QUALITY OF TRAFFIC TRANSPORTATION

QUALITY IS A FUNCTION OF THE SMOOTHNESS OR LACK OF SMOOTHNESS OF FLOW. FROM THE DRIVER'S VIEW IT IS A FUNCTION OF THE LACK OF FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AND IS MEASURED BY HIS ANNOYANCE. THE FACTORS UPON WHICH THE QUALITY OF FLOW DEPENDS ARE BASED ON SPEED, FOR THE FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF A TRAFFIC STREAM ARE THE SUMMATION OF THE SPEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL VEHICLES. THE PERTINENT FACTORS OF SPEED ARE AVERAGE SPEED, CHANGE OF SPEED AND FREQUENCY OF CHANGE. IT IS CLEAR THAT QUALITY OF FLOW CANNOT BE MEASURED AT A POINT BUT MUST BE MEASURED OVER A SUFFICIENT DISTANCE FOR FLUCTUATIONS IN FLOW TO OCCUR. THEREFORE, A TEST CAR EQUIPPED WITH A RECORDING SPEEDOMETER WAS USED IN ADDITION TO TIME-MOTION PICTURES MADE BY AIR AND BY CAR FOR GROUND CHECK AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A QUALITY INDEX NUMBER HAS LED DIRECTLY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EFFICIENCY INDEX INVOLVING THE ESTIMATION OF COST BENEFITS. BOTH THE QUALITY FLOW INDEX NUMBER AND THE EFFICIENCY INDEX DERIVED FROM IT MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO COMPARE THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC ON TWO STREETS OR ON THE SAME STREET AT DIFFERENT TIMES.

• Record URL:
  https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/34/34-038.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 34, pp 508-522, 11 FIG. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Greenshields, B D
• Publication Date: 1955

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 11-14, 1955
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 34
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Benefit cost analysis; Drivers; Economic efficiency; Indexes (Information management); Quality control; Recording; Speed; Speed indicators; Time lapse photography; Traffic flow; Traffic speed
• Uncontrolled Terms: Efficiency; Quality; Speed differential
• Old TRIS Terms: Overall travel speed
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00227096
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 13 2004 6:56PM