International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2014)

Estimation of the Passenger Car Equivalent: A Review

Kanakabandi Shalini1, Brind Kumar2
1
Research scholar, 2Assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi,
Varanasi-221005, U.P, India
Abstract--Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE) or Passenger PCE value is the numerical value that are given to a
Car Unit (PCU) value is very important for any traffic flow device to convert a mixed vehicle traffic stream into an
studies of vehicles. Passenger car equivalents (PCE) are used equivalent traffic stream composed exclusively of
as factors to convert a traffic stream composed of different passenger cars or basic vehicles. Two basic principles
vehicle types into an equivalent traffic stream composed
should be applied to estimate of PCE values for any of the
exclusively of passenger cars (reference vehicles). In the
literature there are different measures of impedance (speed, roadway type identified in capacity analysis procedures.
density, vehicle-hours etc.) reported based on which PCE The first principle links the concept passenger car
values are calculated for different types of vehicles. Present equivalency to the level of service (LOS) concept. The
study reviews the various methods have been used to calculate second principle emphasizes the consideration of all factors
PCE. that contribute to the overall effect of concern vehicle
(other than passenger cars) on traffic stream performance
Keywords-- Passenger Car Equivalent, Flow parameters, (Rahman and Nakamura, 2005).
Traffic flow studies, Vehicles The present review article describes the different
methods to estimate Passenger Car Unit (PCU) or
I. INTRODUCTION Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE).
The travel characteristics, road networks and local
constraints are very different in the cities of developing II. LITERATURE ON EXISTING METHODS T O DETERMINE
countries than those of developed countries. It is therefore P ASSENGER C AR EQUIVALENT (PCE)
necessary to determine the different parameters of traffic
movements which are suitable for local urban transport A. PCEs Based on Flow Rates and Density
system characteristics. To assess the different types of In transportation engineering, the term traffic flow rate is
vehicles on common basis, a passenger car unit or used to indicate the equivalent hourly rate of vehicles
passenger car equivalent (PCE) was developed (Saha et passing a point per unit of time. PCE is computed based on
al., 2009). A Passenger Car Unit is a measure of the impact percentage of grade, mixed vehicle flow, and truck volume
that a mode of transport has on traffic variables (such as to capacity ratio (John and Glauz, 1976):
headway, speed, density) compared to a single standard
passenger car.
The term “Passenger car equivalent” was first introduced
in HCM 1965 to define the effect of trucks and buses in the Where, = equivalent passenger car only flow rate for a
traffic stream. It was defined as “the number of passenger given v/c ratio, = mixed flow rate, = truck proportion
cars displaced in the traffic flow by a truck or a bus, under in the mixed traffic flow
the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions”. Highway Huber (1982) suggested a model for estimating PCE-
Capacity Manual (HCM) 1950 used a single factor of 2.0 to values for vehicles multilane conditions, under free-
account for the impact of heavy vehicles on multi-lane flowing. PCE-values are related to the ratio between the
highways. However the most recent definition of PCE is in volumes of two streams at some common level of
Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 2000 and which is impedance. He has given equation to calculate PCE value
defined as “the number of passenger cars that are displaced is
by a single heavy vehicle of a particular type under
prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions” (Al-
( )
Kaisy et al., 2005). Passenger Car Equivalents (PCEs)
have important used in freeway design and operations
analysis.

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 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2014)
(Rahman and Nakamura, 2005) used A deterministic Werner and Morrall (1976) recommended determining
model of traffic flow to estimate the impedance-flow PCE using headways when the roadway is sufficiently
relationship. They also suggested that PCE-values are congested on level terrain:
related to speed and length of subject vehicles and to vary
with the proportion of trucks in the traffic stream. Sumner
et al., (1984) further developed Huber’s method by
including more than one truck type in the traffic stream.
Where, = is the average headway for a sample
( ) including all vehicle types, = is the average headway
for a sample of passenger cars only, = is the proportion
Where, =additional subject flow rate, = of cars, = is the proportion of trucks.
proportion of subject vehicles Using the spatial headway methodology, Seguin et al.
Rahman and Nakamura, (2005) reported from the (1982) suggested PCE as the ratio of average headway for
1985 HCM, density is to be the governing parameter for vehicle types: average truck headway divided by the
LOS, although it is defined both by density and speed. It average headway for passenger cars:
explains, density is a measure that quantifies the proximity
of vehicles to each other within the traffic stream and
indicates the degree of maneuverability within the traffic
stream. They stated from McShane and Roess (1990) Where, = the PCE of vehicle Type i under
density is the primary parameter for LOS and equal density Conditions j, = average headway for vehicle Type I,
approach will be more appropriate.
= the average headway for passenger car for
Mallikarjuna and Rao (2000) stated that Chari and
Badarinath (1983) made an attempt to quantify density Conditions j.
under these conditions using areal density. This is the first Cunagin and Chang (1982) determined the effect of the
study that considered vehicle areas in measuring the presence of heavy trucks on freeway traffic streams using
density. Areal density is defined as sum of the total vehicle time headway based on headway type, lane width, and
area projected on the ground per unit area of road way. traffic volume. They conclude that the presence of trucks
Demarchi and Setti (2003) proposed the PCE’s formula in the traffic stream is accompanied by an increase in the
to eliminate the possible error for mixed heavy vehicles in mean headway. They suggested the equation for calculating
the traffic stream, including interaction between multiple the PCE.
trucks types:

( )
∑ Where, = the mean lagging headway of vehicle type
Where = proportion of trucks of type i out of all i under conditions j, = the mean lagging headway of
trucks n in the mixed traffic flow passenger cars.
B. PCEs Based on Headways Krammes and Crowley (1986) derived PCE equation
in terms of variables that reflect the relative importance of
The concept behind using the headways (time or space) three factors that contribute to the overall effect of trucks
is that headway is a measure of the space occupied by a on the roadway type.
vehicle. This is the most commonly used method for
measuring PCE at signalized intersections. Many [ ]
researchers have used headway as the basis of estimation.
Where, = the lagging headway of trucks following
Greenshields et al., (1947) estimated PCU value by the
passenger cars, the lagging headway of trucks
following equation. This method is known as basic
following trucks, = the lagging headway of cars
headway method.
following either vehicle type.
PCUi = Hi / Hc
Where PCUi= passenger car unit of vehicle type, Hi =
average headway of vehicle type, Hc = average headway of
passenger car
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 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2014)
The disadvantages of this method are 1. does not account
for the additional delay experienced by vehicles stopped
beyond the eighth position behind the truck; 2) does not
consider through movement; and 3) the computed PCE
values are independent: of traffic volume, heavy vehicle
percentages and multiples heavy vehicles in the queue.
C. PCEs Based on Queue Discharge Flow
Praveen and Arasan (2013) mentioned that Al-Kaisyet Where, = the coefficients of speed reductions
al., (2002) developed a method for passenger car for each vehicle type
equivalents (PCEs) using Queue-Discharge Flow (QDF) as Using the speed reduction coefficients, the PCE for a
the equivalency criterion. The methodology was based on vehicle type n is calculated as:
the assumption that the fluctuation in QDF capacity
observations would be minimal if the traffic stream was
uniform and consisted of passenger cars only. The vehicle
counts from QDF capacity observations were used to Where, = speed reduction coefficient for vehicle type
formulate a nonlinear programming problem, where the n, = speed reduction coefficient for passenger cars
objective function was to minimize the variation in the
QDF capacity. They found that the effect of heavy vehicles Chandra and Sikdar (2000) proposed a methodology
on a freeway is greater when it is operating in oversaturated to estimate PCE values for mixed traffic conditions. They
conditions. In addition, it was found that PCE both during have estimated the PCE values as a function of vehicle area
dry or rainy days and during the presence of roadside and speed. According to their methodology PCE of any
maintenance work are not significantly different. particular vehicle is formulated as follows:
Al-Kaisyet al., (2002) given optimization procedure to
⁄
determine PCE:
Objective function: Minimize Z(C*) (Z =Coefficient of ⁄
Variation=Standard Deviation/Mean)
Design variable: PCE factor Where, = mean speeds of car and type i
Constraints: C* >=X1 (X1 =1600 pcphpl at site 1, X1 = vehicle respectively, in the traffic stream; and
1400 pcphpl at site 2) = their respective projected rectangular areas
(length * width) on the road.
C* <=X2 (X2 =2800 pcphpl at site 1, X2 =
2600 pcphpl at site 2) Rahman and Nakamura, (2005) estimated the
passenger car equivalent of non-motorized vehicles at mid-
PCE >=X3 (X3 = 1.0)
block section along urban arterial based on the speed
PCE <=X4 (X4 = 10.0) difference of mixed flow and basic flow of passenger cars.
D. PCEs Based on Speed PCE value for non-motorized vehicles was estimated with
equation given below.
This is another method used to determine PCE as the
rate of motion of vehicles in a distance per unit of time or
speed. Van Aerde and Yagar (1983) developed a
methodology to estimate PCE based on the relative rates of
speed for each type of vehicle traveling in the main = Passenger car equivalents of non-motorized
direction and for all vehicles combined traveling in the vehicles, = Average speed of passenger car in the basic
opposing direction. They found that PCE decreases for flow (km/hr), = Average speed of passenger car in the
higher speed percentiles. The speed analysis using the mixed flow (km/hr)
linear regression model structure is

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 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2014)
E. PCEs Based on Delays Where, = PCE of vehicle Type i under Conditions j,
This method based on the relative capacity reducing = delay to passenger cars due to vehicle Type i under
effect of heavy vehicle is directly related to the additional Conditions j, = delay to standard passenger cars due
delay caused by such vehicle when compared to the all to slower passenger cars.
passenger car case. Werner and Morrall, (1976) used Zhao (1998) proposed a delay-based passenger car
Walker method to determine PCE values. A basic equivalents method for heavy vehicles at signalized
assumption in the Walker method is that faster vehicles are intersections. The author used the headway data and
not hindered in passing as they overtake slower vehicles, so estimate PCE value by following equation.
queues do not form.
⁄ [ ⁄ ] [ ⁄ ]
⁄ [ ⁄ ] [ ⁄ ]
Where, = delay-based PCE for vehicle type i,
Where, = the number of overtaking of vehicle type i = additional delay caused by a vehicle type i, =
by passenger cars, = the volume of vehicle type I, average delay of passenger car queue
= the number of overtaking of lower performance
passenger cars by passenger cars, = the volume of F. PCEs Based on V/C Ratio
lower performance passenger cars, = the mean speed Fan (1989) studied PCE for expressways in Singapore
of the mixed traffic stream, = the mean speed of the using volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratio instead of density or
base traffic stream with only high performance passenger level of service because these freeways operate at LOS E.
car, = the mean speed of the traffic stream with only The study focused on congested flow conditions or V/C
passenger cars. ratio above 0.67 and mentioned that it is unnecessary to
In the equivalent-delay method, it assumed that faster calculate PCEs at uncongested flow conditions. Using
vehicles are always hindered by slower vehicles, such that multiple linear regressions by multiplying the observed
queues form. Using that premise, PCE values calculated flow by the V/C ratios, he found that commercial vehicles
using a linear combination of the Walker and equivalent- such as light and heavy trucks, buses, and trailers generally
delay in each intermediate volume level yields. have higher PCE values compared with the PCEs used in
Craus et al. (1980) in their equivalent delay method US and UK for the level terrain.
considered the difference between delay caused by heavy G. PCEs Based on Vehicle-Hours
vehicle to standard passenger cars and delay caused by
slower passenger car to standard passenger cars. The Hourly traffic volumes are used for determining the
following equation reflects the actual disturbance and delay length and magnitude of peak periods, evaluating capacity,
caused by trucks to other traffic: and assessing geometric design and traffic control.
Metkari et al. (2012) mentioned that Sumner et al. (1984)
suggested a method for calculating PCE values between
consecutive signalized intersections on urban arterial roads
using microscopic simulation, NETSIM. The values are
Where, = average delay time caused by one truck, derived from the vehicle-hours of road utilization that are
= average delay time caused by one passenger car added when large vehicles are introduced to the traffic
Cunagin and Messer (1983) developed PCE estimation stream.
based on speed distribution, traffic volumes, and vehicle Sumner et al. (1984) developed an approach to compute
types. The PCE values were determined by using Walker PCE values between consecutive signalized intersections
spatial-headway and equivalent-delay methods. Their on urban arterial roads. The resulted values were
method estimates PCEs using the ratio of delay cumulative over a length of road between intersections, and
experienced by a passenger car due to non-passenger PCE computations were expressed in terms of additional
vehicles to the delay experienced by a passenger car due to vehicles-hours. Values were generated for a diverse
other passenger cars: number of vehicle types under different flow conditions for
various classes of urban arterial roads in US.

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 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2014)
PCE resulted from the combination of: 1) the Anand et al., (1999) reported that he following are some
pronounced effect of a queued truck on vehicles queued of the many factors on which the PCE values of different
behind the truck, and 2) small additional vehicles-hour vehicle classes depend; dimensions, power, speed,
values due to the small differences on speed when slower acceleration and braking characteristics of the vehicle, road
vehicles were traveling along the link. characteristics such as geometric characteristics including
gradients, curves, access controls, type of road: rural or
H. PCEs Based on Travel Time
urban, and presence and type of intersection.
Keller & Saklas (1984) suggested a PCE for heavy
vehicles on an urban arterial network; the estimated PCEs IV. CONCLUSION
are functions of traffic volume, vehicle classification, and
signal settings. The method is based on the premise “that A brief insight into various methods for calculating
reduction in capacity is directly related to the additional Passenger Car Equivalent has been provided. Out of the
delay caused by large vehicles in the traffic stream”. PCE various methods discussed, headway ratio method is
is measured as the ratio of the total travel times of heavy currently the most commonly used method for PCE
vehicles and passenger cars traveling through an urban estimation. Chandra’s Method is only method that can be
network. This can be expressed mathematically as applied to the Indian condition of heterogeneous traffic that
is characterized by loose lane discipline. All the other
methods are primarily based on homogeneous traffic
conditions mainly prevailing in developed countries. Some
of the studies resulted in non-constant PCE, they did not
Where, = total travel time of vehicle type i over the establish direct relationships among PCE, traffic volume
network in hours and = total travel time of the base and percentage of heavy vehicles.
vehicle over the network in hours.
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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2014)
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