time, namely time of
day, week, or season 10 a lane closure is allowed on a facility and at a specific location or
segment. In conjunction with policies, software planning tools are also developed to assess
the impacts of work zone lane closures on the motorist. The results are then used to assist
in scheduling TWZs. The NJDOT's Road User Cost
Manual (NJDOT, 2001) describes an analytical approach of calculating vehicle

operating and delay costs due to construction, maintenance, or rehabilitation activities.
The total cost is a function of the characteristics of a work zone (e.g. work zone
duration, length, etc.), the traffic volume, and the unit operating and user delay costs. The
Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) has developed a Lane Closure
Analysis Program based upon the guidance written in the Work Zone Lane Closure
Analysis Guidelines which provides state traffic engineers with a method to analyze work
zone impacts (i.e., queues and delays) resulting from capacity reduction caused by freeway
work zones (MDSHA, 2006). California DOT (Caltrans) has developed a lane closure
approval process as there is a lane closure request for construction and/or maintenance
activities (FHWA, 2010).
A web-based system is applied to review the details of a lane closure request and
ensure that the closure is consistent with transportation management plans. As indicated in
a study (Maze and Wiegand, 2007), the Ohio DOT (ODOT) developed a lane closure policy
which provides more detailed information for specific corridors, including methods to
determine the lane closure restrictions and suggestions for congestion mitigation strategies.
17
The Wisconsin DOT (WisDOT) developed lane closure and delay guidelines in the
2007 update of its Facilities Development Manual (Maze and Wiegand, 2007), which offers
a tool to assess the effects (i.e., queue and delay) of lane closures. The Colorado DOT
(CDOT) developed lane closure policies which provide engineers and contractors
guidelines for scheduling lane closures and detailed flowcharts to calculate delays.
The practice amongst some transport modelers is to use a nave feedback (Boyce
et. al.2004) procedure to solve the four-step transport model. Such a procedure may be
summarized as follows:
1. Generation of an initial zone to zone travel time matrix by skimming the highway
network using minimal cost routes and assuming zero link flows;
2. Establishment of an origin-destination (OD) matrix using the zonal trip-generation data
And skimmed costs;
3. Assignment of the origin-destination matrix to the road network, and re-calculation of
Minimal cost routes;
4. Use of the updated cost matrix to re-establish the OD matrix followed by a re-assignment
to the road network; and
5. Repeat of step 4 for a pre-determined fixed number of feedback cycles.
The above procedure does not invoke any tests to determine whether the final link
volumes and travel times are consistent with the assigned OD matrix.
2.5 Measurement of congestion

Congestion has to be measured or quantified in order to suggest suitable counter
measures and their evaluation. Congestion information can be used in a variety of policy,
planning and operational situations. It may be used by public agencies in assessing facility
or system adequacy, identifying problems, calibrating models, developing and assessing
improvements, formulating programs policies and priorities. It may be used by private
sector in making locational or investment decisions. It may be used by general public and
media in assessing traveler's satisfaction.
18
System performance measurement
Performance measure of a congested roadway can be done using the following four
components:
1. Duration,
2. Extent,
3. Intensity, and
4. Reliability
DURATION
Duration of congestion is the amount of time the congestion affects the travel
system. The peak hour has now extended to peak period in many corridors. Measures that
can quantify congestion include:
Amount of time during the day that the travel rate indicates congested travel on a
system element or entire system.
Amount of time during the day that traffic density measurement techniques
(detectors, aerial surveillance, etc.) indicate congested travel.
Duration of congestion is the sum of length of each analysis sub period for which
the demand exceeds capacity. This component measures the performance of a particular
road in handling traffic efficiently i,e.,with the increase in the duration of congestion,
poorer will be the performance of the transportation system. The maximum duration on any
link indicates the amount of time before congestion is completely cleared from the corridor.
Duration of congestion can be computed for a corridor using the following equation: For
corridor analysis,
where, is the duration of congestion (hours), is the number of analysis sub periods
for which , (V/C)>1 and is the duration of analysis sub-period (hours). For area wide
analysis,
19
EXTENT
Extent of congestion is described by estimating the number of people or vehicles

affected by congestion and by the geographic distribution of congestion.
These measures include:
1. Number or percentage of trips affected by congestion.

2. Number or percentage of person or vehicle meters affected by congestion.
3. Percentage of the system affected by congestion.
Performance measures of extent of congestion can be computed from sum of length

of queuing on each segment. Segments in which queue overflows the capacity are also
identified. This is useful for ramp metering analysis. To compute queue length, average
density of vehicles in a queue need to be known. The default values suggested by HCM
2000 are given in table.
Subsystem Storage density Spacing

(veh/km/lane) (m)
Freeway 75 13.3
Two lane way 130 7.5
Urban street 130 7.5
Queue length can be found out using the equation:
where; QLi is the queue length (meter), is the segment demand (veh/hour), is
the segment capacity (veh/hour), is the number of lanes, is the storage density
(veh/meter/lane), and is the duration of analysis period (hour).
If v < c, Qi=0 The equation for queue length is similar for both corridor and area-
wide analysis.
20
Numerical example
Consider a road segment of 6 lanes with a capacity of 2400 veh/hr/lane. It is
observed that the storage density is 75 veh/meter and the segment demand is found to be
2800 veh/hr/lane. Given that the duration of analysis sub period is 2 hrs calculate the
queue length that is formed due to congestion.
Solution
The queue length of a particular road segment is given by,
It is given that Number of lanes, N=6, Duration of analysis sub period, T= 2 hrs,
Segment Capacity=c=2400 veh/hr/lane, Segment Demand=v=2800 veh/hr/lane, Storage
Density=ds=75 veh/meter. Now,the queue length can be calculated by using the above
formula as follows:
Therefore, the extent of congestion in terms of queue length is 10.667mts.
INTENSITY
Intensity of congestion marks the severity of congestion. It is used to differentiate between
levels of congestion on transport system and to define total amount of congestion. It is
measured in terms of:
Delay in person hours or vehicle hours;

Average speed of roadway, corridor, or network;
Delay per capita or per vehicle travelling in the corridor, or per person or per vehicle
affected by congestion;
Relative delay rate (relative rate of time lost for vehicles);
21
Intensity in terms of delay is given by,
where, is the person hours of delay, is the person hours of travel under
actual conditions, and is the person hours of travel under free flow conditions.
The is given by:
where, is the average vehicle occupancy, is the vehicle demand
(veh), is the length of link (km), and is the mean speed of link (km/hr). The is
given by:
where, is the average vehicle occupancy, is the vehicle demand
(veh), is the length of link (km), and is the free flow speed on the link (km/hr).
Numerical example
On a 2.8 km long link of road, it was found that the demand is 1000 Vehicles/hour
mean speed of the link is 12 km/hr, and the free flow speed is 27 km/hr. Assuming that the
average vehicle occupancy is 1.2 person/vehicle, calculate the congestion intensity in terms
of total person hours of delay.
Solution:
Given data:
Length of the link=l=2.8 km,

Vehicle demand=v=1000 veh,
Mean Speed of the link=S=12 km/hr,
Free flow speed on the link=So=27 km/hr,
and Average Vehicle Occupancy=AVO=1.2 person/veh.
22
Person hours of delay is given as,
Person hours of travel under actual conditions,
Person hours of travel under free flow conditions,
Therefore, person hours of delay can be calculated as follows,
Hence, the intensity of congestion is determined in terms of person hours of delay

as 156 person hours.
Relationship between duration, extent, and intensity of congestion

The variation in extent and duration of congestion indicates different problems
requiring different solutions. Small delay and extent indicates limited problem, small delay
for large extent indicates general congestion, great delay for small extent indicates critical
links and great delay for large extent indicates critical system-wide problem.
23
Fig. below also illustrates the relationship between duration, extent and intensity
The extent of congestion is seen on the x-axis, the duration on the y-axis. The intensity is
shown in the shading. Based on the extent and duration the congestion can be classified
into four types as shown in fig.
Intensity of congestion-relation between duration and distance
Above fig indicates a time distance graph with the shaded area indicating
congestion in individual road segments for discrete time periods. The figure shows the
relationship between duration, extent, and intensity.
Intensity of congestion-Relation between extent and duration of delay
The product of extent and duration indicates the intensity, or magnitude of the
congestion problem.
24
Reliability
Reliability is a measure of a drivers ability to accurately predict and plan for a
certain travel time. The more unexpected events that occur on a roadway, the less reliable
it is. Non recurrent congestion has a bigger impact on the reliability of the roadway relative
to concurrent congestion. In other words, Travel-time reliability is defined as the level of
consistency in travel conditions over time and is measured by describing the distribution of
travel times that occur over a substantial period of time. Reliability is an important
component of roadway performance and perhaps more importantly, of motorists
perceptions of roadway performance. The importance of measuring and managing
reliability in reducing congestion is explained as follows.
Motorists have less tolerance for unexpected delay than for expected delay
Cost associated with unreliable travel
Reliability is a valued service in other industries and utilities
Therefore, it is clear that reliability is the impact of non-recurrent congestion on

transport system and it can be expressed as average travel rate or speed standard deviation
or delay standard deviation.
Congestion countermeasures
Fully eradicating roadway congestion is neither an affordable, nor feasible goal in
economically dynamic urban areas. However, much can be done to reduce its occurrence
and to lessen its impacts on roadway users within large cities congestion is a phenomenon
that can be better and more effectively managed. There are many possible measures that
can be deployed to treat or mitigate congestion.
classification
Congestion countermeasures include supply measures and demand measures.,
which will be discussed in detail in the next section. Other than these two measures, an
additional longer-term tool used against traffic problems is land-use planning and policy.
25
It has the potential
To control the number and growth of major traffic generators along congestion
corridors.
To establish sensible allocations of land for future development given present
constraints and expansion plans for the transportation network and
To enforce balanced employment and residential development, thus reducing the
long home-to-work trips.
Supply measures:
They add capacity to the system or make the system operate more efficiently. They
focus on the transportation system. All measures in this category supply capacity so that
demand is better satisfied and delays and queuing are lessened. Supply measures include
1. Development of new or expanded infrastructure: This includes civil projects (new

freeways, transit lines etc.), road widening, bridge replacements, permanent
freeway lane conversions, technology conversions (a new rail technology, a
modernized bus fleet and ITS)
2. Small scale capacity and efficiency improvements: This includes signal system
upgrade and coordination, freeway ramp metering, re-location of bus stops, lane
management schemes, bottleneck elimination through channelization and
operational improvements.
Demand measures:
Demand measures focuses on motorists and travelers and attempt to modify their
trip making behavior. All the measures that are employed in this category aim to modify
travel habits so that travel demand is considerably reduced or switch to other modes,other
times or other locations that have more capacity to accommodate it.
The demand measures include Congestion pricing, Parking pricing and Restrictions
on vehicle ownership and use. Congestion pricing is the method in which users are charged
on congested roads. This is discussed in detail in the next section. Parking pricing
discourages use of private vehicles to specific areas. It includes heavy import duties,
separate licensing requirement, heavy annual fees, expensive fuel prices, etc to restrain
private vehicle acquisition and use.
Heavy annual fees, strict periodic inspections and expensive fuel prices also restrict
use of private vehicles. Intelligent Transportation systems (ITS) provide tools for
26
implementation of both supply and demand congestion measures. Supply type ITS tools
include early incident detection and resolution, optimized signal operation based on real
time demand, freeway management with ramp metering, accident avoidance with variable
message signs(VMS) warning of upcoming conditions (congestion, fog etc.,) and bus
system coordination. Demand-type ITS include the provision of real-time traffic congestion
information at various places for informed travel decisions.
Congestion pricing
Congestion pricing is a method of road user taxation, charging the users of
congested roads according to the time spent or distance travelled on those roads. The
principle behind congestion pricing is that those who cause congestion or use road in
congested period should be charged, thus giving the road user the choice to make a journey
or not.
Economic principle behind congestion pricing

Journey costs include private journey cost, congestion cost, environmental cost, and
road maintenance cost. The benefit a road user obtains from the journey is the price he
prepared to pay in order to make the journey. As the price gradually increases, a point will
be reached when the trip maker considers it not worth performing or it is worth performing
by other means. This is known as the critical price. At a cost less than this critical price, he
enjoys a net benefit called as consumer surplus(es) and is given by:
where, is the amount the consumer is prepared to pay, and is the amount he
actually pays. The basics of congestion pricing involves demand function, private cost
function as well as marginal cost function. These are explained below.
27
Demand
Fig. below shows the general form of a demand curve. In the figure, area QOSP indicates
the absolute utility to trip maker and the area SRP indicates the net benefit.
Private cost
Total private cost of a trip, is given by:
where, is the component proportional to distance, is the component

proportional to speed, and is the speed of the vehicle (km/h). In the congested region,
the speed of the vehicle can be expressed as,
where, is the flow in veh/hour, and e are constants.
Marginal cost
Marginal cost is the additional cost of adding one extra vehicle to the traffic stream. It
reduces speed and causes congestion and results in increase in cost of overall journey.
The total cost incurred by all vehicles in one hour ( ) is given by:
28
Marginal cost is obtained by differentiating the total cost with respect to the flow( ) as
shown in the following equations
Note that c and q in the above derivation is obtained from Equations above
equations. Therefore, the marginal cost is given as:
29
Fig. below shows the variation of marginal cost per flow as well as private cost per flow.
It is seen that the marginal cost will always be greater than the private cost, the
increase representing the congestion cost.
Equilibrium condition and Optimum condition

Superimposing the demand curve on the private cost/flow and marginal cost/flow
curves, the position as shown in Fig. 7 is obtained. The intersection of the demand curve
and the private costs curve at point A represents the equilibrium condition, obtained when
travel decisions are based on private costs only. The intersection of the demand curve and
the marginal costs curve at point B represents the optimum condition. At this point the
flow corresponds to the cost which is the marginal cost as well as the value of the
trip to the trip maker. The net benefit under the two positions A and B are shown by the
areas ACZ and respectively. If the conditions are shifted from point A to B, the
net benefit due to change will be given by area minus AXB. If the
area is greater than arc AXB, the net benefit will be positive. The shifting of
conditions from point A to B can be brought about by imposing a road pricing charge BY.
Under this scheme, the private vehicles continuing to use the roads will on an average be
worse off in the first place because BY will always exceed the individual increase in
benefits XY.
30
Relation between material cost, private cost and demand curves.
Numerical example
Vehicles are moving on a road at the rate of 500 vehicle/hour, at a velocity of 15 km/hr.
Find the equation for marginal cost.
Solution:
Private cost of the trip is given by,
It is given that Flow rate, q=500 veh/hr. Speed of the vehicle is given by,
Marginal Cost is given by,
31
Therefore, the equation of marginal cost for the vehicles moving on the given congested
road is given by,
Uses of congestion pricing
1. Diverts travelers to other modes

2. Causes cancellation of non essential trips during peak hours
3. Collects sufficient fund for major upgrades of highways and other road maintenance
works.
4. Cross-subsidizes public transport modes thereby fetching income to the
government.
Requirements of a good pricing system
1. Charges should be closely related to the amount of use made of roads

2. Price should be variable at different times of day/week/year or for different classes
of vehicles
3. It should be stable and ascertainable by road users before commencement of journey
4. Method should be simple for road users to understand and police to enforce
5. Should be accepted by public as fair to all
6. Payment in advance should be possible
7. Should be reliable
8. Should be free from fraud or evasion
9. Should be capable of being applied to the whole country
32
CHAPTER - 3
OBJECTIVE
The following are the objectives we decided to ensure the traffic congestion to be reduced:
To reduce traffic at a junction by choosing an alternate route.
To reduce travel time by the road users at the intersections.
To develop alternate routes for free mobility at busy junctions.
To increase the traffic efficiency and occupancy of road by the road users.
To increase the effective utilization of roads and its facilities.
To decrease the situations of drivers who encounter unexpected traffic may be late
for work and other appointments causing a loss in productivity and their valuable
time.
To decrease the congestion leads to increase in travel time i.e., vehicles are made to
travel for more time than required which consumes large amount of fuel thereby
causing fuel loss and economic loss to the drivers.
To decrease the most harmful effects of traffic congestion is its impact on the
environment. Despite the growing number of vehicles, cars stopped in traffic still
produces a large volume of harmful carbon emissions. Increase in pollutants
(because of both the additional fuel burned and more toxic gases produced while
internal combustion engines are in idle or in stop-and-go traffic).
To decrease the Slow and inefficient emergency response and delivery services
To increase in road surface lifetime: When a vehicle moves over the surface, the
areas of contact (where the vehicles' tyres touch the road) are deflected downwards
under the weight of the vehicle and as the vehicle moves forward, the deflection
corrects itself to its original position.
To decrease traffic congestion at intersections, which intentionally increases road

efficiency.
To decrease fuel consumption at intersections which leads to increase in efficiency
of fuel.
33
CHAPTER - 4
SCOPE OF WORK
Vijayawada is a city on the banks of the Krishna River, in the Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the headquarters of Vijayawada (urban)
mandal in Krishna district of the state. The city forms a part of Andhra Pradesh Capital
Region and the headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority is
located in the city. The city is one of the major trading and business centers of the state and
hence, it is also known as "The Business Capital of Andhra Pradesh".
As of 2011 census, the city had a population of 1,048,240, making it the second
largest city in the state in terms of population and it had an urban agglomeration population
of 1,491,202. As per the Demographia World Urban Areas: 2016, the city is the third most
densely populated in terms of urban population in built-up areas of the world. The city has
been recognized as a "Global City of the Future" by McKinsey Quarterly. It is one of the
commercial hubs of Andhra Pradesh with a GDP of $3 billion in 2010, and is expected to
increase to $17 billion by 2025.Transport in Vijayawada.
Vijayawada is well connected to the major destinations through various national

and state highways. National Highway 16, a part of Asian Highway 45 and Golden
Quadrilateral is a major highway that passes through the city and connects Kolkata and
Chennai. While, other highways such as, National Highway 65 links the city with Pune
Machilipatnam route and National Highway 221 with Jagdalpur of Chhattisgarh. Inner
Ring Road connects both NH 16 and 65 and serves the main purpose of easing city traffic
congestion. Canal Road, M.G.Road and Eluru Road are the major internal arterial roads of
the city. It is connected to other areas of the district by district roads and the city has a total
road length of 1,264.24 km (785.56 mi).
The Pandit Nehru Bus Station was inaugurated on 23 September 1990 and was
officially named as Telugu Satavahana Prayana Pranganam later renamed to its current
name. It is Fourth largest and busiest bus terminals in India alongside Delhi, CMBT
(Chennai) and MGBS (Hyderabad). State run APSRTC buses are operated from the
terminal. APSRTC runs more than 450 city buses in the city which include Ordinary, Metro
Express and City Sheetal (A/C Buses). It is the first city in the south India to introduce
34
CNG buses in its fleet. Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has a BRTS circuit of
15.5 km in the city.
It is understandable that many people consider congestion a significant problem.

Typical urban residents spend more than ten hours a week driving of which 10-30% (one
to three hours) occurs in congested conditions.
Traffic congestion reduces travel speeds, creates uncertainly and requires more
driver effort. It is a major source of frustration for busy, productive people. Motorists often
feel that reducing congestion would make their lives more efficient and satisfied.
As a result, conventional planning considers congestion a major problem and

congestion reduction a dominant planning objective.
Yet traffic's relationship to the economy of whole metro regions is much more
complicated, so much so that researchers haven't entirely explained it. Congestion makes
people late to work. It stresses us out before we even get there. Deliveries can't arrive on
time. All that gas costs money. But many of the American cities with the worst
congestion also have the largest economies. And, to a certain extent, congestion is a sign
that an awful lot of people have jobs to get to, which is indisputably a good thing.
The thing many people think of when it comes to congested roadways is the delay.
During the morning there is additional stress because delays caused by traffic can make
people late for work. And at the end of the day, the afternoon rush hour is again a frustrating
time because the workday is done and people want to get home to relax, and traffic is
preventing it.
One beneficial effect of traffic congestion is its ability to encourage drivers to

consider other transportation options. In cities with frequent traffic congestion, individuals
often choose a subway, light rail or bus service. These options reduce traffic on the roads,
have less of an environmental impact and reduce the stress associated with driving in heavy
traffic.
4.1 Traffic Data:
Vijayawada is well connected with most parts of the state and the country through
roadways, railways and airways. It holds the distinction of being one of the major railway
35
junctions in the state and is connected by the two National Highways - NH 5 connecting
Chennai and Kolkata and NH 9. It can be said that no other city in Andhra Pradesh has such
connectivity through the network of roads, rails and waterways. The non-transport demand
in the city is largely met by the following criteria:
Bus transport contributing to 17% of the travel demand (the only public transport
mode) Para transit (3 seated auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws) contributing to nearly
45% of the total travel demand (modal split) with a mode share of 22.3% Two wheelers
and three wheelers with a mode share of 36.5% and modal share of about 28% to 30%
Non-motorized transport (NMR) using bicycles (85% of NMR), rickshaws, etc. to around
10% of the city traffic needs.
As part of the preparation of master plan for Vijayawada, a comprehensive traffic

study and survey was taken up to analyze the traffic and transport scenario in the city. The
survey included O-D surveys, volume count surveys, speed and delay surveys, parking
survey, pedestrian volume survey and travel characteristic survey.
4.2 TRAFFIC FLOWS AND DEMAND:

Vijayawada city is stretching day by day due to its increased population and
commercial activities. The new human settlements are coming up in the city at the outskirts
and along the two high ways i.e. NH-5 and NH-9. Two high ways are passing through the
city. The traffic volumes on these roads cause heavy conjunction, accidents, reduced
average speed, etc. There are three canals and one rivulet passing through the city, which
makes the users/ traffic to take round about travel. Due to fast urbanization and
development of the city in terms of various activities like industrial, commercial and
residential, traffic volume has increased enormously. Haphazard development, narrow
streets, congested junctions; unorganized parking has all created hindrance to the smooth
flow of the traffic.
While traffic from the highways was allowed to pass through the city, the need to divert the
traffic and provide a free flow to highway traffic resulted in the formation of a bye-pass to
the city. A second road bridge across the river Krishna connecting Chinnakakani has
further eased the pressure over the Prakasam barrage resulting from the inter and intra-
regional traffic.
36
Ribbon development consisting of shopping and commercial centers along the
highways has resulted in hampering the free flow of traffic. Encroachments of hawkers
and timber merchants along the arterial roads of the city has resulted in congestion of these
areas and the consequent narrowing of the area available for movement of highway traffic.
4.3 Traffic congested areas in Vijayawada:

BESCENT ROAD
SOURCE: GOOGLE MAPS LIVE TRAFFIC (North side headed map)
Coordinates for the above place is, 1630'37.9"N 8037'35.0"E

Road names : (N)(S) Besant road
(E)(W) Gopala reddy street
Lengths of this roads and other geographical features are not taken for this roads as they
were not included in our study.
37
VIJAYAWADA-1,DURGAMMA TEMPLE WAY(ROAD)

Road names : (N)(S) Durga temple ghat road
38
BANDAR ROAD

Road names : (N)(S) Bandar road
ELURU ROAD

Road names: (N)(S) Eluru road
39
We have identified these four places were in the congestion throughout 3/4th time
of its day. so, we selected these places as our area of interest.
Especially we have gone through the two junctions, as the project is time bound.
The two junctions are as follows:
Eluru road junctions
Ramesh hospital center
40
CHAPTER - 5
METHODOLIGIES
A Traffic Congestion Assessment Method for Urban Road Networks Based on
Speed Performance Index
5.1 Speed performance index:
Vehicle speed is an important indicator for measuring the road traffic state. A large
amount of vehicle speed data is detected by the loop detector from urban road traffic
systems. And based on those data, Beijing Traffic management Bureau (BTMB) has
presented the speed performance index (expressed in Equation (1)) as the evaluation
indicator of urban road traffic state. The index value (ranging from 0 to 100) reflects the
ratio between vehicle speed and the maximum permissible speed. BTMB chooses the two
values (25, 50) as the classification criterion of urban road traffic state. This study uses this
speed performance index to measure the road traffic state, but adopts three threshold values
(25, 50, 75) as the classification criterion of urban road traffic state, as shown in
Table. Base on this evaluation measure, we define the road segment congestion index and
the road network congestion index to analyze traffic congestion of urban road networks.
Rv=(v/Vmax)*100
Table: The evaluation criterion of Speed Performance Index on expressway.

Speed Performance Index Traffic State Level Description of Traffic State
[0,25] Heavy Congestion The average speed is low, road traffic state poor.
(25,50] Mild Congestion The average speed is lower, road traffic state bit weak.
(50,75] Smooth The average speed is higher, road traffic state better.
(75,100] Very Smooth The average speed is high, road traffic state good.
SOURCE: JOURNAL
where,
Rv denotes the speed performance index;
v denotes the average travel speed, km/h;
Vmax denotes the maximum permissible road speed, km/h
41
5.2 Road segment congestion index:
In order to measure the degree of road segment congestion, this paper chooses the
average road segment state and the duration of non-congestion state in the observation
period to define the road segment congestion index, expressed in Equation (2) & (3). The
non-congestion state includes two traffic states: smooth and very smooth, namely the speed
performance index is larger than 50 (km/h). The value of the road segment congestion index
Ri is between 0 and 1, and the smaller the value of Ri, the more congestion of road segment.
SOURCE: Journal
where,
Ri denotes the road segment congestion index;
Rv denotes the average of speed performance index;
RNC denotes the proportion of non-congestion state;
tNC denotes the duration of non-congestion state, minute;
Tt denotes the length of the observation period, minute.
5.3 Road network congestion index:
The road network is formed by many road segments, so this paper gives the
road network congestion index based on the road segment congestion index,
expressed in Equation (4). Similarly, the value of the road network congestion index
R is between 0 and 1, and the smaller the value of R, the more congestion of road network.
42
SOURCE : JOURNAL
where,
R denotes the road network congestion index;
Li denotes the length of road segment, km;
5.4 SPEED AND DELAY STUDIES
a) Floating car method:
In the floating car method, a test vehicle is driven over a given route of travel at
approximately the average speed of the stream, thus trying to float with the traffic
stream.
A number of test runs are made by the test vehicle along the study stretch.
A group of observers are seated in the test vehicle to record various observations
during each run of the test vehicle.
One observer is seated in the test car with two stop watches or timers; one timer is
used to record the time of arrival of the test car at various control points like
intersections, bridges or any other fixed points during each trip and the other stop
watch is used to find the duration of individual delays.
The time, location and cause of these delays during each test run are recorded by the
second observer either on suitable tabular forms or by voice recording equipment.
The number of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction in each test run is noted
by a fourth observer.
However in mixed traffic flow, more number of observers will be required to count
the number of vehicles of different classes.
In this method all the required details of speed and delay including location, duration
and causes of delay are obtained during each test run.
43
The average journey time t, in minutes (min) for all the vehicles in a traffic stream in
the direction of flow, q is given by:
t = tw ny/q
q = (na+ny)/(ta+tw)
where,
q = flow of vehicles (volume per min), in one direction of the stream
na = average number of vehicles counted in the direction of the stream q when the
test vehicles travels in the opposite direction or against the stream
ny= the average number of vehicles overtaking the test vehicle minus the number of
vehicles overtaken when the test is iin the direction of the stream, q
tw= average journey time, (min) when the test vehicle is travelling with the stream,
q
ta= average journey time, (min) when the test vehicle meathod is running against
the stream, q
b) Interview Method
In the interview technique, the work can be completed in a short time by interviewing
and collecting the required details from the road users on the spot.
However, the data on delays collected depend on the assessment of each individual
driver and are likely to be subjective also this method may not provide with all the
required details correctly
5.5 ORIGIN AND DESTINATION STUDIES
Origin and destination studies (O & D Studies) give information on the actual
location or zone of origin of travel of vehicles or individual passenger trips and their
destination.
These studies provide details such as direction of travel, slection of routes, trip length
and the frequency and the number of such trips.
The study area may cover the entire country or a selected region with in the country
or state or within a city or any identified area.
44
The O & D studies provide the basic data for determining the desired directions of
vehicular flow or passenger trips in terms of the desire lines.
Types of O & D Studies
O & D studies may be carried out covering travel details of either vehicles or
passenger trips
O & D studies of vehicular traffic determine the number of vehicles originating

from different zones and their and destination to various zones in the study area.
O & D studies may be required to be carried out on classified vehicles covering
identified vehicle classes and the particulars of their origin, destination and
purpose of trips.
O & D studies on passengers or passenger trips consist of collecting data on
locations of origin and destinations, types of the transport vehicles used, trip
length, purpose of trip, number of trips in a dya or week, average distance
travelled in a day.
a) Road Side Interview Method
The vehicles are stopped at selected interview stations by a group of persons and
the answers to prescribed questionnaire are collected on the spot and entered in the
prescribed forms.
The information collected include the place and time of origin and destination, route,
locations of intermediate stoppages if any, purpose of the trip, type of vehicle,
number of passengers in each vehicle, etc.,
In the case of commercial vehicles, the details of the commodity being transported
are recorded.
The time periods of conducting the O & D studies by road side interview method
should be decide in advance.
Both the road side interview study on selected sample of each vehicle class and
classified traffic volume study of the total traffic flow are to be conducted
simultaneously during the same time periods; this is required to obtain the size of
the sample vehicles actually interviewed to each vehicle class.
Part of the traffic may be filtered and diverted through a prescribed lane with the
help of the police a warning signs so that the drivers of the selected sample of
vehicles are interviewed.
45
The answers to the set of questionnaires are noted by the enumerators and the
vehicles are allowed to proceed with minimum possible delay.
In this method, the data can be collected in short duration and the field organisation
is simple and the team can be trained quickly.
The main drawback of the method is that when some of the vehicles are stopped for
interview, resentment is likely from these road users as there is some delay during
the data collection; also to prevent undue congestion due to the stopped vehicles,
there should be sufficient space across the road way at the location for the survey.
46
CHAPTER 6
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
Need and uses of congestion measurement
Congestion has to be measured or quantified in order to suggest suitable counter
measures and their evaluation. Congestion information can be used in a variety of policy,
planning and operational situations. It may be used by public agencies in assessing facility
or system adequacy, identifying problems, calibrating models, developing and assessing
improvements, formulating programs policies and priorities. It may be used by private
sector in making locational or investment decisions. It may be used by general public and
media in assessing traveler's satisfaction.
Due to the unplanned nature of the Vijayawada city, the residents face problems,
with the ever-increasing traffic problems. The city is neither pedestrian friendly nor vehicle
friendly and unfit for controlling the ever-growing traffic, particularly after the VIPs rush
increased.
Basically, the city is not pedestrian friendly and adding to this the behaviour of the
vendors is creating many problems for the pedestrians. The Commissioner explained that
according to a recent survey, the city needs traffic signals at least 65 centres. Right now,
there are about 29 signal junctions. Out of them only six are in working condition. There is
urgent need to install the sufficient number of signal lights and cameras at every signal
point.
6.1 SPEED AND DELAY STUDIES

Firstly, we hired the car for rent and we have gone through those selected routes.
We also conducted this studies in alternate routes also.
From this we identified the traffic average speed, causes for traffic congestion, in
detailed reasons for the delays in the path selected.
For the traffic average speed, we have taken two points (origin and destination) on
the road and we have made the observations for multiple vehicles and identified the
average speed.
We repeated the same procedure for both cars and bikes.
47
b) Floating car method:
In the floating car method, a test vehicle is driven over a given route of travel at
approximately the average speed of the stream, thus trying to float with the traffic
stream.
A number of test runs are made by the test vehicle along the study stretch.
A group of observers are seated in the test vehicle to record various observations
during each run of the test vehicle.
One observer is seated in the test car with two stop watches or timers; one timer is
used to record the time of arrival of the test car at various control points like
intersections, bridges or any other fixed points during each trip and the other stop
watch is used to find the duration of individual delays.
The time, location and cause of these delays during each test run are recorded by the
second observer either on suitable tabular forms or by voice recording equipment.
The number of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction in each test run is noted
by a fourth observer.
However in mixed traffic flow, more number of observers will be required to count
the number of vehicles of different classes.
In this method all the required details of speed and delay including location, duration
and causes of delay are obtained during each test run.
The average journey time t, in minutes (min) for all the vehicles in a traffic stream in
the direction of flow, q is given by:
t = tw ny/q
q = (na+ny)/(ta+tw)
where,
q = flow of vehicles (volume per min), in one direction of the stream
na = average number of vehicles counted in the direction of the stream q when the
test vehicles travels in the opposite direction or against the stream
ny= the average number of vehicles overtaking the test vehicle minus the number of
vehicles overtaken when the test is iin the direction of the stream, q
48
tw= average journey time, (min) when the test vehicle is travelling with the stream,
q
ta= average journey time, (min) when the test vehicle meathod is running against
the stream, q
c) Interview Method
In the interview technique, the work can be completed in a short time by interviewing
and collecting the required details from the road users on the spot.
However, the data on delays collected depend on the assessment of each individual
driver and are likely to be subjective also this method may not provide with all the
required details correctly
6.2 ORIGIN AND DESTINATION STUDIES
Origin and destination studies (O & D Studies) give information on the actual
location or zone of origin of travel of vehicles or individual passenger trips and their
destination.
These studies provide details such as direction of travel, slection of routes, trip length
and the frequency and the number of such trips.
The study area may cover the entire country or a selected region with in the country
or state or within a city or any identified area.
The O & D studies provide the basic data for determining the desired directions of
vehicular flow or passenger trips in terms of the desire lines.
Types of O & D Studies
O & D studies may be carried out covering travel details of either vehicles or
passenger trips
O & D studies of vehicular traffic determine the number of vehicles originating

from different zones and their and destination to various zones in the study area.
O & D studies may be required to be carried out on classified vehicles covering
identified vehicle classes and the particulars of their origin, destination and
purpose of trips.
O & D studies on passengers or passenger trips consist of collecting data on
locations of origin and destinations, types of the transport vehicles used, trip
49
length, purpose of trip, number of trips in a dya or week, average distance
travelled in a day.
d) Road Side Interview Method
The vehicles are stopped at selected interview stations by a group of persons and
the answers to prescribed questionnaire are collected on the spot and entered in the
prescribed forms.
The information collected include the place and time of origin and destination, route,
locations of intermediate stoppages if any, purpose of the trip, type of vehicle,
number of passengers in each vehicle, etc.,
In the case of commercial vehicles, the details of the commodity being transported
are recorded.
The time periods of conducting the O & D studies by road side interview method
should be decide in advance.
Both the road side interview study on selected sample of each vehicle class and
classified traffic volume study of the total traffic flow are to be conducted
simultaneously during the same time periods; this is required to obtain the size of
the sample vehicles actually interviewed to each vehicle class.
Part of the traffic may be filtered and diverted through a prescribed lane with the
help of the police a warning signs so that the drivers of the selected sample of
vehicles are interviewed.
The answers to the set of questionnaires are noted by the enumerators and the
vehicles are allowed to proceed with minimum possible delay.
In this method, the data can be collected in short duration and the field organisation
is simple and the team can be trained quickly.
The main drawback of the method is that when some of the vehicles are stopped for
interview, resentment is likely from these road users as there is some delay during
the data collection; also to prevent undue congestion due to the stopped vehicles,
there should be sufficient space across the road way at the location for the survey.
6.3 Traffic Count
For the identification of number of vehicles reaching the junction we have chosen
the manual method.
We four members have counted the individual vehicles along each stretch.The
obtained data has been tabulated for easy identification and is represented in results.
50
6.4 Road Segment Congestion Index
We have identified the congestion up to a single stretch.
For this we have taken the single road segment.
The data which we obtained from the implementation of above methods is

represented in the below diagrams.
This helps in the easy understanding of road alignments along intersections and their
road widths are also represented in the figures.
The time taking for the routes which are going through the side way of main roads
are also given which also helps in the usage of these roads in case any emergencies.
Our study area images are listed below this images helps you to identify the causes
for traffic congestion easily.
Heavy vehicles cause the interruption for free flow of traffic regulation.
51
52
53
54
CHAPTER 7
RESULTS
A traffic study is a detailed examination and analysis of a transportation system
supported by data collection. The process is as follows: A study starts with the identification
and definition of a transportation problem, followed by data collection and analysis.
Traffic flow, the total number of vehicles passing a given point in given time. Traffic
flow is expressed as vehicles per hour.
Traffic flow is the study of interactions between travelers (including pedestrians,

cyclists, drivers and their vehicles) and infrastructure (including highways, signage, and traffic
control devices), with the aim of understanding and developing an optimal transport network
with efficient movement of traffic and minimal traffic congestion problems.
Vehicle activated signs are an invaluable means of educating drivers that are
exceeding the designated speed limit. Displays are available with two or three digits with
either remote, attached or integral radar speed measurement heads. Speeders vehicle
activated signs may be post, vehicle or trailer-mounted or stand-alone portable units.
From the above studies, we have identified the traffic volume and tabulated them as
shown in the following tables
First table indicates the traffic data related to ELLURU ROAD JUNCTION and
the second table indicates the data related to RAMESH HOSPITSL CENTRE
The following tables shows the data related to the alternative routes (Optional routes)
and main routes. These includes their road widths, traffic volume at those junctions, their
road lengths, time taken to complete the paths i.e. alternative and main roads.
In the chapter scope of work, we made available the city maps and also in the
chapter- experimental programme we made available of the positions of the junctions.
So, that we can easily identify the alternative routes, by indicating them as road signs
road users also easily understand them and they efficiently make use of those roads and it
finally results in the decrease of traffic congestions at intersections.
55
56
57
CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSIONS
The following are the things we identified in mean process of our project:
A system is said to be congested when the demand exceeds the capacity of the section.
Traffic congestion can be defined in the following two ways:
a) Congestion is the travel time or delay in excess of that normally incurred under
light or free flow traffic condition.
b) Unacceptable congestion is travel time or delay in excess of agreed norm which
may vary by type of transport facility, travel mode, geographical location, and
time of the day.
Fig. below shows the definition of congestion.
Definition of congestion
The solid line represents the travel speed under free-flow conditions and the dotted line
represents the actual travel speed.
During congestion, the vehicles will be travelling at a speed less than their free flow
speed.
The shaded area in between these two lines represents the amount of congestion.
58
The following are the conclusions we identified from our studies:
In Eluru road junction, we identified four alternate routes (optional routes). Time taken
for these routes is quite less than the main roads.
Through this alternate routes we can easily dilute traffic.
Through this alternate routes we can make the small-scale vehicles such as bikes and
cars.
The migration of traffic through this routes quite easier than the regulation of traffic on
the main roads.
This alternate routes requires less cost for maintanence.
Alternate routes have less environmental/engineering risks.
Alternate routes can be used in any case of emergencies like accidents, political canvas
etc.,
By the usage of alternate routes, we can decrease the noise pollution, vibration,
increases fuel efficiency, improves road safety.
Decreases the time to spend at the road intersections.
The issues that communities face include changed access arrangements and the
potential loss of trade to some business that are more dependent on passing trade. This
may alter economic activity that could result with through traffic no longer making a
decision once they reach the town center to pull over to take a break and in doing so
spend money.
Drivers who are driving a long distance generally want to be able to get from point A
to point B as quickly as possible. Driving through intersections is not usually the
fastest way because there are signals, stop signs, pedestrians, lots of intersections, lots
of cars coming in and out of business driveways, etc. Drivers usually prefer alternate
routes (optional routes).
59
CHAPTER 9
REFERENCES
Journals
Congestion studies, IIT Bombay.

Journal of Transportation Systems Engineering And Information Technology
Jian Xing And Jun Tanaka, 2016, Science Direct.
Speed Performance Index, Journal Science Direct.
Text Books
C. S Papacostas. Fundamentals Of Transportation Engineering. Prentice-Hall, New
Delhi, 1987
Highway And Traffic Engineering In Developing Countries By Bent Thagesen.
Highway Engineering By Martin Rogers.
Highway Engineering Handbook By Roger L Brockenbrough And Kenneth J
Boedecker.
Highway Capacity Manual By Transportation Research Board National Research
Council.
Highway Capacity Manual. Transportation Research Board. National Research
Council, Washington, D.C., 2000.
Khanna S.K & Justo C.E.G 2000. Highway Engineering.
L. R Kadiyali. Traffic Engineering And Transportation Planning. Khanna Publishers,
New Delhi, 1987.
Sarah B Medley And Michael J Demetsky. Development Of Congestion Performance
Measures Using Its Information. Virginia Transportation Research Council, 2019.
Transport Planning And Traffic Engineering C A O'flaherty.
Transport Research Board - Quantifying Congestion Volume 1 Final Report, Nchrp
Report 398, 1997.
60
Web sites
https://www.google.co.in/maps -Google maps
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journals/all - Science direct\
https://www.civil.iitb.ac.in/tvm/1111_nptel/584_Congestion/plain/plain.html - IIT
Bombay.
61
APPENDIX
In this part, we are representing the data collected at the site in the form of
tabular formats for two junctions i.e. Eluru road junction and Ramesh hospital center
respectively
TABLE-1
N (Ramesh Hospital)
(Auto Nagar) W E (Gannavaram)
S (Bus station)
TYPE OF VEHICLE
TIME BIKES CARS BUSES HEAVY DIRECTION
VEHICLES
8:30-9:30 300-350 110-130 20-30 20-30 E-W
220-250 90-100 30-40 100-150 N-S
12:00-4:00 100-110 50-60 20-30 20-25 E-W
100-110 70-80 25-30 30-40 N-S
5:30-8:30 400-410 110-150 65-75 20-30 E-W
350-400 80-100 70-80 100-150 N-S
TABLE-2 N (Pushpa Hotel Centre)
(PN Bustand) W E(Chitti Gunta Centre)
S (Kothavantena)
TYPE OF VEHICLE
TIME BIKES CARS BUSES HEAVY DIRECTION
VEHICLES
8:30-9:30 220-230 150-160 40-60 30-40 E-W
200-210 130-145 30-40 70-80 N-S
12:00-4:00 100-105 50-60 30-40 35-40 E-W
110-120 70-80 40-60 70-80 N-S
5:30-8:30 200-250 140-150 55-60 30-40 E-W
210-220 120-135 40-50 80-90 N-S
62
63

Traffic Congestion

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Traffic Congestion

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CHAPTER 1

Traffic congestion is a condition on transport networks that occurs as use

With the evolution of society, economy and technology, the household

Congestion at Diversion roads:

Congestion at Convergent section:

Congestion at Busy areas:

Traffic congestion may be of two types:

Traffic congestion due to heavy rainfall.

1.4. Factors responsible for Traffic congestion

1.5 Alternate Route Concept:

2.1 Jian Xing and Jun Tanaka, 2016

2.2 Yanli Wang, Xiaoyu Zhu, Linbo Li, Bing Wu,2012

Urban land redevelopment which is a reconstruction on a previously developed area

we uncovered the traffic congestion after redevelopment is due to inappropriate land

GIS technology is appropriate for a variety of usages including resource

Traffic congestion is the phenomenon of increased disruption of traffic movement

Traffic congestion is aggravating due to increased growth rate, population,

This software can display attributes in relation to points, lines or polygons,

The research team conducted a comprehensive review of available literature

Manual (NJDOT, 2001) describes an analytical approach of calculating vehicle

2.5 Measurement of congestion

Extent of congestion is described by estimating the number of people or vehicles

These measures include:

1. Number or percentage of trips affected by congestion.

Performance measures of extent of congestion can be computed from sum of length

Subsystem Storage density Spacing

Queue length can be found out using the equation:

Therefore, the extent of congestion in terms of queue length is 10.667mts.

Delay in person hours or vehicle hours;

The is given by:

where, is the average vehicle occupancy, is the vehicle demand

where, is the average vehicle occupancy, is the vehicle demand

Length of the link=l=2.8 km,

Person hours of travel under actual conditions,

Person hours of travel under free flow conditions,

Therefore, person hours of delay can be calculated as follows,

Hence, the intensity of congestion is determined in terms of person hours of delay

Relationship between duration, extent, and intensity of congestion

Intensity of congestion-relation between duration and distance

Intensity of congestion-Relation between extent and duration of delay

Therefore, it is clear that reliability is the impact of non-recurrent congestion on

1. Development of new or expanded infrastructure: This includes civil projects (new

Economic principle behind congestion pricing

where, is the component proportional to distance, is the component

where, is the flow in veh/hour, and e are constants.

Equilibrium condition and Optimum condition

Marginal Cost is given by,

Uses of congestion pricing

1. Diverts travelers to other modes

Requirements of a good pricing system

1. Charges should be closely related to the amount of use made of roads

To decrease traffic congestion at intersections, which intentionally increases road

Vijayawada is well connected to the major destinations through various national

It is understandable that many people consider congestion a significant problem.

As a result, conventional planning considers congestion a major problem and

One beneficial effect of traffic congestion is its ability to encourage drivers to

4.1 Traffic Data:

As part of the preparation of master plan for Vijayawada, a comprehensive traffic

4.2 TRAFFIC FLOWS AND DEMAND:

4.3 Traffic congested areas in Vijayawada:

SOURCE: GOOGLE MAPS LIVE TRAFFIC (North side headed map)

Coordinates for the above place is, 1630'37.9"N 8037'35.0"E

SOURCE: GOOGLE MAPS LIVE TRAFFIC (North side headed map)