IMPROVED METHODS FOR MEASURING TRAVEL TIME ON ARTERIAL STREETS

The time and expense involved in logging data using a moving vehicle study makes it impossible to obtain large data sample sizes economically. This causes an uncertainty as to the true travel time along an arterial route. To remedy this problem, it is necessary to develop new techniques for travel time and delay studies that will be more productive than moving vehicle studies. The principal product of this project is an automated technique for collecting, adjusting, matching and analyzing license tag data to produce statistically valid estimates of travel time. The TMatch program was developed as a tag-matching tool. It takes lists of license tag numbers and times observed at a maximum of six stations along a roadway and compares them to find any matches (tags which were observed at both stations). With this information, TMatch computes a speed for each matched tag pair. Averaging these speeds gives an estimate of the average vehicle speed over the link of roadway between the stations. Several user-specified parameters may be entered to control the tag matching process, including minimum and maximum allowable speeds and the number of tag digits to be processed. An assessment of the overall confidence in the match results is also provided. Compared to moving-vehicle travel time studies, enormous sample sizes may be obtained with license tag data matching. Nevertheless, moving-vehicle studies are still the most predominant method for collecting this type of data. The lack of a productive analysis program is one factor that has limited the use of tag-matching studies. That problem should be largely overcome by the results of this project.

• Record URL:
  • https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/20000/20300/20369/PB98125081.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Florida, Gainesville

  Transportation Research Center, P.O. Box 116580
  Gainesville, FL  United States  32611-6580

  Florida Department of Transportation

  Haydon Burns Building, 605 Suwanee Street
  Tallahassee, FL  United States  32301

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Courage, K
  • Showers, R
  • Harriot, J
  • Schilling, W
  • Godbey, K
• Publication Date: 1998-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 98 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Arterial highways; Automation; Average travel speed; Calculation; Data logging; License plates; Measurement; Motion; Motor vehicles; Speed; Statistical sampling; Traffic speed; Travel time
• Uncontrolled Terms: Matching; Moving vehicles; Sample size
• Old TRIS Terms: Computations
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00746718
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: WPI 0510674, Final Rept,, FL/DOT-99700-3519-119,, UF Proj 4910450445312
• Contract Numbers: B-8355
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 16 1998 12:00AM