1

SHRI G.S. INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND

SCIENCE INDORE M.P.

CIVIL ENGINEERING AND APPLIED MECHANICS DEPARTMENT

A REPORT ON

A CASE STUDY ON CONGESTION

ISSUES

SESSION 2019-2020

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY

Mr Abhishek shrivaastava Mithun kumar Roy

0801CE161062
Assistant professor Deepak jarauliya 0801ce161036
CE-AMD Deepak kurmi 0801CE161037
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CERTIFICATE

It is to certify that the report entitled “ A CASE STUDY ON CONGESTION ISSUES”

is submitted by Mithun kumar roy,deepak kumar jarauliya,Deepak
kumar kurmi and Krishnakant uikey in the academic year 2019-2020
towards partial fulfillment of degree of bachelor of Engineering in civil
engineering.

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

DATE: DATE:
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our gratitude to the Department of Civil Engineering and
Applied Mechanics, Shri G.S. Institute of Technology and Science, Indore who ga
ve us the opportunity to p erform this project on the topic “CONGESTION
ISSUES”. We would also like to extend our gra titude towards Mr. Abhishek shriva
stava Sir and Mr. Tarun Kumar Narnaure Sir, who have help ed us throughout the
completion of this report. We are overwhelmed by the incredible guidance that
our teachers provided us while researching on the project
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Table of Contents :

!. Abstract

2. Introduction

3. Impact of congestion

4.Existing Practices in different world

5. Identification of congestion measurement metrices

6. Congestion measurement methodologies and inconsistencies

7. Data collection methods

8. Strategies for measuring traffic congestion

9. Conclusion
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ABSTRACT

Traffic congestion has been one of major issues that most metropolises are
facing. It is believed that identification of congestion is the rst step for selecting
appropriate mitigat ion measures. Congestion both in perception and in reality
impacts the movement of p eople. Traffic congestion wastes time, energy and
causes pollution.Th ere are broadly t wo factors, which affect the congestion. (a)
micro-level factors (b) macro-level factors th at relate to overall demand for road
use. Congestion is ‘triggered’ at the ‘micro’ level (e. g. on the road), and ‘driven’
at the macro level. The micro level factors are for example, many people want to
move at the same time too many vehicles for limited road space. On the other
side, macro level factors are e.g. land use patterns, car ownership trends,
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regional economic dynamics, etc. This paper gives an overview and presents the
poss ible ways to identify and measure metrics for urban arterial congestion. A
systematic re view is carried out, based on measurement metrics such as speed,
travel time/delay and volume and level of service. e review covers distinct
aspects like definition;measu rement criteria followed by different
countries/organizations.The strengths and weaknesses of these measures are
discussed. Further, a short critique of measurement criteria is presented.

INTRODUCTION

To many people, traffic congestion is an irritant because it throws their personal

schedu dules into chaos. To others conscious of the value of time in their
economic pursuit, it is a financial loss.Yet to some others, it is an easy excuse for
being habitually late for appointments and for some others it is a convenient
conversation starter. But most ofte n, all these people tend to shrug their
shoulders and appear to accept that this part and parcel of the travails of urban
living.This article examines the proposition traffic congest ion is something we
just have to learn to live with or if there are indeed initiatives that could be taken
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to reduce and manage it within tolerable levels. But ahead of answering that, we
need to ask some basic questions:
• Why is there congestion?
• What are the effects of congestion?
Put simply, traffic congestion means there are more vehicles trying to use a given
road facility than it can handle- without exceeding acceptable levels of delay or
inconvenien ce. In Colombo and other major cities, this occurs mostly during
certain times of the day- we call peak periods or rush hours. There are two clear
parameters within a single equation that causes congestion, which is the balance
between the demand and the supply of road space. The demand for road space
arises from the universally observed desire of individuals to own and use a motor
vehicle. As incomes increase and technolo gical advancements reduce the real
cost of producing a motor vehicle, more and more persons find the financial
means for owning and using a motor vehicle. However, motor vehicles do not
come without their share of physical and environmental limitations. A motor
vehicle in the first instance requires road space to operate freely, parking spaces
at residences and workplaces. Increase in motor vehicles (the demand) often
outstrips the provision of road space (the supply) in many countries. The result is
traffic congestion..

Traffic congestion has been one of major issues that most metropolises are
facing and thus, many measures have been taken in order to mitigate congestion.
It is believed that identification of congestion characteristics is the rst step for
such e±orts since it is an essential guidance for selecting appropriate measures.
Congestion - both in perception and in reality - impacts the movement of people
and freight and is deeply tied to the history of high levels of accessibility and
mobility. Traffic congestion wastes time and energy, causes pollution and stress,
decreases productivity and imposes costs on society. There are two principal
categories of causes of congestion, and they are; (a) micro-level factors (e.g.
relate to traffic on the road) and macro-level factors that relate to overall demand
for road use. Congestion is “triggered” at the “micro” level (e.g. on the road), and
“driven” at the “macro” level by factors that contribute to the incidence of
congestion and its severity. e micro level factors are, for example, many people
and freight want to move at the same time, too many vehicles for limited road
space. Many trips may be delayed by events that are irregular, but frequent:
accidents, vehicle breakdowns, poorly time d traffic signals, special events like
mass social gatherings, political rallies, bad weather conditio ns, etc. which
present factors that cause a variety of traffic congestion problems. On the other
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si de, macro level factors e.g. land-use patterns, employment patterns, income
levels, car ownersh ip trends, infrastructure investment, regional economic
dynamics, etc. also may lead to congesti ion. Measures aimed at reducing
congestion can be either demand or supply side oriented. It is therefore important
to distinguish both types of measures. Three main factors influence the supp ly
side of road travel. Firstly, capacity is one of the most important elements of road
space supp ly. For example, the total kilometres of roads and the number of lanes
determine the capacity of the road network. Secondly, the operation of the road
network influences supply. Maximising the efficiency of operations, such as
optimising signals improves “supply”. irdly, the supply of the road transport
equation is also affected by incidents such as accidents or road works. importan
tly, the last two aspects can be influenced by traffic management approaches. It
is thus the sup ply-side of the road network that can be optimised by traffic
management tools. Supply of road space is mainly determined by past
investment decisions and current operations. Changes in the supply side of road
space thus involve construction of new road space or reductions in exis ting road
space. Changes in traffic operations are also considered to be supply side
measures. Demand for road space is influenced by a large number of issues.
Essentially, demand is creat ed when the need for travel between an origin and a
destination arises. Demand therefore stro ngly depends on socio-economic and
population factors. Another important factor influencing demand is the relative
cost of road travel as well as the availability of alternative means of tran port.
Other aspects that influence demand for road travel are availability of parking and
the soc ial perception of car versus public transport travel. This paper discusses
the existing practices in different countries, the contributions by individuals and
prevailing methodologies for measureme nt of the congestion along with the
critical review of the methods. Review has also been done with reference to
Indian conditions. e critique and the suggested methodology may be useful for
similar developing countries.

2. IMPACT OF CONGESTION

Economic Growth: A good transportation system is an important selling point to

communities that desire to attract development that provides for employment and
growth of a city. If transport costs due to congestion increase, goods and
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services produced within that city tend to increase in costs thus losing
competitiveness in international markets. Efficient transportation access is
therefore a very important consideration as it has a direct impact on sound and
sustainable economic growth and productivity. The cost of congestion in the
Western Province of Sri Lanka is over Rs 20,000 million per year (around 2
percent of Regional GDP). This includes the cost of productive time and wastage
of fuel.

Quality-of-Life: To some people, congested highways are a symptom of

deteriorating quality-of- life-in a community. The amount of time that is spent on
commuting to and from work is also in reality, time that is taken away from social
interactions or pursuit of activities that have a personal value and satisfaction.

Environmental Quality: Congested road conditions can have a detrimental effect

on the environment, in particular air quality and noise pollution. Congestion
arises due to increase vehicles on the road. Ironically this is the time when there
are the most number of people on the roads as well. This means that many more
people become vulnerable to respiratory diseases such as asthma -widely
prevalent today.

Anti- Social Behavior: Increasing social problems referred to as Highway Rage (or
Road Rage) experienced in many countries where drivers show hostility to each
other most often due to the frustration of slow moving traffic is also becoming a
serious social problem.

3. EXISTING PRACTICES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

2.1. United States of America

United States have systematic programmes to identify the traffic congestion and
to handle the congestion problems. California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans): Caltrans denes congestion as occurring on a freeway when the
average speed drops below 35 mph for 15 minutes or more on a typical weekday
(Varaiya, 2001). In Minnesota, freeway congestion is dened as traffic flowing
 10

below 45 km/h for any length of time in any direction, between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00
a.m. or 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on weekdays (Bertini, 2006). Michigan denes
freeway congestion in terms of LOS F, when the volume/ capacity ratio is greater
than or equal to one (Bertini, 2006). Denver Regional Council of Governments
(DRCOG) examines trac congestion (DRCOG, 2011) by studying the regional
vehicle miles travelled measures and regional freeway bottlenecks time to time
and discuss the key reasons for the bottleneck, possible mitigation strategies
and congestion measurements. Council monitors various congestion measures
like: Vehicle Miles and Hours of Travel, Average Travel Speed (mph), Person
Miles of Travel (VMT), and Person Hours of Travel, etc. e council’s web site is
operational and available for public use and review. Web site displays the
congested corridor if the speed on the corridor is less than 15 mph. e greater
Montréal considers the vehicle have joined a highway queue when its speed
drops below 25 km/h and is considered to have left the queue when its speed
rises above the 60 km/h mark. Rhode Island State DOT attempts to use objective
congestion performance measures such as percent travel under posted speed
and volume/capacity ratios (Bertini, 2006).

2.2. South Korea

In South Korea there are several agencies involving the operation of traffc flow.
Korea Highway Corporation (KHC) identies trac congestion spots where vehicle
speeds fall below 30 km/h or traffc congestion continues longer than 2 hours a
day with occurring 10 days a month. Daejoin city ITS center following the
congestion criteria at vehicle speed less than 14 km/h.

2.3. Japan

Japan uses the speed as threshold value to identify the potential traffic
congestion areas. It is said traffic congestion if freeway travel speed falls below
40 km/h, if there are repeated ‘Stop-and-Go’ flows for more than 1 km, or if these
conditions stay more than 15 minutes.

2.4. India
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Traffic congestion is a major problem for transportation professionals in India.

Most of the cities are suffering from medium to high level of traffic congestion.
Although in some major cities the growth of private vehicle usage has increased
at a faster rate, in general, car ownership and usage has remained at a much
lower level in Indian context. e poor roadway condition, non-uniform roadway
features in terms of carriageway and shoulder width, encroachment of road,
abuing land use and resulting pedestrian activities, poor lane discipline, improper
bus stop location and design, vehicles of wide ranging characteristics of
technology and operating condition, heterogeneity of traffic, uncontrolled on-
street parking, etc. indicate that the nature and cause of congestion in India might
be substantially di±erent from that in the developed countries. Although the
roads are becoming at a fast rate, there has been no serious attempt to quantify
the growth of congestion in different cities in India. The non-availability of funds
for additional roadway infrastructure has seriously constrained the growth of the
supply side.

2.5. Studies Carried Worldwide

Congestion can be dened as the situation when traffic is moving at speeds below
the designed capacity of a roadway (Downs, 2004). Congestion may be dened as
state of traffic flow on a transportation facility characterized by high densities and
low speeds, relative to some chosen reference state (with low densities and high
speeds) (Bovy and Salomon, 2002). Traffic congestion is a condition of traffic
delay (when the flow of traffic is slowed below reasonable speeds) because the
number of vehicles trying to use the road exceeds the traffic network capacity to
handle those (Weisbrod et al., 2001). Traffic congestion is travel time or delay in
excess of that normally incurred under light or free-flow travel conditions (Lomax
et al., 1997). Levinson and Lomax (1996) discussed desired attributes of a
congestion index. Boarnet et al. (1998) identied three issues that must be
addressed in measuring congestion. It should (i) reflect the full range of highway
performance, (ii) be based on widely available data, and (iii) allow comparison
across metropolitan areas. Turner (1992) examined indicators of congestion and
suggested that measures to quantify the level of congestion should (i) deliver
comparable results for various systems with similar congestion level, (ii)
accurately reflect the quality of service for any type of system, and (iii) be simple,
welldened and easily understood and interpreted among various users and
audiences. Medley and Demetsky (2003) studied how to dene the performance
measure(s) that could be used to show congestion levels on critical corridors
 12

throughout Virginia and to develop a method to select and calculate performance

measures to quantify congestion in a transportation system. Total delay and the
bu±er index were used in the investigation. e methodology is applied for Hampton
Roads region of Virginia. Robert and eodore (2002) discussed various
approaches for quantifying congestion and how these different measures affect
the perception of the problems. In a study done for the state of New Jersey,
thresholds of the volume-capacity ratio on any given roadway were adopted to
identify where congestion was occurring. e severity of this congestion was then
analyzed by using both distance-based and time-based measures to describe the
magnitude of the problems. Stathopoulos and Karla¥is (2002) studied how to
estimate the duration of congestion on a given road section and the probability
that, given its onset, congestion will end during the following time period. e
results indicated that the Log logistic functional form best describes congestion
duration. Aworemi et al. (2009) examined the causes/ effects (road condition,
accidents etc.) and possible ameliorative measures of road traffic congestion in
some selected areas of Lagos State. Choi et al. (2007) conducted a study by
applying Travel Time Index to show the level of traffic congestion. It was
observed that TTI index describes the traffic congestion in both time and space
with minimum of data collection effort. Hongsakham (2008) proposed method for
estimating degrees of road traffic congestion by using Cell Dwell Time (CDT)
information available from cellular networks and classied into degrees of
congestion. Dowling et al. (2004) dened a methodology for estimating and
predicting the total annual traffic congestion attributable to recurrent and non-
recurrent congestion. e methodology is applicable to freeways, conventional
highways, and urban streets. Ishida et al. (2003) develop the recording system of
the driver’s judgment on congestion/jam by using PC to nd major factors
affecting the congestion/jam recognition of drivers as well as passengers, and
lastly to develop congestion/ jam judgment model. A methodology and its
application to measure total, recurrent, and non-recurrent (incident related) delay
on urban freeways are described using two real-life freeway corridors in Los
Angeles, California, and one in the San Francisco, California, Bay Area
(Skabardonis et al., 2003). Authors observed that incident-related delay was
found to be 13-30% of the total congestion delay during peak periods. urgood
(1995) developed an index called Freeway Congestion Index, which
simultaneously captures the extent and duration of congestion on freeways.
Owusu et al. (2006) demonstrated that effcient vehicle monitoring can be
achieved by integrating Global Positioning System (GPS) derived traffic data
such as vehicle speed and direction of traffic flow into a Geographical
Information System (GIS) environment. e system developed has been used to
show the second-to-second positional changes in speed and directions of
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vehicles travelling in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. e aim of the study
performed by Ishizaka . (2005) is to discuss the feasibility of a system to collect
traffic information using probe vehicles in a developing city (Bangkok) in terms
of cost efficiency. Study estimated the minimum number of probe vehicles that
can ensure sufficient data collecting information from which reliable average
travel time can be calculated. The Transport Systems Centre (TSC) has developed
an integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) which presents a review of issues,
procedures, and examples of application of geographic information system (GIS)
technology to the development of congestion management systems (CMSs). E
paper examines transportation network performance measures and discusses the
benefit of using travel time as a robust, easy to understand performance
measure. Dewees (1978) use a simulation program to estimate the external time
costs that an additional vehicle using a congested city street imposes on other
motorists on that street. is study demonstrated the usefulness of a traffic
simulation program for estimating congestion costs. e paper addresses data
needs and examines the use of global positioning system (GPS) technology for
the collection of travel time and speed data. Stathopoulos (2002) tried to
probabilistically model the duration of traffic congestion using log-logistic
function. Cottrell (1991) developed logistic regression models with explanatory
variables, AADT/capacity, K-factor (i.e., the ratio of the 30th highest hourly
volume of the year to the AADT) to predict the occurrence of congestion.
Simulation program is used to estimate the external time costs that an additional
vehicle using a congested city street imposes on other motorists on that street. e
traffic flow on two street networks in Toronto is simulated for the morning rush
hour and a mid-day period. is study demonstrated the usefulness of a traffic
simulation program for estimating congestion costs and identies some problems
inherent in previous empirical approaches to this problem.

3. IDENTIFICATION OF CONGESTION MEASUREMENT METRICES

Congestion can generally be dened as excess demand for road travel. Supply of
road travel infrastructure is not sufficient to meet demand levels to a given level
of service. Consequently, travel speeds fall and delays are explained. This
general denition of congestion implies that it can be measured in various ways.
Average speed, flow/density, delay and travel time variability can all be used to
assess the level of congestion.
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3.1. Speed

The prevailing traffic speed at any section of a roadway affects the quality of
traffic at the time. Whereas excessive speeds affect the severity of road traffic
accidents, crawling speeds in the urban environment are also indicative of
congestion. Nowadays, efficient vehicle monitoring can be achieved by
integrating Global Positioning System (GPS) derived traffic data such as vehicle
speed and direction of traffic flow into a Geographical Information System (GIS)
environment.

3.2. Travel Time and Delay

Congestion is a travel time or delay in excess of the normally incurred under light
or free flow travel conditions (Lomax et al., 1997). Unacceptable congestion is
travel time or delay in excess of an agreed-upon norm. The agreed-upon norm
may vary by type of transportation facility, travel mode, geographic location, and
time of the day. The authors of the study conducted using the U.S. Census data
to analyze the unacceptable congestion, concluded that the unacceptable
congestion is when less than half of the population can commute to work in less
than 20 minutes or if more than 10% of the population can commute to work in
more than 60 minutes. The regional council of governments in Tulsa, Oklahoma
defines congestion as travel time or delay. Traffic congestion is travel time or
delay in excess of that normally incurred under light or free- flow travel
conditions (Lomax et al., 1997). Congestion is the presence of delays along a
physical pathway due to presence of other users (Kockelman, 2007).

3.3. Volume

In Cape Cod, Massachusettes, a traffic congestion indicator is used to track

average annual daily bridge crossings over the Sagamore and Bourne bridges.
This very simple measure was chosen for this island community since it is
appropriate, easy to measure, and since historic data are available to monitor
longterm trends. Congestion usually relates to an excess of vehicles on a portion
 15

of roadway at a particular time resulting in speeds that are slower sometimes

much slower than normal or “free flow” speeds (Cambridge Systematic and TTI,
2005).

3.4. Level of Service (LOS)

Michigan denes freeway congestion in terms of LOS F, when the volume/capacity

ratio is greater than or equal to one.

3.5. Demand/Capacity Related

Congestion prevents traffic from moving freely, quickly and/or predictably

(OECD, 2006). When vehicular volume on a transportation facility (street or
highway) exceeds the capacity of that facility, the result is a state of congestion
(Vuchic and Kikuchi, 1994). Traffic congestion occurs when travel demand
exceeds the existing road system capacity (Rosenbloom, 1978). Congestion is a
condition in which the number of vehicles attempting to use a roadway at any
time exceeds the ability of the roadway to carry the load at generally acceptable
service levels (Rothenberg, 1985). Congestion is an imbalance between traffic
flow and capacity that causes increased travel time, cost and modication of
behaviour. Congestion is a condition that arises because more people wish to
travel at a given time than the transportation system can accommodate: a simple
case of demand exceeding supply (Miller and Li, 1994). Congestion is the
impedance vehicles impose on each other, due to the speed-flow relationship, in
conditions where the use of a transport system approaches its capacity (ECMT,
1999).

3.6. Cost Related

Congestion is undesirable as it reduces accessibility and increases costs

associated with travel. e level of access is determined by various factors
including travel time and reliability. As congestion affects travel time and
reliability, it reduces accessibility. Traffic congestion refers to the incremental
costs resulting from interference among road users (VTPI, 2005).
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4.CONGESTION MEASUREMENT METHODOLOGIES AND

INCONSISTENCIES

Congestion measurement methodology should have the following

characteristics:
(a) It should be simple to understand and unambiguous.
(b) It should have the ability to describe the existing traffic conditions and predict
the future changes.
(c) It should have an ability to apply statistical techniques, replicability of the
results with a minimum of data collection.
(d) The methodology should have applicability to various modes, facilities and
time periods.

4.1. Speed

The literature has suggested several speed measures besides average travel
speed. e average travel rate, in minutes per mile, is the reciprocal of average
travel speed. Peak period nominal speeds are a weighted average of speeds on
freeways and principal arterial streets, which allow comparison of the freeway
and principal arterial street network between urban areas. e ratio of peak period
to o±-peak period speed suggested as direct measures of congestion. Some of
the approaches based on speed are described below.

4.1.1. Empirical Relationships Several of the early efforts in

congestion

Measurement centred on empirical relationships that attempted to incorporate

driver effort and satisfaction into an index of the quality of traffic flow. The quality
of traffic transmission index (Q index) was defined as a function of average speed
and the number and sum of speed changes.

Q = KS/(s f) (1)

Where: Q - quality of traffic transmission index,

K = 1000 - constant,
S - average speed (mph),
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s - absolute of speed changes per mile, and

f - number of speed changes per mile.

4.1.2. Corridor Mobility Index(CMI)

It is a measure of the person-carrying capacity of corridors (Lomax 1997). The

speed of person volume is the product of travel speed and peak-hour person
volume per lane. CMI or rate of person movements has been defined as the
product of peak-hour vehicle occupancy and travel speed. 4.1.3. Speed Reduction
Index is measure represents the ratio of the decline in speeds from free flow
conditions. It provides a way to compare the amount of congestion on different
transportation facilities by using a continuous scale to differentiate between
different levels of congestion. The index can be applied to entire routes, entire
urban areas, or individual freeway segments for outpeak and peak conditions.

4.1.3. Speed Reduction Index

This measure represents the ratio of the decline in speeds from free flow
conditions. It provides a way to compare the amount of congestion on di±erent
transportation facilities by using a continuous scale to differentiate between
different levels of congestion. e index can be applied to entire routes, entire
urban areas, or individual freeway segments for offpeak and peak conditions.

4.2. Travel Time

The use of travel time studies (Lomax et al., 1997) and related measures to
describe system performance and congestion permeated the traffic engineering
literature as early as the late 1920s. The early studies concentrated on
determining average travel speeds in congested downtown areas and attempted
to locate the magnitude and sources of travel delay. Some of the indices related
to travel time are listed below.

4.2.1. Travel Time Index (TTI)

Travel Time Index was proposed in the Urban Mobility Report (Schrank and
Lomax, 2005). Index compares peak period travel and free flow travel while
accounting for both recurring and incident conditions. is index is expressed by
 18

comparing travel time in free flow condition and the one in peak hours. Index has
the advantage of expressing traffic congestion in terms of both space and time.

4.2.2. Travel Rate Index (TRI)

This index computes the “amount of additional time that is required to make a trip
because of congested conditions on the roadway.” It examines how fast a trip
can occur during the peak period by focusing on time rather than speed
(Levinson and Lomax, 1996). e TRI is an indicator for entire portions of the
analysed network based on the respective distance and number of vehicles
supported by each section.

4.3. Level of Service

Traditionally, the use of level of service (LOS) has been one of the most popular
measures of traffic congestion. The LOS concept as adopted in the HCM (1985)
represents a range of operating conditions. Volume to capacity ratio can provide
a good measure of the volume compared to capacity of the roadway under
existing and future conditions. Therefore, volume-tocapacity can be used as a
measure of future performance through basic calculations using available data.
Where accurate future land use data is available, growth can be estimated based
on anticipated development activity versus anticipated growth rates. Volume to
capacity ratios could be compared to LOS to reach conclusions about congested
conditions.

4.3.1. Roadway Congestion Index

The roadway congestion index (RCI), developed by Shrank and Lomax (2005), a
measure of the daily Vehicle Mile Travel (VMT) per lane-mile of freeways and
principal arterial streets, is an empirically derived formula to quantify the relative
congestion levels in urban areas. is index allows for comparison across
metropolitan areas by measuring the full range of system performance by
focusing on the physical capacity of the roadway in terms of vehicles .

4.3.2. Lane-Mile Duration Index

The lane-mile duration index (LMDI), a measure of the extent and duration of
freeway congestion, was developed by Cottrell (1991) in a study of congestion in
35 urban areas. e LMDI value for each urban area is the sum of the product of
 19

congested freeway lane-miles and congestion duration (hours) for individual

roadway segments, and is calculated using the indicator of average annual daily
traffic volume per hourly capacity (AADT/C). e methodology assumed a v/c ratio
greater than 1.0 (LOS F), or AADT/C ratio greater than 9.0, to represent congested
travel conditions.

4.4. Delay Measures

Delay has been dened as the additional time experienced by a road user in
comparison to the free flow travel or the acceptable travel time. For delay
estimation, researchers have used different threshold values for the beginning of
delay. Lindley (1987) used a threshold of congestion to begin at a volume to
capacity (v/c) ratio of 0,77 (or the speed of 55 mph corresponding to v/c ratio of
0,77). Lomax et al. (1997) used certain specied values for different roadway
categories based on consensus among technical and nontechnical groups to
determine acceptable travel time and threshold for the beginning of congestion.
Schrank and Lomax (2005) used 60 mph for freeways and 35 mph for arterial
roads as free flow speed for comparison with congested speeds and they used
the 85th percentile speed in the off-peak period as the free flow speed.

Critique:

Delay rate can be used to estimate the di±erence between system performance
and the expectations for those system elements, which can be used to rank
alternative improvements (Lomax et al., 1997). Relative delay rate reflects the
condition of flow that travellers’ can relate to their travel experience (Hamad and
Kikuchi, 2002). Total delay could also allow transportation professionals to
estimate how improvements within a transportation system affect a particular
corridor or the entire system. Total delay shows the effect of congestion in terms
of the amount of lost travel time. The use of ratio measures is limited for a
particular road type or facility and the value cannot be used effectively for a
geographic area. Relative delay rate measure may be difficult for public to
understand because result is a number with no units. Congested travel or
congested roadway length does not represent the different magnitude of
congestion.

5. Data Collection Methods

 20

Data collection techniques can be broadly classified into two categories, one-
probe vehicles (mobile vehicles with data collection equipment), and others that
are making use of xed sensors. The traffic congestion studies data can be
collected by both methods, point’s data like traffic volume count, speed etc.,
using xed sensors and travel time, journey speed etc., using probe vehicles data
like floating car method.

5.1. Fixed Sensor Based Techniques

These techniques include sensors such as inductive loop detectors, magnetic

sensors, etc. that are deployed on road to collect the required data. Some of the
xed sensor techniques are described below.

5.2. Dual Loop Detector Based Techniques

Pairs of inductive loop detectors placed at various locations on the road can be
used to identify vehicles on the basis of axle spacing (Benjamin and Cassidy,
2002). This type of data used to measure travel time of vehicles between the
detector stations. is data can be used to inference/estimate the traffic congestion.

5.3. Magnetic Sensor Based Technologies

Cheung (2004) has suggested magnetic sensor as a low-cost alternative of

inductive loops. It primarily performs vehicle identication and classication using
a single magnetic sensor. Vehicle identication is further used to detect
congestion by extracting information like speed and length of the vehicle.
Critique: Experiments have been performed on a road with intersection that
follows a lane system. is assumption makes this method unt for Indian trac as
discussed above. Absence of a lane based system implies that vehicles need not
approach the sensor in a way which will assure their detection. Studies show
(Cheung , 2004) that the motorcycle detection is not reliable. is is a concern
because a large percentage of Indian traffic consists of two-wheelers. 5.4. Image
Sensor Based Techniques Some of the studies (Palubinskas ., 2008; Long Chen .,
2008) make use of image sensors like CCTV, deployed on the road side and
measure congestion level by image processing techniques, where slower the
images change with time, higher is the level of congestion. Similar techniques
(Hinz et al., 2007) have been used to process satellite images. Critique: These are
more costly systems than loop detector techniques and also require high
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maintenance cost, which makes it prohibitive to deploy these in India. Proper

positioning and distribution of cameras to capture images of disorderly traffic will
be a challenging factor. Frame level change detection algorithms need to be
modied for Indian roads so that image change due to extraneous factors like
people crossing road through cars stuck at congestion should be filtered out and
not incorrectly interpreted as free flowing traffic.

5.5. Probe Vehicle Based Techniques

Probe vehicles are vehicles that are part of traffic and equipped with various
sensors. Measuring Urban Trac Congestion – A Review 298 International Journal
for Trac and Transport Engineering, 2012, 2(4): 286 – 305 like GPS receiver,
accelerometer, Distance Measuring instruments (DMI), etc. to measure various
parameters such as speed with which traffic is moving, road surface condition,
etc. Probe vehicle based techniques are classified below into two categories,
based on:
i) prediction techniques
ii) localization techniques.

6. Congestion prediction:

The data collected by this technique will be used for characterizing traffic by
segmenting the road, delimited by traffic signals. A segment is part of road for
which vehicles exhibit similar speed because they are subjected to same
fundamental conditions like the same traffic signal, road length, width and
number of lanes. Average, temporal and spatial speeds, calculated from GPS
data, are used for characterizing traffic as free flowing or congested.

7. STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Road users and political leaders need to be appraised what options there are for
Colombo or any other city to manage traffic congestion. These management
strategies could be discussed under short term and long term options. Most
successful approach for Sri Lanka would be to adopt a dual strategy so that
immediate respite and permanent solutions are initiated together.

The Short-Term Strategy

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This strategy has two distinct approaches. The relative merits of each and the
suitability of them, for Colombo and other cities in Sri Lanka are discussed
below:

Managing the Transport Supply: Managing the transportation system by adding

new facilities or by making operational changes to improve system performance
is the most common response by engineers and even politicians and
administrators to solve congestion problems. These measures can be better
understood by classifying such attempts as follows.

1. Adding new transport infrastructure capacity: This means new roads,

expressways and railways that can carry more vehicles. Even though this is
almost always the ‘first-option’ suggested by road engineers and police alike, this
is usually very expensive and often socially prohibitive in urban areas. However
the bigger limitation in this approach is that road construction in urban areas is
often considered to generate more traffic in the long term, and the idiom that
‘traffic fills whatever road space provided’ is a well-established fact. For example,
the author has shown elsewhere (Kumarage, 1999) how the proposed Katunayake
Expressway could very well increase congestion within the city, even though
there might be some respite for a period of time on t he existing A3 highway.

2. Improving existing infrastructure for increasing capacity: A less expensive

approach is to identify bottlenecks and increase capacity at these places.
Signalizing an uncontrolled intersection (e.g. Katubedda Junction) or street
widening of bottlenecks (e.g. Kadawatha town) or providing for a grade-separated
intersection (e.g. Ragama fly over) would fall within this category. However many
such attempt are also unlikely to solve traffic problemsin the long term, as these
bottlenecks often control the flow of traffic beyond them and when they are
eased, the problem shifts further down stream- a problem identified as ‘migration
of congestion’.

3. Re designing existing infrastructure for increasing capacity: Converting

existing road space for high occupancy vehicles either by introducing bus lanes
or providing bus ways (experimentally tried in Sri Lanka last October, but widely
used in many European cities- de Silva et al, 2002). In some cities, entire roads
have also been converted to pedestrian only streets. Removal of on-street
parking is another successful method used (tried successfully in 1997 but later
lapsed due to Police disinterest- Kumarage, 1999) especially in the peak period in
the peak direction. This is a successful approach increasingly used in cities
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throughout the world, that have correctly identified that carrying more people in
to a city is more important than merely allowing for more vehicles to come.

4. Operational Improvements to existing infrastructure to increase capacity:

These include operational changes to increase the capacity of a transport
system. These measures include introducing reversible lanes during peak
periods, (for example, the Galle Road between Maliban and Kalubowila Road, has
five lanes. The middle lane can be made into a reversible lane, with the outer lane
in the peak period turned in to a bus lane); introducing a right-turn phase in a
traffic signal, ensuring better police enforcement, one-way systems that reduce
traffic conflicts and expanding the public transport network are some common
approaches. The use of Information Technology has also allowed the
development of Intelligent Transport Systems where incident detection programs,
motorist information systems, and towing/enforcement efforts that can be used to
minimize the effects of accidents and other non-recurring incidents and increase
the capacity and reliability of the network.

Managing the Transportation Demand:

In its broadest sense, demand management is any action or set of actions

intended to influence the intensity, timing, and spatial distribution of
transportation demand for the purpose of reducing the impact of traffic flow.
These can be categorized under the headings.

a) Re-distribution of the spatial form of the demand for transport: These include
the urban replanning and the relocation of certain land uses that may cause
traffic congestion. For example, there has been a plan for many years to relocate
the wholesale trade activities in Pettah to Orugodawatte (University of Moratuwa,
2000). This (long overdue project) would reduce the freight traffic to the Central
Business District area and ease traffic congestion considerably. Similarly there is
a proposal (Kumarage, 2002) to decentralize the Pettah Bus Terminal so that
fewer buses would come to Pettah and Fort areas. Relocation of administrative
functions that attract travel is a common strategy (e.g. relocation of passport
office).

b) Re-distribution of the temporal pattern of the demand for transport: This is also
known as demand spreading. There are many methods adopted in different
countries to spread the traffic during peak hours. Since it is when large numbers
of people travel at the same time to the same locality that cause traffic
congestion, there is now an effort in other countries to Stagger Work Hours . This
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requires offices opening and closing over a longer time span (e.g. spread from
say 8 am to 9.30 am). This also applies to separating school times from office
time and even spreading school opening times between different areas or types
of schools (e.g. private and state schools could start at different times). Flexible
Work Hours is another methods whereby workers are allowed to report for work
over a period of time rather than at an exact time. Electronic Road Pricing is
another method used in some cities, whereby peak period road use could be
tolled higher than off peak so that some demand is spread to other hours.
Prohibiting delivery vehicles during working hours in a city, is another method of
designating goods transport to night times when road capacity exists.

c) Re-distributions of demand between the modes of transport: This is done in

order to move persons from modes of transport more likely to cause congestion
to more space efficient modes of transport. This can be done by say increasing
the quantity and quality of public transport. Financial penalties may also be used
for this purpose. Imposing Road Tolls (where cars are taxed and buses allowed
free as in Singapore) and increasing Parking Charges to commercial values (most
European & U.S. cities) is another method. In some cities reducing parking
availability and imposing time limits for parking is an established strategy (e.g.
London). Generally re-distribution is favorable when passengers are induced to
move from high space utilizing vehicles (e.g. cars and motor cycles) to lower
space utilizing vehicles (such as buses and other modes of public transport).
Park and Ride facilities are also encouraged, which enable people who would be
travelling by private cars to park their vehicles away from a city and take a bus or
train from there (a proposal for this has been made in Kumarage, 1997).

Long-Term Strategy

Solving traffic congestion in the long-term however requires even wider

strategies and policies. These can be identified in to four categories. These are
also discussed in brief.

a) A land-use strategy compatible with transport capacity

b) A Vehicle Ownership strategy compatible with road capacity

c) A strategy for public transport compatible with population density

d) A strategy for new modes of public transport compatible with personal

incomes.
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8. CONCLUSION

A range of features have been suggested for a measure of congestion. The

measures to quantify the level of congestion should:
(i) Deliver comparable results with similar congestion level.
(ii) Accurately reflect the quality of service.
(iii) Be simple, well-dened and easily understood and interpreted among various
users.
Considering the different desirable attributes for a congestion measure
suggested by the afore-mentioned researchers, congestion is a function of a
reduction in speeds, which is the direct cause of loss of time and leads to
increased vehicle operating costs, fuel consumption, and emissions of air
pollutants and Green House Gases (GHGs). Therefore, the setting of a threshold
that is directly related to travel speeds is most appropriate. is is in contrast to the
traditional planning use of LOS, which compares volumes with capacity and does
not explicitly account for speed. A speed-based threshold account for more of the
impacts of congestion than would a threshold based on capacity. Congestion
measurement criteria based on speed can be adopted, because traffic speed is
highly sensitive parameter and directly related to the vehicle operating cost;
safety of the road users. is parameter can be easily measured by various low cost
technologies which are highly suitable for Indian conditions.
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REFERENCES:

• De Silva, G.L.D, et al, The Design of a Bus Lane for Sri Lanka, Final Year Project
Report, University of Moratuwa, 2002.
• Kumarage, Amal S., Transport Plan for Colombo City, Urban Development
Authority, Colombo, 2001.
• Kumarage Amal S. A Review of the Colombo Katunayake Expressway Project,
Report submitted to H.E President, 1999.
• Kumarage Amal S., Traffic Management for a Major Urban Artery - Galle Road,
Colombo, 6th International Seminar on Transport, Chartered Institute of
Transport, Colombo, March 1998.
• Kumarage, Amal S., A Park & Ride System for Colombo, Urban Development
Authority, July 1997.
• University of Moratuwa, Transport Proposal for Orugodawatte Wholesale
Complex for Urban Development Authority, 2000.
• University of Moratuwa, TransPlan V3: A Computer Algorithm for Traffic
Assignment & Forecasting in Sri Lanka, University of Moratuwa, 1999
• University of Moratuwa, Colombo Traffic Study for Urban Development
Authority/Colombo Municipal Council, 1994.
• Urban Development Authority, Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structure Plan –
CMRSP, 1999
• WS Atkins & University of Moratuwa, Colombo Urban Transport Study Stage 2,
Ministry of Transport & Highways, 1999.
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