Development of Optimized Traffic Stream Models Under Heterogeneous Traffic Conditions

Macroscopic traffic stream models provide relationships among the three basic traffic variables namely speed, flow and density for steady-state conditions. A number of research papers are available proposing different traffic stream models under homogeneous traffic conditions. These models may not be directly suitable for the Indian traffic condition which is heterogeneous and less lane disciplined in nature. Not much research has been reported on this important aspect so far from India. The present study is an attempt to develop an optimal traffic stream model suitable for the heterogeneous traffic flow condition existing in India, taking Chennai as a case study. Several existing functional forms were attempted, both single regime and multi regime, before reaching the best fitting two-regime speed-density relationship using a conventional optimization algorithm. Using this, the relationships between speed-flow and flow-density were theoretically derived. The results indicate that the proposed model is able to represent the steady-state macroscopic behavior of the traffic stream with reasonable accuracy.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB45 Traffic Flow Theory and Characteristics
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Thankappan, Ajitha
  • Vanajakshi, Lelitha Devi
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2012-1-22 to 2012-1-26
• Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 18p
• Monograph Title: TRB 91st Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Heterogeneity; Macroscopic traffic flow; Traffic density; Traffic flow theory; Traffic models; Traffic speed; Vehicle mix
• Geographic Terms: India
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I71: Traffic Theory; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01366388
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 12-1299
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 29 2012 7:14AM