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CHAPTER 5
CAPACITY AND LEVEL OF SERVICE
2019 Eskindir. Zekios(MSc)
 Cont…
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Level of service and capacity for:

 two-lane

 multilane highways and

 freeways

LOS & Capacity 2019

 Capacity
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 capacity is the maximum hourly flow rate at which

the maximum number of vehicles, passengers, or
the like, per unit time
 The measure of quality of flow is the “level of
service” (LOS), a qualitative measure, ranging
from A to F
 the capacity we used the peak 15 minutes of the
peak hour.

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 Cont…
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 capacity depends on;

1.Road way characteristics:
• associated with the geometric characteristics and

design elements of the facility.

2.Traffic conditions:
• include the distribution of the different types of

vehicles in the traffic stream or traffic composition

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 Cont…
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3.Control conditions
• includes the types of traffic control devices in

operation
• signal phasing

• allocation of green time

• cycle length

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 Level of service
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 General it is quality of operations on a facility with

defined traffic, roadway, and control conditions
 LOS is a quality measure describing;
 operational conditions within a traffic stream, in
terms of such service measures as speed and travel
time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions,
and comfort and convenience."
 capacity gives a quantitative measure of traffic,
level of service gives a qualitative measure
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 Cont…
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 Level of service ranges from level A to level F

 Level A represents the best quality of traffic
 level F represents the worst quality of traffic

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 Service A
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 represents free-flow conditions where traffic flow

is virtually zero
 Only the geometric design features of the highway
may limit the speed of the car.
 almost complete freedom to maneuver

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 Cont…
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 Service B
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 reasonable free-flow conditions.

 Minor accidents are accommodated
 Comfort and convenience levels for road users are
relatively high
 vehicles have only slightly reduced freedom to
maneuver.

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 Cont…
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 Service C
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 Delivers stable flow conditions

 small increases will cause a considerable reduction
in the performance
 marked restrictions in the ability to maneuver
 care is required when changing lane

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 Cont…
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 Service D
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 The highway is operating at high-density levels but

stable flow still prevails.
 severe restrictions on a driver’s ability to maneuver
 poor levels of comfort and convenience

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 Cont…
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 Service E
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 the level at which the capacity of the highway has

been reached.
 unstable with any traffic incident causing extensive
queuing and even breakdown.
 comfort and convenience are very poor

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 Cont…
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 Service F
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 state of breakdown or forced flow with flows

exceeding capacity
 highly unstable with constant queuing and traffic
moving on a ‘stop-go’ basis

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 Cont…
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 Factors affecting level of service
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 The factors affecting level of service are;

1. Speed and travel time
2. Traffic interruptions/restrictions
3. Freedom to travel with desired speed
4. Driver comfort and convenience
5. Operating cost.

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 Cont…
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Factors such as ;
 lane width

 lateral obstruction

 traffic composition

 grade and driver population also affect the

maximum flow on a given highway segment.

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 Determining the capacity and LOS of a highway
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 There are two measures used to describe the

service quality:
1.Percent time-spent-following another vehicle
(PTSF): is the average percentage of time that
vehicles are traveling behind slower vehicles.
2.Average travel speed (ATS):is the space mean
speed of vehicles in the traffic stream.

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 Two lane highways
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 Class I. Two-lane highways that function as

primary arterials, daily commuter routes, and links
to other arterial highways. Motorists’ expectations
are that travel will be at relatively high speeds.
 Class II. Two-lane highways where the expectation
of motorists is that travel speeds will be lower than
for Class I roads.

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 Cont…
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Base conditions exist for the following characteristics:

 • Level terrain

 • Lane widths 12 ft or greater

 • Clear shoulders 6 ft wide or greater

 • Passing permitted with absence of no-passing zones

 • No impediments to through traffic due to traffic control or

turning vehicles
 • Passenger cars only in the traffic stream

 • Equal volume in both directions (for analysis of two-way

flow)
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 Cont…
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 LOS for Class I highways is based on two

measures: PTSF and ATS.
 LOS for Class II highways is based on a single
measure: PTSF.
 Level-of-service criteria are applied to travel
during the peak 15 minutes of travel and on
highway segments of significant length.

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 Speed-Flow and Percent Time-Spent-Following Flow
Relationships for Two-Way Segments with Base Conditions
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 Speed-Flow and Percent Time-Spent-Following Flow
Relationships for Directional Segments with Base Conditions
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 Cont…
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 Example
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 Determining Level of Service for Two-Way Segments
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1.Calculate peak 15-min hourly passenger car equivalent vp

by trial
2. Determine fG,ET and ER from tables
3. Calculate fHV from formula
4. Calculate peak 15-min hourly passenger car equivalent vp
from formula
5.Check whether Vp calculated is in the range. If not, iterate
again

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 Cont…
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6. Compute base percent time-spent-following from

formula
7. Compute fd/np from table
8. Compute percent time-spent-following

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 PTSF Calculation
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Calculating the Value of PTSF for Two-Way Segments

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 Cont….
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 Example
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 Steps for ATS calculation
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1.Determine the value of fLS , fA, fHV from table

2. Compute the free-flow speed under the given conditions;
a. For Field measurements at volumes < 200 pc /h, SFM
b. For Field measurements at volumes > 200 pc /h, use

c. For Indirect estimation, when field data are

unavailable; use

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 Cont…
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3. Calculate vp from formula

4.Determine the value of fG, ET, ER from table
5. Determine the value of fHV from formula
6. Determine the value of fnp from table
7.Calculate ATS from formula
8. Finally using the values of ATS and PTSF determine
level of service type

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 Calculating Other Traffic Performance Measures for Two-
Way
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 v/c = volume-to-capacity ratio

 VMT15=total number of vehicle-miles traveled
during the peak 15-minute period
 VMT60=Total number of vehicle-miles traveled
during the peak hour
 TT15=Total travel time, vehicle-hour, during the
peak 15-minute period

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 Cont…
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 DIRECTIONAL SEGMENTS
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Three categories of directional segments are;

Extended segments located in level or rolling
terrain with a length of at least 2 miles
Specific upgrades or downgrades located in
mountainous terrain or with grades of at least 3
percent for segment lengths of at least 0.6 mi long
A passing lane added within a section in level or
rolling terrain or as a truck climbing lane

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 Passing lane
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 PTSF calculation for Directional Segments in Level or
Rolling Terrain
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 ATS Calculation for Directional
Segments in Level or Rolling Terrain
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 PTSF and ATS Calculation for Directional
Segments on Specific Upgrades
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Any grade of 3 percent or more and at least 0.6 mi in

length must be analyzed as a specific upgrade.
To Calculate PTSF:
1. Determine fG using Table
2. Determine ET and ER using Table
3. Compute fHV using formula

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 Cont…
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To Calculate ATS:
1. Determine fG using Table
2. Determine ET and ER using Tables
3. Compute fHV using formula

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 Cont…
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4. Determine vd

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 Cont…
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5. Determine vo

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 Cont…
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6. Compute PTSF and ATS following procedures

used for directional analysis for level and rolling
terrain.

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 PTSF and ATS calculation for Directional
Segments on Specific Downgrades
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 Follow the same procedures of Upgrades

 The only difference is

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 PTSF calculation for Directional Segments when a Passing Lane
has been Added within an Analysis Section in Level or Rolling Terrain
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 A passing lane is added to a two-lane highway to

provide the motorist with additional opportunities
to overtake slower vehicles.

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Freeway
is a divided highway with full access control and two
or more lanes in each direction for the exclusive use
of moving traffic.
 Signalized or stop-controlled,
 at-grade intersections or
 direct access to adjacent land use are not permitted in
order to ensure the uninterrupted flow of vehicles

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 Cont…
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Base free-flow conditions include the following freeway

characteristics:
 Lanes are 12 ft wide

 Lateral clearance between the edge of a right lane and an

obstacle is 6 ft or greater
 There are no trucks, buses, or RVs in the traffic stream

 Urban freeways are five lanes in each direction

 Interchanges are spaced at least 2 mi apart

 Grades do not exceed 2%

 Drivers are familiar with the freeway

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 Cont…
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 The maximum service flow rate at level of service i

(MSFi) is the maximum flow that a section of the
freeway can maintain at level of service i under
ideal conditions

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 Cont…
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Where
 MSF = maximum service flow rate per hour per lane
i
(pc/hr/ln) under ideal conditions for level of service i
 (V/C) = maximum volume-to-capacity ratio for level of
i
service i
 C = capacity under ideal conditions for the freeway segment
j
having design speed j (2200 pc/hr/ln for four-lane freeway
segments and 2300 pc/hr/ln for six or more lane freeway
segments)

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 Cont…
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SFi = MSFi (N) (fW)(fHV) (fp)

SFi = Cj(v/c)i (N) (fW)(fHV) (fp)
Where
 SF = service flow rate for level of service i under prevailing traffic and roadway
i
conditions for N lanes in one direction (vph)
 MSF = maximum service flow rate per hour per lane under ideal conditions for
i
level of service i
 f = factor to adjust for the effect of restricted lane widths and/or lateral clearance
W

 f
HV = factor to adjust for the combined effect of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream.
 fp = factor to adjust for the effect of recreational or unfamiliar driver populations

 N = number of lanes in one direction of the freeway

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 Speed-Flow Curves and Level-of-Service for
Basic Freeway Segments
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 Level of Service for Freeway Segments
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 Factors which affect maximum flow on a given

highway segment are;
 lane width, lateral
 obstruction
 traffic composition
 grade
 speed, and
 driver population

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 Lane width effect
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 Traffic composition
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 Level of service for freeway
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 Cont…
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Any two of the following three performance

characteristics can describe the level of service (LOS)
for a basic freeway section:
 Vp : Flow rate (pc /h/ln)
 S: Average passenger car speed (mi/h)
 D: Density defined as number of cars per mi (pc /mi/l)

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 Flow Rate Calculation for a Basic
Freeway Section
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Average Passenger Car Speed (S), Density (D), and
Level of Service (LOS) for Freeway Section
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Four types of problems can be solved here;

1.Given highway volume, number of lanes, and free-flow
speed, determine level of service
2.Given highway volume, level of service, and free-flow
speed, determine the average speed
3.Given the level of service and free-flow speed, determine
the hourly flow rate
4.Given the highway volume, free-flow speed, and the
desired level of service, determine the number of freeway
lanes required
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 Cont…
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 Cont…
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 VC = equivalent 15-min peak-hour volume (vph);

 V = actual hourly volume (vph)
 Ni = number of lanes (in one direction) required to
provide level of service "i"
 V or DDHV = directional design hour volume,
veh/h

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 FFS calculation for freeway
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 Average passenger car speed (S)
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 Multilane Highways
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 Multilane highways differ from two-lane highways by virtue of the

number of lanes and from freeways by virtue of the degree of access.
Multilane highways may exhibit some of the following characteristics:
 Posted speed limits are usually between 40 and 55 mi/h

 They may be undivided or include medians

 They are located in suburban areas or in high-volume rural corridors

 They may include a two-way, left-turn median lane (TWLTL)

 Traffic volumes range from 15,000 to 40,000/day

 Volumes are up to 100,000/day with grade separations and no cross-

median access
 Traffic signals at major crossing points are possible

 There is partial control of access

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 Cont…
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 LOS for Multilane Highways
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Any two of the following three performance characteristics

can describe the level of
 service (LOS) for a multilane highway:

 Vp : Flow rate (pc /h/ln)

 S: Average passenger car speed (mi/h)

 D: Density defined as number of cars per mi (pc /mi/ln)

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 Speed-Flow Curves with LOS Criteria for Multilane
Highways
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 Flow Rate Calculation for a Multilane
Highway
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 Cont…
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There are two situations that must be considered during

ET and ER reading from table
 Extended general segments in which the terrain is

level, rolling or mountainous. The values of ET and ER

are obtained from Table 9.25.
 Specific grades

Upgrades: The values of ET and ER are obtained from

Tables 9.26 and 9.27.
Downgrades: The value of ET is obtained from Table 9.28.
RVs are treated as if they were on level terrain.
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 Average Passenger Car Speed (S), Density (D), and
Level of Service (LOS) for a Multilane Highway
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