Indo HCM 2017 PDF

Indian
Highway Capacity Manual (Indo-HCM)

Indian Highway Capacity Manual
(Indo-HCM)
Sponsored by
Council of Scienti ic and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi
2012-2017
About the Manual

The need for an Indian Highway Capacity Manual (referred as Indo – HCM) has been felt for a long
time by researchers, policy makers and planners in the country. Hence a maiden attempt was made by
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi to network with academic institutes (by
including IITs / NITs/ Central/ State Universities) on the lines of HCM (2010) of USA. This mission mode
project led by CSIR - CRRI was completed on time with regular monitoring at different levels to achieve
the desired quality which has showcased once again the technical prowess and management expertise
of CSIR - CRRI in handling large size projects.
Chapter-1 presents a bird's eye view of the structure of the manual and de inition of generic
terminologies related to traf ic engineering and planning. Each of the subsequent nine chapters deals
with the procedure for the estimation of capacity and Level of Service (LOS) through a series of steps and
culminates with typical illustrative examples. These examples are expected to be of immense use for the
analysts in understanding the essence of the Indo - HCM towards the estimation of capacity and Level of
Service (LOS) of various types of roads (both midblock sections and various types of intersections) and
different forms of urban pedestrian facilities dealt in this manual. Moreover, this manual would provide
a much-needed reliable source to update the IRC documents and standards for evolving new guidelines
to address the missing links. Further, it is expected that this document can serve the society as a basic
guide for the practicing engineers and decision makers towards capacity augmentation of various types
of road and pedestrian facilities in India.
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CS
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Price: ` 3500 2017
Indian Highway Capacity Manual (Indo-HCM)
Indian Highway Capacity Manual
(Indo-HCM)
Sponsored by
Council of Scienti ic and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi
2012-2017
About the Manual

The need for an Indian Highway Capacity Manual (referred as Indo – HCM) has been felt for a long
time by researchers, policy makers and planners in the country. Hence a maiden attempt was made by
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi to network with academic institutes (by
including IITs / NITs/ Central/ State Universities) on the lines of HCM (2010) of USA. This mission mode
project led by CSIR - CRRI was completed on time with regular monitoring at different levels to achieve
the desired quality which has showcased once again the technical prowess and management expertise
of CSIR - CRRI in handling large size projects.
Chapter-1 presents a bird's eye view of the structure of the manual and de inition of generic
terminologies related to traf ic engineering and planning. Each of the subsequent nine chapters deals
with the procedure for the estimation of capacity and Level of Service (LOS) through a series of steps and
culminates with typical illustrative examples. These examples are expected to be of immense use for the
analysts in understanding the essence of the Indo - HCM towards the estimation of capacity and Level of
Service (LOS) of various types of roads (both midblock sections and various types of intersections) and
different forms of urban pedestrian facilities dealt in this manual. Moreover, this manual would provide
a much-needed reliable source to update the IRC documents and standards for evolving new guidelines
to address the missing links. Further, it is expected that this document can serve the society as a basic
guide for the practicing engineers and decision makers towards capacity augmentation of various types
of road and pedestrian facilities in India.
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CSIR
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CS
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Mathura Road, New Delhi-110025 CSIR - CENTRAL ROAD RESEARCH INSTITUTE
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December,
http://www.crridom.gov.in NEW DELHI-110025
CS
IR INDIA
Price: ` 3500 2017
in association with
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Roorkee
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Guwahati
School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi
Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat
Indian Institute of Engineering and Sciences University (IIEST), Shibpur
Anna University (AU), Chennai

Indian Highway Capacity Manual (Indo - HCM)
STUDY TEAM
Prof. Satish Chandra
Director, CSIR - CRRI
Dr. S. Gangopadhyay
Director, CSIR - CRRI: (Till 30.11.2015)
Dr. S. Velmurugan, Senior Principal Scientist and Champion
Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Principal Scientist and Co Champion
Chapter
Work Package Leaders Regional Coordinators
Number
Dr. S. Velmurugan,
Chapter -1 —
Senior Principal Scientist
Dr. Ch. Ravisekhar, Principal Scientist and Prof. Satish Chandra, IIT Roorkee (since
Chapter - 2
Dr. J. Nataraju, Principal Scientist 18.1.2016 as Director, CSIR – CRRI)
Chapter - 3 Sh. Ashutosh Arun, Scientist Prof. Sudip Kumar Roy, IIEST, Shibpur
Chapter - 4 Dr. K. Ravinder, Principal Scientist Prof. Gaurang J. Joshi, SVNIT Surat
Prof. K. Gunasekaran,
Chapter - 5 Dr. A. Mohan Rao, Principal Scientist
Anna University, Chennai
Sh. Subhash Chand, Principal Scientist and Prof. K.V. Krishna Rao,
Chapter - 6
Dr. Neelam J. Gupta, Principal Scientist IIT, (Bombay), Mumbai
Sh. Subhash Chand, Principal Scientist and
Chapter -7 Prof. P.K. Sarkar, SPA, New Delhi
Dr. Neelam J. Gupta, Principal Scientist
Prof. Satish Chandra, IIT Roorkee and
Chapter - 8 Dr. Mukti Advani, Senior Scientist
Prof. Akhilesh Maurya, IIT, Guwahati
Dr. Purnima Parida, Prof. Manoranjan Parida,
Chapter - 9
Senior Principal Scientist IIT (Roorkee), Roorkee
Chapter- 10 Dr. Ch. Ravisekhar, Principal Scientist —
Automatic Road Survey System (ARSS) Team: CSIR - CRRI

Sh. K. Sitaramanjaneyulu, Senior Principal Scientist, Pavement Evaluation Division (PED)
Sh. Pradeep Kumar, Principal Scientist, PED
Sh. Subhash, Technician, PED
Sh. Sunil Dutt, Technician, PED
Team from Project Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) Division: CSIR - CRRI
Dr. B. Kanaga Durai, Chief Scientist, PME Division and Advisor
Sh. P.V. Pradeep Kumar, Senior Principal Scientist and Head, PME Division
Sh. D. Ravinder, Technical Officer, PME Division
Sh. Anshul Saxena, Technical Assistant, PME Division
Secretarial Assistance
Sh. Daleep Mutreja
Mrs. Krishna Verma
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page i

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
TITLE PAGE NUMBER
NUMBER
Study Team i
Foreword v
Acknowledgements vii
Executive Summary ix
1 CHAPTER 1: Basic Concepts and

1 - 1 to 1 - 20
Structure of the Manual
2 CHAPTER 2: Single Lane, Intermediate

Lane and Two Lane Interurban 2 - 1 to 2 - 29
Bidirectional Roads
3 CHAPTER 3: Multilane Divided Interurban

3 - 1 to 3 - 32
Highways
4 CHAPTER 4: Interurban and Urban

4 - 1 to 4 - 34
Expressways
5 CHAPTER 5: Urban Roads 5 - 1 to 5 - 34
6 CHAPTER 6: Signalized Intersections 6 - 1 to 6 - 43
7 CHAPTER 7: Roundabouts 7 - 1 to 7 - 28
8 CHAPTER 8: Unsignalized Intersections 8 - 1 to 8 - 25
9 CHAPTER 9: Pedestrian Facilities 9 - 1 to 9 - 36
10 CHAPTER 10: Travel Time Reliability as a

Performance Measure for Interurban and 10 - 1 to 10 - 17
Urban Corridors
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page iii

FOREWORD
The need for an Indian Highway Capacity Manual has been felt for a long time by researchers,
policy makers and planners in the country. It was emphasized by the Government of India also in 2012
when the then Planning Commission expressed the immediate need for initiating a comprehensive
research study focusing on scientific estimation of the roadway capacity in India in their Eleventh
Five Year Plan 2007-12 document. Accordingly, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
sponsored a research project entitled “Indian Highway Capacity Manual” (referred as ‘Indo-HCM’
in this manual) to CSIR - CRRI in 2012 in the form of mission mode project.
The development of Indo - HCM was not an easy task considering the vast size of the country
and variety of roads and traffic mix. Therefore, CSIR - CRRI identified seven prominent academic
institutes located in different regions in the country to provide technical support for all the Work
Packages as well as to assume the role of Regional Coordinators for one or two work packages
depending upon their expertise. The seven academic institutions identified are Indian Institute of
Technology Roorkee, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Indian Institute of Technology,
Guwahati, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Engineering and Science
and Technology, Shibpur, (Howrah), Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology, Surat and
Anna University, Chennai. This was the maiden attempt made to network with such a large number
of academic institutes on the lines of HCM of USA. This mission mode project led by CSIR - CRRI was
completed on time with regular monitoring at different levels to achieve the desired quality which has
showcased once again the technical prowess and management expertise of CSIR - CRRI in handling
large size projects. Transportation and Highway professionals can now follow the realistic capacity
values evolved in this manual while undertaking the projects of evaluation of existing road facility or
planning of any new road facility. Each chapter deals with the procedure for the estimation of capacity
and Level of Service (LOS) through a series of steps and culminates with typical illustrative examples.
It is expected that this document can serve the society as a basic guide for the practicing engineers
and decision makers towards capacity augmentation of various types of road and pedestrian facilities
in India.
18.12.2017 (Satish Chandra)

Director, CSIR – CRRI
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The team of CSIR - CRRI would like to place on records its profound gratitude to Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi for sponsoring this long-awaited research study.
Further, the CSIR - CRRI led team extends its gratitude to the experts who served as Session Chairs
during the review meetings for extending their immense technical help. Largely, their presence has
helped to monitor the progress achieved in each of the Work Packages (which is rechristened as Chapters
in the manual) during various national level workshops and Task Force Committee (TFC) meetings.
Champion and Co-Champion of Indo-HCM project conducted these meetings in close coordination
with the identified faculty from reputed academic institutes. The faculties representing the respective
institutes have been assigned the role of Regional Coordinators (RCs) cum Local Organizing Secretary
(LOC) for the conduct of the national workshops and TFC meetings. The first workshop in the above
series was conducted in January, 2013 titled, ‘Methodology for Indian Highway Capacity Manual’
(MIHCaM). This was followed by yearly review workshops (3 numbers) conducted in March, 2014,
February, 2015 and March, 2016 titled, ‘RIHCaM-2014’, ‘RIHCaM-2015’, and ‘RIHCaM-2016’ i.e.
‘Review workshop of Indian Highway Capacity Manual’.
During each of the above workshops, the identified experts in the capacity of Session Chairs
have made invaluable contributions. Their contributions encompassed critical appraisal of the
incremental progress made by the Work Package (WP) Leaders / members of CSIR - CRRI as well as
by the seven Regional Coordinators (RCs) by highlighting shortfalls (if any) in the WPs and thereby
necessary course corrections have been done by the concerned team(s). Moreover, a total of nine Task
Force Committee (TFC) meetings chaired by Director, CSIR - CRRI was also convened by Champion
and Co-Champion during the course of the Indo - HCM Project which comprised of WP Leaders from
CSIR - CRRI and RCs serving as principle members. The above workshops and TFC meetings were
conducted by various RCs. The RCs who conducted the above include SVNIT, (Surat), Anna University,
(Chennai), IIT (Guwahati), IIEST (Shibpur), IIT Bombay, Mumbai and IIT Roorkee, Roorkee. Basically,
the above national workshops as well as the deliberations during the TFC meetings the concerned
teams to gear up themselves for the finalization of the chapters dealt by them and facilitated in
streamlining each of the chapters leading to the development of indigenous manual for Indian traffic
conditions.
Eventually, the above streamlined review process culminated with the 2-day national level
dissemination workshop organized by CSIR - CRRI in their premises on 20th and 21st February,
2017 which is again engineered by Champion and Co Champion of Indo - HCM Project. During this
dissemination workshop, an executive summary of the manual was published by the CSIR - CRRI led
team with each of the RCs and Work Package Leaders from CSIR - CRRI presenting the salient findings
included in various chapters of the manual. The issues raised by the Session Chairs and the 150 odd
invited delegates during the Workshop have been appropriately incorporated in the present manual.
The experts who have extended immense contributions during the above national level workshops in
the capacity of Session Chairs are:
1. Prof. M.R. Madhav, Chairman, Research Council, CSIR - CRRI, New Delhi; Prof. Madhav showered
immense praise on the modus operandi followed by CSIR - CRRI team led by Champion / Co-
Champion for project execution in a couple of Research Council meetings convened at CSIR -
CRRI as well as in the RIHCaMs.
2. (Late) Dr. L.R. Kadiyali; Dr. Kadiyali was the author of famous book on ‘Traffic Engineering and
Transportation Planning’ printed by Khanna Publishers. The support extended by him to the
team is fondly remembered.
3. Dr. S. Gangopadhyay, Former Director, CSIR - CRRI; He gave his contribution initially as Director
till 30.11.2015 and subsequently as Session Chair in RIHCAMs. Moreover, Dr. Gangopadhyay
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page vii

played a pivotal role in convincing the then Director General, CSIR, Prof. S.K. Brahmachari
to award this project to CSIR - CRRI. Though the project was approved for funding later by CSIR
due to his above efforts, Dr.S. Gangopadhyay asked the Champion to organize a Kick-off Meeting
at CSIR - CRRI (sourcing from Laboratory Reserve of CRRI even before the award of the research
study) on 21.09.2012 by inviting all the involved institutes to discuss the modus operandi. This
contribution is placed on records.
4. Prof. Partha Chakroborty, IIT, Kanpur.
5. Dr. T.S. Reddy, Scientist-G (Retired), CSIR - CRRI and Consultant, M/s. Lea Associates Limited.
6. Prof. V. Thamizh Arasan, IIT, Madras, Chennai (Retired) and Vice Chancellor, Vels University,
Chennai.
7. Prof. P.K .Sikdar, IIT, Bombay, Mumbai (Retired) and President (Traffic and Transportation),
M/s. ICT Private. Limited, New Delhi.
8. Prof. A. Veeraragavan, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT, (Madras), Chennai.
9. Prof. B .K. Katti, SVNIT, Surat, (Retired).
10. Sh. D. Sanyal, Managing Director, M/s. CRAPHTS Consultants (I) Pvt. Ltd. Faridabad, Haryana.
The encouraging words of appreciation remarking on the modus operandi followed for the
Indo - HCM execution by the then Chairman, Research Council (RC) of CSIR - CRRI namely, Prof.
M.R. Madhav, IIT, Kanpur (Retd.) during the course of national level workshops and RC meetings is
gratefully acknowledged.
The study outputs derived from the dissertation works of more than a dozen Doctoral Students
and about 36 Masters students (which included Masters Dissertation as well as Internship program
outputs) as well as Project Fellows / Assistants (their names given in the respective chapters) have
been appropriately incorporated in the manual and hence all their contributions is gratefully
acknowledged.
During this 5-year journey of Indo - HCM project, many Scientists and Technical Staff working
in the Traffic Engineering and Transportation Area (TTP) and other support divisions of CSIR - CRRI
have rendered all types of technical and logistic assistance. This included the present serving staff of
CSIR - CRRI namely, Dr. Anuradha Shukla, Dr. S. Padma (for serving as an excellent anchor during
the dissemination workshop at CSIR - CRRI), Mr. Vivek Dubey, Mr. Mariappan, Mr. S. Kannan, Mr.
Satyabir Singh, Mr. Ambrish Saurikhia and Ms. Nidhi Agarwal as well as some of the retired
staff namely, Mr. S.K. Ummat, Mr. B.M. Sharma and Mr. T.K. Amla. Similarly, the logistic assistance
rendered by the staff of Civil and Electrical Sections of CSIR - CRRI (especially, Mr. Gautam Pande)
during the conduct of Workshops and TFC meetings at the Council Hall of CSIR - CRRI are placed on
records. Further, the contributions rendered by more than 50 staff engaged on daily basis during the
traffic data collection, data collation and analysis phase of the Indo - HCM project is acknowledged.
The spouses and families of CSIR - CRRI Work Packages (WP) Leaders as well as Regional
Coordinators (RCs) had to bear the brunt of the scientists and faculty burning the midnight oil to
complete the project in record time and hence many sacrifices that have been made by their family
members is fondly remembered at this hour.
Last but not the least, the team of CSIR - CRRI would like to place on records their gratitude to
Sh. D.P. Gupta, Former Director General, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H) for
rendering his essential technical inputs and effecting many essential editorial corrections in the final
report prepared by the teams. His inputs have helped in improving the readability of the manual to a
great extent.
- Team CRRI and Regional Coordinator led by Director, CSIR - CRRI,
Champion, (Indo - HCM) and Co-Champion (Indo - HCM)
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page viii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
The main hypothesis behind conceiving this project was that Indian traffic characteristics
are fundamentally different from those in the developed countries and even the driver behaviour
is vastly different from even the developing economies like China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Consequently, the development of an indigenous manual was undertaken on priority in the form of
a mission mode project by considering the various categories of roads like Expressways, National
Highways (NHs), State Highways (SHs), Major District Roads (MDRs), Other District Roads (ODRs)
and Urban Roads (UR) as well as various forms of pedestrian facilities on urban roads. The project
was approved in October, 2012 for funding by CSIR under the Inter Agency Project (IAP) category
of CSIR through Planning Commission grants. The principal goal of this research is to study the
nationwide characteristics of road traffic and to develop a manual for determining the capacity and
Level of Service (LOS) for varying types of interurban roads and urban roads separately by including
controlled intersections i.e. signals and roundabouts and uncontrolled intersections coupled with
addressing the capacity and Level of Service (LOS) of urban pedestrian facilities. To accomplish the
stated goal, the project is aimed at analyzing the characteristics of the heterogeneous traffic flow
and identifies appropriate distributions of the various variables influencing the traffic stream and
pedestrians’ characteristics by examining the traffic flow characteristics through extensive field data
collection and analysis. This summary highlights the maiden attempt undertaken by CSIR - CRRI at
the national level to develop an indigenous manual addressing the traffic heterogeneity prevalent
on Indian roads. The report has been published by CSIR - CRRI with its title, “Indian Highway
Capacity Manual (henceforth referred as ‘Indo-HCM’). This project was executed by CSIR - CRRI
in coordination with reputed academic institutes in the country which included Indian Institute of
Technology (Roorkee) Roorkee, Indian Institute of Technology, (Bombay), Mumbai, Indian Institute of
Technology, (Guwahati), Guwahati, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Sardar Vallabhai
Patel National Institute of Technology, Surat, Indian Institute of Engineering and Sciences University
(IIEST), Shibpur and Anna University, Chennai. The project was executed by Champion and Co-
Champion in close coordination with Work Package Leaders as well as the faculty from the above
reputed academic institutes have been assigned the role of Regional Coordinators (RCs).
STRUCTURE OF INDO - HCM

The findings of the Indo-HCM project is presented under the following ten chapters in this
manual:
• Chapter 1: Basic Concepts and Structure of the Manual
• Chapter 2: Two Lane, Intermediate and Single Lane Roads
• Chapter 3: Multilane Interurban Highways
• Chapter 4: Inter urban and Urban Expressways
• Chapter 5: Urban Roads
• Chapter 6: Signal Controlled Intersections
• Chapter 7: Roundabouts
• Chapter 8: Uncontrolled Intersections
• Chapter 9: Pedestrian Facility
• Chapter 10: Reliability as a Performance Measure for Inter-urban and Urban Arterials
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page ix

As the title suggests, Chapter -1 presents an overview of the structure of the report, definition
of generic terminologies related to Traffic Engineering and Planning followed by an overview of the
types of road and pedestrian facilities considered and also vehicle types and other salient features.
Chapters 2 to 8 focus on varying types of road facilities. Pedestrian facility is dealt in Chapter 9
and Chapter 10 focuses exclusively on Travel Time Reliability of urban and interurban corridors.
Illustrative examples and a list of references are included in each chapter.
NEW CONCEPTS IN INDO-HCM

The new concepts evolved or published works of the team have been included in various
chapters of Indo-HCM are breifly highlighted in the succeeding sections.
Capacity and Level of Service of Mid Block Sections

Chapters 2 to 5 discuss the capacity and level of service analysis on interurban and urban roads
with varying typologies. The PCU value of a vehicle type is found to be sensitive to traffic and roadway
conditions. Hence, a single set of PCU could not be recommended for all types of traffic conditions.
A small change in either traffic volume or traffic composition may change PCU factors substantially,
especially for large size vehicles. Hence the PCU for a given vehicle type is estimated using Equation 1.
Vc/V1
PCUi = ———— Equation 1
Ac/Ai
Where,
Vc and Vi are speed of standard car and vehicle type ‘i’ respectively and
Ac and Ai are their projected rectangular area on the road.
Moreover, it was felt that the dynamic PCUs evolved in this manual in the case of midblock road
sections are not sufficient to understand the complete variation in PCU for a vehicle type. Therefore,
a new concept of Stream Equivalency Factor (Se) is introduced in this manual to take care of dynamic
nature of PCU. Stream Equivalency Factor (Se) is defined as the ratio of flow in PCUs per hour to the
flow in vehicles per hour which is given in Equation 2.
Flow in PCU/hour
Se = ———————————— Equation 2
Flow in vehicles/hour
The factor Se is an overall equivalency factor for the entire traffic stream. It is correlated with
traffic volume and its composition on the road.
Capacity of a two-lane road is influenced by the road conditions and drivers’ behaviour. Hence a
linear relation as typically presented in Equation 3 is observed to exist between capacity and operating
speed () of standard cars plying on varying typologies of interurban and urban roads. In this context,
the operating speed on a road is taken as the 85th percentile of free flow speeds of standard cars. A
vehicle travelling with headway 8 seconds or more is considered as free flowing.
Base Capacity = A + B * VOS Equation 3
Where,
VOS = Operating Speed of Standard Cars, km/hr
In general, it is an established fact that the term ‘capacity’ and ‘LOS’ will have a close relationship.
Capacity refers to the quantitative measure of road section and LOS represents the qualitative measure
of the road section. Speed has been considered as the principal factor affecting the LOS of an urban
road segment under ideal conditions. Stream speed has been considered as the basic parameter for
the estimation of LOS in the present study and hence clustering technique has been used for grouping
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page x

of the speed data. The suggested LOS for the range of stream speed, Volume - Capacity Ratio and
percentage of free flow speed is subsequently presented.
Several new measures are suggested in the manual to define LOS on undivided and divided road
sections. For example, on a two-lane road, level of service is defined in terms of number of followers.
A vehicle is taken in the following state if it moves with a gap less than or equal to critical gap with
lead vehicle. The critical gap (CG) is related with traffic volume by Equation 4. The critical gap value is
expected to vary with the traffic volume on the road and hence the relationship established between
the two for two lane two way roads is presented in the above equation.
CG = 74.8 * Q–0.45 Equation 4
Where,
Q = Two-way traffic volume, (in veh/h)
CG = Critical Gap value, (in seconds)
Critical gap value decreases with the increase in traffic volume on the road. Eventually, the
number of followers as part of the road capacity (NFPC) is found to be related with two-way two-lane
traffic volume as presented in Equation 5.
NF = 1.1742 * Q0.9306 Equation 5
Where,
Q = Two-way traffic volume, PCU/h
NF = Number of followers, PCU/h
Further, LOS parameter is taken as the number of followers as part of the road capacity (NFPC).
Therefore, NF in the above equation is considered in PCU/hour to avoid any mismatch of units while
calculating NFPC.
Saturation Flow and Capacity of Signalized Intersections

In the case of signalized intersections given in Chapter 6, the analyst has the option of measuring
the saturation flow in the field by following the prescribed procedure or estimating the saturation flow
using the model given in this manual. PCUs for converting the observed vehicle types into equivalent
passenger cars are furnished in this chapter. The estimated base saturation flow can be adjusted by
applying adjustment factors to get the saturation flow under prevailing geometric, traffic and control
conditions. The capacity of each approach and that of the overall intersection can then be calculated
based on the saturation flow, effective green time and the cycle time. Control delay is prescribed
as the measure of effectiveness for determining the level of service of signalized intersections. The
stopped delay measured in the field is converted into control delay using the prescribed conversion
factors.
Critical Gap and Capacity of Roundabouts

In the case of roundabouts presented in Chapter 7, the critical gaps are estimated based on
the technique related to the accepted and maximum rejected gaps using Root Mean Square Method.
Root Mean Square (RMS) is an analytical model where the minimization of square root of the mean
squared deviation of predicted value from a given baseline or fit gives the absolute measure fit.
Critical gap estimation requires information about the accepted gap and the maximum rejected gap
for each driver. RMS model minimizes the square root of the mean squared deviation of Rejected gap
value Ri and Accepted gap value Ai from expected critical gap value Tc to give the average critical gap
value. The function depicting the estimation of critical gap has been written as given in Equation 6.
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xi

 n ( Ai − Tc ) 2 + (Tc − Ri ) 2 
Min ∑  Equation 6
 i =1 2 
Where,
Ai = Accepted gap of the ith entering vehicle (seconds),
Ri = Highest Rejected gap of the ith entering vehicle (seconds) and
Tc = Critical gap value (seconds).
Critical Gap and Capacity of Unsignalized Intersections

In the case of Unsignalized intersections presented in Chapter 8, since the gap acceptance theory
is primarily dependent on critical gap value, a method termed as Occupancy Time Method (OTM) has
been conceived for the calculation of critical gaps. Unlike the other methods of critical gap estimation,
OTM also incorporates actual driver behaviour observed on unsignalized intersections largely. As
such, OTM accounts for the actual clearing pattern of the conflict area and the traffic interaction that
occurs within this region. Thereafter, the capacity for various movements observed at an unsignalized
intersection is carried out through a series of steps as detailed out in this chapter.
Capacity of Pedestrian Facilities

In the case of pedestrian facilities in urban areas presented in Chapter 9, capacity and LOS
of Footpaths, Stairways and Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) have been presented in this chapter. For the
purpose of the above estimation, a simplified body ellipse of 0.35 m by 0.51 m (total area 0.18 m2)
is used as the basic space for a pedestrian in this chapter. This represents the practical minimum
space for standing pedestrians. Eventually, the required space for various forms of pedestrian facility
in Indian context has been determined in this chapter. Thereafter, macroscopic modelling approach
to build the empirical equation aimed at quantifying the flow of pedestrians and the capacity of
various forms of pedestrian facilities. The relationship among density, speed and directional flow for
pedestrians is similar to that for vehicular traffic streams and the same is presented in Equation 7.
Qp = Vp × Kp Equation 7
Where,
Qp = Unit flow rate (ped/min/m)
Vp = Pedestrian speed (m/min), and
Kp = Pedestrian density (ped/m²)
Further, Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS) is a measure for assessing the operating condition
of facilities in a quantitative manner. It denotes the level of comfort offered by the type of facility
to pedestrians while using the facility. Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS) is defined based on
fundamental pedestrian flow parameters for five different land uses as test sections considered in
this chapter encompassed varied land uses. Eventually, 6 types of LOS are defined starting from LOS
A to LOS F for the following types of pedestrian facilities namely, footpaths, stairways and foot over
bridge based on the varying types of type of land uses. On the other hand, LOS for Crosswalks is
evolved based on pedestrian delay observed at the study locations. In addition to the above, Quality
of Service (QOS) of the footpaths (in terms of Walkability Index) has been captured through a detailed
questionnaire survey by understanding the perception of the pedestrians. Thus, the Walkability Index
(WI) is calculated using Equation 8:
Walkability Index: QOS = Equation 8
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xii

Where,
Ai: Importance weight for physical and user characteristics
Bi: Satisfaction rating for physical and user characteristics
Travel Time Reliability as a Performance Measure for Interurban and

Urban Corridors
Travel time reliability is considered as a useful tool for the road users as well as for the public
transit system planners. As such, Travel Time Reliability concept was introduced by Asakusa by
considering selected network of roads in Japan and the same has found a found a place in the fifth
edition of HCM (2010) published by Transportation Research Board. It is defined as the probability
that the trip between a given Origin - Destination (O-D) pair can be made with a certain degree of
reliability under varying time periods of the day and specified Level of Service. This measurement
is found to be useful while evaluating network performance under normal daily flow variations and
various uncertainties. Considering the above, methodology for the travel time reliability analysis
for uninterrupted and interrupted urban arterial roads and interurban highway corridor has been
conceived in this chapter for the Indian traffic conditions based on the estimation of travel time
reliability measures and development of LOS based on reliability measures. The present chapter
provides the methodology to deploy travel time reliability as a performance measure of urban
arterial corridors which encompasses only the uninterrupted and interrupted flow corridors as
well as interurban corridors. It also provides a procedure to determine the Level of Service (LOS) of
the candidate test sections considered in this study. In the case of uninterrupted in urban corridor,
the length of the selected uninterrupted section ranges from 2.5 to 3 km. However, in the case of
interrupted flow in urban corridor, the length of the interrupted section is around 1.5 km to 3 km
whereas the location of controlled intersection is at least 500 m away from the start and the end
points of the study section. At the same time, in the case of interurban uninterrupted corridor, since
such a test section invariably exists beyond the urban periphery on the National Highways or State
Highways connecting major cities, the length of the test section considered for analysis is at least 3
km. Such road sections should not have influence due to the aforesaid urban conditions except for
catering to insignificant proportion of Left-in and Left-out traffic from minor road. The assessment of
operational performance for the above types of road environs has been done for both public transport
and private vehicles. In this regard, LOS based Travel Time Reliability for cars, two wheelers, Public
Transit System (both conventional and BRTS corridor) has been framed in this chapter.
Innovative Process of Manual Development

This project of development of Indo-HCM itself is innovative as there has not been any such
attempt in the past in India. The development of Indo - HCM was not an easy task considering the
vast size of the country and variety of roads and the heterogeneous traffic mix. Therefore, CSIR -
CRRI identified seven prominent academic institutes located in different regions in the country
to provide technical support for all the Work Packages as well as to assume the role of Regional
Coordinators (RC) for one or two work packages depending upon their expertise. As mentioned
earlier, the seven academic institutions identified are Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, School of
Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Engineering and Science and Technology,
Shibpur, Howrah, Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology, Surat and Anna University,
Chennai. The methodology for collection and analysis of traffic data was finalized in the common
meeting of Regional Coordinators. Each RC collected traffic flow data on various types of facilities in
the respective regions of the country and provided to the respective Work Package (WP) in charge for
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xiii

analysis. The identified institutes as well as Work Package leaders from CSIR – CRRI performed traffic
data collection at pan-India covering all types of road network (Expressways, National Highways. State
Highways, Major District Roads and Other District Roads) including various forms of urban pedestrian
facilities.
Prof. Satish Chandra, Director, CSIR – CRRI spearheaded the entire Indo - HCM team with
the project execution performed under the leadership of Dr. S. Velmurugan, Champion and aided
by Dr. K. Ravinder, Co-Champion. As mentioned earlier, this was the maiden attempt by CSIR - CRRI
to network with such a large number of academic institutes on the lines of HCM (2010) of USA. The
project was completed on time with regular monitoring at different levels to achieve the desired
quality. This mission mode project led by CSIR - CRRI was completed in time with regular monitoring
at different levels to achieve the desired quality, which has once again displayed the technical prowess
and management expertise of CSIR - CRRI in handling large size projects. Largely, the various national
level workshops and task force committee meetings conducted by Champion and Co-Champion of
Indo - HCM Project in close coordination with faculty from reputed academic institutes who have
been assigned the role of Regional Coordinators (RCs) cum Local Organizing Secretary (LOC) for the
conduct of the national workshop has helped this cause. The first workshop in the above series was
conducted in January, 2013; it was followed by yearly review workshops (three numbers) conducted
in March, 2014, February, 2015 and March, 2016 in different academic institutes involved in this
study.
During each of the above workshops, the identified experts in the capacity of Session Chairs were
invited for critical monitoring of the incremental progress made by the Work Package (WP) Leaders
/ members of CSIR - CRRI. All the suggestions of the learned experts were considered positively and
the concerned teams in their chapters did necessary course corrections. Moreover, a total of nine
Task Force Committee (TFC) meetings chaired by Director, CSIR - CRRI were also convened by the
Champion and the Co-Champion during the course of the Indo - HCM Project which comprised of
WP Leaders from CSIR - CRRI and RCs serving as principle members. The above national workshops
as well as the deliberations during the TFC meetings aided the concerned teams to gear up for
the finalization of the chapters dealt by them and facilitated in streamlining each of the chapters
leading to the development of indigenous manual for India. Eventually, the above streamlined review
process culminated with a 2-day national level dissemination workshop organized by CSIR - CRRI
in its premises on 20th and 21st February, 2017 which was again engineered by Champion and Co
Champion of Indo - HCM Project. During the above workshop, an executive summary of the manual
was published by the CSIR - CRRI led team with each of the RCs and Work Package Leaders from
CSIR - CRRI presenting salient findings included in various chapters of the manual. The issues raised
by each of the Session Chairs and the 150 odd invited delegates during the Workshop have been
appropriately incorporated in the present manual. During the execution of the project, several new
concepts were evolved considering the unique traffic behavior on Indian roads. A few of them are
listed below:
• Modus Operandi followed for the execution of Indo - HCM is itself innovative as there has not
been any similar attempt made in the past in the country.
• Dynamic Passenger Car Unit (DPCU) based on Area and Speed of a vehicle.
• Development of Stream equivalency factor for readymade estimation of capacity
• Relationship between Operating Speed and Capacity that can be used to estimate the capacity
of any given road provided Free Flow Speed (FFS) of a minimum sample size of 200 standard
cars be collected for any type of road.
• Estimation of Level of Service on Interurban Undivided carriageways through the Number of
Followers per Capacity (NFPC).
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xiv

• Level of Service (LOS) estimation for Signalized Intersection through User Perception Surveys
• Gap acceptance model for analysis of roundabouts
• Occupancy time method for estimation of critical gap, estimation of capacity (of movements)
and Level of Service of unsignalized intersections and
• Concept of travel time reliability for interurban and urban arterial roads.
Societal Benefits
Engineers / Planners / Bureaucrats can look to follow the realistic capacity values evolved in
this manual during the planning of new facilities instead of using either the obsolete values available
in the relevant Indian Roads Congress (IRC) documents or directly adopting the values given in US-
HCM (2010) or other manuals, which are not directly applicable to Indian road scenario.
It is expected that the manual would serve as a basic guide for the practicing engineers and
decision makers towards capacity augmentation of various types of roads, (both at mid-block sections
and intersections of varied typologies) as well as pedestrian facilities. Efforts are already in place from
the scientists of CSIR - CRRI as well as Regional Coordinators (RCs) associated with the various Indian
Roads Congress (IRC) technical committees to incorporate the study findings from this manual in the
appropriate documents of IRC for their revision. In this context, the following guidelines of IRC need
either immediate revision or formulation of new guidelines based on the above results derived in the
Indo - HCM project and efforts are in place for the same as mentioned above:
• IRC:64 (1990) Guidelines for Capacity of Rural Roads in Plain Areas
• IRC:106 (1990) Guidelines for Capacity of Urban Roads in Plain Areas
• IRC:65 (1976) Recommended Practice for Roundabouts
• IRC 93 (1985) Guidelines on Design and Installation of Road Traffic Signals
• IRC:103 (2012) Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities
• New Capacity Guidelines for Unsignalized Intersections
• New Guidelines for Travel Time Reliability on Urban and Interurban Corridors.
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xv

Chapter 1:
Basic Concepts and
Structure of the Manual
Basic Concepts and Structure of the Manual
STUDY TEAM
Dr. S. Velmurugan, Senior Principal Scientist and Champion
Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Principal Scientist and Co Champion
CSIR-CRRI Team
Dr. S. Velmurugan, Senior Principal Scientist,

Traffic Engineering and Safety (TES) Division
Team Member
Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Transportation of Planning (TP) Division
Sh. Daleep Mutreja
Mrs. Krishna Verma
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 1 - i

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
List of Figures iv
List of Tables iv
1.1 PREAMBLE 1
1.2 STUDY OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE 1
1.3 MODUS OPERANDI 1
1.4 PURPOSE OF INDO-HCM 2
1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGIES 2
1.5.1 Road Facility Based Terminologies 2
1.5.2 Pedestrian Facility Based Terminologies 8
1.6 TRAFFIC FLOW AND CAPACITY 9
1.7 VEHICLE TYPES 10
1.8 STRUCTURE OF THE MANUAL 14
Chapter 2: Single lane, Intermediate and Two lane Interurban
1.8.1 14
Bidirectional Roads
1.8.2 Chapter 3: Multilane Interurban Divided Highways 15
1.8.3 Chapter 4: Interurban and Urban Expressways 15
1.8.4 Chapter 5: Urban Roads 15
1.8.5 Chapter 6: Signalized Intersections 15
1.8.6 Chapter 7: Roundabouts 16
1.8.7 Chapter 8: Unsignalized Intersections 16
1.8.8 Chapter 9: Pedestrian Facilities 16
1.8.9 Chapter 10: Travel Time Reliability 17
1.9 PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIETAL BENEFITS OF THE MANUAL 17
1.9.1 Innovative Process of Manual Development 17
1.9.2 Societal Benefits 19
REFERENCES 20
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 1 - iii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Title Page Number
Number
1.1 Definition of Travel Time Reliability 7
1.2 Flow, Speed and Density Relationships 9
1.3 Typical Illustrative Pictures of Vehicle Types 12 - 13
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Title Page Number
Number
1.1 Terrain Classification 8
1.2 Typical Vehicle Types and Mode Classification 11
1.3 Vehicle Types and Their Dimensions 14
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 1 - iv

1.1 PREAMBLE
This chapter is the starting point for learning to use the maiden edition of the ‘Indian Highway
Capacity Manual’. The chapter covers the purpose, objectives, methodology adopted, proposed use as
well as target users of the manual. It also provides definition of terminologies and a brief on each of
the subsequent chapters of the manual.
The main hypothesis behind conceiving this research project is that traffic characteristics
on Indian roads are fundamentally different from those in the developed economies and even the
driver behaviour is quite different from the developing economies like China, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Several countries have developed their own highway capacity manuals reflecting the traffic pattern
prevalent in their respective countries. Obviously, the capacity manuals from these countries cannot
be transformed for Indian traffic conditions by developing any adjustment factors. Moreover, based on
the communicated views of CSIR – CRRI (in 2010), the immediate need for initiating a comprehensive
research study focusing on scientific estimation of the roadway capacity was aptly emphasized in 2012
by the Planning Commission, Government of India (refer Volume III: Agriculture, Rural Development,
Industry, Services and Physical Infrastructure of the Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-12 document).
Considering the importance attributed by the Government of India (GoI) on this issue,
it was felt essential to develop an indigenous highway capacity manual by considering the Indian
traffic scenario as this would be of immense use to the engineers, bureaucrats and planners. The
development of such a manual would certainly help policy makers in deciding allocation of budget
for capacity augmentation of roads and enhancing productivity of road transport through increased
Level of Service (LOS).
Accordingly, this research was classified by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) under the theme entitled, “Knowledge / Technology space where we do not have expertise
and we would like to achieve”. This CSIR sponsored research study project is entitled as “Indian
Highway Capacity Manual” (henceforth referred to as ‘Indo-HCM’ in this manual). Subsequently,
the development of Indo - HCM was undertaken on priority in the form of a mission mode project by
CSIR – CRRI. In this study, various categories of roads in India like Expressways, National Highways
(NHs), State Highways (SHs), Major District Roads (MDRs), Other District Roads (ODRs) and Urban
Roads (UR), as well as various types of intersections (i.e. Signalized, Roundabout and Unsignalized
Intersections) and pedestrian facilities seen on urban roads in the country have been considered.
1.2 STUDY OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE

The objectives of the Indo-HCM are:
• To study the nationwide road traffic characteristics and
• To bring out a manual for determining the capacity and Level of Service (LOS) for various
categories of interurban and urban roads and intersections as well as roundabouts and also
various forms of pedestrian facilities on urban roads.
In order to accomplish the above stated objectives, the study has addressed analysis of the
heterogeneous traffic flow characteristics under varying environs. In this regard, an attempt has
been made to address the appropriate distribution of the various variables influencing the traffic
stream characteristics on various categories of roads, intersections and pedestrian facilities through
extensive field data collection spread over the country and the associated analysis.
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 1 - 1

1.3 MODUS OPERANDI

The study project was approved in October, 2012 for funding by CSIR under the Inter Agency
Project (IAP) category of CSIR through Planning Commission grants. CSIR - Central Road Research
Institute (CRRI), New Delhi was the nodal research organization. Seven prominent academic institutes
located in different regions in the country were made partners to this project to provide technical
support in all the Work Packages (WPs) and thus assigned the role of Regional Coordinators (RCs) for
one or two WPs depending on their expertise. The academic institutions identified are:
1. Indian Institute of Technology, (Roorkee),
2. Indian Institute of Technology, (Bombay), Mumbai,
3. Indian Institute of Technology, (Guwahati),
4. School of Planning and Architecture, (New Delhi),
5. Indian Institute of Engineering and Science and Technology, Shibpur, (Howrah),
6. Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology, (Surat) and
7. Anna University, (Chennai).
1.4 PURPOSE OF INDO-HCM

Transportation and Highway fraternity can look to follow the realistic capacity values evolved
in this manual while undertaking evaluation of existing road facility or planning of any new road
facility without relying on obsolete or adhoc capacity values as well as procedures given in some of
the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) documents. Moreover, indigenous manual would obviate the need
to direct adoption of the capacity values given in HCM of USA (2010) or manuals of other countries
i.e. Chinese HCM (2005) or Indonesian HCM (1999). It is worthwhile to mention here that the values
given in the above-referred manuals evolved for other countries cannot be translated for Indian
traffic conditions through evolving adjustment factors, as these would not be replicating Indian traffic
scenario. In this regard, this manual is expected to provide a much-needed reliable source to update
the above IRC documents and standards as well in addition to evolving new guidelines to address the
missing links.
1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGIES

This section presents the definition of generic terminologies associated with varying types of
roads by including interurban roads, urban roads, expressways, signalized intersections, roundabouts
and unsignalized intersections and pedestrian facilities.
1.5.1 Road Facility Based Terminologies

The definition of generic terminologies associated with varying of types of road facilities
i.e. undivided roads, multi lane divided highways, expressways, urban roads, signalized intersections,
roundabouts and unsignalized intersections dealt in the subsequent chapters has been presented in
alphabetic order.
 Amber Interval: The period, expressed in seconds, in a signal cycle during which, for a
given phase or movement group, the signal indication is amber (yellow). Traffic facing an
amber signal indication must stop before the STOP line or other legally defined intersection
boundary, unless such stop cannot be made safely.
 Analysis Period (T): The time-period (in hours) during which the capacity analysis is
performed.

 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT): It is the annual average daily traffic when measurements
are taken for the entire 365 days (366 days for leap year) of the year and averaged out.
 Approach: Roadway leading to the STOP line of the intersection that accommodates one or
combination of right-turn, through and left-turn movement of vehicles.
 Approach Capacity (c): The maximum number of vehicles (in passenger car units) an approach
can discharge per unit time under prevailing traffic, geometric and control conditions; usually
expressed in passenger car units/hour (PCU/h).
 Approach Flow Rate (VA): Approach volume during peak hour divided by the peak hour
factor (PHF); expressed in PCU/h.
 Approach Volume (VA): The number of vehicles arriving on an intersection approach
upstream of the queue influence per unit time; expressed in PCU/h.
 Average Daily Traffic (ADT): It is the average daily traffic when measurements are
taken for a few days (less than one year such as monthly or weekly), averaged by the
number of days for which the measurements have been taken.
 Base Saturation flow rate: Saturation flow rate under stated base conditions of intersection
relating to traffic, geometric and control conditions and is expressed in PCU/h of green.
 Buffer Time: It represents the extra time (buffer) to ensure on-time arrival for most of the
times. This extra time is added in order to account for any unexpected delay. It is calculated as
the difference of planning time and average travel time.
 Buffer Time Index (BTI): The buffer time index is the ratio of buffer time to average travel
time and it is expressed as percentage vide Equation 1.1.
95th Percentile Travel Time–Average Travel Time
Buffer Time Index (BTI) = —————————————————— Equation 1.1
Average Travel Time
or example, a buffer time index of 40 percent means that a traveller should have cushion of
F
an additional 12 minutes for a 30 minutes average peak trip time and ensure on time arrival
for 95 percent of the time i.e. travel time reliability.
 Capacity: It is the maximum hourly volume (vehicles per hour) at which vehicles can reasonably
be expected to traverse a point or a uniform section of a lane or roadway under the prevailing
roadway, traffic and control conditions. Following two definitions of capacity are used.
 Adjusted Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on
a lane or roadway during one hour under the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions. It
is obtained by adjusting the base capacity for the roadway and traffic conditions present
at site.
 Base Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on a lane
or roadway during one hour, under the most nearly ideal roadway and traffic conditions,
which can possibly be attained.
 Coefficient of Variation: It is the ratio of standard deviation to the average travel time as
given in Equation 1.2.
Standard Deviation
Coefficient of Variation = ———————— x 100 % Equation 1.2
Average Travel Time
 Composition of Traffic Stream: It is the proportional share of different types of vehicles in

the traffic stream.

 Conflict Area: Conflict occurs when two or more movements compete for right of way of
the same area. The common area within an intersection that is being used by more than one
traffic movement is considered as conflict area.
 Critical Gap: Critical gap refers to the minimum gap in the priority stream, which is acceptable
to a driver executing a non-priority movement. It varies among drivers and always lies
between the maximum rejected gap and the accepted gap of a driver. Since critical gap could
not be measured in the field, it has to be estimated based on other measurable parameters
like accepted gap, rejected gap, occupancy time, etc.
 Density: It is the number of vehicles present on a unit length of road at any particular instant
of time. It is usually expressed in vehicles/km.
 Design Hourly Volume: Design Hourly Volume (DHV) is usually the 30th highest hourly
volume. This hourly volume is exceeded only during 29 hours in a year.
 Design Service Volume: It is defined as maximum service volume at which vehicles can
reasonably be expected to traverse a point or uniform section of a lane or roadway during one
hour under prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions while maintaining a designed
Level of Service.
 Design Speed: Design speed depends on the function of the road and terrain conditions. It is
the basic parameter, which determines all other geometric design features.
 Directional Design Hour Volume (DDHV): It is the volume, which converts the AADT for the
design year to a directional design hour volume.
 Flow (or Volume): It is the number of vehicles that pass through a given point on a road during
a designated time interval. Since roads have a certain width and the required number of lanes
is accommodated within the available width, flow is always expressed in relation to the given
width i.e. per lane or per direction etc. The time unit selected is one hour.
 Flow Rate: It is a macroscopic flow characteristic and is defined as number of vehicles passing
a point in a given period of time. It is usually expressed as an hourly flow rate.
 Follow-up Time (seconds): The follow-up time is the time headway between successive
minor street vehicles while accepting the same gap size in the priority stream, when there is
a continuous queuing on the minor approach.
 Gap (seconds): The gap is a measure of the time elapsed between passing of rear end of the
lead vehicle and arrival of front end of the follower vehicle at the reference line along the road.
A driver in the non-priority stream evaluates the gaps that are presented and finally accepts
the one that the driver believes to be sufficiently large to complete the desired movement,
while rejecting the rest of the presented gaps.
 Gap Acceptance: All gaps greater than or equal to the critical gap would be accepted.
 Gap Rejection: All gaps less than the critical gap would be rejected.
 Headway: It is the time between two following vehicles and is measured from the first
vehicle’s front bumper to the following vehicle’s front bumper.
 Inscribed circle diameter: The inscribed circle diameter is the basic parameter used to
define the size of a roundabout. It is measured between the outer edges of the circulatory
roadway.
 Interurban Roads: These are roads that help in achieving enhanced mobility of traffic
between any adjoining cities or towns. National Highways (NHs), State Highways (SHs),
Major District Roads (MDRs) and Other District Roads (ODRs) all fall under the category of
interurban roads.

 Lag (seconds): The lag is a portion of the first gap faced by a vehicle on the minor road. The
time interval from the moment a minor stream/road vehicle reaches the intersection (or the
head of the line, if there is a line of waiting vehicles) to the arrival of next major stream/road
vehicle exactly opposite to it.
 Level of Service (LOS): It is defined as a qualitative measure, describing operational conditions
within a traffic stream and their perception by drivers/passengers. LOS definition generally
describes these conditions in terms of factors such as speed and travel time, freedom to
manoeuvre, traffic interruptions, comfort, convenience and safety. Six levels of service are
recognized and these are designated from A to F, with LOS A representing the best operating
condition i.e. free flow and the LOS F, the worst i.e. forced or breakdown flow or saturated flow.
 Major and Minor Street: A road with higher priority is named as major street and road
with low priority is named as minor street. Decision regarding priority is left to the analyst.
However, it is advisable to consider the hierarchy of road network while defining a road as
major or minor.
 Merge and Diverge Segments: Segments in which two or more traffic streams combine to
form a single traffic stream (merge) or a single traffic stream divides to form two or more
separate traffic streams (diverge).
 Number of Followers as Percent of Capacity (NFPC): The number of vehicles in following
state on a section of two-lane or intermediate lane road, divided by its capacity. It is used to
define Level of Service on two lane and intermediate lane road.
 Occupancy Time (seconds): Occupancy Time (OT) refers to the time that a vehicle incurs in
completely clearing the conflict area of an intersection. It is measured as the time elapsed
between the arrival of subject vehicle at the edge of the conflict area and its complete exit
from the intersection conflict area.
 Operating Speed: Theoretically, it is the average speed (km/h) of the traffic stream, comprising
only standard cars i.e. small cars up to 1400 cc engine displacement, when the density is
approaching zero i.e. there are very few vehicles present on the carriageway. Therefore, it is
the speed of a vehicle when the presence of other vehicles does not restrain its movement.
From operational point of view, it is the 85th percentile speed of standard passenger cars
measured under low volume conditions. Such low volume conditions are assumed to occur
when the time headway between two successive vehicles is 8 seconds or more as per this
manual.
 Passenger Car Unit (PCU): It is the amount of interaction (or impedance) caused by the
vehicle to a traffic stream with respect to a standard passenger car. It is used to convert a
heterogeneous traffic stream into a homogeneous equivalent to express flow and density in
a common unit.
 Peak Hour Flow: Peak rates of flow are related to hourly volumes with peak hour factor. This
factor is defined as the ratio of total hourly volume to the peak rate of flow within the hour.
 Peak Hour Ratio (PHR): It is the percentage of ADT or AADT that passes through a given
section in the peak hour. It can be readily ascertained through field observations. In the
absence of field observations, however, default value of PHR may be adopted as 10%.
 Phase Composition: The combination of vehicular, pedestrian and other movements, if any,
legally permitted during a phase.
 Phase Sequence: The order in which the phases follow each other in a signal cycle.

 Planning Time Index (PTI): This index represents the amount of total time a traveller should
have to ensure on time arrival. It also represents the extra time that is included by most of the
travellers when planning peak period trips as given in Equation 1.3.
95th percentile Travel Time
Planning Time Index (PTI) = —————————— Equation 1.3
Free Flow Travel Time
 Queue: A line of vehicles waiting at the STOP line for the green phase to be served by a
signalized intersection. Traffic moving slowly and joining the rear of the queue is usually
considered as part of the queue. The internal queue dynamics may involve a series of stops
and starts.
 Queue Length: The number of vehicles in a queue, or the longitudinal distance that is covered
by the queue at the STOP line of the approach of a signalized intersection.
 Reliability: The term reliability is defined in system engineering as probability of a device
performing its purpose adequately for the period of time intended under the operating
conditions encountered (Billinton and Allan, 1992).
 Road Network Reliability: The road network reliability is defined as the network that can
guarantee an acceptable level of service for road traffic even if some links are physically
damaged or large amount of travel demand is occasionally generated (Asakura and
Kashiwadani, 1991). Road network reliability problems are caused mainly by uncertainty of
traffic conditions of the network. Sources of uncertainties can be an element of demand side
factors, supply side factors and other external factors of the road network.
 Roughness: Roughness is defined as the aggregated deviations of a pavement surface from a
true planar surface with characteristic dimensions that affect vehicle dynamics, ride quality,
dynamic loads, and drainage. Roughness affects the speed and movement of vehicles and
hence it affects the capacity and LOS. In this manual, roughness measured in terms of the
International Roughness Index (IRI) in m/km has been used for analysis.
 Shoulder Type: A shoulder is a portion of the road contiguous with the carriageway and
is intended for accommodating of stopped vehicles, emergency use and providing lateral
structural support to the road. Shoulders can be of two types:
 Paved Shoulders: They are constructed with the similar material as that of the main
carriageway with width ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 m.
 Unpaved Shoulders: They are constructed with well-compacted earth, also called
earthen shoulders, or materials like turf, stabilised soil, gravel, brick paving, etc. In
the case of multilane interurban highways, given the fact that they cater to high-speed
traffic, paved shoulders (1.5 to 2.0 wide) are invariably provided on the outer side of the
carriageways and it is supplemented with unpaved shoulder of suitable width ranging
from 1.0 to 1.5 m.
 Shoulder Width: The width of the shoulder should be adequate for providing working space
around a stopped vehicle. For multilane interurban highways, generally 1.5 m - 2.0 m wide
paved shoulders are provided. They are supplemented with unpaved shoulders in open areas.
As shoulders can act as auxiliary lanes in Indian conditions, especially to accommodate slow
moving vehicles and even motorized two-wheelers, they are expected to increase the capacity
of the road section. In addition, wider shoulders provide a sense of security to the drivers and
hence they can drive with more freedom. Therefore, width of shoulders is expected to affect
both capacity and LOS.

 Side Friction Adjustment Factor: It is the factor, which incorporates the effect of side friction
on the road capacity.
 Speed: It is the rate of motion of individual vehicles or of traffic stream. It is measured in
metres per second (m/s) or kilometres per hour (km/h). The types of speed measurements
used in traffic engineering applications are Space Mean Speed and Time Mean Speed.
 Space Mean Speed (SMS): It is the mean speed of vehicles in a traffic stream at any instant of
time over a certain length of the road. It is the average speed based on average travel time of
vehicles to traverse a known segment of a roadway. It is generally slightly less than the time
mean speed.
 Start-up Lost Time: The additional time (in seconds) consumed by the first few vehicles in
a queue at a signalized intersection because of the need to react to the initiation of the green
phase and to accelerate.
 Stopped Delay / Average Stopped Delay (ds): The time a vehicle is stopped in queue while
waiting to pass through the intersection. It begins when the vehicle is fully stopped and ends
when the vehicle begins to accelerate. Average stopped delay experienced by one flow unit
(passenger car unit or vehicle) during the analysis period is calculated by dividing the total
stopped delay (of all flow units) by the number of flow units (passenger car units or vehicles)
and is reported as sec/PCU or sec/vehicle.
 Stream Equivalency Factor: It is the ratio of traffic volume in PCUs per hour to volume in
vehicles per hour.
 Travel Time Reliability (TTR): It is defined as the probability that trip between a given O-D
pair can be made successfully within a given time interval and specified LOS. This measurement
vis useful while evaluating network performance under normal daily flow variations and
various uncertainties. If route travel time “t” is random variable, travel time reliability can
be expressed as the probability that the trip can be finished within a given period of time or
within the acceptable travel time “T”. Mathematically, this can be explained by Equations 1.4
and 1.5. Figure 1.1 presents the pictorial illustration of the concept of travel time reliability.
Figure 1.1: Definition of Travel Time Reliability

Reliability = prob{t<T} Equation 1.4
T
R(t) = ∫0 ∅(t)dt Equation 1.5
Where,
∅(t) is the probability distribution function (pdf)
T = acceptable travel time
R (T) is the acceptable travel time
 Time Mean Speed (TMS): It is the mean speed of vehicles observed at a point on the road
over a period. It is the arithmetic mean of spot speeds.

 Traffic Flow: The amount of traffic on a road is generally measured as either traffic volume
or traffic flow. Traffic volume is the total number of vehicles that pass over a given point or
section of a roadway in a given interval of time. Traffic volume can thus be given for annual,
daily, hourly, or sub-hourly periods. Traffic flow, on the other hand, is the equivalent hourly
rate at which the vehicles pass over a given point or section of a roadway for an interval of
time less than one hour. In this manual, the time interval for calculation of traffic flow has
been taken as five (5) minutes.
 Terrain Classification: Terrain is classified based on the general cross slope of the country
across the highway alignment. Cross slope is the slope approximately perpendicular to the
road. Terrain is classified as plain, rolling, mountainous and steep as per the criteria given in
Table 1.1.
Table 1.1: Terrain Classification
S.No. Terrain Classification Percent cross slope of the country
1 Plain 0 – 10
2 Rolling 10 – 25
3 Mountainous 25 – 60
4 Steep More than 60
 Upstream: The direction from which traffic is coming.

 Volume to Capacity Ratio: The ratio of flow rate to the capacity of a road segment.
 Weaving Segments: Segments in which two or more traffic streams travel in the same general
direction cross-paths along a significant length of expressway / multi lane highway segment
without the aid of traffic control devices (except for guide signs and markings).
 95th Percentile Travel Time: Simplest measure of travel time reliability is 95th percentile
travel time for specific travel routes or trips, which indicates the severe condition of delay
during travel.
1.5.2 Pedestrian Facility Based Terminologies

This section presents the definition of generic terminologies associated with various forms
of pedestrian facilities i.e. Sidewalks / Footpaths, Crosswalks, Stairways and Foot Over Bridges dealt in
this manual in alphabetical order.
 Accepted Gap: The final gap size, which the pedestrian perceives as a safe gap size to cross
the road. It is usually greater than the critical gap. It is measured in seconds(s).
 Gap: The time difference between the tail of a leading vehicle and the head of the following
vehicle in the traffic stream. It is measured in seconds (s).
 Frequency of Attempt: Number of attempts that a pedestrian makes to accept the vehicular
gap.
 Pedestrian Critical Gap: The minimum gap size in the traffic stream that will allow the entry
of a pedestrian to cross the road. It is measured in seconds (s).
 Pedestrian Density (Kp): Average number of pedestrians per unit of area within a walkway
or queuing area, expressed as pedestrians per square metre.

 Pedestrian Flow Rate (Qp): Number of pedestrians passing a given point per unit time,
expressed as pedestrians per 15 minutes or pedestrians per minute or pedestrians per hour;
“point” refers to a perpendicular line of sight across the width of walkway.
 Pedestrian Space (S): Average area available to a pedestrian in a walkway or queuing area,
expressed in terms of square metre per pedestrian. This is the inverse of density and is a more
practical unit for analysis of pedestrian facilities.
 Pedestrian Speed (Vp): Average pedestrian walking speed, generally expressed in units of
metres per second.
 Pedestrian Waiting Time: It is the time lost between the arrival of a pedestrian at kerb side
or crossing location and starting of the crossing manoeuvre on accepting a gap. It is measured
in seconds (s).
 Platoon Size: It refers to the number of pedestrians walking or crossing together as a group.
 Rejected Gap: Insufficient gaps between vehicles that are rejected by pedestrians. These are
usually smaller than the critical gap. It is measured in seconds (s).
 Unit Width Flow: Average flow of pedestrians per unit width of effective walkway, expressed
as pedestrians per minute per metre (width of walkway).
1.6 TRAFFIC FLOW AND CAPACITY

The relationships between volume of traffic (flow rate), speed and density are a fundamental
in understanding notions of capacity and level of service. Equation 1.6 describes relationship among
these three parameters for unsaturated traffic conditions.
q = k*v Equation 1.6
Where,
q = traffic flow rate (vehicles per hour)
k = density (vehicles per km)
v = speed (km per hour)
Figure 1.2 shows a generalized, theoretical representation of these relationships.
Figure 1.2: Flow, Speed and Density Relationships

These curves illustrate a few basic points that help in appreciation of concept of capacity and
levels of service. A zero flow rate occur under two different conditions. The first is when density is
zero i.e. there is no vehicle in the traffic stream. Speed is likely to be high by the first driver in the
traffic stream. This is called free speed, denoted by vf. The second is when density is so high that all
vehicles happen to stop i.e. speed is zero. The density at that point is called jam density, denoted by kj
in the figure. Between these two extremes, the characteristics of traffic produce a maximizing effect.
Capacity is reached when the product of density (veh/km) and speed (km/h) results in the maximum
flow rate (veh/h). This condition is shown as speed at capacity and density at capacity. HCM of USA
describes these parameters as ‘critical speed’ and ‘critical density’. In this manual, the flow-density
and speed-flow relationships have generally been used to define LOS. Figure 1.2 also shows that any
flow rate other than capacity can be either at low density and high speed or at high density and low
speed. The former represents unsaturated flow and the latter represents the oversaturated flow. Level
of Service A through E are defined in various chapters of this manual to represent unsaturated flow
(low density and high speed) with maximum flow being considered as capacity and upper boundary
of LOS E. The right half of the flow-density curve represents LOS F i.e. oversaturated flow conditions of
traffic. Broadly, LOS - A to LOS - E represents the following traffic operations:
LOS A : Free Flow
LOS B : Reasonably Free Flow
LOS C : Stable Flow
LOS D : Approaching Unstable Flow
LOS E : Unstable Flow
1.7 VEHICLE TYPES

The typical vehicle types witnessed on Indian roads is given in Table 1.2 and typical illustration
presented in Figure 1.3. The average dimensions of the vehicle types considered in this manual has
been derived by considering the vehicle brands that are typically witnessed on the Indian roads
across varying vehicle types / modes and the same is presented in Table 1.3. Further, the vehicle
types presented is a generic representation, which has been appropriately combined depending on
the type of road facility dealt with in each of the subsequent chapters. For instance, in some of the
chapters, certain vehicle types / modes has been either left out or combined with other vehicle types
during the course of the analysis. This is done either due to their insignificant proportion on the
candidate road section(s) or due to negligible difference on traffic flow due to their presence on the
relevant type of road facility.

Table 1.2: Typical Vehicle Types and Mode Classification
S. No. Vehicle Type Type of Mode
Motorized Traffic
Motorized Two Wheelers including Bikes and

1. Two Wheelers (TW)
Scooters
Auto rickshaws# (Auto)

All Motorized
2. (Three and Four Wheeled Rickshaws
Auto Rickshaws
including electric rickshaws)
3. Small /Standard Cars @ (SC) Cars of engine capacity up to 1400 cc
Cars / Vans / Jeeps having engine capacity

4. Big Cars and Vans$ (BC)
more than 1400 cc
5. Mini Buses (MB)

Transport Vehicles
6. Buses (B)
Commercial Pick Up Vans and Mini Trucks

7. Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV)
(Gross Vehicle Weight up to 9.0 tonnes)
Heavy Goods Vehicles

8. Two / Three Axle Trucks (TAT)
(Gross Vehicle Weight up to 25.2 tonnes)
Multi Axle Goods Vehicles

9. Multi Axle Trucks(MAT)
(Gross Vehicle Weight more than 25.2 tonnes)
Tractors / Tractors with Trailers

10. Medium Goods Vehicles
(TRAC)
Non-Motorized Traffic
11. Cycles (CY)
12. Cycle Rickshaws (CY RICK) Slow Moving Vehicles (SMV)
13. Animal Drawn Vehicles (ADV)

@ Small Cars comprised of all brands of four wheeled cars up to 1400 cc engine capacity which include
Maruti-800, Maruti-Alto, Omni, Gypsy, Maruti K-10, Ritz, Vitara Brezza, Wagon-R, Swift Desire, Santro Xing,
Hyundai i-10/i-20, Tata Indica, Volkswagen Polo, Maruti Zen, Nissan Kwid, Honda Brio, Honda Jazz, Honda
Amaze, Chevrolet Beat, etc.
$ Big Cars comprised of all four wheeled luxury cars / vans / jeeps which possess engine capacity more than
1400 cc engine including Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), Compact Recreational Vehicles (CRVs) and Multi
Utility Vehicles (MUVs).
# Quantum of electric or e-rickshaws is insignificant on all the candidate road sections considered in this
manual, and hence combined with the normal three wheeled auto rickshaws. Similar is the case with four
wheeled auto rickshaws as well and hence combined.

Motorized Two Wheeler (TW) Three-Wheeled Auto Rickshaw (Auto)
Four Wheeled Auto rickshaw (F-Auto) Small / Standard Car (SC)
Big Car (BC) Mini Bus (MB)
Bus (B) Articulated Bus (AB)

Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT)
Multi Axle Truck (MAT) Tractor with Trailer (TT)
Cycle (C) Cycle Rickshaw (CY RICK)
Animal Drawn Vehicle
Figure 1.3: Typical Illustrative Pictures of Vehicle Types

Table 1.3: Vehicle Types and Their Dimensions
Vehicle Type Length (m) Width (m) Projected Area (sq m)
Motorized Traffic
Two-Wheeler (2W) 1.87 0.64 1.20
Auto rickshaw (Auto) 3.20 1.40 4.48
Standard Car (SC) 3.72 1.44 5.36
Big Car (BC) 4.58 1.77 8.11
Mini Bus (MB) 6.00 2.43 14.58
Bus (B) 10.10 2.43 24.54
Articulated Bus (AB) 18.00 2.60 46.8
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) 6.10 2.10 12.81
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 7.50 2.35 17.63
Multi Axle Trucks/Vehicles (MAT) 12.10 2.44 29.52
Tractor with Trailer Combination (TT) 7.40 2.20 16.28
Non Motorized Traffic
Bicycles (C) 1.90 0.45 0.86
Cycle Rickshaw (CY) 2.66 1.16 3.09
Animal Drawn Vehicle (ADV) 5.50 1.75 9.63
1.8 STRUCTURE OF THE MANUAL

As the title suggests, this chapter presents a bird’s eye view of the structure of the manual and
definition of generic terminologies related to traffic engineering and planning. Typical illustrative
examples are furnished in each of the subsequent nine chapters. These examples are expected to
be of immense use for the analysts in understanding the essence of the Indo - HCM towards the
estimation of capacity and Level of Service (LOS) of various types of roads and different forms of
urban pedestrian facilities dealt in this manual. The succeeding sections provide an overview of each
of the subsequent chapters of this manual.
1.8.1
Chapter 2: Single lane, Intermediate and Two lane Interurban
Bidirectional Roads
Chapter 2 deals with the methodology for the determination of capacity of single lane,
intermediate and two lane roads. It also provides the procedure to determine the Level of Service (LOS)
of intermediate and two lane roads as well as for single lane roads by considering them separately. To
determine the above parameters, 30 two lane (13 out of them are base sections), 17 intermediate lane
(13 out of them are base sections) and 10 single lane (6 out of them are base sections) road segments
covering different regions of the country have been considered.

1.8.2 CHAPTER 3: MULTILANE INTERURBAN DIVIDED HIGHWAYS

Chapter-3 provides the methodologies for the estimation of capacity and Level of Service (LOS)
values evolved for vehicular traffic plying on uninterrupted flow segments of multilane interurban
highways under mixed traffic conditions as observed in India. An important point to note is that the
candidate road sections considered in this chapter must have a physical, raised or depressed median
(width of median 4.5 m to 6 m) in between the two sets of carriageways instead of a mere centerline
marking on typical interurban / rural highway environment. The carriageways on either side of the
median have equal number of lanes providing for movement of traffic in a single direction. Following
the above analogy, 19 four lane divided road sections (8 out of them are base sections) and 12 six lane
divided (6 out of them are base sections) road segments covering different region of the country have
been considered for analysis in this chapter.
1.8.3 Chapter 4: Interurban and Urban Expressways

Chapter 4 presents provides the methodologies for the estimation of capacity and LOS values
evolved for vehicular traffic plying on access controlled four-lane and six-lane divided interurban
expressways as well as on eight lane urban expressways catering to somewhat different traffic
conditions observed in the country.
In the case of interurban expressways, 6 four lane divided (all base sections) and 2 six lane
divided (one base section) have been considered. At the same time, in the case of urban expressways,
3 eight lane divided (all base sections) road sections have been considered for analysis. It has been
noted that during the course of data collection at the above road sections, the quantum of observed
traffic flow at the diverging and merging ramps are far below the designed capacity. This manual
covers the determination of capacity and LOS of only mid block sections of the expressway segments
whereas the diverging and merging ramps of the expressways are beyond the purview of this edition
of the manual.
1.8.4 Chapter 5: Urban Roads

Chapter 5 describes the procedures for the calculation of capacity and performance measures
of two lane undivided as well as divided urban roads from four lanes up to ten lanes divided urban
roads i.e. having road width varying from 7.5 m to 17.5 m in each direction of travel for the given
roadway, traffic and environmental conditions. The above road sections have been selected in 10
metropolitan cities namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Surat, Ahmedabad,
Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati.
32 base road sections (distribution in the form of 11 sections of Four Lane Divided, 11 sections
of Six Lane Divided, 4 sections of Eight Lane Divided and 3 sections of Ten Lane Divided and 2 sections
of Two Lane Undivided) and 36 non base sections (distribution in the form of 26 sections of Four Lane
Divided, 6 sections of Six Lane Divided, 2 sections of Eight Lane Divided and 1 section of Ten Lane Divided
and 1 section of Two Lane Undivided) have been considered in this chapter.
1.8.5 Chapter 6: Signalized Intersections

Chapter 6 deals with the methodology devised for determination of capacity and Level of Service
(LOS) of varying typologies of fixed time isolated signal controlled intersections. The methodology
considers a variety of prevailing operating conditions such as traffic composition, flow movements,
geometric characteristics, signal cycle time settings and development of adjustment factors for
such intersections. For the purpose of estimation of saturation flow and capacity, 23 signalized
intersections possessing varying typologies located in eight cities namely; Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Chennai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Noida have been considered for analysis. For estimation
of delay and Level of Service (LOS), perception of users on the quantum of delay encountered and

socio-economic aspects of the respondents have been collected at 18 signalized intersections located
in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Noida. The user perception data has been collected by interviewing
the respondents at the approach arms of the intersections as well as from respondents at selected
parking lots / fuel stations located adjacent to the candidate intersections considered in each city.
1.8.6 Chapter 7: Roundabouts

Chapter -7 presents concepts and procedures for estimating the capacity and LOS of
roundabouts (diameter 20 m to 70 m) with two lane approach roads having mixed traffic flow
conditions conforming to base condition criteria detailed therein. Other types of roundabouts, with
approach lanes more than two lanes has not been taken into account for further studies because of
the fact that the degree of magnitude of traffic at the approach arms was not adequate for generation
of critical gap as against the flow of circulating traffic in the roundabout. Eventually, 18 Roundabouts
located in nine cities namely, Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Gandhinagar, Surat, Navi Mumbai
and Salem has been considered for analysis. The methodology devised allows the analyst to assess
the operational performance and capacity of existing or planned roundabouts based on the given
traffic demand levels. It also considers a variety of prevailing operating conditions such as traffic
composition, flow movements, geometric characteristics and development of adjustment factors for
the considered typology of roundabouts.
1.8.7 Chapter 8: Unsignalized Intersections

Chapter -8 presents the concepts and procedures for the estimation of capacity and Level of
Service (LOS) offered by the three legged and four legged unsignalized intersections only. In this context,
12 unsignalized intersections possessing varying three legged as well as four-legged configuration
have been considered. These intersections are located in eight metropolitan cities namely, New Delhi,
Navi Mumbai, Maraimalainagar (on the outskirts of Chennai), Thiruvananthapuram, Bhubaneswar,
Meerut, Faridabad and Noida. Since, gap acceptance theory is primarily dependent on critical gap
value, a method termed as Occupancy Time Method (OTM) has been conceived in this Chapter for
the calculation of critical gaps. Unlike the other methods of critical gap estimation, this method also
incorporates actual driver behaviour observed on road intersections in India. The determination of
capacity for various movements at unsignalized intersection is carried out through a series of steps,
which is detailed in the chapter with illustrative examples.
1.8.8 Overview of Chapter 9: Pedestrian Facilities

Chapter - 9 describes the procedures for the estimation of capacity and Level of Service
(LOS) of various forms of pedestrian facilities existing in urban areas of India namely, Sidewalks,
Crosswalks, Stairways and Foot Over Bridges (FOBs). Twenty-one Sidewalks located in various cities
namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chandigarh and Roorkee has been
considered as test section for analysis. The average crossing speed of pedestrians and pedestrian
flow across varying roadway configurations at eight typical Crosswalks in various cities namely,
New Delhi, Mumbai, Surat and Chandigarh have been considered for further analysis. In the case of
Stairways, the average speed and flow of pedestrians observed at two typical Stairways in suburban
train stations in Mumbai (catering up to crowded pedestrian flow environment) has been deployed to
develop macroscopic fundamental diagrams between pedestrian flow parameters. The average free
flow speed and quantum of pedestrian flow observed at five typical Foot Over Bridge (FOBs) located
in selected cities namely, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai have been considered for further analysis.
Moreover, to determine the Walkability Index, the perception of the pedestrians on the quality
of Sidewalks / Walkways available and needs of the pedestrians has been captured through a detailed
questionnaire surveys conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat by interviewing
about 2500 respondents to derive the Walkability Index.

1.8.9 Chapter 10: Travel Time Reliability

The concept of Travel Time Reliability (TTR) helps in understanding two operating states,
implying thereby whether the road is connected or disconnected. This binary state approach limits
the application to everyday situation where road links are operating in between these two extremes.
In addition, the aspects of this reliability are less useful to the road users as compared to the transport
system planners. This limitation, further led to the development of various network reliability
measures such as travel time reliability, capacity reliability, parking reliability etc. Out of the various
network reliability measures, travel time reliability is considered as a useful tool for the system users
as well as for the system planners. This tool has been introduced in HCM (2010) version of USA for the
first time. Taking cue out of the above, a maiden attempt has been made to consider the aspect of TTR
in the Indo-HCM manual by collecting very limited travel time data on selected urban i.e. covering both
interrupted and uninterrupted facilities as well as interurban uninterrupted multilane road facilities.
Eventually, one test section covering interrupted flow and uninterrupted flow conditions prevailing
on multilane urban roads spanning a length of 1.5 km to 3 km and similarly, one test section on
interurban corridor spanning a length of 3 km was selected for data collection in the National Capital
Region (NCR) of Delhi. Based on the above collected data, LOS based Travel Time Reliability has been
carried out and the results have been presented in the form of Planning Time, Buffer Time, Planning
Time Index and Buffer Time Index. Similarly, the above parameters have been evaluated in the case
of Public Transport System operating in selected Indian cities as well. In this regard, the TTR of the
public transport operational data for the normal city bus operations in the city of Mysuru as well as
Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) operating in the city of Ahmedabad was evaluated using the above
parameters.
1.9
PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIETAL BENEFITS OF THE
MANUAL
1.9.1 Innovative Process of Manual Development
This project of development of Indo-HCM itself is innovative as there has not been any such
attempt in the past in India. The development of Indo - HCM was not an easy task considering the
vast size of the country and variety of roads and the heterogeneous traffic mix. Therefore, CSIR -
CRRI identified seven prominent academic institutes located in different regions in the country
to provide technical support for all the Work Packages as well as to assume the role of Regional
Coordinators (RC) for one or two work packages depending upon their expertise. As mentioned
earlier, the seven academic institutions identified are Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, School of
Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Engineering and Science and Technology,
Shibpur, Howrah, Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology, Surat and Anna University,
Chennai. The methodology for collection and analysis of traffic data was finalized in the common
meeting of Regional Coordinators. Each RC collected traffic flow data on various types of facilities in
the respective regions of the country and provided to the respective Work Package (WP) in charge for
analysis. The identified institutes as well as Work Package leaders from CSIR – CRRI performed traffic
data collection at pan-India covering all types of road network (Expressways, National Highways.
State Highways, Major District Roads, Other District Roads and Urban Roads) including various forms
of urban pedestrian facilities.
Prof. Satish Chandra, Director, spearheaded the entire Indo - HCM team with the project
execution performed under the leadership of Dr. S. Velmurugan, Champion and aided by Dr. K.
Ravinder, Co-Champion. As mentioned earlier, this was the maiden attempt by CSIR - CRRI to
network with such a large number of academic institutes on the lines of HCM (2010) of USA. The

project was completed on time with regular monitoring at different levels to achieve the desired
quality. This mission mode project led by CSIR - CRRI was completed in time with regular monitoring
at different levels to achieve the desired quality, which has once again displayed the technical prowess
and management expertise of CSIR - CRRI in handling large size projects. Largely, the various national
level workshops and task force committee meetings conducted by Champion and Co-Champion of
Indo - HCM Project in close coordination with faculty from reputed academic institutes who have
been assigned the role of Regional Coordinators (RCs) cum Local Organizing Secretary (LOC) for the
conduct of the national workshop has helped this cause.
The first workshop in the above series was conducted in January, 2013; it was followed by
yearly review workshops (three numbers) conducted in March, 2014, February, 2015 and March,
2016 in different academic institutes involved in this study.
During each of the above workshops, the identified experts in the capacity of Session Chairs
were invited for critical monitoring of the incremental progress made by the Work Package (WP)
Leaders / members of CSIR - CRRI. All the suggestions of the learned experts were considered
positively and the concerned teams in their chapters did necessary course corrections. Moreover,
a total of nine Task Force Committee (TFC) meetings chaired by Director, CSIR - CRRI were also
convened by the Champion and the Co-Champion during the course of the Indo - HCM Project which
comprised of WP Leaders from CSIR - CRRI and RCs serving as principle members. The above national
workshops as well as the deliberations during the TFC meetings aided the concerned teams to gear up
for the finalization of the chapters dealt by them and facilitated in streamlining each of the chapters
leading to the development of indigenous manual for India. Eventually, the above streamlined review
process culminated with a 2-day national level dissemination workshop organized by CSIR - CRRI
in its premises on 20th and 21st February, 2017 which was again engineered by Champion and Co
Champion of Indo - HCM Project. During the above workshop, an executive summary of the manual
was published by the CSIR - CRRI led team with each of the RCs and Work Package Leaders from
CSIR - CRRI presenting salient findings included in various chapters of the manual. The issues raised
by each of the Session Chairs and the 150 odd invited delegates during the Workshop have been
appropriately incorporated in the present manual. During the execution of the project, several new
concepts were evolved considering the unique traffic behavior on Indian roads. A few of them are
listed below:
• Modus Operandi followed for the execution of Indo - HCM is itself innovative as there has not
been any similar attempt made in the past in the country.
• Dynamic Passenger Car Unit (DPCU) based on Area and Speed of a vehicle.
• Development of Stream equivalency factor for readymade estimation of capacity
• Relationship between Operating Speed and Capacity that can be used to estimate the capacity
of any given road provided Free Flow Speed (FFS) of a minimum sample size of 200 standard
cars be collected for any type of road.
• Estimation of Level of Service on Interurban Undivided carriageways through the Number of
Followers per Capacity (NFPC).
• Level of Service (LOS) estimation for Signalized Intersection through User Perception Surveys
• Gap acceptance model for analysis of roundabouts
• Occupancy time method for estimation of critical gap, estimation of capacity (of movements)
and Level of Service of unsignalized intersections and
• Concept of travel time reliability for interurban and urban arterial roads.

1.9.2 Societal Benefits

Engineers / Planners / Bureaucrats can look to follow the realistic capacity values evolved in
this manual during the planning of new facilities instead of using either the obsolete values available
in the relevant Indian Roads Congress (IRC) documents or directly adopting the values given in US-
HCM (2010) or other manuals, which are not directly applicable to Indian road scenario. It is expected
that the manual would serve as a basic guide for the practicing engineers and decision makers
towards capacity augmentation of various types of roads, (both at mid block sections and intersections
of varied typologies) as well as pedestrian facilities. Efforts are already in place from the scientists of
CSIR - CRRI as well as Regional Coordinators (RCs) associated with the various Indian Roads Congress
(IRC) technical committees to incorporate the study findings from this manual in the appropriate
documents of IRC for their revision. The following standards need mention here:
• IRC:64 (1990) Guidelines for Capacity of Rural Roads in Plain Areas
• IRC:106 (1990) Guidelines for Capacity of Urban Roads in Plain Areas
• IRC:65 (1976) Recommended Practice for Roundabouts
• IRC 93 (1985) Guidelines on Design and Installation of Road Traffic Signals
• IRC:103 (2012)“Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities
• New Capacity Guidelines for Unsignalized Intersections
• New Guidelines for Travel Time Reliability on Urban and Interurban Corridors.

REFERENCES
1. Asakura, Y and Kashiwadani. M., (1991) “Road Network Reliability caused by Daily Fluctuation
of Traffic Flow”, Proceeding of the 19th PTRC, Summer Annual Meeting in Brighton, Seminar pp.
73 - 84.
2. CHCM (1999), “China Highway Capacity Manual” National Highway Project of the People’s
Republic of China.
3. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007 - 2012), “Agriculture, Rural Development, Industry, Services and
Physical Infrastructure Volume III” Planning Commission, Government of India, pp. 298 - 300.
4. HCM (2010), “HCM 2010: Highway Capacity Manual”, .Special Report No. 209, 5th Edition,
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC., USA
5. IHCM (1993), “Indonesian Highway Capacity Manual”, Directorate General of Highways Ministry
of Public Works.
6. IRC: 64 (1990), “Guidelines for Capacity of Roads in Rural Areas (First Revision)” Indian Roads
Congress, New Delhi.
7. IRC: 65 (1976), “Recommended Practice for Traffic Rotaries”, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
8. IRC: 93 (1985), “Guidelines on Design and Installation of Road Traffic Signals”, Indian Roads
9. IRC: 103 (2012), “Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities”, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, India.
10. IRC: 106 (1990), “Guidelines for Guidelines for Capacity of Urban Roads in Plain Areas”, Indian
Roads Congress, New Delhi.
11. IRC: SP-41 (1994), “Guidelines for Design of At-Grade Intersections in Rural and Urban Areas”,
Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
12. IRC: SP-87 (2013), “Manual of Specifications and Standards for Six laning of Highways through
Public Private Partnership (First Revision)”, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
13. IRC: SP-84 (2014), “Manual of Specifications and Standards for Four laning of Highways through
Public Private Partnership (First Revision)”, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
14. IRC SP-99 (2013), “Manual of Specification and Standards for Expressways”, Indian Roads

Chapter 2:
Single Lane, Intermediate Lane and
Two Lane Interurban Bidirectional Roads
Single Lane, Intermediate Lane and Two Lane Interurban Roads
STUDY TEAM: CHAPTER 2

Dr. S. Velmurugan, Senior Principal Scientist and Champion, Indo-HCM
Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Principal Scientist and Co Champion, Indo-HCM
Regional Coordinator (RC)
CSIR-CRRI Team
and Team Members
Dr Ch. Ravisekhar, Principal Scientist, Work Package Leader,

Transportation Planning (TP) Division
Prof. Satish Chandra, RC
Dr J Nataraju, Principal Scientist, Work Package Leader,
Traffic Engineering and Safety (TEC) Division
Team Members
Sh. Pradeep Kumar, Principal Scientist, Prof. Gaurang. J. Joshi,

Pavement Evaluation Division (PED) SVNIT Surat
Prof. Shriniwas Arkatkar,

SVNIT Surat
Sh. Daleep Mutreja

CONTRIBUTIONS OF STUDENTS
M.Tech. Students pursued their Thesis @ CSIR - CRRI, New Delhi
Mr. Balakrishna K
Mr. Parin Patel
Ph.D. Students pursued their Thesis @ IIT, Roorkee Ph.D. Students:
Dr. Amardeep Bora
Dr. Mohammad Mardani
M.Tech. Students pursued their Thesis jointly with IIT Roorkee and
CSIR - CRRI, New Delhi
Mr. Ashish Walia
Mr. Dinesh Kumar Reddy
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 2 - ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Section
Title
Number
Number
Study Team i
Contributions of Students ii
List of Figures v
List of Tables vi
List of Abbreviations vii
2.1 INTRODUCTION 1
2.2 DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGIES 1
2.3 FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 3
2.3.1 Two Lane Roads 3
2.3.2 Intermediate Lane Roads 4
2.3.3 Single Lane Roads 4
2.4 BASE CONDITIONS FOR CAPACITY ESTIMATION 4
2.5 SCOPE AND LIMITATION 5
2.6 METHODOLOGY 5
2.6.1 Framework for Capacity Estimation 7
2.7 PASSENGER CAR UNIT VALUES 10
2.8 STREAM EQUIVALENCY FACTOR (Se) 12
2.8.1 Single Lane Roads 13
2.8.2 Intermediate and Two Lane roads 13
2.9 CAPACITY UNDER BASE CONDITIONS 14
2.9.1 Speed - Flow Relationship 14
2.9.2 Base Capacity of Two Lane Roads 15
2.9.3 Base Capacity of Intermediate Lane Roads 15
2.9.4 Base Capacity of Single Lane Roads 16

2.10 ADJUSTMENT FACTORS 16
2.10.1 Adjustment Factor for Carriageway Width 16
2.10.2 Adjustment Factor for Paved Shoulder 17
2.10.3 Adjustment Factor for Directional Split 17
2.10.4 Adjustment Factor for Road Geometry 17
2.10.5 Adjustment Factor for Riding Quality 18
2.11 LEVEL OF SERVICE 19
2.11.1 Number of Followers 21
2.11.2 Identification of the Critical Gap Value 22
2.12 ILLUSTRATIVE PROBLEMS 23
2.12.1 Method of Estimation of Dynamic Passenger Car Unit 23
2.12.2 Determination of Capacity and Level of Service 25
Determination of Capacity and Level of

2.12.3 26
Service of Hilly Roads
REFERENCES 28
SUGGESTED READINGS 28

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
2.1 Typical Two Lane Road 3
2.2 Typical Intermediate Lane Road 4
2.3 Typical Single Lane Road 4
2.4 Methodology for Estimation of Capacity and LOS 7
2.5 Extraction of Speed Data from Videos Showing Trap length 9
2.6 Traffic Software for Space Mean Speed Extraction 9
Traffic Flow in veh/h and in PCU/h for two lane and

2.7 13
intermediate lane roads
2.8 Traffic Flow in veh/h and in PCU/h for single lane road 13
Relationship between Operating Speed and

2.9 15
Capacity of Two Lane Roads
Relationship between Operating Speed and

2.10 16
Capacity of Intermediate Lane Roads
2.11 Relationship Between Operating Speed and Roughness 18
2.12 Effect of Riding Quality on Capacity 19
2.13 Pictorial Illustration of Level of Service for Bidirectional Roads 20
Histogram of the Speed Difference between

2.14 22
consecutive vehicles
Plot between the Gap Value and the Cumulative

2.15 22
Distribution of Non-Followers
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 2 - v

LIST OF TABLES
Table
Title Page Number
Number
2.1 Terrain Classification 3
2.3 Input Data required for Capacity Analysis 8
2.4 Suggested PCU Values for various vehicle types 11
Observed Range (in percent) of Traffic Composition on

2.5 12
Varying Widths of Roads
2.6 Adjustment Factor for Variation in Carriageway Width (fw) 17
2.7 Adjustment Factor for Paved Shoulder on Two Lane Roads (fps) 17
2.8 Adjustment Factor for Directional Split (fds) 17
Proposed LOS Ranges for and DSV Values for

2.9 23
Intermediate and Two lane roads
2.10 Proposed LOS Ranges for Single lane Roads 23
2.11 Observed Classified Traffic Volume 24
2.12 Estimated PCUs 25
2.13 Total Hourly Traffic Flow in PCUs 26
Observed Road Geometric Features on the

2.14 27
Candidate Road Sections
2.15 Operating Speed of the Candidate Road Sections 27
2.16 Capacity of the Candidate Road Sections 27
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 2 - vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AADT Annual Average Daily Traffic
Ac and Ai Projected Rectangular Area
ADT Average Daily Traffic

ADV Animal Drawn Vehicles
ATS Average Travel Speed
ATSPC Average Travel Speed of Passenger Cars
Auto Auto rickshaws
BC Big Cars and Vans
Bus Buses
CG Critical Gap value
CY Cycles
CY RICK Cycle Rickshaws
DHV Design Hourly Volume

FD Followers Density
fdS Adjustment Factor for Split
FFS Free Flow Speed
fw Adjustment Factor
IRI International Roughness Index
K Density
K Density in PCU per km
Km/h Kilometre per hour
LCV Light Commercial Vehicles
LOS Level of Service

m/s Meter per second
MAT Multi Axle Trucks
MB Mini Bus
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 2 - vii

MDRs Major District Roads

ni Number of not following vehicles with a gap value of ‘i’
Total number of not following vehicles up to the gap length of 8

Nnot
seconds
NF Number of followers
NFPC Number of Followers as Percent of Capacity
NHs National Highways
NMT Non-Motorized Traffic
ODRs Other District Roads
PCU Passenger Car Unit
PF Percent Followers
PFFS Percent Free Flow Speed of cars
PTD Percent Time Delay
PTSF Percent Time Spent Following
PAUTO Proportion of Auto Rickshaws in the traffic stream
PBC Proportion of Big Cars in the traffic stream
PBUS Proportion of Buses in the traffic stream
PLCV Proportion of LCVs in the traffic stream
PMAT Proportion of Multi Axle Vehicles/Trucks in the traffic stream
PTAT Proportion of Two / Three Axle Trucks in the traffic stream
PTT Proportion of Tractor Trailers in the traffic stream
PTW Proportion of Two Wheelers in the traffic stream
PI Probability of a vehicle not following with a gap value of ‘i’
Q Traffic flow in PCU/hour
R Road Roughness
Se Stream Equivalency Factor
Stream Equivalency Factor for Intermediate and Two Lane

SeIL/TL
Carriageways
SeSL Stream Equivalency Factor for Single Lane Carriageways
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 2 - viii

s Standard Deviation of SMS
SC Small / Standard Cars
SHs State Highways
SMS Space Mean Speed
ti time taken by the ith vehicle to traverse the trap length ‘d’
TAT Two / Three Axle Trucks
TMS Time Mean Speed
TRAC Tractors / Tractor with Trailers
TW Two Wheelers
—
us Average SMS of the traffic stream
—
ut Average TMS of the traffic stream
V Space Mean Speed in Km/h
Vc and Vi Speed of standard car and respective vehicle type ‘i’ respectively
VOS Operating Speed
VR Village Roads
Y PCU value for x % of traffic composition
y1 Lower ranges of PCU value for x1 % of traffic composition
y2 Upper ranges of PCU value for x2 % of traffic composition
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 2 - ix

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Interurban highways in India include single lane roads, intermediate lane roads, two lane
roads, multi-lane highways and expressways. Single lane, intermediate lane and two lane roads are
undivided, facilitating two-way movement of traffic, whereas multi-lane highways and expressways
have divided carriageways with two or more lanes in each direction. On the other hand, traffic
operations on undivided roads are vastly different from that on divided highways. Hence, the
capacity and LOS of undivided roads and multilane divided highways have been dealt with separately
in this manual. A substantial proportion of National Highways (NHs) and State Highways (SHs) in
the country are still either two lane or intermediate lane carriageways. Similarly, majority of Major
District Roads (MDRs) are with either two lane or intermediate lane carriageways, while the Other
District Roads (ODRs) and Village Roads (VRs) are generally provided with single lane and only in few
cases with intermediate lane carriageways. Single lane roads have 3.75 m wide carriageways whereas
intermediate lane roads have carriageways between 5.5 m and 6.0 m wide carriageways. The existing
single lane roads are upgraded to intermediate lane roads where funds are not sufficient to widen
from single lane to two lane roads immediately. Traffic operations on two lane or intermediate lane
roads are unique in nature. Lane changing and overtaking manoeuvres are possible only in the face of
oncoming traffic in the opposing lane. The overtaking demand increases while passing opportunities
decline rapidly as the traffic volume increases. Therefore, flow in one direction influences the flow in
the other direction. This problem is more acute in the case of mixed traffic where speed differential
amongst different vehicle types is significant. It increases the desire for overtaking manoeuvres
considerably whereas number of opportunities to overtake is limited. As a result, operating quality
deteriorates as demand flow increases, and operations can become ‘unacceptable’ at a volume, which
is much below the capacity of the road. Single lane roads are normally provided to connect the villages
to district roads and state highways. These are generally feeder roads and experience low traffic
volume. Traffic operations on single lane roads are very much influenced by the condition and width
of the shoulders as vehicles are forced to use them during passing or overtaking operations. This
chapter presents methodologies for the estimation of capacity, operating speeds and Level of Service
of single lane, intermediate lane and two lane roads operating under mixed traffic flow conditions.
2.2 DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGIES

• Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT): It is the annual average daily traffic when
measurements are taken for the entire 365 days (366 days in case of leap year) of the year and
averaged out.
• Average Daily Traffic (ADT): It is the average daily traffic when measurements are taken for
a few days (less than one year such as monthly or weekly), averaged by the number of days for
which the measurements have been taken.
• Capacity: It is the maximum hourly volume (vehicles per hour) at which vehicles can
reasonably be expected to traverse a point or a uniform section of a lane or roadway under
the prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions. Following two definitions of capacity
are used in this chapter:
οο Base Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on
a lane or roadway during one hour, under the most nearly ideal roadway and traffic
conditions, which can possibly be attained.
οο Adjusted Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given
point on a lane or roadway during one hour under the prevailing roadway and traffic
conditions. It is obtained by adjusting the base capacity for the roadway and traffic
conditions present at site.

• Composition of Traffic Stream: It is the proportional share of different types of vehicles in

the traffic stream.
• Design Hourly Volume: Design Hourly Volume (DHV) is usually the 30th highest hourly
volume. This hourly volume is exceeded only during 29 hours in a year.
• Design Service Volume (DSV): It is defined as maximum service volume at which vehicles can
hour under prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions while maintaining a designed
Level of Service.
• Design Speed: Design speed depends on the function of the road and terrain classification. It
is the basic parameter, which determines all other geometric design features.
• Free Flow Speed: The mean speed of any vehicle type that can be accommodated under low to
moderate flow rates on a road segment under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions. This
signifies that the Free Flow Speed (FFS) of any given vehicle type, when the traffic flow is such
that the time gap between two consecutive vehicles is more than 8 seconds. Alternatively, FFS
is defined as the maximum speed that can be achieved by any given vehicle type when there
are no interruptions other vehicle types in the traffic for the given road width and terrain
conditions.
• Flow (or Volume): It is the number of vehicles that pass through a given point on a road
during a designated time interval. Since roads have a certain width and the required number
of lanes is accommodated within the available width, flow is always expressed in relation to
the given width i.e. per lane or per direction etc. The time unit selected is one hour.
• Interurban Roads: These roads help in achieving enhanced mobility of traffic between any
adjoining cities or towns. National Highways (NHs), State Highways (SHs), Major District
Roads (MDRs) and Other District Roads (ODRs) all fall under the category of interurban roads.
• Level of Service (LOS): It is defined as a qualitative measure, describing operational
conditions within a traffic stream and their perception by drivers/passengers. LOS definition
generally describes these conditions in terms of factors such as speed and travel time,
freedom to manoeuvre, traffic interruptions, comfort, convenience and safety. Six levels of
service are recognized and these are designated from A to F, with LOS A representing the
best operating condition i.e. free flow and the LOS F, the worst i.e. forced or breakdown flow. A
typical illustration of LOS is given in Section 2.10.
• Number of Followers as Percent of Capacity (NFPC): NFPC is the number of vehicles in
following state on a section of two lanes or intermediate lane road, divided by its capacity. It
is used to define Level of Service on two lane and intermediate lane roads.
• Operating Speed (VOS): It is the 85th percentile of free flow speed of standard passenger cars
(small cars) on a road. A vehicle travelling at headway 8 seconds or more is considered to be
operating under free flow conditions in this manual.
• Passenger Car Unit (PCU): It is the amount of interaction (or impedance) caused by the
vehicle to a traffic stream with respect to a standard passenger car. It is used to convert a
heterogeneous traffic stream into a homogeneous equivalent to express flow and density in
a common unit.
• Peak Hour Flow: Peak rates of flow are related to hourly volumes with peak hour factor. This
factor is defined as the ratio of total hourly volume to the peak rate of flow within the hour.

• Speed: It is the rate of motion of individual vehicles or of traffic stream. It is measured in

used in traffic engineering are Space Mean Speed and Time Mean Speed.
οο Space Mean Speed (SMS): It is the mean speed of vehicles in a traffic stream at
any instant of time over a certain length of the road. It is the average speed based
on average travel time of vehicles to traverse a known segment of a roadway. It is
generally slightly less than the time mean speed.
οο Time Mean Speed (TMS): It is the mean speed of vehicles observed at a point on the
road over a period. It is the arithmetic mean of spot speeds.
• Terrain Classification: Terrain is classified based on the general cross slope of the country
across the highway alignment. Cross slope is the slope approximately perpendicular to the
road. Terrain is classified as plain, rolling, mountainous and steep as per the criteria given in
Table 2.1.
Table 2.1: Terrain Classification
S.No. Terrain Classification Percent cross slope of the country
1 Plain 0 - 10
2 Rolling 10 - 25
3 Mountainous 25 - 60
4 Steep More than 60
2.3 FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
The traffic on Indian roads is composed of slow and fast moving vehicles with substantial
differences in their static and dynamic characteristics including their size and engine power. A wide
range of motorized and non-motorized traffic (NMT) uses the same roadway space resulting in
heterogeneous traffic. The bi-directional traffic on these roads shares the same road space without
physical segregation and occupies any lateral position on the road depending on the availability
of space. The vehicles on these roads rapidly change their positions to obtain a clear view of the
oncoming traffic or to find an opening to perform an overtaking manoeuvre.
2.3.1 Two Lane Roads

These roads possess carriageway of 7.0 m width, which is utilized by two-way traffic. The
traffic in each direction travels on a single lane. Therefore, lane changing and overtaking manoeuvres
are influenced by traffic in the opposite direction and making such manoeuvres is only possible
when no vehicle is coming from opposite direction. Figure 2.1 shows a typical example of a two-lane
carriageway in India. These roads may be provided with earthen shoulders and/or paved shoulders
of 1.5 m width.
Figure 2.1: Typical Two Lane Road

2.3.2 Intermediate Lane Roads

These roads have carriageway of width 5.5 m - 6.0 m and hence can be referred to as sub-
standard two lane roads where the traffic movement is similar to that on a two-lane road. It may be
noted that considerable proportion of SHs, MDRs and some selected ODRs fall under this category.
Figure 2.2 shows a typical example of an intermediate lane road. These roads are generally provided
with earthen shoulders.
Figure 2.2: Typical Intermediate Lane Road
2.3.3 Single Lane Roads

These are roads with carriageway of 3.75 m width. Unlike two lane and intermediate lane
roads, which provide separate lanes for each direction of traffic, these roads have a single lane
carriageway for traffic movement in both directions of travel. The speeds of vehicles single on lane
roads are generally low due to the influence of opposing traffic volumes. Figure 2.3 shows a typical
view of a single lane road.
Figure 2.3: Typical Single Lane Road
2.4 BASE CONDITIONS FOR CAPACITY ESTIMATION

The basic parameters of traffic flow, namely speed, volume and density are used to estimate
the capacity of road. For the identification of base section, predefined conditions followed for
bidirectional carriageways covering varying road typologies are as follows:
• The carriageway width should be 7.0 m with a minimum of 1.0 m soft shoulder to facilitate
two-way traffic movement in the case of two lane bidirectional roads. Similarly, in the case
of intermediate lane road, being a road with restricted carriageway width, the carriageway
width should be 5.5 m with a minimum of 1.0 m soft shoulder to facilitate two-way traffic
movement at reduced speeds. In the case of single lane roads, the carriageway width should
be 3.75 m with soft shoulder of 1.0 m.
• The section should be straight and level.

• The section should not be influenced by interruptions such as intersections, steep gradients
and curvatures as well as any other adjoining roads.
• There must not be any physical barrier on at least 500 m section such as speed breakers,
rumble strips, as it may affect the traffic stream.
• Section must be free from any form of roadside friction activities.
• Section should be free from any form of work activity for at least 1 km on either side.
• No incidents or crashes at the time of observation for at least 1 km on either side.
2.5 SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This chapter provides the methodology for determination of capacity of single lane,
intermediate and two lane roads. It also provides a procedure to determine the Level of Service (LOS)
on intermediate and two lane roads. As mentioned earlier, the single lane roads are generally used as
feeder roads carrying low traffic volume. Most of the single lane roads are normally widened to either
intermediate or two lane roads well before traffic volume approach the capacity. Thirty numbers of
two lane (thirteen of them are base sections), seventeen numbers of intermediate lane (thirteen of
them are base sections) and ten numbers of single lane (six of them are base sections) road sections
covering different regions of the country have been considered in this manual for capacity and LOS
analysis.
2.6 METHODOLOGY
The methodology adopted for the estimation of capacity and LOS is presented in this section.
It starts with a discussion on the identification and collection of classified traffic volume count (CVC)
on the identified base as well as non-base road sections based on the vehicle types (refer Table 2.2)
typically witnessed on the above class of interurban roads using videography or any other appropriate
method. This is followed by a discussion on the determination of Passenger Car Units (dynamic) and
Steam Equivalency Factor, which is followed by the estimation of capacity under base conditions
(termed as the base capacity in this manual henceforth) and thereafter application of adjustment
factors for the prevailing site conditions. The major issue concerning mix traffic flow analysis is the
estimation of passenger car units (PCU) for individual vehicle types to convert heterogeneous traffic
observed on such types of roads into homogeneous equivalent volume. The research studies carried
out by Chandra et al. (2003), Chandra, and Kumar (2003) have been utilized to determine the PCU
factor for any given vehicle type. Further, LOS is determined based on the parameter called Number of
Followers as Percent of Capacity (NFPC) in the case of two lane and intermediate lane roads whereas
it is derived based on volume - capacity ratio in the case of single lane roads. The overall methodology
is presented in the form of a flow chart in Figure 2.4.

S. No. Vehicle Type Notation Type of Mode
Motorized Traffic
Motorized Two Wheelers including Bikes

1. Two Wheelers TW
and Scooters
Auto rickshaws#
(Three and Four Wheeled All Motorized
2. Auto
Rickshaws including electric Auto Rickshaws
rickshaws)
3. Small /Standard Cars SC Cars of engine capacity up to 1400 cc
Cars of engine capacity more than

4. Big Cars and Vans BC
1400 cc
5. Mini Bus MB
Transport Vehicles
6. Buses Bus
Commercial Pick Up Vans and Mini

7. Light Commercial Vehicles LCV Trucks (up to Gross Vehicle Weight of
7.0 tonnes)
Heavy Goods Vehicles (up to Gross Vehicle

8. Two / Three Axle Trucks TAT
Weight of 25.2 tonnes)

9. Multi Axle Trucks MAT (more than Gross Vehicle Weight of
25.200 tonnes)
10. Tractors / Tractor with Trailers TRAC Medium Goods Vehicles
11. Cycles CY
12. Cycle Rickshaws CY RICK Slow Moving Vehicles (SMV)
13. Animal Drawn Vehicles ADV

#
Quantum of electric or e- rickshaws is insignificant in all the candidate road sections and hence combined
with the normal auto rickshaws

Figure 2.4: Methodology for Estimation of Capacity and LOS
2.6.1 Framework for Capacity Estimation

The following steps are involved in the estimation of capacity of a single lane, intermediate
lane and two-lane two-way roads.
Step-1: Input Data
Table 2.3 presents the information that must be collected before carrying out roadway capacity
analysis. The above table also presents the recommended field information to be collected from
any identified test section in case the analyst intends to carry out the entre primary data collection
conforming to the procedure furnished in the manual.

Table 2.3: Input Data required for Capacity Analysis
S. No. Required Data Recommended Information

A Road Geometric Data
1 Type of Carriageway Two Lane, Intermediate lane or Single Lane
2 Carriageway Width In metres
3 Type of Shoulder and Width Soft Shoulder or Hard Shoulder, width in metres
4 Terrain Type Plain, Rolling, Mountainous, Steep
5 Pavement Condition International Roughness Index (IRI)
6 Horizontal Curvature Degree per km
7 Vertical Gradient In percent
B Traffic Demand Data
1 Traffic Volume and Composition Classified count
2 Length of Analysis Period 5 Minutes interval data
3 Directional Split 50:50 (default value)
4 Speed of different types of vehicles meter/second (m/s) or kilometre / hour (km/h)
5 Free Flow Speed of Cars m/s or km/h
Videography method is recommended for the collection of speed and traffic volume data. A
base test section of about 500 m having uniform width and shoulder condition must be identified
on the identified road section. Since it is not always possible to cover the entire length of 500 m
in the camera view, trap of suitable length, but not less than 60 m can be made near the middle of
such selected test section using retro reflective white colored tape (refer Figure 2.5). The speed data
collected on this trap section may be taken as the representative sample for the larger section of
500 m. Videography traffic survey can be normally conducted during morning hours (8:00 AM to 12:00
noon) as well as evening hours (2:00 PM to 6:00 PM) or any other suitable time period depending
on the site conditions. Similarly, roadway condition in the form of data on road geometry can be
collected using Automated Road Survey System (ARSS) or using any other appropriate method like
Total Survey Station System, etc.
Step-2: Estimation of Speed
Development of speed-flow curve requires estimation of stream speed in each length of
analysis period of 5-minute interval. For this purpose, the time taken by each vehicle to traverse the
defined trap length (60 m) during the 5-minute interval is measured. This is measured either by using
a high precision stop watch possessing a least count of 0.01 seconds or alternatively by analyzing
frame by frame details of the captured video using the in-house software developed as part of this
study for data collation purposes. Space Mean Speed is considered for the development of speed -
flow curves:
• Time Mean Speed ( of traffic stream is the arithmetic mean of speeds of all vehicles included
in the analysis period which is given by Equation 2.1.
Equation 2.1

Where,
N is the total number of vehicles counted in the analysis period and ti is the time taken by the
ith vehicle to travel the trap length D.
• Space Mean Speed (us) of traffic stream is calculated based on the average travel time taken by
N vehicles to traverse the trap length ‘D’. It is estimated using Equation 2.2.
Equation 2.2
The established relationship between Space Mean Speed (SMS) and the Time Mean Speed
(TMS) is presented in Equation 2.3.
Equation 2.3
Where,
—
ut is the average TMS of a traffic stream.
—
u s is the average SMS of a traffic stream.
s is the standard deviation of SMS.
In the case of traffic flow analysis, it is prudent to use SMS only for the development of Speed
- Flow relationship and hence it is designated by letter ‘V’ in this manual and so referred accordingly
henceforth.
Figure 2.5: Extraction of Speed Data from Videos Showing Trap length
Figure 2.6: Traffic Software for Space Mean Speed Extraction
Free Flow Speed (FFS) of standard cars / small cars can be measured with the help of laser
speed gun or by any other method for any given road section. For the estimation of FFS, standard cars

with headway 8 seconds or more are considered and the minimum sample size recommended is 100.
The operating speed at the section is estimated by calculating the 85th percentile of the FFS.
Step-3: Estimation of Passenger Car Units (PCU)
Traffic on Indian roads is heterogeneous in nature with a wide variation in static and dynamic
characteristics. Hence, one vehicle type cannot be considered equal to the other type. The only way
for accounting for this non-uniformity in traffic stream is to convert all vehicles into a common unit.
The common unit for this purpose is PCU. In this manual, dynamic PCU is estimated using Equation
2.4. According to this equation, dynamic PCU value for different vehicles under different mixed traffic
conditions is directly proportional to speed ratio and inversely proportional to space ratio with
respect to standard car. The estimation of Dynamic PCU is discussed in Section 2.6.
Step-4: Capacity Determination
Capacity is estimated from speed flow model using the traffic flow theory proposed by
Greenshield. Traffic flow is described and measured using three interrelated variables namely space
mean speed (V), volume or rate of flow (Q) and density (K). Speed - volume relationship is parabolic
having maximum volume at a value of density equal to half the jam density.
Step-5: Adjustment Factors
The effect of factors such as width of carriageway, shoulder condition, road geometry and
pavement condition (roughness) is considered through the development of different adjustment
factors.
Step-6: LOS Estimation
The traffic performance is expressed in terms of Level of Service (LOS). Universally, LOS
is a lettering scheme ranging from A to F. LOS ‘A’ represents highest quality of service and LOS ‘F’
represents congested flow where traffic demand exceeds capacity. LOS is defined in terms of number
of followers as proportion of capacity (NFPC) which is followed in case of two lane and intermediate
lane road sections.
2.7 PASSENGER CAR UNIT VALUES

PCU for a given vehicle type is estimated using Equation 2.4.
Equation 2.4
Where,
Vc and Vi are speed of standard car and vehicle type ‘i’ respectively and
Based on the comprehensive studies conducted during the development of this manual, it has
been noted that there is no statistically significant difference between PCU value of any vehicle types
on two-lane and intermediate lane roads. However, PCU value of a vehicle type on a single lane road
is different from that on a two-lane or intermediate lane road. Therefore, Table 2.4 gives the range
of PCU values for different types of vehicles separately for single lane whereas intermediate and two
lane roads together.

Table 2.4: Suggested PCU Values for Various Vehicle Types
Range / Median Values of PCUs for
Intermediate and
Vehicle Type Single Lane Roads
Two-lane Roads
Range Median Range Median
Motorized Traffic
Standard Car (SC) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Big Car (BC) 1.00 - 1.90 1.60 1.13 - 2.50 1.60
Motorized Two Wheeler (TW)

0.20 - 0.60 0.25 0.20 - 0.50 0.30
Auto rickshaw# (Three and Four Wheeled

1.10 - 2.00 1.20 1.10 - 2.00 1.20
Rickshaws including electric rickshaws)
Bus (B) 2.50 - 6.50 4.50 2.80 - 4.80 4.50
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 1.65 - 4.50 2.70 2.0 - 5.00 3.00
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 2.50 - 6.80 4.80 3.0 - 5.50 5.00
Multi Axle Trucks / Vehicle (MAT) 4.1 - 10.20 5.00 4.6 - 11.60 6.00
Tractor / Tractor Trailer (TT) 3.0 - 8.50 7.00 5.0 - 8.00 7.00
Bicycles (C) 0.40 0.40
Cycle Rickshaw (CY) 2.10 2.50
Animal Drawn Vehicle (ADV) 10.20 11.5
#
Quantum of electric or e- rickshaws is insignificant on all the candidate road sections
PCU for a vehicle type depends on its proportion in the traffic stream and total volume
on any given road. In the case of dominance of a vehicle type, say motorized two wheelers in the
traffic stream; it reduces with increase in the proportion of these vehicles in the traffic stream. For
instance, the proportion of two wheelers observed in the field can fall in the range between ‘a’ and ’b’.
Accordingly, the higher PCU value given in Table 2.4 corresponds to ‘a’ percent two-wheelers in the
traffic stream. PCU values may be interpolated in a linear manner for any intermediate proportion.
PCU value for vehicle types increases with increase in their proportion in the traffic stream.
The observed range of traffic composition on varying widths of carriageways denoting lower
and higher ranges (‘a’ and ‘b’) are given in Table 2.5.

Table 2.5: Observed Range (in percent) of Traffic Composition on

Two Lane and Intermediate

Single Lane Roads
Lane Roads
Vehicle Type
Lower Higher Lower Range Higher
Range ‘a’ Range ‘b’ ‘a’ Range ‘b’
Motorized Traffic
Standard Car (SC) 2 25 6 30
Big Car (BC) 5 9 5 16
Motorized Two Wheeler (TW) 17 64
28 61
Auto rickshaw (Auto) 2 29 5 19

Bus (B) 2 4 5 10
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 2 13 2 18
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 1 8 5 20
Multi Axle Trucks / Vehicle (MAT) 1 3 2 11
Tractor / Tractor Trailer (TT) 1 3 2 5
Bicycles (C) 2 8 2 5
Cycle Rickshaw (CY) 2 5 2 5
Animal Drawn Vehicle (ADV) 2 8 0 5
2.8 STREAM EQUIVALENCY FACTOR (Se)

The PCU value of a vehicle type is found to be sensitive to traffic and roadway conditions.
Hence, a single set of PCU cannot be recommended for all types of traffic conditions. A small change in
either traffic volume or traffic composition may change PCU factors substantially, especially for large
size vehicles. Moreover, the tabulated values presented in Table 2.3 are not sufficient to understand
the complete variation in PCU for a vehicle type. A new concept of Stream Equivalency Factor () is
introduced in this manual to take care of dynamic nature of PCU (Dhamaniya and Chandra, S., 2013).
SEF is defined as the ratio of flow in PCUs per hour to the flow in vehicles per hour. This is given in
Equation 2.5.
Equation 2.5
The factor Se is an overall equivalency factor for the entire traffic stream. It will naturally
depend upon traffic volume and its composition. The value of Se will be larger for a traffic stream
having more proportion of vehicles which are larger than standard cars i.e. vehicles greater than
1400 cc engine size and smaller for a traffic stream with more number of smaller vehicles. The
value of Se is found to vary between 0.44 and 3.06. A typical plot of flow in PCU/h and in veh/h, as

obtained from field data for two lane and intermediate lane roads, is presented in Figure 2.7 whereas
Figure 2.8 depicts similar plot for single lane roads.
Figure 2.7: Traffic Flow in veh/h and in PCU/h for two lane and intermediate lane roads
Figure 2.8: Traffic Flow in veh/h and in PCU/h for Single Lane road
As may be seen, the data points are quite scattered which reveals that would depend on
composition of traffic stream as well. There are many values of flow in PCU/h corresponding to the
same value of flow in vehicles per hour and vice versa. As mentioned earlier, the value of will be higher
for a stream consisting of greater percentage of heavy vehicles and lower for a stream consisting of
greater percentage of two wheelers. Mathematical relationships derived in this manual can be used
for the estimation of for varying widths of roads and the same are presented in Equation 2.6 for
single lane and Equation 2.7 for intermediate and two lane roads respectively.
2.8.1 Single Lane Roads

Equation 2.6
2.8.2 Intermediate and Two Lane Roads
Equation 2.7

Where,
PBC = Proportion of Big Cars in the traffic stream
PTW = Proportionof Two Wheelers in the traffic stream
PAUTO = Proportion of Auto Rickshaws in the traffic stream
PLCV = Proportion of LCVs in the traffic stream
PBUS = Proportion of Buses in the traffic stream
PTAT = Proportion of Two / Three Axle Trucks in the traffic stream
PTT = Proportion of Tractor Trailers in the traffic stream
PMAT = Proportion of Multi Axle Vehicles/Trucks in the traffic stream
N = Total flow in vehicles per hour
SL
Se = Stream Equivalency Factor for Single Lane Carrraigeways
IL/TL
Se = Stream Equivalency Factor for Intermediate and Two Lane Lane Carrraigeways
Non-Motorized Traffic (NMT) are not considered while developing the above relationships for
two obvious reasons; (a) their proportion is insignificant which is not more than 2.5 % individually
in few of the road sections and (b) When present, they generally tend to move on the edge of the
road without influencing the mainstream traffic, except animal drawn vehicles. In other situations,
PCU values for the NMT presented in Table 2.4 (earlier) can be directly used to account for their
proportion in the traffic stream.
Equations given above are simple to use which would avoid estimation or deployment of PCU
factors (presented earlier in Section 2.6) for individual vehicle types while estimating the capacity of
single lane or intermediate / two lane interurban roads.
2.9 CAPACITY UNDER BASE CONDITIONS

The relationship between speed (V), density (K) and flow (Q) has been a topic of intense
research in traffic flow theory. Speed flow models were developed by different researchers over time,
of which Greenshield’s traffic flow theory forms the basis for the macroscopic traffic flow models.
Some methods require simulation of the traffic using computer based software while others are
based on guidelines provided in standards like Highway Capacity Manual (US-HCM, 2010) or Indian
Roads Congress (IRC: 64, 1990). It has been noted during the field studies as well as in other reported
studies (Velmurugan, et al, 2010) that most of the two way roads i.e. two lane, intermediate and single
lane roads rarely operate at volumes near capacity in India which is observed in such type of roads in
USA as well (HCM, 2010).
2.9.1 Speed - Flow Relationship

Traffic flow is described and measured using three interrelated variables namely space
mean speed (V), volume or rate of flow (Q), and density (K). In this manual, Greenshield relation is
considered for the development of the relationship between speed, flow and density. Speed - density
relation is a straight line, having maximum speed (free speed) when traffic is low and zero speed
when vehicles are jammed. The speed - volume relationship is a parabola having maximum volume
at a value of density equal to half the jamming density. The relationship between speed-flow-density
is given in Equation 2.8.
Q = K + V Equation 2.8

Where,
Q = Traffic flow in PCU/hour
K = Density in PCU/km
V = Space Mean Speed in km/hour
Speed and density are inversely proportional to each other and their relationship is linear in
nature having the generalized linear form as given in Equation 2.9.
V = a – b * K Equation 2.9
Where,
V = Speed in km/hour
K = Density in PCU/km
‘a’ and ‘b’ are constants representing free flow speed and ratio of free flow speed to jam
density respectively.
2.9.2 Base Capacity of Two Lane Roads

Capacity of a two-lane road is influenced by the road conditions and drivers’ behavior. A
linear relation between operating speed of standard cars and capacity of any given two road two-way
section is found to exist as given in Equation 2.10 and illustrated in Figure 2.9. The operating speed
on a road is taken as the 85th percentile of free flow speeds of standard cars. A vehicle travelling with
headway 8 seconds or more is considered as free flowing. The base capacity of two-lane road at the
operating speed of 80 km/h is around 3100 PCUs/hour.
Base Capacity of Two Lane = 394 + 34 * VOS Equation 2.10
Figure 2.9: Relationship between Operating Speed

and Capacity of Two Lane Roads
2.9.3 Base Capacity of Intermediate Lane Roads

Being a road with restricted carriageway width, the quality of service and performance
level of a single lane carriageway can be improved to some extent by increasing the width of the
carriageway. Since the road widening projects are closely related with the funding and budgeting
policies, prioritization is made based on the studies conducted on the present and future demand
scenarios of the road network. This highlights the importance of the knowledge over the capacity of
Intermediate Lane roads in India. The relationship derived between operating speed and estimated

capacity of intermediate lane roads is shown in Figure 2.10. It may be noted that the standard lane
width of 3.75 m has been considered for the estimation of lane capacity of intermediate and the
derived relationship is given in Equation 2.11.
Base Capacity of Intermediate Lane = 830 + 16.4 * VOS Equation 2.11
The base capacity of intermediate lane road at the operating speed of 75 Km/hour is around
2150 PCU/hour.
Figure 2.10: Relationship between Operating Speed

and Capacity of Intermediate Lane Roads
2.9.4 Base Capacity of Single Lane Roads

On single lane roads, the speed of vehicles in the traffic stream undergo drastic changes
because the smaller vehicles are forced to leave the pavement and make way for larger vehicles during
passing manoeuvres. Consequently, the increased frequency of usage of the brakes would result in
decrease in speed of the stream, thereby leading to capacity reduction. The relationship between
Operating Speed and estimated capacity of single lane roads for a standard lane width of 3.75 m
under the base section has been developed based on the data collected in the field and the same is
presented in Equation 2.12.
Base Capacity of Single Lane = 187 + 12.4 * VOS Equation 2.12
The base capacity of single lane road at the operating speed of 50 km/hour is around
800 PCUs/hour.
2.10 ADJUSTMENT FACTORS

Capacity of a road is affected by various factors such as carriageway width, shoulder width
and condition, directional split, road geometry (curvature and gradient), and pavement condition
(roughness). This section presents the adjustment factors to be applied on the base capacity.
2.10.1 Adjustment Factor for Carriageway Width

The base capacity of Two Lane and Intermediate Lane roads corresponding to an operating
speed of 80 Km/hour and 75 Km/hour is 3100 PCU/hour and 2150 PCU/hour respectively. On the
other hand, single lane roads are designed for lower speed and capacity of these roads at an operating
speed of 50 Km/hour is 800 PCU/hour. Based on the studies conducted on test sections possessing
varying road widths, the base values have been adjusted for the variation in width of carriageway and
the same is presented in Table 2.6.

Table 2.6: Adjustment Factor for Variation in Carriageway Width (fw)
Carriageway Width (in m) 6.50 6.80 7.0 7.20 7.50

Two Lane Roads
Adjustment Factor (fw) 0.86 0.95 1.0 1.05 1.14
Intermediate Carriageway Width (in m) 5.50 5.60 5.80 6.00

Lane Roads Adjustment Factor, (fw) 1.00 1.03 1.09 1.15
Single Lane Carriageway Width (in m) 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.20

Roads Adjustment Factor, (fw) 0.76 1.00 1.24 1.43
2.10.2 Adjustment Factor for Paved Shoulder

The presence of shoulders on two lane roads creates a sense of openness to the drivers and
allows the traffic flow to utilize the full benefit of the road width. When the shoulder is of earthen or
any other type except paved ones, vehicles tend to travel towards the centreline that may affect the
capacity. If the shoulder is paved, it acts like an extension of the carriageway and allows the crossing
vehicles to utilize the extra width available. More importantly, the provision of paved shoulders
primarily helps in facilitating safe negotiation of crossing traffic coupled with minor enhancement
of capacity of two lane roads. The adjustment factors derived for different widths of paved shoulders
are given in Table 2.7.
Table 2.7: Adjustment Factor for Paved Shoulder on Two Lane Roads (fps)
Paved Shoulder Width (in m) 0.00 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.50 2.00
Adjustment factor, (fps) 1.00 1.11 1.17 1.22 1.33 1.44
2.10.3 Adjustment Factor for Directional Split

The capacity decreases as the directional split moves away from an even split of 50:50. The
effect of directional split is observed to be linear. The adjustment factors for different directional
splits are given in Table 2.8 (Chandra and Sinha, 2001).
Table 2.8: Adjustment Factor for Directional Split (fds)
Directional Split 50:50 60:40 70:30 80:20 90:10 100:0
Adjustment Factor for Split (fdS) 1.00 0.967 0.935 0.902 0.869 0.836
2.10.4 Adjustment Factor for Road Geometry

In the case of hill roads, geometric parameters such as lane width, shoulder width, horizontal
and vertical alignment are important parameters, which have direct influence on operating speeds. In
this manual, operating speed is estimated for individual vehicle types for six candidate road sections
by taking the 85th percentile of the speed distribution. The operating speeds across varying gradients
ranging from two to seven percent for different vehicle types have been computed. A close look at the
operating speeds of different vehicle types indicated that with increase in the magnitude of gradient,
operating speed of vehicles decreases. This implies that the capacity value and operational speeds of

different vehicle types are significantly influenced by the road geometry. Therefore, it is felt prudent
to develop relationship between capacity and operating speed of cars i.e. standard cars considering
change in roadway and traffic conditions on two lane two-way undivided hill roads in the absence
of traffic data over full range from free flow to near capacity/congested traffic conditions. Hence, the
following set of relationships to estimate the capacity of two lane roads on mountainous and steep
terrain having geometric features like varying gradient and curvature are proposed in the manual:
(i) Relationship between operating speed of standard cars for varying geometric features such
as grade (%) and curvature (degrees/km), and
(ii) Relationship between capacity and gradient-based operating speed of car estimated using (i).
i) Relationship between Operating Speed and Hill-Road Geometry
The findings and equations given here are applicable to road sections in mountainous and
steep terrains having gradients ranging from 2 to 7 percent and curvatures above 200 degrees/km.
The relationship derived is presented in Equation 2.13. With every 1 % increase in the gradient,
the operating speed is predicted to decrease approximately by 2 km/h. In addition, for every 100
degrees/km increase in curvature of hill roads, the operating speed is predicted to decrease by 2.5
km/hour, for the same magnitude of gradient.
Operating Speed=70.6-1.84*Gradient (%)-0.026*Curvature (degrees/km) Equation 2.13
th
Operating speed can also be determined by calculating the 85 percentile speed from the free
flow speed cumulative distribution curve for standard cars.
ii) Relationship between Capacity and Operating Speed of Standard Cars
Both capacity (PCU/hour) and operating speed of cars (km/hour) can be influenced by
geometric and pavement conditions simultaneously in a combined way. A relationship between
capacity and operating speed of standard car is presented in Equation 2.14.
Capacity=23.6*Operating speed(km⁄(h))+167 Equation 2.14
2.10.5 Adjustment Factor for Riding Quality

The surface condition of road is an important factor that influences the travel speed of the
traffic stream. The relationship between operating speed of standard cars and roughness for two lane
and intermediate lane roads in plain areas is presented in Figure 2.11.
Figure 2.11: Relationship between Operating Speed and Roughness

It can be evident from Figure 2.11 that both types of road sections exhibit similar slopes.
However, the operating speed on two lane interurban roads is higher by around 12.5 km/hour as
compared to intermediate lane possessing the same road roughness (IRI). The relationships developed
exhibiting the above are presented in Equations 2.15 to 2.20.
Two Lane Road:
VOS=104 – 6.8 * IRI Equation 2.15
Intermediate Lane:
VOS=91 – 6.7 * IRI Equation 2.16
Where,
VOS = Operating Speed in km/h,
IRI = Road Roughness expressed in terms of International Road Roughness in m/km
The effect of road roughness on capacity of varying roads in plain areas has been derived as
shown in Figure 2.12.
Figure 2.12: Effect of Riding Quality on Capacity

For Two Lane Roads:
With Paved Shoulder: Capacity = 5082 – 275*IRI Equation 2.17
Without Paved Shoulder: Capacity = 3677 – 203*IRI Equation 2.18
For Intermediate Lane Roads:
Capacity = 2956 – 199*IRI Equation 2.19
For Single Lane Roads:
Capacity = 945 – 25*IRI Equation 2.20
2.11 LEVEL OF SERVICE

The traffic performance of a highway is expressed in terms of Level of Service (LOS). Analysis
of LOS on two-lane roads is necessary for their design and upgradation. LOS can describe the quality
of traffic flow on a roadway as perceived by the road users. LOS serves as an important input to
major decisions that are performed at various phases of highway life. Universally, LOS is a lettering
scheme ranging from A to F. LOS A represents the highest quality of service where motorists are able
to travel at their desired speeds and LOS F represents congested flow where traffic demand exceeds
capacity. Further description of these levels is given in Figure 2.13. It is strongly recommended that

the planning for upgradation of any type of interurban facility should start as soon as the lower limit
of the range of service volumes corresponding to LOS B is reached and should be accomplished by the
time Design Service Volume (DSV) is reached.
Description Illustration
Level of Service A: Represents a condition of free flow. Individual
users are virtually unaffected by the presence of others in the
traffic stream. Freedom to select desired speeds and to manoeuvre
within the traffic stream is high. The general level of comfort and
convenience provided to the road users is excellent.
Level of Service B: Represents a zone of stable flow, with the

drivers still having reasonable freedom to select their desired
speed and manoeuvre within the traffic stream. Level of comfort
and convenience provided to the road users is good.
Level of Service C: This also is a zone of stable flow, but marks

the beginning of the range of flow in which the operation of
individual drivers starts getting affected by interactions with
others in the traffic stream. The selection of speed is now getting
affected by the presence of others, and manoeuvring within the
traffic stream requires vigilance on the part of the user. The
general level of comfort and convenience starts declining.
Level of Service D: Represents the limit of stable flow, with
conditions approaching close to unstable flow Due to high
density, the drivers are severely restricted in their freedom to
select desired speed and manoeuvre within the traffic stream.
The general level of comfort and convenience is poor. Small
increases in traffic flow will usually cause operational problems
at this level.
Level of Service E: Represents operating conditions when traffic
volumes are at or close to the capacity level. Freedom to manoeuvre
within the traffic stream is extremely difficult, and is generally
accomplished by forcing a vehicle to give way to accommodate
such manoeuvres. Level of comfort and convenience is poor,
and driver frustration high. Operations at this level are usually
unstable, because small increases in flow or minor disturbances
within the traffic stream will cause breakdowns.
Level of Service F: Represents zone of forced or breakdown flow. This condition occurs when the
amount of traffic approaching a point exceeds the amount, which can pass it. Queues form behind
such locations. Operations within the queue are characterised by stop-and-go waves, which are
extremely unstable. Vehicles may progress at a reasonable speed for several hundred metres and
thereafter may be required to stop in a cyclic fashion. Due to high volumes, breakdown occurs and
long queues and delays are a result.
Figure 2.13: Pictorial Illustration of Level of Service for Bidirectional Roads

LOS on two lane interurban roads is defined using different performance parameters in
different countries [IHCM (1993), CHCM (1999) and HCM (2010)]. Prominent among these parameters
are Average Travel Speed (ATS), Percent Free Flow Speed of cars (PFFS), Followers Density (FD),
Average Travel Speed of passenger car (ATSPC), Percent Time Spent Following (PTSF), Percent Time
Delay (PTD) and Percent Followers (PF). The above parameters have been attempted during the
development of this manual but many of these parameters failed due to mixed nature of traffic or due
to absence of some reference point. It is an established fact that ATS is a good performance measure
as it correlates with perception of the road users (Ghosh, et al, 2013). However, under mixed traffic
situation, the ATS will depend on traffic composition and road surface condition and therefore this
parameter is found to lack a reference point. Similar is the problem with PFFS, as the free flow speed
of cars (or any other vehicle) will depend upon the road conditions. Hence, LOS here is defined in
terms of number of followers (NF) as percentage of capacity, which is given the acronym ‘NFPC’ in this
manual. It requires determination of number of followers (NF) on any road for a given traffic volume
condition. The procedure to determine the term ‘NF’ is explained in the succeeding section.
2.11.1 Number of Followers

During the field studies, it has been found that some of the vehicles are observed to be not
complying with the above condition while travelling with a gap value equal to or greater than 8
seconds behind their leader. However, it will be quite misleading if this following state is declared
solely based upon this 8 second rule of the gap threshold as there is a possibility of the presence of
free moving vehicles in the traffic stream with the gap value less than 8 seconds. There may be two
types of followers on a road. The vehicles in the first type are the vehicles that are following slow
moving vehicles willingly (can be called as “happy to follow”), because their desired speed, by choice,
is low. The vehicles in the second category are those that are forced to follow their leaders because of
their inability to pass. Therefore, it is possible that vehicles will travel in a non-following state with
less than 8 seconds gap value also while travelling in a particular direction.
To identify the followers on a two lane highway, a histogram of speed difference (SD) between
two consecutive vehicles is plotted. Thereafter, a normal distribution curve of SD for free flowing
vehicles (vehicles that are travelling at their desired speed with a gap value equal to or greater than
8 seconds) are plotted on the secondary axis. Later this normal distribution curve is super-imposed
on the SD histogram of two consecutive vehicles as shown in Figure 2.14. The intersecting points
between the normal curve and the histogram designate the maximum observed SD range for the
highway. This SD limit is used to describe the following and non-following vehicles. Vehicles travelling
within this SD limit are identified as followers and those travelling outside this SD limit are recognized
as non-followers or free vehicles. For example, in Figure 2.14, the range of SD is from -2.2 km/h to
+7.4 km/h that describe the following and non-following vehicles. The negative sign of SD signifies
that the speed of the following vehicle is lower than the leading vehicles. It implies that a vehicle will
be in the following state if the speed difference between the vehicle and its leader is within this range;
otherwise, vehicles will be in non-following condition. To find a certain critical gap value at or below
which vehicles can be classified as a follower, data should be filtered using the 8 second gap threshold
value and SD limit as estimated above. Then the methodology given in the succeeding section can be
used to identify a critical gap value beyond which a vehicle will be considered as non-follower.

Figure 2.14: Histogram of the Speed Difference between consecutive vehicles
2.11.2 Identification of the Critical Gap Value

In order to identify a critical gap value beyond which the probability of not following (PNF)
will be greater than the probability of following cumulative distribution graphs are plotted by using
the acceptance curve method at the site. PNF is calculated with the help of Equation 2.21.
Equation 2.21
Where,
Pi = Probability of a vehicle not following with a gap value of ‘i’
ni = number of not following vehicles with a gap value of ‘i’
Nnot = total number of not following vehicles up to the gap length of 8 seconds.
The typical shape of this graph is shown in Figure 2.15. Critical gap value is taken corresponding
to 50 percent i.e. 0.5 probability chance to travel in free flow speed (FFS) conditions.
Figure 2.15: Plot between the Gap Value and the Cumulative Distribution of Non-Followers
The critical gap value is expected to vary with the traffic volume on the road and the
relationship between the two is given by Equation 2.22.
Equation 2.22
Where,
Q = Two-way traffic volume, (in veh/hour)
CG = Critical Gap value, (in seconds)

Critical gap value decreases with the increase in traffic volume on the road. The number of
followers is also related with two-way two-lane traffic volume by Equation 2.23.
CG = 74.8 * Q–0.45 Equation 2.23
Where,
Q = Two-way traffic volume, PCU/h
NF = Number of followers, PCU/h
NF in the above equation is considered in PCU/h to avoid any mismatch of units while
calculating NFPC. The different ranges of NFPC evolved for different LOS are given in Table 2.9.
Moreover, the corresponding range of volume to capacity ratio (V/C) derived through cluster analysis
are also presented in Table 2.9 for easy understanding of analysts. As mentioned, earlier, in the case
of Single Lane roads, the application of concept of NFPC is not applicable. Hence, V/C ratio is found
to be a suitable parameter to define LOS for Single Lane roads and the proposed V/C ratios for single
lane roads is presented in Table 2.10.
Table 2.9: LOS Ranges and DSV Values for Intermediate and Two-lane roads
Service Volume for Recommended DSV Values for

LOS NFPC V/C Ratio Two Lane Roads Upgradation
(PCUs/day) (PCUs/day)
A < 0.15 < 0.25 < 7500
10500 PCUs / day @ LOS-B:
B 0.15-0.25 0.26 - 0.45 7500 - 13500
Suggested threshold value for
C 0.26-0.40 0.46 - 0.60 13500 - 17500 conversion from two-lane
D 0.41-0.55 0.61 - 0.75 17500 - 23000 bidirectional to Four Lane Divided
roads to ensure enhanced safety in
E 0.56-0.70 0.76 - 1 23000 - 30000 traffic operations.
F > 0.71 >1 > 30000
Table 2.10: LOS Range for Single lane Roads
LOS V/C Ratio
A ≤ 0.15
B 0.16 - 0.30
C 0.31 - 0.50
D 0.51 - 0.80
E 0.81 - 1.00
F > 1.00
2.12 ILLUSTRATIVE PROBLEMS

2.12.1 Method of Estimation of Dynamic Passenger Car Unit
Estimate the Dynamic Passenger Car Unit (PCU) value for each vehicle type by considering
the classified traffic volume count data vide Table 2.11 enumerated at an interval of 15 minutes. Use
Tables 2.3 and 2.4 given in Chapter-2 by considering the range of PCUs for corresponding range of
composition.
Solution:
Step 1: Traffic Data collected during one hour on a Two Lane road is given in Table 2.10:

Table 2.11: Observed Classified Traffic Volume

Time Period Interval
SC BC TW Auto LCV Bus TAT MATV TT Total
(Mins.)
0 - 15 23 6 87 14 5 2 8 3 5 153
15 - 30 14 6 94 2 11 12 3 3 6 151
30 - 45 45 14 59 8 8 3 6 6 3 152
45 - 60 36 12 46 14 5 2 26 5 6 152
Total Hourly Volume 118 38 286 38 29 19 43 17 20 608
Composition (in %) 19.4 6.3 47.0 6.3 4.8 3.0 7.1 2.8 3.3 100.0
Step 2: Range of PCU Values and traffic composition (Tables 2.4 and 2.5 has been referred for the
compilation presented below)
Vehicle Type Range of PCUs Range of Traffic Composition

Standard Car (SC) 1.0 6 – 30
Big Car (BC) 1.1 - 2.5 5 - 16
Motorized Two Wheeler (TW) 0.2 - 0.5 17 - 64
Auto rickshaw (Auto) 1.1 - 2.0 5 - 19
Bus (B) 2.8 - 4.8 5 - 10
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 2.0 - 5.0 2 - 18
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 3.0 - 5.5 5 - 20
Multi Axle Trucks / Vehicle (MAT) 4.6 - 11.6 2 - 11
Tractor Trailer (TT) 5.0 - 8.0 2-5
Step 3: Estimation of PCUs for the observed traffic composition in the field (refer Table 2.11)
Method of Linear Interpolation of PCU value using Equation 2.24 for percentage of Big Car
(See Hint)1
Equation 2.24
Where,
y is the PCU vlaue for x % of traffic composition
y1 denotes lower ranges of PCU value for x1 % of traffic composition
y2 denotes upper ranges of PCU value for x2 % of traffic composition
1
Hint: For any unknown x, y, value can be obtained through interpolation using Equation 2.24.

= 1.29
Similarly, PCU values for other vehicle types can be estimated and the same is illustrated
below.
Note:
• The PCU for Two Wheelers (TW) will vary inversely with increase in composition (refer
Section 2.6) and hence the PCU is calculated accordingly.
• The percentage composition of bus in this example lies outside the given range. In this case,
interpolation cannot be used and the limiting value of PCU range is to be taken.
= 0.31
For 3 % share of buses, PCU of B = 2.8
Following the above procedure, the estimated PCUs for different vehicle types is presented in
Table 2.12:
Table 2.12: Estimated PCUs
Vehicle Type SC BC Bus TW Auto LCV TAT MAT TT
Estimated PCU 1.00 1.29 2.80 0.31 1.18 2.52 3.35 5.22 6.3
2.12.2 Determination of Base Capacity and Level of Service

Determine the Capacity using Dynamic PCUs as well as Stream Equivalency Factor followed
by Level of Service (LOS) determination for a two-lane two-way road in plain terrain. The two way
traffic volume is enumerated as 608 veh/h, directional split is 50:50 plying on the carriageway width
is 7.0 m having 1.5 m earthen shoulders on both sides of the carriageway. Use the observed traffic
flows and estimated PCU values obtained from previous example i.e. 2.11.1.
Solution:
Method-1:
Step 1: Input Data
• Two way traffic volume = 608 veh/h
• Directional split = 50/50
• Carriageway width = 7.0 m
• Earthen shoulder = 1.5 m on both sides of the carriageway
• Terrain: Plain
Step 2: Traffic Data collected during one hour on two lane two-way road (refer Table 2.11 vide Section
2.10.1).
Step 3: Estimation of PCU values (refer Table 2.12 vide Section 2.10.1).
Step 4: Estimation of Total Traffic Volume in PCU/h.
This is obtained by multiplying the respective number of vehicles under each category with
the PCUs and the same is presented in Table 2.13.

Table 2.13: Total Hourly Traffic Flow in PCUs

SC BC Bus TAT LCV Auto TW TT MAT Total PCU/h
118 49 53 144 73 45 88 126 59 785
Method-2:
Alternatively, traffic flow in PCU/h can be determined by making use of Stream Equivalency
Factor, vide Equation 2.7.
Step 5: Estimation of Number of Followers

• Total Flow is 785 PCU/h in the traffic stream using PCU for each vehicle type.
• Total Flow is 903 PCU/h in the traffic stream using Stream Equivalency Factor.
• Number of Followers (NF) is calculated using Equation 2.23.
NF = 1.1742*
NF = 1.1742*= 580 PCU/h (using PCU for each vehicle)
NF = 1.1742*= 661 PCU/h (using SEF)
Step 6: Estimation of Number of Followers as Percentage of Capacity (NFPC)
• Base capacity of two lane two way road is 2946 PCUs/h
580
Number of Followers as Percentage of Capacity (NFPC) = —— = 0.19 which implies that the
2946
road is presently operating under LOS B based on Table 2.8.
2.12.3 Determination of Capacity and Level of Service of Hilly Roads
Estimation of Capacity using Operating Speed for Hilly Terrain Roads: As part of the
performance evaluation study, certain road sections on typical hilly terrain have been examined. Five
different road sections have been observed to have varying gradient and curvature values, obtained
with the help of ARSS instrument, which is presented, vide Table 2.14 wherein gradient ranges from
2.3 % to 6.8 %, and the curvature from 226 to 421 degrees/km. Determine the Operating Speeds of
these road sections. Further, using those Operating Speeds, obtain the Capacity values.
Step 1: Measured Road Variables i.e. Gradient and Curvature given in Table 2.14:
Step 2: Determination of Operating Speed (Based on Equation 2.14)
Operating Speed = 70.6 - 1.84*Gradient (%) - 0.026*Curvature (degrees /km).

Table 2.14: Observed Road Geometric Features on the Candidate Road Sections
Road Section Gradient (%) Curvature (degrees/km)
I 2.3 226
II 3.6 381
III 4.7 307
IV 5.1 256
V 6.8 421
Thus, the Operating Speed of the candidate road sections has been determined based on Equation
2.14 and presented in Table 2.15.
Table 2.15: Operating Speed of the Candidate Road Sections

Road Section Operating Speed (km/h)
I 60.5
II 54.0
III 54.0
IV 54.5
V 47.1
Step 3: Calculation of Capacity (Based on Equation 2.15)
Capacity = 23.6 x Operating Speed + 167
Thus, the capacity of the candidate road sections has been determined based on Equation
2.15 and presented in Table 2.16.
Table 2.16: Capacity of the Candidate Road Sections

Road Section Capacity (PCU/h)
I 1593
II 1442
III 1439
IV 1453
V 1278

REFERENCES
1. Chandra, S., and Kumar, U. (2003), “Effect of lane width on capacity under mixed traffic conditions
in India”, Journal of Transportation Engineering ASCE, Volume 129, no. 2, pp. 155 - 160.
2. Chandra, S., and Sinha, S. (2001), “Effect of directional split and slow-moving vehicles on two
lane capacities”, Road and Transport Research, 10(4), Australian Road Research Board (ARRB),
Australia, 2001, pp. 33-41.
3. CHCM (1999), “China Highway Capacity Manual”, National Highway Project of the People’s
Republic of China.
4. Dhamaniya, A., and Chandra, S. (2013), “Concept of Stream Equivalency Factor for Heterogeneous
Traffic on Urban Arterial Roads”, Journal of Transportation Engineering ASCE, Vol. 139, no. 11,
pp. 1117-1123.
5. HCM (2010), “Highway Capacity Manual”, Transportation Research Board; Washington, D. C.,
USA.
6. IHCM (1993) “Indonesian Highway Capacity Manual”, Directorate General of Highways Ministry
of Public Works.
7. IRC: 64 (1990), “Guidelines on Capacity of Roads in Rural Areas”, (First Revision), Indian Code
of Practice, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
8. Velmurugan, S., Errampalli, M., Ravinder, K., Sitaramanjaneyulu, K., and Gangopadhyay, S. (2010).
“Critical evaluation of roadway capacity of multi-lane high speed corridors under heterogeneous
traffic conditions through traditional and microscopic simulation models”, Journal of Indian
Roads Congress Vol. 71, No. 3, pp. 235 - 264.
9. Ghosh Indrajit, Satish Chandra and Amardeep Boora (2013), “Operational Performance
Measures for Two-lane Roads: An Assessment of Methodological Framework”, Procedia-Social
and Behavioural Science 104 pp. 440-448.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. CRRI (2001), “Updation of road user cost data”, A report submitted to Ministry of Surface
Transport (MOST), New Delhi.
2. Chandra, S. (2004), “Capacity Estimation Procedure for two-lane roads under mixed traffic
conditions”, Journal of Indian Roads Congress, Volume 65, No. 1, September 2004, pp. 139 - 171.
3. Chandra, S. and Goyal N. K., (2001) “Effect of grade on capacity of two-lane road”, Highway
Research Bulletin, Number 64, IRC, New Delhi, pp. 77.
4. Chandra, S., (2004), “Effect of Road Roughness on Capacity of Two-Lane Roads.” Journal of
Transportation Engineering, ASCE, vol. 130, no. 3, pp. 360-364.
5. Chandra, S., and Sikdar, P.K. (2000), “Factors Affecting PCU in Mixed Traffic Situations in Urban
Roads.” Road Transport Research, Vol. 9, No. 3, Australian Road Research Board, pp. 40-50.
6. Dey, P. P. (2006). “Simulation of mixed traffic flow on two-lane roads”. Unpublished Doctoral
Thesis submitted to Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India.
7. Farouki, O.T. and Nixon, W.J. (1976), “The Effect of Width of Sub-Urban Roads on the Mean Free
Speeds of Cars”, Traffic Engineering and Control, Vol. 17 (12), London, pp. 518-519.

8. Fi, I. (1994), “Highway Capacity and Level of Service in Highway: Experience with Intersection
without Traffic Signals”, Country Reports of Second International Symposium on Highway
Capacity, Australian Road Research Board Ltd.
9. HCM (2000), Highway Capacity Manual; Transportation Research Board; Washington, D. C.,
USA.
10. Kadiyali, L. R., Lal, N. B., and Sathyanarayana, M. (1991), “Speed-flow characteristics on Indian
highways”. Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, 52(2), 233-
262.
11. Kadiyali, L.R., and Viswanathan, E. (1993), “Study for updating road user cost data”. Journal of
the Indian Roads Congress, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, Volume 54(3), pp. 645-731.
12. Kadiyali, L.R., Lal, N.B., Sathyanarayana, M. and Swaminathan, A.K. (1991), “Speed-Flow
Characteristics on Indian Highways”, Indian Roads Congress Journal, Vol. 52-2, New Delhi, pp.
233-262.
13. Krishnamurthy, K., and Arasan, V.T. (2008), “Effect of traffic volume on PCU of vehicles under
heterogeneous traffic conditions.” Road & Transport Research: A Journal of Australian and New
Zealand Research and Practice, Vol 17, No. 1, pp. 32-49.
14. Kumar, V.M. and Rao, S.K. (1998), “Studies on Speed-Density-Flow Relationship on a Few
Stretches of NH-5 and NH-6”, Indian Highways, Volume 26, No. 12, Indian Roads Congress, New
Delhi, pp. 33-41.
15. Minderhoud, M. M., Botma, H. and Bovy, H. L. (1997), “Assessment of roadway capacity
estimation methods”, Transportation Research Record 1572, No. 1, Transportation Research
Board, Washington, D.C., no. 1, pp. 59-67.
16. Misaghi, P., and Hassan, Y. (2005), “Modeling operating speed and speed differential on two lane
rural roads.” Journal of Transportation Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 131, No.6, pp. 408-418.
17. Penmetsa, P., Ghosh, I., and Chandra, S. (2015), “Evaluation of Performance Measures for Two-
Lane Intercity Highways under Mixed Traffic Conditions”, Journal of Transportation Engineering
10.1061/ (ASCE) TE.1943-5436.0000787, 04015021.
18. Praveen, P, S., and Arasan, V, T. (2013), “Influence of Traffic Mix on PCU Value of Vehicles
under Heterogeneous Traffic Conditions.” International Journal for Traffic and Transportation
Engineering, Vol. 3 (3), pp.302-330.
19. Ramanayya, T.V. (1988), “Highway Capacity under Mixed Traffic Conditions”, Traffic Engineering
and Control, Vol. 29, No. 5, United Kingdom, pp. 284-300.
20. Sachdeva, S. N. (2003), “Speed-flow relationships and capacity analysis for an identified intercity
road network”. Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis submitted to Kurukshetra University, India.

Chapter 3:
Multilane Divided Interurban Highways

Dr. S. Velmurugan, Senior Principal Scientist, Champion
Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Principal Scientist, Co-Champion
Regional Coordinator (RC) and
CSIR-CRRI Team
Team Members
Sh. Ashutosh Arun, Work Package Leader, Prof. Sudip Kumar Roy, IIEST,
Traffic Engineering and Safety (TES) Division (Shibpur), RC
Team Members from IIEST and CSIR - CRRI
Dr Errampalli Madhu, Principal Scientist and Head, Prof. Sandip Chakraborty,

Transportation Planning (TP), Division IIEST (Shibpur)
Sh. K. Sitaramanjaneyulu, Senior

Sh. S. Kannan, Technical Officer E-I, TES Division Principal Scientist, Pavement
Evaluation Division (PED)
Sh. Pradeep Kumar, Principal

Sh. Satyaveer Singh, Technician, TES Division Scientist, Pavement Evaluation
Division (PED)
Sh. Narender Kumar, Technical Assistant, TES Division
Senior Project Fellows from CSIR - CRRI
Sh. Pankaj Jha Ms. Reema Bera
Sh. Monendra Kumar Sh. Sunil Kumar
Sh. Daleep Mutreja

M.Tech Students pursued their Thesis @ CSIR - CRRI, New Delhi
Mr. Abhinav Yadav, BITS Pilani
Mr. Muhammad Ashraf K., NIT Calicut
Ms. Anamika Yadav, NIT Warangal
Ms. Sneha Sarkar, NIT Patna
M.Tech Students pursued their Thesis @ IIEST, Shibpur
Mr. Arunabha Banerjee Mr. Satyajit Mondal
Mr. Subhadip Biswas Ms. Sudipa Chatterjee
Mr. Debashish Roy Mr. S K Murshed Alam
Ms. Priya Rai Ms. Deotima Mukherjee
Ms. Reema Bera Ms. Nabanita Roy
Mr. Ayan Mazumdar - Project Fellow

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The team of CSIR - CRRI and IIEST (Shibpur) would like to thank the following organizations for
permitting data collection and extending necessary help:
1. Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Kolkata Police.
2. Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Kolkata Police
3. Commissioner, Howrah Police Commissionerate
4. Commissioner, Bidhan Nagar, Police Commissionerate
5. Commissioner, Asansol, Durgapur Police Commissionarate
6. Superintendent of Police, Howrah (Rural) District
7. Superintendent of Police, Hooghly District
8. Superintendent of Police, Darjeeling District
9. Superintendent of Police, South 24 Pargana District
10. Chief General Manager and Regional Officer, Kolkata. National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI)
11. Project Director, PIU-Jaipur, National Highways Authority of India
12. Project Director, PIU-Rohtak, National Highways Authority of India
13. Project Director, PIU-Ghaziabad, National Highways Authority of India
14. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kalka, Panchkula District, Haryana
15. Senior Superintendent of Police, Sonepat District, Haryana
16. Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad District, Uttar Pradesh
17. Superintendent of Police, Hapur District, Uttar Pradesh
18. Superintendent of Police, Palwal District, Haryana
19. Superintendent of Police, Jhajjar District, Haryana
20. Superintendent of Police, Rewari District, Haryana
21. Superintendent of Police, Alwar District, Rajasthan

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section
Title Page Number
Number
Study Team i
Acknowledgements iii
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vi
3.1 INTRODUCTION 1
3.1.1 Scope and Limitation 1
3.4 INPUT DATA 5
3.5 METHODOLOGY 6
3.5.1 Types of Analysis 6
3.5.2 Estimation of Stream Speed 7
3.5.3 Estimation of Operating Speed 7
3.5.4 Estimation of Passenger Car Unit 7
3.5.5 Estimation of Traffic Flows 8
3.5.6 Estimation of Base Capacity 9
3.5.7 Estimation of Adjusted Capacity 9
3.5.8 Estimation of Level of Service 9
3.6 PASSENGER CAR UNIT VALUES 10
3.7 STREAM EQUIVALENCY FACTOR (Se) 13
3.8 BASE CAPACITY ESTIMATION 13
3.9 ADJUSTMENT FACTORS FOR NON BASE CONDITIONS 14
3.9.1 Adjustment for Gradient, Curvature and Roughness 14
3.9.2 Adjustment for Shoulder Width and Median Width 15
3.10 ESTIMATION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE 16

3.11 PROCEDURE FOR ESTIMATION OF CAPACITY AND LOS 18

3.12 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES 19
3.12.1 Operational Analysis of Four Lane Divided Highway 19
3.12.2 Operational Analysis of Six Lane Divided Carriageway 21
3.12.3 Analysis for Planning of New Multilane Divided Facility 23
3.12.4 Analysis for Widening of Existing Facility 24
REFERENCES 26
ANNEXURE 3A: FIELD DATA COLLECTION 28
3A.1 TRAFFIC DATA COLLECTION AND EXTRACTION 28
3A.2 GEOMETRIC DATA COLLECTION 29
3A.3 PAVEMENT ROUGHNESS DATA COLLECTION 29
3A.4 ENVIRONMENTAL DATA COLLECTION 29
ANNEXURE 3B : RESULTS OF CAPACITY ANALYSIS 30
ANNEXURE 3C : COMPUTATION OF DESIGN HOURLY VOLUMES 32

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
Typical Four Lane Divided Highway Segment in India with Depressed

3.1 2
Median
3.2 Typical Six Lane Divided Highway Segment in India with Raised Median 2
Procedure for Estimation of Capacity and LOS for Multilane Divided

3.3 18
Highways
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
3.1 Terrain Classification in India 5
3.2 Type of Input Data required for Capacity and LOS Analysis 6
3.4 Range and Median of PCU Values for various Vehicle Types 12
3.5 Range of Traffic Proportion of different Vehicle-Types 12
3.6 Base Capacity Values for varying Operating Speed 14
3.7 Pictorial Illustration of LOS for Multilane Divided Highways 16
3.8 LOS Thresholds for Four Lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments 17
3.9 LOS Thresholds for Six Lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments 17
Capacity Estimation Results for Four Lane Divided Interurban Highway

3B.1 30
Segments
Capacity Estimation Results for Six Lane Divided Interurban Highway

3B.2 31
Segments
3C.1 DDHV Values by Varying K factor and D Values 32

t1 Time taken by the ith vehicle to travel the trap length ‘D’
Cadj Capacity adjusted for field conditions in PCU/h/direction
Se Stream Equivalency Factors
us Average SMS of the traffic stream
ut Average TMS of the traffic stream
AADT Annual Average Daily Traffic
Ac and Ai projected rectangular area on the road
ADT Average Daily Traffic
ARSS Automated Road Survey System
Auto Auto rickshaws
Bus Buses
C Capacity under base conditions in PCU/h/direction
CU Curvature in degree/km
CVC Classified traffic Volume Count
CY Cycles
DDHV Directional Design Hourly Volume in (PCU/h)
GPS Global Positioning System
GR Gradient (in %)
IRI International Roughness Index
Km/h Kilometres per hour
m/s metres per second
MB Mini Bus

N Total number of vehicles counted in the analysis period

N traffic volume in the period of analysis T
NMT Non Motorized Traffic
PCU/h Passenger Car Unit-per-hour
PHR Peak Hour Ratio
PSW (in m) Difference between the Actual Width and Base Width of the Paved Shoulder
S Standard deviation of SMS
SC Small /Standard Cars
SC Small Car
T Length of Analysis Period
TMS Time Mean Speed
TRAC Tractors / Tractor with Trailers
TT Tractors including Trailers
TW Two Wheelers
UPSW Width of Unpaved Shoulder in m
V Volume
v/c Volume-to-Capacity Ratio
Vc and Vi Speed of Standard Car and Vehicle Type ‘i’ respectively
Veh/h vehicles-per-hour
VOS Operating Speed in Km/h
VOS,adj Operating Speed adjusted for field conditions in Km/h
VOS,base Operating Speed of Base Section
VOS,base Operating Speed under base conditions in Km/h

3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides the capacity and Level of Service (LOS) values evolved for vehicular
traffic plying on uninterrupted flow segments of multilane divided interurban highways under mixed
traffic conditions observed in Indian roads. Uninterrupted flow here refers to the flow conditions
observed on roadway segments with no fixed causes of delay or interruption external to the traffic
stream. This implies that the uninterrupted flow facilities referred to in this manual include such
types of multilane divided interurban highway segments which are have median openings that are
spaced at least 1 (one) km apart, and moreover, there are no major access roads connecting to the
highways in those segments. At the same time, minor access roads or driveways joining such highway
segments and catering to a substantially low volume of traffic throughout the day can be tolerated
while defining a facility as an uninterrupted flow facility. Apart from the stated major objective of
specifying the Capacity and LOS values for segments with uninterrupted flow on multilane divided
interurban highways, there are a few other objectives covered in this chapter as well. These are
summarized below:
• Establishin g a relationship between capacity and operating speed for base sections
• Estimation of dynamic Passenger Car Unit (PCU) values for different vehicle-types and Stream
Equivalency Factors (Se) encompassing varying widths of multilane divided interurban
highways
• Estimation of adjustment factors for various road characteristics affecting traffic flows on
multilane divided interurban highways
3.1.1 Scope and Limitation

The scope of the chapter includes capacity and LOS analysis for four lane and six lane divided
interurban highways present in plain and rolling terrains in India. Since the multilane divided
highways are at present not available in mountainous and steep terrains in India, the scope of this
chapter does not include the analysis of such roads in mountainous and steep terrains. It may also be
noted here that though both expressways and multilane divided highways are either fully or partially
controlled, the former facility primarily caters to the fast-moving motorized vehicles while the latter
facility generally caters to all types of motorized traffic (including two wheelers, auto rickshaws and
tractor trailers) coupled with an insignificant proportion of non-motorized modes like cycles and
animal carts. Therefore, the capacity values and LOS criteria estimated for multilane divided highways
under this chapter are not applicable for the expressways in India which are dealt with separately in
this manual.
Further, it may be noted that there are a few vehicle types, chiefly among the non-motorized
modes namely, bicycles, cycle rickshaws and animal drawn vehicles are excluded from capacity and
LOS analysis in this chapter. The reason is that on such high speed multilane divided highways, where
there is an increased safety risk due to speed differentials, the proportion of non-motorized traffic
(NMT) is observed to be insignificant on typical multilane divided highways to affect the flow of
motorized traffic. However, there might be some cases where such modes are present in somewhat
significant proportion on some of the multilane interurban segments, which is beyond the scope of
this manual.
Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2 show typical four and six lane divided highway segments in India,
respectively. An important point to note is that there must be a physical, raised or depressed median
in between the two sets of carriageways instead of a mere center-line marking. The carriageways on
either side of the median have equal number of lanes providing for movement of traffic only in a
single direction. A total of 19 four lane divided road sections (8 out of them are base sections) and 12

six lane divided (6 out of them are base sections) road sections covering different region of the country
have been considered for analysis.
Figure 3.1: Typical Four Lane Divided Highway Segment in India with Depressed Median
Figure 3.2: Typical Six Lane Divided Highway Segment in India with Raised Median

• Adjusted Capacity: The maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on a lane or
roadway during one hour under the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions. It is obtained
by adjusting the base capacity for the roadway and traffic conditions present at site.
• Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT): It is the annual average daily traffic when traffic
measurements are taken for entire 365 days (366 days for leap year) of the year and thereafter
their average is taken.
• Average Daily Traffic (ADT): It is the volume of daily traffic when traffic measurements are
taken for a few days (less than one year such as monthly or weekly) averaged by the number of
days for which the measurements have been taken.
• Base Capacity: The maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on a lane or
roadway during one hour under the base conditions of traffic flow.
• Carriageway Width: A carriageway is a part of the road that is intended for actual movement
of vehicular traffic. In the case of multilane divided highways, the carriageway is bounded by a
shoulder (paved / unpaved) on one side and a physical median on the other. The carriageway
width depends on the number and width of traffic lanes.

• Capacity: It is defined as the maximum hourly volume (vehicles per hour) at which vehicles
can reasonably be expected to traverse a point or uniform section of a lane or roadway under
the prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions.
• Design Hourly Volume: Design hourly volume (DHV) is usually the 30th highest hourly
volume which means that this hourly volume is exceeded only during 29 hours in a year.
• Design Service Volume: It is defined as maximum service volume at which vehicles can
hour under prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions while maintaining a designated
level of service. The current practice in the country is to consider DSV in terms of daily volumes
of passenger cars on a section. Therefore, if required, it is suggested to convert the hourly
service volumes to daily volumes using the Peak Hour Ratio as suggested in IRC: 64 (1990).
• Design Speed: Design speed depends on the function of the road and terrain conditions. It
is the basic parameter, which determines all other geometric design features. Design speeds
for various classes of interurban highways given in IRC: SP-84 (2014) and IRC: SP-87 (2013)
is to be followed.
• Gradient: The rate of rise or fall of the road surface along its length with respect to the
horizontal is called gradient. It refers to the steepness of the road section and is expressed in
percentage (%).
• Horizontal Curvature: It is defined as the weighted average of the curvatures of the curved
sections for one km of the roadway, the weights being the proportion of the length of curved
sections. Its units are degrees/km. Road sections with many curves cause vehicles to travel
slower than on a straight section, thus affecting the Operating Speed as well as the capacity.
• Level of Service (LOS): is defined as a qualitative measure, describing operational conditions
within a traffic stream and their perception by drivers/passengers. LOS definition generally
describes these conditions in terms of factors such as speed and travel time, freedom to
manoeuvre, traffic interruptions, comfort, convenience and safety. Six levels of service are
recognized and these are designated from A to F, with LOS A representing the best operating
condition i.e. free flow and LOS F the worst i.e. forced or break-down flow.
• Operating Speed: Theoretically, it is the average speed (in km/h) of the traffic stream,
comprising only passenger cars, when the traffic density is approaching zero i.e. there are
negligible number of vehicles present on the carriageway. Therefore, it is the speed of a vehicle
when the presence of other vehicles does not restrain its movement. From operational point
of view, it is the 85th percentile speed of standard passenger cars measured under low volume
conditions. Such low volume conditions are said to occur if the time headway between two
successive vehicles is 8 seconds or more.
• Passenger Car Unit (PCU): Passenger Car Unit is a measure of relative interaction between
a vehicle and a traffic stream with respect to a standard passenger car under a specified set
of roadway and traffic conditions. It is used to convert a heterogeneous traffic stream into an
equivalent homogeneous stream to enable expressing flow and density in a common unit.
• Peak Hour Ratio (PHR): It is the percentage of ADT or AADT that passes through a given
section in the peak hour can be readily ascertained through field observations. In the absence
of field observations, however, default value of PHR may be adopted as 10 %.
• Roughness: Roughness is defined as the aggregated deviations of a pavement surface from a
true planar surface with characteristic dimensions that affect vehicle dynamics, ride quality,
dynamic loads, and drainage. Roughness affects the speed and movement of the vehicles

and hence it impacts capacity and LOS. In this manual, roughness measured in terms of the
International Roughness Index (IRI) in m/km has been used for analysis.
• Shoulder Type: A shoulder is a portion of the road contiguous with the carriageway and
is intended for accommodation of stopped vehicles, emergency use and providing lateral
structural support to the road. Shoulders can be of two types:
οο Paved shoulder – they are constructed with the similar material as the carriageway.
οο Unpaved shoulder – they are constructed with well-compacted earth, hence also
called earthen shoulders, or materials like turf, stabilised soil, gravel, brick paving etc.
In the case of multilane divided highways, given the fact that they cater to high-speed
traffic, now-a-days paved shoulders are provided on the outer side of the carriageways
and they are also supplemented with unpaved shoulder of suitable width.
• Shoulder Width: The width of the shoulder should be adequate for providing working space
around a stopped vehicle. For multilane divided highways, generally 1.5 - 2.0 m wide paved
shoulders are provided. They are supplemented by unpaved shoulders in the case of open
areas. As shoulders can act as auxiliary lanes in Indian conditions, especially to accommodate
slow moving vehicles and even motorized two-wheelers, they are expected to increase the
capacity of the road section. Also, wider shoulders provide a sense of security to the driver
and hence they can drive with more freedom. Therefore, the width of shoulders is expected
to affect both capacity and LOS.
• Speed: Speed is the rate of motion of individual vehicle or of traffic stream. It is measured in
used in traffic engineering applications are Time Mean Speed (TMS) and Space Mean Speed
(SMS).
• Traffic Composition: Traffic composition refers to the relative proportion of each of
the various vehicle types in a traffic stream at a point or a section of a roadway at a given
point of time or within a specified interval of time. It is used to incorporate the differences
in performance characteristics among different vehicle types. If the flow and capacity are
measured in vehicles per hour, traffic composition will affect capacity. However, by measuring
or representing the hourly flow in PCU, as envisaged in this manual, this effect would be
accounted for.
• Traffic Flow: The amount of traffic on a road is generally measured as either traffic volume
or traffic flow. Traffic volume is the total number of vehicles that pass over a given point or
section of a roadway in a given interval of time. Traffic volume can thus be given for annual,
daily, hourly, or sub-hourly periods. Traffic flow, on the other hand, is the equivalent hourly
rate at which the vehicles pass over a given point or section of a roadway for an interval of
time less than one hour. In this manual, the time interval for calculation of traffic flow has
been taken as five minutes. The traffic flow, thus, is an expression of sub-hourly volume, of any
traffic composition, in terms of equivalent flow of standard passenger cars over an hour. In
this manual, Small Car (SC), i.e. type of cars with engine capacity up to 1400 cc, has been taken
as the standard passenger car for conversion of observed flow in vehicles-per hour (veh/h) to
flow in Passenger Car Unit-per-hour (PCU/h). The distinction between volume and flow can
be understood from the following example: say, traffic volumes for consecutive 15-minute
periods in an hour are 500, 800, 1,000 and 1,100 vehicles per hour respectively. The total
hourly volume would thus be 3400 vehicles per hour. However, the hourly flow rate for each
of the 15-minute periods would be different and will be calculated as 4 times the volume
in a 15-minute period. Thus, for this example, the hourly traffic flows will be reported as
2,000, 3,200, 4,000 and 4,400 vehicles per hour respectively. Note that 4,400 vehicles do not

physically pass the observation point during the study hour, but they do pass at that rate for
15 minutes.
• Terrain: Terrain is classified by the general slope of the country across the highway alignment.
While classifying a terrain, short isolated stretches of varying terrain should not be taken into
consideration. As per IRC:73 (1980), terrain is classified as plain, rolling, mountainous and
steep according to the criteria given in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1: Terrain Classification in India
S. No. Terrain Classification Cross Slope (in %)
1 Plain 0-10
2 Rolling 10-25
3 Mountainous 25-60
4 Steep > 60
However, owing to the topographical constraints, multilane divided highways are currently
not being constructed in mountainous / hilly terrains.

The base conditions for capacity estimation of multilane divided interurban highways are
given below:
• Plain and level terrain
• No horizontal curvature or vertical gradient
• Traffic lanes 3.5 m wide [As per IRC: SP-84 (2014) and IRC: SP-87 (2013), the standard lane
width of highways in India should be 3.5 m.]
• Minimum 1.5 m wide paved shoulders, followed by unpaved shoulders/crash barriers, the
latter necessarily required in case of sections on an embankment of more than 3 m height
• Minimum of 2.5 m wide median
• No pavement defects that can adversely affect traffic operations. Roughness, in terms of
International Roughness Index (IRI), is less than 2.7 m/km.
• No direct access points
• No side friction in terms of public transport stops, bus bays and truck lay-byes coupled with
absence of significant pedestrian activity or slow-moving vehicles such as bicycles, rickshaws
and animal carts.
• No work zone activity at or near the section.
• No incidents or crashes at the time of observation at or near the section.
3.4 INPUT DATA

The parameters required for the estimation of capacity and LOS for multilane divided
highways, are given in this section. The parameters listed in Table 3.2 have been grouped among
three categories viz. geometric, traffic and pavement surface-related.

3.5 METHODOLOGY
The methodology to be followed for capacity analysis and LOS determination for vehicular
traffic for multilane divided highways is presented in this section.
3.5.1 Types of Analysis

The capacity estimation procedure can be utilized for the following two types of analysis: -
• Analysis for existing facility: It pertains to the determination of the performance of an
existing road segment under existing or projected traffic demand. The effect of several
other design features on capacity and LOS can also be assessed. In such types of analyses,
the aim is to assess the suitability of minor, typically low-cost, corrective measures that can
be implemented quickly to help prevent a segment, a corridor, or an entire network from
reaching oversaturation or an undesirable LOS.
Table 3.2: Type of Input Data required for Capacity and LOS Analysis
S.No. Required Data Recommended Information

A Road Geometric Data
1 Type of Highway Four Lane or Six Lane Divided Highway
2 Terrain Type Plain or Rolling
3 Type of Shoulder and Width Paved/unpaved shoulder, width in m
4 Horizontal Curvature Curvature in degree per km
5 Vertical Gradient Gradient in percent
B Traffic Data
1 Traffic Volume and composition. Classified traffic volume count data
2 Length of Analysis Period Five (5) minutes
Space Mean Speed (in km/h) in Five-minute (5-minute)
3 Space Mean Speed
intervals
• Existing Facility - 85th percentile speed of the
passenger cars having time headway more than 8
4 Operating Speed seconds
• New Facility - Any reasonable computed value or
design speed.
C Pavement Surface Related Parameters
1 Pavement Condition International Roughness Index (IRI) in (m/km)
 Analysis for new facility: As for planning and designing a new facility, the objective is to es-
timate the number of lanes needed, but the information on flow is likely to be given only as
estimated Average Daily Traffic (ADT). The details of geometry and other inputs can either
be assumed or taken as recommended default values. The service flow rate for a given LOS,
which is the maximum volume for that given LOS, can also be estimated.

3.5.2 Estimation of Stream Speed

Development of speed - flow curve requires estimation of stream speed in each analysis period
of specified length. For the estimation of stream speed, the time taken by each vehicle to traverse a
trap area of defined length during the analysis period is measured. The length of analysis period used
in this manual is 5-minutes, while the trap length during field collection of data varied from 60 m to
130 m. The speed is measured, in m/s units, either by using a high precision stop watch possessing a
least count of 0.01 second or, alternatively, by analyzing frame-by-frame details of the video captured
during video recording-based traffic surveys using the in-house software developed as part of this
study. This speed is then converted to km/h units before use in further analysis. The speed of all the
vehicle types in a traffic stream has been considered as the Space Mean Speed (SMS) as opposed to
the Time Mean Speed (TMS). These two terms are defined below:
οο Time Mean Speed (: The arithmetic mean of speed of all vehicles included in the analysis
period. It is estimated using Equation 3.1:
Equation 3.1
here, N is the total number of vehicles counted in the analysis period, and is the time taken
W
by ith vehicle to travel the trap length D.
οο Space mean speed (: It is calculated based on the average travel time taken by N vehicles to
traverse the trap length ‘D’. It is estimated using Equation 3.2:
Equation 3.2
SMS is related with TMS through the relationship, based on the established literature, given
in Equation 3.3.
Equation 3.3
Where,
is the average TMS of a traffic stream,
is the average SMS of a traffic stream and
In traffic flow analysis, it is prudent to use SMS only for the development of Speed – Flow
relationship.
3.5.3 Estimation of Operating Speed

Operating Speed (VOS) is the speed at or below which 85 percent of the vehicles are said to be
moving under low volume conditions i.e. when the time headway between two successive vehicles is 8
seconds or more. For obtaining the Operating Speed (VOS) of traffic, the spot speeds of the standard
cars under low volume condition are to be measured using any standard method of observation. 85th
percentile of such spot speeds is to be taken as the Operating Speed (VOS).
3.5.4 Estimation of Passenger Car Unit

The analysis of heterogeneous stream of vehicles is simplified if the relative effect of each
vehicle type can be expressed in terms of some common unit. Passenger Car Unit has been the
most widely accepted unit for such a purpose. PCU for a vehicle type is estimated using the method
developed by Chandra and Sikdar (2003) and use of the same is suggested in this manual which is
given by Equation 3.4.

Equation 3.4
Where,
Vc and Vi are speed of standard car and vehicle type i respectively and
According to the above equation, dynamic PCU value for different vehicle types under different
mixed traffic conditions is directly proportional to speed ratio and inversely proportional to space
ratio with respect to standard car.
As stated before, PCU is very sensitive to traffic composition and traffic volume on the road and
hence the use of a single set of PCU factors for different vehicle types may lead to erroneous results.
To circumvent this problem, a new concept of Stream Equivalency Factor (Se) is being introduced in
this manual. This will help the practitioners to avoid use of PCU factors for each individual vehicle
types to convert the observed hourly flow into equivalent flow in Passenger Car Units. This Stream
Equivalency Factor (Se) is simply defined as the ratio between the equivalent flow (PCU/h) and the
observed flow (veh/h). The relationship is also illustrated as under in Equation 3.5:
Equation 3.5
Se is a function of the traffic composition and can be determined from the CVC data using
Equation 3.6:
Equation 3.6
Where,
Se is the Stream Equivalency Factor,
pBC, pTW, …, pTT are the proportion of respective vehicle types in the traffic stream,
N is the traffic volume in the period of analysis ‘T’, and
a1, a2… a9 are the estimable coefficients.
Equation 3.6 has been employed to arrive at in case of four lane and six lane divided highway
segments and therefore, resultant equations are given as Equation 3.7 and Equation 3.8 in Section
3.6.2.
3.5.5 Estimation of Traffic Flows

Estimation of traffic flows (Q) on the road stretch under examination is elementary to traffic
engineering. The procedure to estimate traffic flows for an existing multilane divided highway facility
is as under.
• Collect Classified Traffic Volume Data for the multilane divided highway segment being
studied for the required duration.
• Estimate hourly flow in vehicles/hour units. Also, estimate proportion of each vehicle type in
the traffic stream for each hour.
• Select the Stream Equivalence Factor (Se) equation corresponding to the type of highway
i.e. 4-lane or 6-lane divided highway segment under scrutiny as given in Section 3.6.2.
Alternatively, PCU values of the corresponding vehicle type should be considered either using
PCUs to convert the hourly flow in veh/h to PCU/h.

For a new facility, if the expected travel demand for the planned highway is already known
through travel demand analysis or any other suitable method, the corresponding traffic flow may be
considered.
3.5.6 Estimation of Base Capacity

Base Capacity (C) is estimated from the speed-flow models developed using the Greenshields’s
traffic flow theory. Traffic flow is described and measured using three interrelated variables namely,
space mean speed (V), Volume or rate of flow (Q) and density (K). Speed - Volume relationship is
parabolic having maximum volume at a value of density equal to half the jam density. For the
estimation of capacity, as per this manual, along with the general conditions of the location and
geometric details, it is very important to know the Operating Speed of a base section (VOSbase) on the
highway. The base sections are to be identified based on the parameters already laid down in Section
3.3. can be obtained by the procedure explained in Section 3.5.3. The steps furnished below illustrate
the procedure to estimate roadway capacity for an existing multilane divided highway facility.
Step 1. D
ivide the road into segments. A road segment is defined as a stretch of road having similar
characteristics along its length. Points where road characteristics change significantly
become segment boundaries. Intersections, whether controlled or uncontrolled, form natural
boundaries for segments. Each segment is separately analysed.
easure the spot speed of the standard cars under free flow conditions on every segment and
Step 2. M
estimate the Operating Speed (VOSbase).
Step 3. If required, adjust the VOSbase as obtained in the above step, for the prevailing field conditions
by using the relationship between the VOSbase and the various adjustment factors as described
in Section 3.9. The output of this step shall provide the user adjusted operating speed (VOSadj).
Step 4. Estimate the capacity of the road segment using Equations 3.9 or 3.10, depending upon the
type of highway under scrutiny or alternatively, using Table 3.6.
3.5.7 Estimation of Adjusted Capacity

At the same time, the adjusted capacity due to departure from base conditions of factors such
as horizontal curvature, gradient, road roughness, shoulder type and width, and median width can be
estimated by following the procedure laid down in Section 3.9.
3.5.8 Estimation of Level of Service

LOS is essentially a quantification of that perception of service quality by means of stratification
of service measure(s) that describes the operating conditions within the traffic stream. Universally,
LOS is a lettering scheme ranging from A to F. LOS ‘A’ represents highest quality of service whereas
LOS ‘F’ represents heavily congested flow where traffic demand exceeds capacity. Estimation of LOS
threshold is important, because it can serve as a yardstick for arriving at policy decisions regarding
augmentation of functional quality of the highway during its service life. The service measures used
for defining LOS for multilane divided highway are density and volume-to-capacity (v/c) ratio. LOS
for an existing highway facility can be obtained by the steps outlined below:
Step 1. D
ivide the road into segments. A road segment is defined as a stretch of road having similar
characteristics along its length. Points where road characteristics change significantly
become segment boundaries. Intersections, whether controlled or uncontrolled, form natural
boundaries for segments. Each segment is separately analysed.

Step 2. Measure the traffic volumes for a segment for a typical week (168 hours) through classified
traffic volume count surveys. Care should be taken to obtain and record the traffic volumes
in time segments equal to the length of analysis period (T) to facilitate easy conversion into
hourly flows. The value of T adopted in this manual is five (5) minutes.
Step 3. Convert the traffic volumes (in number of vehicles) obtained in the previous step into equivalent
traffic flows (in PCU). Suitably multiply the equivalent traffic flows with the no. of time spans
of time-period T in an hour to convert them into equivalent hourly traffic flows (in PCU/h/
direction). For example, if T = 5 minutes, multiply the flow with 12 (= 60/5) to get equivalent
hourly flow.
Step 4. Measure the Space Mean Speeds (SMS) of the vehicles on the section for the same time-period
as for the measurement of traffic flows. Care should be taken to record the SMS of the vehicles
in time segments equal to the length of analysis period T to facilitate easy computation of
traffic density. Space mean speed of the traffic stream can be found by taking weighted average
of the space mean speeds of individual vehicle types.
Step 5. Compute traffic density by dividing the equivalent hourly flow (PCU/h/direction) corresponding
to peak hour with the space mean speed (km/h) of the traffic for the same duration.
Step 6. Determine LOS from Table 3.8 and Table 3.9 (depending upon the type of highway under
scrutiny) corresponding to the traffic density obtained from earlier step. LOS so obtained may
be verified by comparing the results obtained through other performance measures such as
volume-to-capacity ratio.
3.6 PASSENGER CAR UNIT VALUES

A discussion on the vehicle types found on the multilane divided highways in India and the
results of Dynamic PCU estimation are presented in this section. It starts with a discussion on the
identification and collection of classified traffic volume count (CVC) on the identified base as well as
non-base road sections based on the vehicle types (refer Table 3.3) typically witnessed on the above
class of multilane divided interurban highway segments using Videography or any other appropriate
method.
The range of PCU values obtained for different vehicle types observed on the four and six lane
divided highway segments considered in this manual are given in Table 3.4. It also lists the median
of the PCU values so obtained for ready adoption in the field. The PCU factors are highly sensitive
to traffic and roadway conditions. Therefore, it is preferable to estimate them from the speed data
collected directly from the field, as far as possible.

Motorized Traffic
Motorized Two Wheelers including

1. Two Wheelers TW
Bikes and Scooters
Auto rickshaws#
All Motorized
2. (Three and Four Wheeled Rickshaws Auto
Auto Rickshaws
Cars of engine capacity more than

4. Big Cars and Vans BC
1400 cc
5. Mini Bus MB
Transport Vehicles
6. Buses Bus
Commercial Pick Up Vans and Mini

7. Light Commercial Vehicles LCV Trucks (up to Gross Vehicle Weight of
7.0 tonnes)
Heavy Goods Vehicles (up to Gross

Vehicle Weight of 25.2 tonnes)

25.200 tonnes)
11. Cycles CY
12. Cycle Rickshaws CY_RICK Slow Moving Vehicles (SMV)

#
Quantum of electric or e- rickshaws is insignificant in all the candidate road sections and hence combined
with the normal auto rickshaws
In the absence of speed data collected in the field or direct estimation of PCU factors is not
required by the analyst, the values given in Table 3.4 can be employed. In this regard, the standard /
small car having engine capacity up to 1400 cc (as opposed to a big car having engine capacity more
than 1400 cc) and average dimensions of length 3.6 m and width 1.5 m, has been adopted as the
standard car for the estimation of PCUs of other vehicle types in the traffic stream.

Table 3.4: Range and Median of PCU Values for various Vehicle Types
Four Lane Divided Six Lane Divided
S. No. Vehicle Type Highway Segments Highway Segments
1. Standard Car (SC) - 1.00 - 1.00
2. Big Car (BC) 1.4 - 1.5 1.45 1.4 - 1.6 1.50
3. Motorized Two-Wheeler (TW) 0.3 - 0.5 0.40 0.3 - 0.4 0.35
4. Auto-rickshaw (AUTO) 1.1 - 1.3 1.20 1.2 - 1.4 1.40
5. Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) 2.7 - 3.3 3.10 3.0 - 3.6 3.40
6. Two / Three Axle Trucks (TAT) 3.5 - 4.6 4.40 4.3 - 5.5 5.00
7. Multi-Axle Trucks (MAT) 6.3 - 7.0 6.60 8.1 - 9.6 8.60
8. Bus (B) 4.4 - 5.3 5.00 4.3 - 5.6 5.10
9. Tractors including Trailers (TT) 3.9 -7.0 6.20 4.5 - 6.6 6.30
PCU for a vehicle type depends on its proportion in the traffic stream and total volume on the
road. Except motorized two wheelers, for all vehicle-types, the PCU has been found to be increasing
with their increasing proportions in the traffic stream. In the case of TW, an inversely proportional
relationship has been observed with PCU reducing with increasing proportion of motorized two-
wheelers in the traffic stream. The ranges of proportions of different vehicle types observed in the
field, whose lower and upper limits are designated as ‘a’ and ‘b’ respectively, are given in Table 3.5.
Therefore, it is advised that the vehicle proportion given in Table 3.5 may be used as a yardstick for
deciding about the PCU value to be used from the ranges given in Table 3.4.
Table 3.5: Range of Traffic Proportion of different Vehicle-Types
Four Lane Divided Highway Six Lane Divided Highway

Segments Segments
Vehicle Type Traffic Traffic Traffic Traffic

Proportion: Proportion Proportion: Proportion:
Lower Limit Upper Limit Lower Limit Upper Limit
(a) (b) (a) (b)
Standard Car (SC) 8 40 9 48

Big Car (BC) 6 37 10 44
Motorized Two-Wheeler (TW) 4 38 9 24
Auto-rickshaw (AUTO) 2 15 1 11
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) 4 33 10 29
Two / Three Axle Trucks (TAT) 2 27 1 23
Multi-Axle Trucks (MAT) 1 10 1 27
Bus (B) 1 15 1 8
Tractors including Trailers (TT) 1 3 1 3

3.7 Stream Equivalency Factor (Se)

Hence, a single set of PCU cannot be recommended for all types of traffic conditions. A small change in
either traffic volume or traffic composition may change PCU factors substantially, especially for large
size vehicles. Moreover, the tabulated values presented in Table 3.4 are not sufficient to understand
the complete variation in PCU for a vehicle type. A new concept of Stream Equivalency Factor (Se) is
introduced in this manual to take care of dynamic nature of PCU (Dhamaniya and Chandra, S., 2013).
SEF is defined as the ratio of flow in PCUs per hour to the flow in vehicles per hour which is presented
in Equations 3.5 and 3.6. The factor is an overall equivalency factor for the entire traffic stream. It will
naturally depend upon traffic volume and its composition. The value of Se will be larger for a traffic
stream having more proportion of vehicles which are larger than standard cars i.e. vehicles greater
than 1400 cc engine size and smaller for a traffic stream with more number of smaller vehicles. The
calibrated Se equations given in Section 3.5.4 specifies Se as a function of the traffic composition and
volume for both four lane and six lane divided highway segments and the results are given in Equation
3.7 and Equation 3.8 respectively.
For Four Lane Divided Highway Segments:

Equation 3.7
For= Six Lane Divided Highway Segments:
Equation 3.8
In equations 3.7 and 3.8, it can be noted that there is no coefficient estimated for Tractors
including Trailers (TT). This is because TT is present only in insignificant numbers on the study
sections. Therefore, if the above vehicle type constitutes only a very small proportion of the total
traffic, say less than 2 %, their effect on the equivalent hourly flow can be ignored. However, in case of
the share of TT is significant on any highway segment, then their effect may be considered by utilizing
their PCU factors given in Table 3.4.
3.8 BASE CAPACITY ESTIMATION

The relationship between speed (V), density (K) and flow (Q) has been a topic of intense
research in traffic flow theory. Speed flow models were developed by different researchers over time,
of which Greenshield’s traffic flow theory forms the basis for the macroscopic traffic flow models.
Some methods require simulation of the traffic using computer based software while others are based
on guidelines provided in standards like Highway Capacity Manual (US-HCM, 2010) or Indian Roads
Congress (IRC: 64, 1990). It has been noted during the field studies as well as in other reported studies
(Velmurugan, et al, 2010) that most of the multilane divided highways rarely operate at volumes near
capacity in India except for specified time period either in the day or nighttime. It seems intuitive
that the capacity for all sections of a given type i.e. four lane or six lane divided that are operating
under base conditions for traffic flow would be similar. However, owing to the variation in traffic
composition and pavement roughness, variations have been observed in capacity values of multilane
divided highways even under base conditions.
It was observed that within the range of obtained capacity results, a relationship can be
established between Operating Speed under base conditions (VOSbase) and Base Capacity (C). These
relationships for four lane and six lane divided interurban highway segments are given in Equations
3.9 and 3.10. Table 3.6 gives the capacity values corresponding to varying Operating Speeds (VOS)
utilizing the relationship given in the following Equations 3.9 and 3.10.

For Four Lane Divided Highway Segments:

C = 30 * VOS + 1540 Equation 3.9
For Six Lane Divided Highway Segments:
C = 43 * VOS + 2490 Equation 3.10
For obtaining capacity values corresponding to Operating Speed falling in between those
mentioned in Table 3.6, simple linear interpolation can be done. Alternatively, one can use the
equations 3.9 and 3.10 for capacity corresponding to any Operating Speed between 70 Kmph and
100 Kmph.
Table 3.6: Base Capacity Values for varying Operating Speed
Operating Capacity (PCU/h/direction)

Capacity (PCU/h/direction) for Six
Speed for Four Lane Divided Highway
Lane Divided Highway Segments
(Km/h) Segments
70 3640 5500
80 3940 5930
90 4240 6360
100 4540 6790
3.9 ADJUSTMENT FACTORS FOR NON-BASE CONDITIONS

Often, the parameters laid down for base conditions of traffic flow are not available on the
considered test sections. Therefore, the base capacity values need to be adjusted for the existing field
conditions. The conditions in the field can either influence the operating speed and thereby reduce
the capacity, or there may be certain conditions that directly impact on the traffic density which in
turn influences flow rate and thereby capacity. Accordingly, equations for adjustment factors have
been developed for both four lane and six lane divided highways. If for some highway sections, it is
observed that there is/are certain other extrinsic factor(s) for which the adjustment factor(s) is /
are not provided here, then the capacity values for such sections are to be estimated by developing
speed -density - flow relationship specifically for those sections. The adjustment necessary because
of gradient, curvature, pavement roughness, shoulder width and median width are discussed in the
subsequent sections.
3.9.1 Adjustment Factors for Gradient, Curvature and Roughness

The geometric factors like vertical gradient, horizontal curvature and road condition like
pavement roughness are found to have a significant effect on the Operating Speed on multilane
divided highways. Accordingly, adjustment factors are evolved and are given in Equations 3.11 and
Equation 3.12 for four lane and six lane divided highway segments respectively.
For Four lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments:
VOSadj = VOSbase – 4.7 × IRI – 0.6 × GR – 0.03 × CU Equation 3.11
For Six Lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments:
VOSadj = VOSbase – 1.2 × IRI – 0.4 × GR – 0.06 × CU Equation 3.12
Where,
VOSadj = Operating Speed adjusted for field conditions in km/h,
VOSbase = Operating Speed under base conditions in km/h,

IRI = International Roughness Index in m/km (no adjustment required for IRI ≤ 2.7 m/km),
GR = Gradient in % and
CU = Curvature in degree/km.
In the case of an existing highway facility, VOSbase required in Equations 3.11 and 3.12 can either
be estimated through field observation of spot speeds of standard cars on a base section on the same
highway, or on a base section on a different highway in a similar setting.
The method of identifying VOSbase on a new highway facility is not straightforward. In such a
case, it can either be assumed to be equal to the Operating Speed obtained for a base section on a
similar highway based on field observation of minimum sample size of free flow speed of standard
cars. Otherwise, design speed may be assumed as the VOSbase of the highway segment. In the case of
non-base sections, after applying adjustments for gradient, curvature and roughness consider VOSbase
= VOSadj to obtain the adjusted capacity from Equation 3.9 or 3.10 as applicable.
3.9.2 Adjustment Factor for Shoulder Width and Median Width

The factors governing the carriageway width, shoulder width and median width (lateral
clearance on the median side) are generally found to be influencing highway capacity. In case of
multilane divided highways, usually there is not much variation in the carriageway widths of the road
segments. However, there is variation in the shoulder types and shoulder widths provided on such
highways. Also, there may be segments in some built-up areas where the median width is less than
the minimum of 2.5 m specified for plain and rolling terrains [Refer IRC:SP:84 (2013)]. Therefore, the
Adjustment Factors accounting for their effects on capacity evolved are presented in Equations 3.13
and Equation 3.14 in the case of four lane divided highway segments whereas in Equation 3.15 in the
case of six lane highway segments respectively.
For Four lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments:
(a) For sections with Median Width ≥ 2.50 m
Cadj = C + 188 × PSW + 170 × UPSW + 74 Equation 3.13
(b) For sections with Median Width < 2.50 m
Cadj = C + 188 × PSW + 170 × UPSW Equation 3.14
For Six Lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments:
Cadj = C + 153 × PSW + 64 × UPSW Equation 3.15
Where,
Cadj = Capacity adjusted for field conditions in PCU/h/direction,
C = Capacity under base conditions in PCU/h/direction,
PSW = Difference between the actual width and base width of the paved shoulder in m i.e.
Actual Width - 1.5 m and
UPSW = Width of Unpaved Shoulder in m.
The capacity under base conditions (C) required in Equations 3.13, 3.14 and 3.15 above,
is obtained from Table 3.6 by looking up values against the observed Operating Speed under base
conditions ( or the Operating Speed adjusted for roughness, curvature and gradient ( as the case may
be. It is evident from these equations, that the type of variables affecting capacity for both the types of
highways is different. Non-standard width of median has been found to have an effect on the capacity
of four lane divided highways, but not on six lane divided highways probably due to the increased
carriageway width offering opportunities to vehicles to avoid the median lane thereby increasing the
density of traffic on the middle and shoulder lanes but not affecting the flow considerably. Similarly,

among the sample of candidate road sections surveyed, only few of four lane and six lane segments
are provided with Service Roads alongside. Since the sample is not significant, their effect has not
been estimated for multilane divided highways even though, theoretically, they should contribute
towards an increase in capacity due to reduction of the local traffic from getting mixed with through
traffic and thereby permitting higher operating speeds on the multilane divided highways.
3.10 ESTIMATION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE

Adhering to international conventions, six LOS categories has been defined on multilane
divided interurban highways labeled as LOS A through F, where LOS A represents the highest level
of service where motorists can travel at their desired speeds, and LOS F represents breakdown of
traffic flow as demand exceeds capacity (Ashutosh et al, 2016). The details on the LOS and their visual
interpretations are given in Table 3.7.
Table 3.7: Pictorial Illustration of LOS for Multilane Divided Highways
LOS Description Illustration
It represents a condition of free flow. Individual drivers are
virtually unaffected by the presence of others in the traffic
A stream. Freedom to select desired speeds and to manoeuvre
within the traffic stream is high. The general level of comfort
and convenience provided to the road users is excellent.
It represents a zone of stable flow, with the drivers still having

reasonable freedom to select their desired speed and manoeuvre
within the traffic stream. Level of comfort and convenience
B provided is somewhat less than level of service A, because the
presence of other vehicles in the traffic stream begins to affect
individual behaviour.
This also is a zone of stable flow, but marks the beginning of
the range of flow in which the operation of individual drivers
starts getting affected by interactions with others in the traffic
C stream. The selection of speed is now affected by the presence
of others, and manoeuvring within the traffic stream requires
vigilance on the part of the user. The general level of comfort
and convenience starts declining at this level.
It represents the limit of stable flow, with conditions
approaching close to unstable flow. Due to high density, the
drivers are restricted in their freedom to select desired speed
D
and manoeuvre within the traffic stream. The general level of
comfort and convenience is poor. Small increases in traffic flow
will usually cause operational problems at this level.
It represents operating conditions when traffic volumes are
at or close to the capacity level. The speeds are reduced to
a low, but relatively uniform value. Freedom to manoeuvre
within the traffic stream is severely restricted, and is generally
accomplished by forcing a vehicle to give way to accommodate
E
such manoeuvres. Comfort and convenience are very poor, and
driver frustration is generally high. Operations at this level
are usually unstable, because small increases in flow or minor
disturbances within the traffic stream will cause breakdowns.

It represents the zone of forced/ breakdown flow. This condition

occurs when the amount of traffic approaching a point exceeds
the amount that can pass it. Queue formation occurs at such
F
bottlenecks with traffic operating in stop-and-go waves, which
are extremely unstable. It can also result in substantial traffic
delays, and ultimately a total jam condition.
LOS thresholds, in terms of density (PCU/km/direction) and other performance measures

computed for multilane divided segments in India are presented in Tables 3.8 and Table 3.9. Density
can be derived by using Equation 3.16 which is also referred to as the fundamental relation of traffic
flow:
Q = K × V Equation 3.16
For the determination of LOS of any type of multilane divided highway, it is recommended
that density shall be computed from traffic flow and SMS observed during the peak hour.
Tables 3.8 and 3.9 also furnish the Design Service Volumes (DSV) corresponding to each LOS.
DSV has been arrived corresponding to LOS B adopting the standards as laid down in IRC: 64 (1990).
It is strongly recommended that the planning for upgradation of a multilane interurban highway
facility should start as soon as the lower limit of the range of service volumes corresponding to LOS B
is reached and should be accomplished by the time DSV is reached.
Table 3.8: LOS Thresholds for Four Lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments
Density (PCU/km/ Volume-to-Capacity Service Volumes Recommended DSV Value

LOS
direction) ratio (v/c) (PCU/day) for Upgradation (PCU/day)
A ≤ 18 0.00 - 0.20 ≤18000
B 19 - 27 0.21 - 0.30 18001 - 27000 22500@ LOS-B: Suggested
threshold flow for conversion
C 28 - 45 0.31 - 0.50 27001 - 45000 from four lane to six lane
D 46 - 64 0.51 - 0.70 45001 - 63000 divided road to ensure
enhanced safety in traffic
E 65 - 90 0.71 - 1.00 63001 - 90000 operations.
F > 90 > 1.00 > 90000
Table 3.9: LOS Thresholds for Six Lane Divided Interurban Highway Segments
Recommended DSV
Density (PCU/km/ Volume-to-Capacity Service Volumes
LOS Value for Upgradation
direction) ratio (v/c) (PCU/day)
(in PCUs/day)
A ≤ 27 0.00 - 0.20 ≤ 27000
34000 @ LOS-B:
B 28 - 41 0.21 - 0.30 27001 - 41000
Suggested threshold
C 42 - 68 0.31 - 0.50 41001 - 68000 flow for conversion from
six lane to eight lane
D 69 - 95 0.51 - 0.70 68001 - 95000 divided road to ensure
enhanced safety in
E 96 - 136 0.71 - 1.00 95001 - 136000
traffic operations.
F > 136 > 1.00 > 136000

3.11 PROCEDURE FOR ESTIMATION OF CAPACITY AND LOS

The overall methodology to be deployed for the estimation of capacity and LOS of multilane
divided interurban highways is presented in the form of a flowchart in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.3: Procedure for Estimation of Capacity and LOS for


3.12 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES

3.12.1 Operational Analysis of Four Lane Divided Highway
The following input parameters are furnished for the four lane divided Chennai - Villupuram
section of NH-45:
• Operating Speed for Base Section: 100 km/h
• Traffic lane width: 3.5 m
• Gradient: 1.4%
• Pavement Roughness (IRI): 3.6 m/km
• Curvature: 172.5 deg/km.
• Paved shoulder width: 0.5 m
• Median width: 1.5m
• Total Volume: 1250 vehicles per hour.
• Space mean speed of the traffic stream: 40 km/h.
• Terrain: Plain
• Proportion of different vehicles
Vehicle Category Volume (veh/h) Composition (in %)

Standard Car (SC) 431 34
Big Car (BC) 256 20
Two-Wheeler (TW) 282 23
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 49 4
Two / Three Axle Trucks (TAT) 24 2
Multi Axle Trucks (MAT) 61 5
Auto-Rickshaw (AUTO) 86 7
Bus (B) 61 5
Total 1250 100
Determine the Capacity and LOS of an existing facility for the above non-base condition four
lane divided highway presented above.
Solution:
1. Input Data
All input data are specified in the example problem statement.
2. Compute Operating Speed
or Four lane divided highways of existing facility with non-base condition, Operating Speed
F
can be adjusted by using Equation 3.11
VOSadj = 4.7 × IRI – 0.6 × GR – 0.03 × CU
Hence, VOSadj 100 – 4.7 × 3.6 – 0.6 × 1.4 – 0.03 × 172.5 = 77 km/h

3. Compute Capacity
From Table 3.6, corresponding to uo of 77 km/h, = 3850PCU/h/dir.
or four lane divided highway of existing facility with non-base condition capacity can be
F
determined by using the Equation 3.14 (Median Width ≤ 2.50 m).
\ Capacity = Cadj = C + 188 × PSW + 170 × UPSW
ow, PSW = Difference between the base width of Paved Shoulder and the Actual width =
N
(0.5m – 1.5m) = – 1 m.
And UPSW = width of unpaved Shoulder =0 m.
\ Capacity = Cadj = 3850 + 188 × (–1) + 170 × 0 = 3662 PCU/h/dir.
4. Determination of LOS
4.1 Method 1: Using SEF
4.1.1 Estimation of SEF:
From Equation 3.7, we can get
SEF = 1+0.6 × 0.20 - 1.5 × 0.23 + 2.6 × 0.04 + 3.6 × 0.02 + 6.4 × 0.05 + 1.2 × 0.07 + 4.8 × 0.05
+59.8 × (1/1250) = 1.64
Therefore, traffic volume in terms of PCU = 1250 × 1.64= 2050 PCU/h/dir.
4.1.2 Compute Density
From Equation 3.16, Density (K) of the existing four lane facility is
K = Q/V
K = 2050 / 40 = 51 PCU/km/dir.
4.1.3 Compute Volume-to-Capacity Ratio (v/c):
v/c = 2050/3662= 0.56
4.1.4 Determine LOS
As per Table 3.8, corresponding to a density of 51 PCU/km/direction, the operational LOS
is ‘D’. Alternatively, corresponding to a v/c ratio of 0.56, the LOS is also ‘D’ and hence the
operational LOS is ‘D’.
4.2 Method 2: Using PCU Factor
4.2.1 Compute Volume in PCU/h/direction
Vehicle Category Volume (veh/h/dir.) PCU factor Volume (PCU/h/dir.)
Standard Car (SC) 431 1 431
Big Car (BC) 256 1.5 384
Two-Wheeler (TW) 282 0.3 85
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 49 3.1 152
Two / Three Axle Trucks (TAT) 24 4.4 106
Multi Axle Trucks (MAT) 61 6.6 403
Auto-Rickshaw (AUTO) 86 1.3 112
Bus (B) 61 5 305
Total 1250 - 1978

From the above table, we get

Volume in veh/h/dir. = 1250 veh/h/dir.
Volume in PCU/h/dir. =1978 PCU/h/dir.
From Equation 3.16, Density (K) of the existing four lane facility is
K = Q/V
K= 1978 / 40 = 50PCU/km/dir.
v/c= 1978/3662= 0.54
4.2.4 Determine LOS
As per Table 3.8, corresponding to a density of 50 PCU/km/dir., the operational LOS is ‘D’.
Alternatively, corresponding to a v/c ratio of 0.54, the LOS is also ‘D’ and hence the operational LOS
is ‘D’.
3.12.2 Operational Analysis of Six Lane Divided Carriageway

To determine Capacity and LOS of an existing facility with base condition for a six-lane divided
highway
The Inputs
Six lane Highway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad
• Operating Speed for base section: 100 km/h
• Traffic lane width: 3.5 m
• Terrain: Plain
• No horizontal curvature and No gradient
• Good pavement surface condition (IRI < 2.7 m/km)
• Paved shoulder width: 1.5 m and Unpaved shoulder is not provided
• Volume: 1450 Veh/h
• Space mean speed of the traffic stream: 63 km/h.
• Proportion of different vehicles
Vehicle Category Volume (veh/h) Composition (%)
Standard Car (SC) 247 17
Big Car (BC) 333 23
Two-Wheeler (TW) 261 18
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 261 18
Two / Three Axle Trucks (TAT) 174 12
Multi Axle Trucks (MAT) 58 4
Auto-Rickshaw (AUTO) 29 2
Bus (B) 87 6
Total 1450 100

Solution:
1. Input Data
ll data are given in the example problem statement. All the Base Conditions specified for
A
multilane interurban highways are being met in this case, hence no adjustment is required.
The Operating Speed is given as 100 km/h for base section of existing facility
3. Compute Capacity
rom Table 3.6 corresponding to Operating Speed = 100 km/h capacity of the existing six lane
F
divided highway with base condition = 6790 PCU/h/dir.
4.1 Method 1: Using SEF
4.1.1 Estimation of SEF (Stream Equivalency Factor)
From Equation 3.8, we can get
S EF = 1 + 0.7 × 0.23 – 2.1 × 0.18 + 3.3 × 0.18 + 4.8 × 0.12 + 7.5 × 0.04 + 1.2 × 0.02 + 5.0 × 0.06
+ 64.7 × (1/1450) = 2.62
So, traffic volume in terms of PCU = 1450 × 2.62 = 3799 or say 3800PCU/h/dir.
From Equation 3.16, Density (K) of the six lane divided facility computed is
K = volume /speed = 3800 / 60 = 63 PCU/km/dir.
v/c = 3800/6790 = 0.56
4.1.4 Determine LOS
s per Table 3.9, LOS corresponding to Density of 63 PCU/km/dir. is ‘C’ and that corresponding
A
to v/c ratio of 0.56 is ‘D’. Since, Density is the recommended service measure for LOS estimation,
the LOS corresponding to Density values is preferred. Therefore, the operational LOS is ‘C’.
dditional Traffic that can be accommodated before reaching capacity i.e. LOS E = 6790
A
– 3800 =2990 PCU/h/dir.
4.2 Method 2: Using PCU Factor
4.2.1 Compute Volume in PCU/h/direction
Vehicle Category Volume (veh/h/dir.) PCU Factor Volume (PCU/h/dir.)
Standard Car (SC) 247 1 247
Big Car (BC) 333 1.5 500
Two-Wheeler (TW) 261 0.3 78
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 261 3.4 887
Auto-Rickshaw (AUTO) 29 1.4 41
Bus (B) 87 5.1 444
Total 1450 - 3566

From the above table, we get

Volume in veh/h/dir.= 1450 veh/h/dir.
Volume in PCU/h/dir.=3566PCU/h/dir.
From Equation 3.16, Density (k) of the six-lane divided facility computed is
k = volume /speed = 3566/ 60 = 59 PCU/km/dir.
v/c = 3566/6790 = 0.53
4.2.4 Determine LOS
s per Table 3.9, LOS corresponding to Density of 59 PCU/km/dir. is ‘C’ and that corresponding
A
to v/c ratio of 0.53 is ‘D’. Since, Density is the recommended service measure for LOS
estimation; hence the LOS corresponding to Density values are to be preferred. Therefore, the
operational LOS is ‘C’.
3.12.3 Analysis for Planning of New Multilane Divided Facility

A new multilane divided highway is planned to be built between Krishnagar and Beharampore
in the state of West Bengal. Determine the number of lanes required to maintain LOS ‘B’ during the
peak hour.
Solution:
The Inputs
• AADT: 20,000 veh/day.
• Design Speed of the new facility: 100 km/h
• Traffic Composition: SC - 28 %; BC - 20 %; TW - 10 %; LCV - 12 %; TAT - 10 %;
• MAT - 7 %; Auto - 3 %; BUS - 10 %.
• Plain Terrain
• Proportion of AADT occurring during peak hour (K): 0.08
• Proportion of peak hourly volume travelling in the peak direction (D): 0.60
1. Input Data
All the input data are specified in the problem statement.
2. Compute Design Hourly Volume
he demand volume stated as AADT must be converted to an estimated directional design
T
hourly volume (v=DDHV) by using the traditional formula
v = DDHV = AADT x K x D = 20000 x 0.08 x 0.6 = 960 veh/h/dir.
s for the new facility, Operating Speed is unavailable, hence the Design speed can be
A
considered as the Operating Speed.
Operating Speed = 100 km/h; Assuming the road section is a six lane divided highway

4. Compute SEF
Using Equation 3.8,
S EF = 1+ 0.7 × 0.20 – 2.1 × 0.10 + 3.3 × 0.12 + 4.8 × 0.10 + 7.5 × 0.07+ 1.2 × 0.03 + 5.0 × 0.10
+ 64.7 × (1/ 960) = 2.93
Therefore, Design Hourly Volume = 960 × 2.93 = 2813 PCUs/hour/direction.
5. Compute Capacity
From Table 3.6 capacity corresponding to 100 km/h, Operating Speed is 6790 PCU/h/dir.
6. Compute Service Volume for Corresponding LOS
As per Table 3.9 corresponding to LOS ‘B’, maximum v/c ratio is 0.30
Service volume corresponding to LOS ‘B’ will be 0.30×6790= 2037 PCU/h/dir.
7. Estimate number of lanes
Number of lanes required = 2813/2037 = 1.4.
herefore, our assumption is not correct. The road section is likely to be a four-lane divided
T
highway.
8. Compute SEF
Using Equation3.7, SEF for four lane highways is
S EF = 1+ 0.6 × 0.20 – 1.5 × 0.10 + 2.6 × 0.12 + 3.6 × 0.10 + 6.4 × 0.07+ 1.2 × 0.03 + 4.8 × 0.10
+ 59.8 × (1/ 960) = 2.67
Therefore, the Design hourly volume = 960 × 2.67 = 2563 PCU/h/dir.
9. Compute Capacity
rom Table 3.6, capacity corresponding to Operating Speed of 100 km/h for four lane divided
F
highway is 4540PCU/h/dir.
10. Compute Service Volume for Corresponding LOS
As per Table 3.8 corresponding to LOS ‘B’, maximum v/c ratio is 0.30
Service volume corresponding to LOS ‘B’ will be 0.30×4540= 1362PCU/h/dir.
11. Estimate the number of lanes
Number lanes required = 2563/1362 = 1.88
Therefore, a four-lane divided highway need to be provided.
3.12.4 Analysis for Widening of Existing Facility

A six-lane divided highway is to be developed between Delhi and Jaipur by widening of existing
four lane divided carriageways, adding median of sufficient width, widening of shoulder, realignment
of sharp curves. Development of the highway facility will cause Operating Speed to increase by 25 %
and the Space Mean Speed (SMS) by 60 %. How much additional traffic can be accommodated by the
development of the highway?
The Inputs
• Design volume: 1600 PCU/h/dir.
• Existing Operating Speed (VOS) : 80 km/h
• Future Operating Speed (VOS) : 25% increase VOS – 100 km/h

• Existing SMS: 50 km/h

• Future SMS: 60 % Increase of Existing SMS - 80 km/h
1. Determine Existing LOS
ensity of the existing traffic stream =1600/50 = 32PCU/km/dir. From Table 3.7 it is evident
D
that LOS is ‘C’.
2. Determine LOS after improvement
ensity on the highway facility after improvement = 1600/80 = 20PCU/km/dir. From Table
D
3.9 improved LOS is ‘A’
3. Compute Capacity
he new Capacity after widening corresponding to an Operating Speed of 100 km/h will be
T
6790 PCU/h/dir. as per Table 3.6.
4. Compute Design Service Volume
rom Table 3.9, v/c ratio corresponding to LOS B ranges between 0.21 and 0.30, Taking the
F
maximum value of v/c as 0.30, the design service volume (DSV) corresponding to LOS B will
be = 0.30 × 6790= 2037≈ 2040 PCU/h/dir.
5. Compute additional volume under LOS B
The existing demand flow rate is 1600 PCU/h/dir. While the design service volume is 2040
PCUs/h/dir. The additional volume can be accommodated maintaining LOS B after which
the highway needs to be upgraded is 2040-1600 = 440 PCUs/h/dir.

REFERENCES
1. Ashutosh Arun, Erramapalli Madhu and S. Velmurugan (2016), “Selection of a Suitable Service
Measure and Determination of LOS Criteria for Indian Multilane Interurban Highways: A
Methodological Review”, Transportation in Developing Economies, (TiDE) Springer, India, DOI:
10.1007/s40890-016-0021-x.
2. Chandra, S. and Sikdar, P. K. (2000), ‘Factors affecting PCU in mixed traffic on urban roads”, Road
& Transport Research, 9(3), 2000, ARRB, Australia, pp. 40-50.
3. HCM (2010), “HCM 2010: Highway Capacity Manual”, Special Report No. 209, 5th Edition,
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC, USA.
4. IRC: 73 (1980) “Geometric Design Standards for Rural (non-urban) Highways”, New Delhi:
Indian Roads Congress.
5. IRC: 64 (1990), “Guidelines for capacity of roads in Rural Areas (First Revision)”, Indian Roads
6. IRC: SP-87 (2013), “Manual of Specifications and Standards for Six laning of Highways through
Public Private Partnership (First Revision)”, New Delhi: Indian Roads Congress.
7. IRC: SP-84 (2014), “Manual of Specifications and Standards for Four laning of Highways through
Public Private Partnership (First Revision)”, New Delhi: Indian Roads Congress.
8. Velmurugan, S., Errampalli, M., Ravinder, K., Sitaramanjaneyulu, K., and Gangopadhyay, S. (2010).
“Critical evaluation of roadway capacity of multilane high-speed corridors under heterogeneous
traffic conditions through traditional and microscopic simulation models”, In Journal of Indian
Roads Congress Vol. 71, No. 3, pp. 235-264.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Arun, A., Madhu, E., & Velmurugan, S. (2016), “Selection of a Suitable Service Measure and
Determination of LOS Criteria for Indian Multilane Interurban Highways: A Methodological
Review”, Transportation in Developing Economies, 2(2), 16. http://doi.org/10.1007/s40890-
016-0021-x
2. Arun, A., Velmurugan, S., & Errampalli, M. (2013), “Methodological framework towards
roadway capacity estimation for Indian multi-lane highways”, Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 104, pp. 477-486.
3. Arun, A., Velmurugan, S., Kannan, S., Chakraborty, S., & Roy, S. K (2016), “Effect of road geometry
and roughness on free- flow speeds and roadway capacity for Indian multilane interurban
highways”, Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Transportation Planning and
Implementation Methodologies for Developing Countries (12th TPMDC 2016), Mumbai, Paper
No. 66.
4. Bera, R., Arun, A., Chakraborty, S., & Roy, S. K (2014), “Speed Flow Estimation for Four Lane
Divided National Highways in India”, Proceedings of National Conference on Recent Research
Advances in Civil Engineering (RACE 2014), Osmania University, UCE, Hyderabad, pp.14-21.
5. Bera, R., Roy, D., Chakraborty, S., Arun, A. & Roy, S. K (2015), “Speed-Flow Estimation for Four
Lane and Six Lane Divided National Highways in India”, Proceedings of 3rd Conference of
Transportation Research Group of India (CTRG-2015), Kolkata, Paper No. 666

6. Chatterjee, S., Roy, D., Chakraborty, S., & Roy, S.K. (2016), “Lane Density as Measure of Effectiveness
of Multi lane Interurban Highways under Heterogeneous Traffic Conditions”, Proceedings of
Fourth International Conference on Advances in Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering
- ACSEE 2016. Rome, Italy, 15-16 December 2016.
7. Chatterjee, S., Roy, D., Chakraborty, S., & Roy, S.K. (2017), “Level of Service Criteria on Indian
Multilane Highways based on Platoon Characteristics”, Proceedings of 96th Annual Meeting of
Transportation Research Board (TRB, 2017) Washington D.C., 08-12 January 2017.
8. Chatterjee, S., Roy, D., Chakraborty, S., Arun, A., & Roy, S.K. (2016), “An Investigation of Lane
Flow Distribution on Multi-Lane Highways under Mixed Traffic Condition”, Proceedings of 12th
International Conference on Transportation Planning and Implementation Methodologies for
Developing Countries (12th TPMDC 2016), Mumbai, Paper No. 109.
9. Greenshields, B.D. (1935) “A study of highway capacity”, Proceedings of Highway Research
Record, Washington Volume 14, pp. 448-477.
10. Yadav, A., Arun, A., Velmurugan, S., & Prasad, C. S. R. K (2014) “Roadway capacity estimation
for multi-lane interurban highways in India”, Proceedings of “Colloquium on Transportation
Systems Engineering and Management (CTSEM), 12th-13th May 2014, NIT Calicut. Paper ID: 140.
11. Yadav, A., Arun, A., Velmurugan, S., & Prasad, C. S. R. K (2014), “Capacity Analysis for Multi-
lane Interurban Highways under Heterogeneous Traffic Conditions”, A paper published and
presented at Transportation Young Researchers Symposium (TYRES 2014), 27th-29th March
2014, NIT Warangal.

ANNEXURE 3A: FIELD DATA COLLECTION

The procedure for collection of the input data as followed in the research work leading to
the publication of this manual has been provided here for purpose of information. While some of
the information regarding the parameters related to road geometrics and environment are readily
available with road departments rest of the information pertaining to traffic and pavement surface
related parameters may be collected by them choosing from a host of established means of reliable
data collection. The purpose of this section is just to provide an insight into data collection for capacity
and LOS estimation for a multilane highway segment.
3A.1 TRAFFIC DATA COLLECTION AND EXTRACTION

• Traffic Volume and Composition: The data regarding traffic volume and composition was
collected through classified traffic volume counts survey conducted using video-recording
method. In this method, a trap area of suitable length, ranging from 50 m to 100 m, was
physically marked on the carriageway with paint or retro reflective tapes and then a video
camera was installed at a vantage point either atop (by placing a gantry across the carriageway)
or on the side of the road in a manner such that the whole of trap area demarcated on the
ground was clearly visible enough to enable decoding of the traffic volumes and speeds of
different vehicle types. The video-graphic data were collected for such a period that at least
the morning and evening peak hour traffic details were captured. Field data collected at
the study sections were then taken back to the labs and replayed on screens while specially
trained enumerators extracted information regarding classified traffic volume counts for
every 5-minute time interval from the entire survey duration. In this method, a vehicle that
appeared on the screen was first manually classified into one of the nine vehicle categories
described before and then counted as and when it entered the trap area. This extraction of
information was at times also done using semi-automated traffic data extraction software
developed in-house by the team of institutions involved in the project.
• Space Mean Speed: The Space Mean Speed (SMS) data were extracted from the videos
collected during classified traffic volume counts surveys itself. For extracting the SMS, the
videos were played in the semi-automated software described above. The software had the
capability to record video start time, vehicle type, and the times of entry into and exit from
the trap area of any vehicle when appropriate commands were entered by the enumerator.
This method gave the total time taken by the vehicle to traverse the length of the trap area
and the SMS was thus calculated by dividing the trap length by the travel time. Since it was
not possible to carry out the above exercise for all the vehicles in a traffic stream for reasons
of accuracy and efficiency, a representative sample of minimum 30% of the volume of vehicles
of any category for every 5-minute analysis period was selected and observed for speed
calculations.
• Operating Speed: Spot speeds, under free-flow conditions, for all types of vehicles were
collected on the study sections using Laser Speed Guns for the period of interest. Generally,
the spot speeds were collected for the same duration for which traffic volume data were
collected although the exact duration depended upon both data requirements and local
conditions. Care was taken to obtain the spot speeds only under low volume conditions i.e.
when the time headway between successive vehicles was 10s or more so as to ensure that the
vehicles were not constrained in their movements by other vehicles in the traffic stream. The
observed spot speeds of respective vehicle types were then classified into suitable intervals,
generally of 5 km/h, to determine the frequency distribution of vehicle-wise spot speeds. The
85th percentile speed thus calculated is represented as the Operating Speed of the respective
vehicle type on the particular highway segment.

3A.2 GEOMETRIC DATA COLLECTION

The collection of information regarding the geometric details was done using the following
two methods:
• Automated Road Survey System (ARSS): This system developed and owned by CSIR -CRRI
has been utilized extensively for collecting road geometry and roughness data. The system
comprises a survey vehicle equipped with latest survey techniques utilizing Laser profiling,
Global Positioning System (GPS) and image processing tools etc. The survey vehicle is used for
automatic collection of road inventory data that includes measurement of pavement surface
roughness, road geometrics (gradient, horizontal curvature and cross slope), Rut Depth using
Spread Lasers, Sensor Measure Texture Depth, Mean Profile Depth and GPS Coordinates (X, Y,
Z) viz. longitude, latitude and altitude.
• Topographical Surveys: In places where the ARSS of CSIR-CRRI could not be used due to
certain constraints, traditional topographical surveys by means of Total Station Theodolites
have been conducted to retrieve information regarding road geometrics of the study sections.
The geometric data collected by the above methods was then collated with the traffic data
that had been collected separately by comparing the chainage and/or GPS co-ordinates of the study
sections.
3A.3 PAVEMENT ROUGHNESS DATA COLLECTION

Road Roughness data (in IRI m/km) were collected either using the CSIR - CRRI owned ARSS,
which has got in-built Laser profiling capability, or the Roughometer, which is a World Bank Class 3
portable roughness measurement device. This data was then collated with the database containing
the traffic and geometric data for the respective study sections.
3A.4 ENVIRONMENTAL DATA COLLECTION

The information about the road environment such as the adjacent land-use type, presence /
absence of bus stops and truck lay-byes and any other relevant feature was collected at the time of
reconnaissance surveys carried out for selecting the study sections, and then verified again at the
time of the subsequent traffic and topographical surveys. The weather conditions observed only at
the time of traffic data collection were utilized for subsequent analysis.

ANNEXURE 3B: RESULTS OF CAPACITY ANALYSIS

After collecting the field data on traffic volume and Space Mean Speeds of varying vehicle types
from the multilane interurban highways spread across the country, capacity estimation is carried
out from the fundamental relationship of speed-flow-density. The operating speed of the respective
sections is computed following the procedure described earlier. The capacity and operating speed
estimated from the field data are given in Table 3B.1 and Table 3B.2 for four lane and six lane divided
highway segments respectively.
Table 3B.1: Capacity Estimation Results for Four Lane Divided

Interurban Highway Segments
Section ID Capacity (PCU/h/direction) Operating Speed (km/h)

FLR-1 3925 70.2
FLR-2 3582 68.7
FLR-3 4051 80.6
FLR-4 3745 69.0
FLR-5 4463 98.6
FLR-6 3796 74.0
FLR-7 3682 69.5
FLR-8 3799 70.7
FLR-9 3942 78.5
FLR-10 3882 79.6
FLR-11 3627 70.2
FLR-12 3769 71.4
FLR-13 3753 76.2
FLR-14 3399 66.0
FLR-15 3407 68.6
FLR-16 3653 76.7
FLR-17 3632 63.5
FLR-18 3702 65.0
FLR-19 3814 75.7

Table 3B.2: Capacity Estimation Results for Six Lane Divided
Interurban Highway Segments
Section ID Capacity (PCU/h/direction) Operating Speed (km/h)

SLR-1 5715 83.4
SLR-2 5099 63.5*
SLR-3 5658 80.1
SLR-4 5426 77.6
SLR-5 5368 75.2
SLR-6 5673 73.4*
SLR-7 6074 83.8
SLR-8 6227 88.8
SLR-9 6400 91.0
SLR-10 5971 87.8
SLR-11 5588 80.3
SLR-12 5753 79.4
*The surveys were carried out at the above referred locations under adverse weather conditions.
FLR-1 to FLR-19 and similarly, SLR - 1 to SLR-12 denotes the candidate Four Lane and Six Lane
Divided Interurban Highway segments considered in this chapter for analysis.

ANNEXURE: 3C: COMPUTATION OF

DESIGN HOURLY VOLUME
For planning purpose, it is important to calculate the AADT and DHV. Both parameters are
related to each other through K and D factor as given in Equations 3C.1 and 3C.2.
DHV= K*AADT Equation 3C.1
Where,
DHV= Design Hourly Volume in PCU/h
DDHV=D* DHV Equation 3C.2
Where,
DDHV= Directional Design Hourly Volume in PCU/h
In the absence of observed data, default values as given in Table 3C.1 can be used for K factors
and D-values. The DDHV values shown in the Table 3C.1 are given corresponding to an AADT of
100000 PCU/day.
Table 3C.1: DDHV Values by Varying K factor and D Values
K
8% 8.5 % 9% 9.5 % 10 %
D
0.5 4000 4250 4500 4750 5000
0.55 4400 4675 4950 5225 5500
0.6 4800 5100 5400 5700 6000
0.65 5200 5525 5850 6175 6500
0.7 5600 5950 6300 6650 7000

Chapter 4:
Interurban and Urban Expressways

Prof.Satish Chandra
CSIR-CRRI Team
and Team Members
Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Work Package Leader, Prof. Gaurang. J. Joshi, RC
Principal Scientist, Transportation Planning (TP) Division SVNIT, Surat
Team Members
Dr. Errampalli Madhu, Principal Scientist and Head, Prof. Shriniwas S Arkatkar
TP Division SVNIT, Surat
Dr. A Mohan Rao, Principal Scientist, Prof. Ashish Dhamaniya,
Traffic Engineering and Safety (TES) Division SVNIT, Surat
Sh. K. Sitaramanjaneyulu, Senior Principal Scientist,
Pavement Evaluation Division (PED)
Sh. Daleep Mutreja

Ch. Ashwin Ch. Jyostna
Students pursued their Thesis and Staff worked @ SVNIT, Surat

Ph.D. Students
Dr. Jiten Shah

Mr. Pallav Kumar (Ongoing)
Mr. Manish Jain (Ongoing)
Mr. Akhilesh Chepuri (Ongoing)
Mr. Avinash Chaudhari (Ongoing)
M.Tech Students pursued their Thesis @ SVNIT, Surat
Mr. Amol Wagh Mr. Vinay Raj

Mr. Rakesh Kulkarni Mr. Prasad Hinukale
Mr. Sonu Mathew
M.Tech Students pursued their Thesis @ SVNIT, Surat
Mr. Ajinkya Mane (Project Associate) Mr. Nipjyoti Bharadwaj (Project Associate)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The team of CSIR - CRRI and SVNIT (Surat) would like to thank the following organizations for
permitting data collection and extending necessary help:
1. Chief General Manager, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), Telangana.
2. IL& FS, DND, Delhi
3. MMRDA, Mumbai, Maharashtra
4.
Chief General Manager and Regional Officer, Ahmadabad, National Highways Authority of
India (NHAI).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
List of Abbreviations viii
4.1 INTRODUCTION 1
4.1.1 Interurban Expressways 1
4.1.2 Urban Expressways 1
4.3 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF BASE CONDITION FOR EXPRESSWAYS 4
4.5 METHODOLOGY 6
4.5.1 Input Parameters 7
4.5.2 Calculation of Capacity 7
4.5.3 Traffic Volume 8
4.5.4 Free Flow Speed Distribution 10
4.6 SPEED-FLOW CURVES AND CAPACITY 11
4.6.1 Capacity of Base Sections 11
4.6.2 Effect of Gradient on Six Lane Expressway Segments 12
4.7 DETERMINATION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) 13
4.8 APPLICATION 14
4.8.1 Computation of DHV 14
4.8.2 Establishment of Analysis Boundaries 15
4.8.3 Types of Analysis 15


4.9.1 Problem-1 15
4.9.2 Problem-2 17
4.9.3 Problem-3 18
REFERENCES 20
ANNEXURE 4A: DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY 22
ANNEXURE 4B: CAPACITY AND LOS ANALYSIS 23
ANNEXURE 4C: PCU AND STREAM EQUIVALENCY FACTOR ESTIMATION 24
4C.1 Speed-Area Ratio 24
4C.2 Stream Equivalency Factor 24
ANNEXURE 4D: FACTORS AFFECTING FREE FLOW SPEED 26
4D.1 Roadway Width 26
4D.2 Gradient 27
ANNEXURE 4E: DETERMINATION OF TRAFFIC DENSITY 28
Method 1: Fundamental Relationship of
4E.1 28
Traffic Flow Characteristics
Method 2: Density Measurement Using Cumulative Plots
4E.2 28
(Input-Output Method)
4E.3 Method 3: Generalized Edie's Definition 29
ANNEXURE 4F: EXPLANATION ON LEVEL OF SERVICE ESTIMATION 31
ANNEXURE 4G: DDHV VALUES BY VARYING K FACTOR AND D VALUES 34

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
4.1 Typical Base Section of Four-lane Divided Interurban Expressway 4
4.2 Typical Base Section of Eight-Lane Divided Urban Expressways 5
Typical Interurban Expressway having Merging, Diverging and 5

4.3
Weaving Segments
Methodology for Estimation of Capacity and Level of Service of 6
4.4
Expressway
Speed - Flow Plots of Typical Base Sections of Four Lane and Six-Lane 11
4.5
Interurban Expressway
Speed-Flow Plots of Typical Base Sections of Eight Lane Interurban 11
4.6
Expressways
Comparison of Speed-Flow Plots of Six-Lane Interurban Expressway 12
4.7
Sections on Upgrade, Downgrade and Level Sections
4B.1 Methodology Flow Chart 23
4C.1 Plot for Stream Equivalency for Flow on Interurban Expressways 25
4D.1 Effect of Roadway Width on Free Flow Speed of different Vehicle Types 26
4D.2 Effect of Gradient on Free Flow Speed of different Vehicle Types 27
4E.1 Graphical representation of Cumulative Plot Method 29
4E.2 Trajectories in Time - Space Diagram 30

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
4.1 Input Parameters for Analysis 7
4.2 Base Capacity of Interurban and Urban Expressways 7
4.3 Typical Vehicle types and Mode Classification 8
4.4 Suggested PCU Values for Interurban and Urban Expressways 9
Observed Range (in percent) of Traffic Composition on Varying Widths of
4.5 9
Roads
4.6 Summary of Capacity on Interurban and Urban Expressways 12
4.7 LOS Thresholds for 4-lane Divided Interurban Expressways 13
4.8 LOS Thresholds for 6-lane Divided Interurban Expressways 13
4.9 LOS Thresholds for 8-lane Divided Urban Expressways 14
4.10 Recommended Default Values of Input Parameters 14
4.11 Classified Traffic flow and Average Speeds 15
4.12 Estimation of PCUs 17
4F.1 Typical Illustration of LOS on Six-lane Divided Interurban expressway 31 - 33
4G.1 DDHV Values by Varying K factor and D Values 34

—
Us Average SMS of a traffic stream
—
Ut Average TMS of a traffic stream
P2w Proportion of Two wheeler in the traffic stream
PAUTO Proportion of Auto rickshaws in the traffic stream
PBC Proportion of Big Cars in the traffic stream
PBUS Proportion of Buses in the traffic stream
PHCV Proportion of Two / Three Axle Truck in the traffic stream
PLCV Proportion of LCVs in the traffic stream
PMAV Proportion of Multi Axle Vehicles/Truck in the traffic stream
TI Time taken by the ith vehicle to traverse the trap length ‘D’
|𝐴| Area covered by shaded region A
Ac Projected rectangular area of standard car taken as the reference vehicle
Ai Projected rectangular area of the vehicle type i
ARSS Automated Road Survey System
DDF Directional Distribution Factor
D proportion of peak-hour traffic in the heavier direction
D(t): Cumulative plot of volume at d/s
d/s Downstream
DDHV Directional Design Hour Volume
DHV Design Hourly Volume
FFS Free-Flow Speed
HCV Heavy Commercial Vehicle
IPT Intermediate Para Transit
K Density
K Proportion of AADT occurring in the peak hour
K Proportion of two-way Design Hourly Volume to two-way AADT
L section length
LCV light commercial vehicle


MAVs Multi Axle Truck Heavy Vehicles
N Number of vehicles passing a point on the roadway in T
N number of vehicles present over L at an instant of time
N Total flow in vehicles per hour
N total number of vehicles counted in the analysis period
PCUi Passenger Car equivalent of the subject vehicle i
Q Flow
Se standard deviation of SMS
T Total observation period
t (A) total time spent by all vehicles in region A
TMS Time Mean Speed
U (t) Cumulative plot of volume at u/s
u/s Upstream
us Speed
US - HCM United States Highway Capacity Manual
Vc Average speed of standard cars in the traffic stream
Vi Average speed of subject vehicle i
𝜆 Length of time period

4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.1.1 Interurban Expressways
An expressway is defined as an arterial highway for motorized traffic having divided
carriageways for high speed travel with full control of access and provided with grade separators
or interchanges at locations of intersections. These are the highest class of roads in the Indian road
network with design speeds ranging from 100 to 120 km per hour in plain terrain. In the case of
interurban expressways connecting cities and towns, vehicle types like motorised two-wheelers and
auto rickshaws are generally be prohibited from entering due to their vulnerability to road crashes.
Because of access control, traffic flow behaviour on expressways is significantly different from other
multilane interurban roads which are faced with mixed traffic conditions prevailing on Indian roads.
Hence, this category of roads is dealt with separately in this manual. Normally, expressways have at
least two lanes in each direction of travel and depending upon the traffic demand it can be divided
carriageways of six-lane, eight-lane or more number of lanes.
4.1.2 Urban Expressways

An urban expressway is a multi-lane road in urban areas with divided carriageway for high
speed travel having full control of access and provided with grade separators and interchanges at
locations of intersections. At the location of entry to exit from the expressway, it is provided with
on-ramp and off-ramp facility respectively. Urban expressways are the highest class of urban roads
in the road network in Indian metropolitan cities with the design speed ranging from 80 to 100 km
per hour in plain terrain. In the case of urban expressways in India, vehicle types like motorised two-
wheelers and motorized three-wheelers are generally permitted to ply despite their vulnerability
to road crashes. This may be attributed to the fact that the travel mode usage in a city may warrant
entry of these vehicles on urban expressways which are very few in the country. Moreover, the entry
and exit points on urban expressways are more frequent compared to interurban expressways. At
the same time, the traffic flow behaviour on urban expressways is significantly different from other
urban roads and streets. An urban expressway shall have at least two lanes in each direction of travel
and depending upon the traffic demand can have six lanes, eight lanes or more in both directions of
travel. The primary difference with respect to interurban expressway is that it serves a particular
urban area, radiating out from the urban centre to serve the surrounding region. It also provides
connectivity for urban traffic to the rural highways or interurban expressways. Urban expressways
can also be elevated or below the ground.
This chapter presents methodologies for the estimation of capacity and LOS values evolved
for vehicular traffic plying on fully access controlled four-lane and six-lane divided interurban
expressways as well as eight lane urban expressways catering to somewhat different traffic conditions
observed on Indian expressways as compared to developed economies.

• Merge and Diverge Segments: Segments in which two or more traffic streams combine to
form a single traffic stream (merge) or a single traffic stream divides to form two or more
separate traffic streams (diverge) [HCM, 2010].
• Weaving Segments: Segments in which two or more traffic streams travel in the same general
direction cross paths along a significant length of expressway without the aid of traffic control
devices (except for guide signs). Weaving segments are formed when a diverge segment closely
follows a merge segment or when a one-lane off ramp closely follows a one lane on ramp and
the two are connected by a continuous auxiliary lane (HCM, 2010).

• Free Flow Speed: The mean speed of passenger cars that can be accommodated under low to
moderate flow rates on a uniform expressway segment under prevailing roadway and traffic
conditions (HCM, 2010). Free Flow Speeds may be measured for given vehicle, when the traffic
flow is such that the time gap between two consecutive vehicles is more than 8 seconds.
• Operating Speed: It is the 85th percentile of the distribution of observed speeds which is the
most frequently used descriptive statistic associated with a particular location or geometric
features.
• Flow rate: It is a macroscopic flow characteristic and is defined as number of vehicles passing
a point in a given period of time. It is usually expressed as an hourly flow rate.
• Service Flow Rate: The maximum rate of flow that can be maintained during the 5-min
analysis period under prevailing conditions.
• Density: It is the number of vehicles present on a unit length of road at any particular instant
of time. It is usually expressed in vehicles per km.
• Base Capacity: It is the maximum number of passenger cars that can pass a given point or
section of road on a lane or roadway, during one hour under the most nearly ideal roadway
and traffic conditions which can possibly be attained.
• Adjusted Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point or
section on an expressway in one direction of traffic flow during one hour without the traffic
density being so high as to cause unreasonable delay, hazard, or restriction to the drivers’
freedom to manoeuvre under the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
• Level of Service (LOS): It is a quality measure describing operational conditions within a
traffic stream, generally in terms of such service measures as speed and travel time, freedom
to manoeuvre, traffic interruptions, comfort, and convenience. LOS for basic expressway
segment is based on traffic density expressed in PCU/ km and vehicles/km.
• Passenger Car Unit: Passenger Car Unit (PCU) is a universally adopted unit used for the
capacity analysis of any roadway system having heterogeneous traffic condition. PCU value of
standard / small car is identified as 1.0. A small car, is defined as a standard car i.e. car with
engine capacity up to 1400 cc having the area dimensions of 3.72 m X 1.44 m. The interaction
of vehicles in the traffic stream is represented in terms of Passenger Car Unit (PCU), which is
the amount of impedance caused to flow of traffic by a vehicle type in comparison with that
of standard car. If the addition of one vehicle per hour in a traffic stream reduces the average
speed of the remaining vehicles by the same amount as the addition of say, x cars per hour,
then one vehicle of that type is considered to be equivalent to “x” PCUs.
• Speed Limit: It is the enforced speed provided on a given section of road for safe movement
of vehicles in the traffic stream. It is usually set at or below 85th percentile speed i.e. the speed
below which 85 percentage of all vehicles travel.
• Directional Design Hour Volume (DDHV): It is the volume which converts the AADT for
the design year to a directional design hour volume. Mathematically, this can be expressed as
DDHV= AADT*K*D Equation 4.1
Where,
D is the directional distribution factor i.e. the percentage of design hourly volume in the
predominant direction, and K factor is the ratio of two-way design hour volume to the two-way AADT.

• Design Hourly Volume: It is the volume which is exceeded 29 or appropriate number of

times during a year when hourly volume for a year is organized in descending order.
• Ramp Density: Expressway segments are provided with interchanges for merging, diverging
and weaving of the traffic. It may be defined as the average number of (at grade or grade
separated) entry and exit points, merge and diverge per kilometer. It applies to a 10-km
segment of expressway, 5 km upstream and 5 km downstream of the midpoint of the study
section. Ideally, the average interchange spacing over a long expressway section should be 3
km or more. The interchange spacing over a substantial length of the expressway should not
be less than 1 km.
• Flow/Volume: Flow, the macroscopic traffic flow characteristic, is quantified directly through
point measurements and by definition, requires measurement over time. Thus the flow (q)
also termed as volume, is defined as number of vehicles passing a point on a highway during
stated period of time, which is given by Equation 4.2.
q=N/T Equation 4.2
Where,
οο N = Number of vehicles passing a point on the roadway in T;
οο T = Total observation period.
οο Flow rates are usually expressed in terms of vehicles per hour, although the actual
measurement interval can be much less.
• Estimation of Speed: Development of speed - flow curve requires estimation of stream speed
in each length of analysis period of 5-minute interval. For this purpose, the time taken by each
vehicle to traverse the defined trap length (ranging from 90 m to 130 m) during the 5-minute
interval is measured in this study. This is measured either by using a high precision stop
watch possessing a least count of 0.01 second or, alternatively, by analysing frame by frame
details of the captured video using the in-house software developed as part of this study for
data collation purposes. The above determined speed covering different vehicle types has
been considered as Space Mean Speed (SMS) and not the Time Mean Speed (TMS).
Time Mean Speed ( is the arithmetic mean of speed of all vehicles included in the analysis
time period. It is given by Equation 4.3.
Equation 4.3
Where,
N is the total number of vehicles counted in the analysis period, and ti is the time taken by ith
vehicle to travel the trap length D.
• Space Mean Speed ( is calculated on the basis of the average travel time N vehicles to traverse
the trap length ‘D’ as per Equation 4.4.
Equation 4.4
Space Mean Speed (SMS) is related with Time Mean Speed (TMS) through the relationship
based on the established literature given in Equation 4.5.
Equation 4.5
Where,
—
U t is the average TMS of a traffic stream
—
U s is the average SMS of a traffic stream

In traffic flow analysis, it is prudent to use SMS only for the development of relationship
between Speed and Flow and it is designated by letter ‘V’ in this manual and referred accordingly.
• Density: Traffic density, the macroscopic measure of traffic concentration, is defined as the
number of vehicles occupying unit length of the roadway at any instant of time and is given
by Equation 4.6.
Equation 4.6
Where,
L = Length of the roadway;
N = Number of vehicles present over the length of the roadway at an instant of time.
4.3 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF BASE CONDITION FOR EXPRESSWAYS

The speed - flow - density relationship of a basic expressway segment depends on the ideal
roadway and traffic conditions. A set of base or ideal conditions to be considered for basic expressway
segment is as given below:
• Minimum lane width of 3.5 m;
• Minimum left-shoulder lateral clearance of 1.8 m between the edge of the travel lane and the
nearest obstacle or object that influences traffic behaviour of;
• Minimum median lateral clearance of 0.5 m;
• Two or more lanes in one direction;
• No direct access point;
• No pavement defects that can adversely affect the traffic operations;
• No roadside friction in the form of public transport stops, bus bays / truck lay-byes,
Intermediate Para Transit (IPT) Pickup Points, no pedestrian movement or any form of Non-
Motorized Traffic like bicycles, cycle rickshaws, animal carts, etc.
• Level terrain, with grades not more than 2 percent.
• Radius of curve should not be less than 2000 meters
These base conditions represent a good operating level, with a Free-Flow Speed (FFS)
of 100 km/hr or more in the case of standard cars for interurban expressways and with a Free-
Flow Speed (FFS) of 80 Kmph or greater in the case of passenger cars. Typical base section of
the expressway can be considered as shown in Figure 4.1. Typical base section of the urban
Figure 4.1: Typical Base Section of Four-lane Divided Interurban Expressway

expressway is shown in Figure 4.2. Figure 4.3 illustrates the expressway section having ideal
merging and diverging segments on four-lane divided interurban expressway. It has been
noted during the field studies as well as in other reported studies (Madhu and Velmurugan, 2011)
that the interurban expressways in the country rarely operate at volumes near capacity in India
whereas in the case of urban expressway, traffic flow nearing capacity is noted during the morning
and evening peak hours.
Figure 4.2: Typical Base Section of Eight-Lane Divided Urban Expressway
LANE 1 LANE 3 LANE 4
Figure 4.3: Typical Interurban Expressway having

Merging, Diverging and Weaving Segments

This chapter provides the methodology for the determination of capacity and Level of Service
(LOS) for interurban and urban expressways. As mentioned earlier, India has a limited length of
expressways at present spanning about 900 Kms only. Therefore, the results presented in this chapter
are based on field studies carried out on the mid-block sections of interurban and urban expressways
which are limited in the country at present. Accordingly, in the case of interurban expressways, a total
of 6 numbers of four lane divided (all base sections) and 2 numbers of six lane divided (one of them
base section) have been considered. At the same time, in the case of urban expressways, 3 numbers
of eight lane divided (all base sections) road sections have been considered for analysis. It has been

noted during the course of data collection at the above road sections, the quantum of observed traffic
flow at the diverging and merging ramps are far below the designed capacity. Eventually, this manual
covers only the determination of capacity and LOS of mid-block sections of the expressway segments
whereas the diverging and merging ramps of the expressways are beyond the purview of this manual.
4.5 METHODOLOGY
The input parameters and the computation method of capacity and LOS analysis for basic
expressway segments are given in Figure 4.4. The analyst has the option of measuring the capacity and
level of service in the field (refer Annexure-4A and 4B) using the procedure prescribed. Passenger
Car Unit (PCU) values for converting all other vehicles into equivalent passenger cars are furnished
in this manual.
The methodology devised in this manual for the determination of capacity and Level of Service
of expressway is applicable for basic segments of interurban and urban expressways only.
Figure 4.4: Methodology for Estimation of Capacity and Level of Service of Expressway

4.5.1 Input Parameters

The input parameters required for the estimation of capacity and LOS are given in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1: Input Parameters for Analysis
S.No. Required Data Recommended Information

A Road Geometric Data:
1 Type of Carriageway Four lane, Six lane, Eight lane divided
2 Lane Width
3 Type of Shoulder and Width Soft Shoulder Hard Shoulder
4 Terrain Type Plain or Rolling
5 Horizontal Curvature Degree per km
6 Vertical Gradient Ratio of vertical distance to horizontal
displacement expressed in percent
B Demand Data:
1 Traffic Volume and Composition. Classified Volume Count
2 Length of Analysis Period 5 Minute interval data
3 Peak Hour Flow
Proportion of total hourly flow in each
4 Directional Split
direction expressed in percentage
5 Speed of different types of vehicles Space Mean Speed of vehicles
4.5.2 Calculation of Capacity

4.5.2.1 Carriageway Width
The capacity of interurban and urban expressways is given based on carriageway width in
Table 4.2.
Table 4.2: Base Capacity of Interurban and Urban Expressways
S. Type of Capacity Capacity per Lane

Type of Carriageway
No. Expressway (PCU/hour/direction) (PCU /hour/lane)
1 Four-lane divided Interurban 5000 2500
2 Six-lane divided Interurban 7500 2500
3 Eight-lane divided Urban 9200 2300
As mentioned earlier, the expressways available in the country are limited and consequently,
the capacity values have not been evolved covering the varying carriageway widths. In the event of
capacity values are not available in the manual for the carriageway width under study for any typical
urban or interurban expressway; it can be calculated from lane capacity. For example:
• If the analyst wants to determine adjusted capacity for eight-lane divided interurban
expressway, which is not presented in Table 4.2, it can be determined by multiplying the lane
capacity of interurban expressway with 4. This implies that the capacity of eight-lane divided
section becomes, 2500*4=10000 PCU/hour/direction.

• Similarly, if the analyst wants to determine adjusted capacity of six-lane divided or four-
lane divided urban expressway which are not furnished in Table 4.2, it can be calculated by
multiplying lane capacity of eight-lane divided urban expressway with 3 and 2 respectively.
This implies that the capacity of six-lane divided section becomes, 2300*3 = 6900 PCU/hour/
direction and six-lane divided section becomes, 2300*2 = 4600.
4.5.2.2 Gradient Section
Presence of grade decreases the capacity of a roadway segment. In the case of grades up to 3.5
% up gradient, the decrease in capacity is found to be 30 % whereas in the case of down gradients up
to 3.5 %, the reduction in capacity is found to be 3 %.
4.5.3 Traffic Volume

The traffic volume has to be collected for the basic expressway segment through classified
volume count (CVC). The vehicle types typically witnessed on the above class of interurban urban and
urban expressways are presented in Table 4.3. The above classified traffic flow is to be converted into
equivalent volume of Passenger Car Units for carrying out the analysis.
Motorized Traffic
Motorized Two Wheelers including Bikes and
1. Two Wheelers# TW
Scooters
Auto rickshaws (Three and
#
All Motorized
2. Auto
Four Wheeled Rickshaws) Auto Rickshaws
4. Big Cars and Vans BC Cars of engine capacity more than 1400 cc
5. Mini Bus MB
Transport Vehicles
6. Buses Bus
Commercial Pick Up Vans and Mini Trucks (up
7. Light Commercial Vehicles LCV
to Gross Vehicle Weight of 7.0 tonnes)
Multi Axle Goods Vehicles (more than Gross
9. Multi Axle Trucks MAT
Vehicle Weight of 25.200 tonnes)
#
#
Generally prohibited on Interurban Expressways due to their vulnerability to road crashes. However, motorized
two wheelers and auto rickshaws are permitted to ply on many of the urban expressways due to the fact that the
travel needs in the Indian metropolitan cities warrants the need to provide access to the above vehicle types on
the urban expressways by pegging the Speed Limit at 70 Kmph.
4.5.3.1 Passenger Car Unit (PCUs) and Stream Equivalency factor
Conversion of traffic flow to PCU/hour/direction can be done either by multiplying with the
PCU values given in Table 4.4 for the traffic stream or based on Stream Equivalency Factor derived in
this manual. The method followed for obtaining PCU values and Stream Equivalency Factor from field
data is furnished in Annexure 4C. The results obtained from the above are found to be consistent at
95 % confidence interval and randomness has been observed across v/c ratio and traffic composition.

PCU Values
The range of PCUs for each vehicle type is given in Table 4.4. The upper limit of PCU values
should be used under low flow conditions i.e. V/C ratio less than 0.3. The lower limit of PCU should be
used at higher flow conditions i.e. V/C ratio between 0.7 to 0.9. In the case of intervening flow ranges
i.e. V/C Ratio between 0.3 to 0.7, the median value should be used which are furnished in brackets
in Table 4.4 in each row for a given vehicle type. Table 4.4 presents the range of traffic composition
observed across varying carriageway widths of interurban and urban expressway segments.
Table 4.4: Suggested PCU Values for Interurban and Urban Expressways
Vehicle Category Interurban Expressways Urban Expressways
Standard Cars (SC) 1.0 1.0
1.2 - 1.8 1.3 -1.7
Big Cars (BC)
(1.5) (1.5)
0.2 - 0.6
Two Wheelers -
(0.4)
Auto rickshaws 0.8 - 1.3
-
(Three and Four Wheeled Rickshaws) (1.0)
2.1 - 4.2 1.9 - 5.5
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV)
(3.2) (3.2)
3.9 - 6.1 3.2 - 6.0
Bus (B)
(5.0) (5.0)
Two / Three Axle Commercial Vehicles 3.9 - 6.5 3.9 - 6.5
(TAT) (5.2) (5.2)
4.0 - 7.0 4.0 - 7.2
Multi Axle Truck Vehicles (MAT)
(5.5) (5.6)
The PCU values given within brackets imply the median values.
‘-‘ indicates the above vehicles types are prohibited on the interurban expressways
Table 4.5: Observed Range (in percent) of Traffic Composition across
Interurban Expressway: Urban Expressway:

Four-lane Divided Six-lane divided Eight-lane divided
Vehicle Type
Range of traffic Range of traffic Range of traffic
Composition (in %) Composition (in %) Composition (in %)
Standard Car (SC) 50 - 60 40 - 70 35 – 50
Big Car (BC) 20 - 30 10 - 40 15 – 25
Motorized Two-Wheeler (TW) - - 18 - 19
Auto-rickshaw (AUTO) - - 1–3
Bus 0 - 10 0-8 0 – 10
LCV 0-5 0-7 0 – 10
TAT 0 - 10 0 - 15 0-8
MAT 0-5 0 - 10 0-4

Stream Equivalency Factor (Se)

Equivalent flow in terms of PCU values of traffic stream for any flow volume can be directly
obtained using the equations derived in this manual i.e. Equations 4.8, 4.9 and 4.10 for level, upgrade
(+3.5 %) and downgrade (-3.5 %) sections:
Level Section:
Se = 1 + 0.42 * pBC + 1.91 * pLCV + 4.45 * pBUS + 4.95 * pTAT + 5.62 * pMAT – 84 * (1/n) Equation 4.8
Upgrade Section (+3.5 % Grade):
Se = 1 + 0.56 * pBC + 1.43 * pLCV + 5.17 * pBUS + 3.32 * pTAT + 3.95 * pMAT + 50.65 * (1/n) Equation 4.9
Downgrade Section (-3.5 % Grade):
Se = 1 + 0.89 * pBC + 1.38 * pLCV + 3.72 * pBUS + 3.58 * pTAT + 3.68 * pMAT + 12.89 * (1/n) Equation 4.10
Urban Expressway:
Se = 1 + 0.86 * p2W – 0.67pAUTO + 0.30 * pBC + 0.80 * pLCV + 4.65 * pBUS + 3.25 * pTAT + 3.75 *
pMAT + 37.15 * (1/n) Equation 4.11
Where,
Se = Stream Equivalency Factor
PTAT = Proportion of Two / Three Axle Truck in the traffic stream
PMAT = Proportion of Multi Axle Vehicles/Truck in the traffic stream
PTWO = Proportion of Two Wheeler in the traffic stream
PAUTO = Proportion of Auto rickshaws in the traffic stream
n = Total flow in vehicles per hour
4.5.4 Free Flow Speed Distribution

Free flow speed of an expressway is largely dependent upon roadway conditions discussed in
the succeeding sections.
4.5.4.1 Carriageway Width
Free flow speed increases with increase in number of lanes. The number of lanes on an
expressway segment influences free-flow speed. As the number of lanes increases, so does the
opportunity for drivers to position themselves in order to avoid slower moving traffic. A four-
lane divided expressway provides less opportunity for drivers to switch over the adjacent lane
as compared to six lane expressways section and thereby can slow down the speed of the traffic.
Eventually, decreased manoeuvrability tends to reduce the average speed of vehicles.
4.5.4.2 Gradient
The presence of grade decreases free flow speed of an expressway segment. This may be
attributed to the vehicle operating capabilities like acceleration, deceleration and the ability to
maintain speed decreases with the increase in the gradient on the test sections. The factors affecting
free speed distribution pattern are explained in Annexure 4D.

4.6 SPEED- FLOW CURVE AND CAPACITY

Speed - Flow curves evolved for base condition on interurban expressways covering varying
carriageway widths i.e. four-lane divided and six-lane divided expressway segments are given in Figure
4.5. These curves evolved covering varying gradient i.e. +3.5 % and -3. 5 % including level section are
given in Figure 4.8. For analysis purpose, if the required speed - flow curve is not readily available in
the manual, the users should interpolate the speed - flow curves using Figures 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8. The
interpolation should be done on the basis of capacity calculated from the number of lanes in each
direction and operating speed i.e. Free Flow Speed directly obtained from field. In case of presence of
gradient (+3.5 % and -3.5 %), its effect on capacity should also be incorporated.
Figure 4.5: Speed - Flow Plots of Typical Base Sections of Four Lane and
Six Lane Interurban Expressways
4.6.1 Capacity of Base Sections
Base speed-flow curves and the corresponding equations i.e. Equation 4.11 and Equation 4.12
derived for four-lane divided and six lane divided interurban expressway are given in Figures 4.6.
Six-Lane divided Section: Equation 4.11
Four-Lane divided Section: Equation 4.12
Figure 4.6 shows the speed-flow curve developed for eight-lane divided urban expressway
base section.
Figure 4.6: Speed - Flow Plots of Typical Base Sections of

Eight Lane Interurban Expressways

4.6.2 Effect of Gradient on Six Lane Expressway Segments

Speed - flow plots and equation 4.13 to 4.15 have been furnished for upgrade and downgrade
and plain terrain (level) sections of six-lane divided expressway segments incorporating the influence
of degree of gradient, length of grade section and percentage of heavy vehicles. Figure 4.7 presents a
comparison of base capacity of level six-lane terrain with that of upgrade and downgrade sections of
the same class of road.
Figure 4.7: Comparison of Speed-Flow Plots of Six-Lane Interurban Expressway Sections

on Upgrade, Downgrade and Level Sections
Equation 4.13
Equation 4.14
Equation 4.15
A summary of capacity per direction and capacity per lane of interurban and urban
expressways are presented in Table 4.6. The capacity values are given based on varying carriageway
width, type of section, location and gradient.
Table 4.6: Summary of Capacity on Interurban and Urban Expressways
Type of Capacity Capacity per

S. Type of
Type of Carriageway Road (in PCU/hour/ Lane
No. Location
Section Direction) PCU/hour/lane
1 Four-lane divided Base Interurban 5000 2500
2 Six-lane divided Base Interurban 7500 2500
Downgrade
(-3.5 %)
Upgrade
(+3.5 %)
5 Eight-lane divided Base Urban 9200 2300

4.7 DETERMINATION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE

For expressways, density is considered as a measure of effectiveness (methods of traffic density
estimation are given in Annexure 4E). LOS thresholds for expressway are given based on density and
Volume to Capacity (v/c) ratio. In case the carriageway varies from those given in this manual, it is
recommended that v/c ratio may be used as measure in place of traffic density as detailed in Annexure
4F. Tables 4.7 and 4.8 presents LOS thresholds for four-lane divided and six-lane divided interurban
expressways whereas Table 4.9 gives the LOS threshold of eight-lane divided urban expressways
respectively. Under normal circumstances, use of LOS-B is appropriate for the design of interurban
and urban expressways which is considered as DSV [IRC: SP 99 (2013)]. It is recommended that the
planning for upgradation of any expressway facility should start as soon as the lower limit of the
range of service volumes corresponding to LOS B is reached and should be accomplished by the time
DSV is reached.
Table 4.7: LOS Thresholds for 4-lane Divided Interurban Expressways
Recommended DSV
Density (PCU/km/ Service Volumes
LOS V/C ratio Value for Upgradation
direction) (PCU/day)
(PCU/day)
A < 15 < 0.25 < 25500

37500@ LOS-B: Suggested
B 16 - 30 0.26 - 0.50 25501 - 49500 threshold traffic volume
for conversion from four
C 31 - 50 0.51 - 0.70 49501 - 69300 lane to six lane divided
expressway to ensure
D 51 - 75 0.71 - 0.93 69301 - 92000 enhanced safety in traffic
operations.
E 76 - 95 0.94 - 1.00 92001 - 99000
Table 4.8: LOS Thresholds for 6-lane divided Interurban Expressways
Recommended DSV Value

Density (PCU/km/ Service Volumes
LOS V/C ratio for Upgradation
direction) (PCU/day)
(PCU/day)
A < 22 < 0.25 < 39800

58200 @ LOS-B: Suggested
B 23 - 47 0.26 - 0.50 39801-76500 threshold traffic volume
for conversion from six
C 48 - 78 0.51 - 0.75 76501 - 114800 lane to eight lane divided
expressway to ensure
D 79 - 126 0.76 - 0.93 114801 - 142300 enhanced safety in traffic
operations.
E 127 - 154 0.94 - 1.00 142301 - 153000

Table 4.9: LOS Thresholds for 8-lane divided Urban Expressways

Density (PCU/ Service Volumes Recommended DSV Value for
LOS V/C ratio
km/direction) (PCU/day) Upgradation (PCU/day)
A < 30 < 0.25 < 47600 69600@ LOS-B: Suggested
B 31 – 62 0.26 - 0.50 47601-91500 threshold traffic volume for
conversion from eight lane to ten
C 63 – 103 0.51 - 0.75 91501 - 137300
lane divided urban expressway
D 104 – 167 0.76 - 0.93 137301 - 170200 to ensure enhanced safety in
E 168 – 204 0.94 - 1.00 170201 - 183000 traffic operations.
4.8 APPLICATION
For using the methodology proposed in this chapter, a range of input data (roadway and traffic
condition) is needed. Most of these data can be measured from the field or estimated. When some of
the data is not available, then default values may be used.
4.8.1 Computation of DHV

Table 4.10 displays the recommended default values when site-specific data are not available.
Table 4.10: Recommended Default Values of Input Parameters

Required Data Default Values
Number of lanes in one direction Site specific value
Lane width (m) 3.5 m
Left-shoulder lateral clearance between the edge of 1.8 m
the travel lane and the nearest obstacle (m)
Median lateral clearance 0.5 m
Terrain or specific grade site specific value
Free-Flow Speed (FFS) 100 km/hour (Interurban expressways)
80 km/hour (Urban expressways)
Time interval for observation 5 min
For planning purpose, it is important to calculate the AADT and DHV. Both parameters are
related to each other given by Equations 4.16 and 4.17 as
DHV= K*AADT Equation 4.16
Where,
DHV= Design Hourly Volume
K = Proportion of two-way Design Hourly Volume to two-way AADT
DDHV=D* DHV Equation 4.17
Where,
DDHV= Directional Design Hourly Volume,
D is directional distribution factor i.e. percentage of design hourly volume in the predominant
direction. In the absence of observed data, default values can be used for K factor. As such, K factor
for Level Terrain ranges between 8 % to 10 %. For example, in the case of AADT 100,000 PCUs per
day, by varying K factor and D value, DDHV values can be correspondingly obtained as given in
Annexure 4-G.

4.8.2 Establishment of Analysis Boundaries

Traffic and roadway condition are considered to be uniform for capacity and LOS analysis.
The point where traffic and roadway conditions change must be recognised as boundary of the
analysis segment. Traffic volume change can be observed at every ramp junction of an expressway.
So, any ramp junction should be marked as boundary between adjacent expressway base segments.
In addition to the ramp expressway junction, the boundary condition should be established for the
following situations:
• Change in number of lanes
• Change in lane or shoulder widths
• Change in grade of more than 2 percent
• Change in terrain classification
• Change in posted speed limits
4.8.3 Types of Analysis

The methodology devised in this chapter has application for the following cases:
• Operational analysis: The analysis for different roadway and traffic conditions can be applied
for future upcoming facilities with forecast condition. The existing and expected LOS is
determined.
• Design analysis: The analysis of traffic flow parameters is done for different number of
lanes. From the analysis, minimum roadway width required to achieve the target LOS can be
determined.
• Planning and preliminary engineering: The traffic scenario of base segments will be same
as that for design analysis, except that analysis is conducted at a much earlier stage of the
development process.

4.9.1 Problem-1
The observed traffic data for the Ahmedabad - Vadodara Expressway on a typical level terrain
is given in Table 4.11.
Table 4.11: Classified Traffic Flow and Average Speeds
Volume Composition Speed

Vehicle Type
(vehicles/h) (in %) (km/h)
Standard Car (SC) 1196 61 85.9
Big Car (BC) 400 20 84.3
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) 98 5 62.5
Two / Three Axle Trucks (TAT) 170 9 52.5
Multi-Axle Trucks (MAT) 20 1 50.1
Bus (B) 80 4 66.5
Total 1964

Determine the following: (a) Capacity using SEF and PCUs (b) Existing Level of Service
(c) How much additional traffic could be accommodated before reaching capacity?
Solution:
(a) METHOD 1: Using Stream equivalency factor
Calculation of Stream Equivalency Factor
Se = 1 + 0.42 * pBC + 1.91 * pLCV + 4.45 * pBUS + 4.95 * pTAT + 5.62 * pMAT – 84 * (1/n)
(For Level Terrain as per Equation 4.8)
Where,
Se = Stream Equivalency Factor (SEF)
P BC = percentage composition of Big car
P LCV = percentage composition of Light Commercial Vehicle
P Bus =percentage composition of Bus
P TAT = percentage composition of Two / Three Axle trucks
P MAT = percentage composition of Multi-Axle Trucks
N = Total Volume in Vehicles/ hour.
Stream speed 80 km/h

Stream equivalency factor (k) 1.84
Volume 1964
Capacity (PCU/h/direction) 5000 (refer Table 4.5)
V/C 0.72
Stream Equivalency Factor = 1.84, calculated using Equation 4.8 for level terrain
Volume in (veh/hour/ direction) = 1966
Volume in (pcu/hour/ direction) = 1964*1.84 = 3613
(b) Existing Level of Service = (Volume/Capacity)
= (3614/5000) = 0.72
Hence existing Level of Service is C.
(c) Additional traffic that can be accommodated before reaching capacity.
= (5000 - 3614) = 1316 PCU/h/direction
In Veh/hour = (1386/1.84)
= 753 Vehicles/hour/direction

METHOD 2: Using PCU factor
Table 4.12: Estimation of PCUs
Volume Volume
Vehicle Type PCU Factor
(Vehicles/hour) (PCUs/h)
Standard Car (SC) 1196 1.0 1196
Big Car (BC) 400 1.5 600
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) 98 3.15 309
Multi-Axle Trucks (MAT) 20 5.5 110
Bus 80 5.0 400
Total 1964 - 3499
Volume in (Vehicles/hour/direction) = 1964

Volume in (PCUs/hour/ direction) = 3499
Density = Volume/Speed
= 3499/80
= 43.74 PCU/Km
V/C = 0.70
(b) Existing Level of Service = (Volume/Capacity)
Hence the existing LOS is C.
(c) Additional traffic that can be accommodated before reaching capacity.

= 5000 - 3499
= 1501 PCUs/hour/direction
In Veh/h = 1501 / 1.84
= 816 Vehicles/hour/direction
4.9.2 Problem-2
The following traffic data is furnished for the new six-lane divided expressway facility planned
between Vadodara and Surat.
Capacity per Lane = 2500 PCU/hour/ lane
Volume = 4850 PCU/hour/direction
V/C ratio for LOS-C = 0.75
Determine number of lanes required so as to achieve the LOS-C for the above planned
expressway facility.

Solution:
Given
V/C ratio = 0.75
Required Capacity = V/0.75 = 4850 / 0.75
= 6467 PCU/hour/direction
Number of lanes required to maintain LOS-C
Number of lanes required = (6467/2500)
= 2.58 say 3 lanes in each direction (as Number of lanes cannot
be in fraction) which would cater up to maximum capacity
flow of 7500 PCUs/hour/direction.
i.e. 3 lanes in each direction of travel are required.
4.9.3 Problem-3
The following traffic data is furnished for the new expressway facility planned between
Vadodara and Surat. Adopt LOS C to design of number of lanes required
Expected AADT = 100,000 PCUs/day
DDHV = AADT*K*D
Where,
DDHV = Directional Design-Hour Volume (Veh/h/direction)
K = Proportion of AADT occurring in the peak hour
K = 8 % to 10 %.
D = proportion of peak-hour traffic in the heavier direction
D = 0.5 to 07
Solution:
Case 1: Assume K = 8 percent and D = 0.5
Given DDHV = AADT*K*D
DDHV = 100000*.08*0.5
Capacity = 2500 PCU/hour/lane
Number of lanes required to maintain LOS-C
V/C ratio = 0.75
Capacity required = V/0.75
Number of lanes required
= (5333/2500)
= 2.13 say 3 lanes in each direction (as number of lanes cannot be in
fraction) for achieving capacity of 7650 PCU/hour/direction)
Sensitivity Analysis based on different values of D and K factors.


DDHV = 100,000 x 0.08 x 0.70 = 5600 PCU / h / direction
Capacity required = 5600/ 0.75 = 7467 PCU / h / direction
Number of lanes required = 3 (Refer Table 4.3) in each direction.
Number of lanes required = 3 in each direction (Refer Table 4.3) in each direction.
Case 4: Assume K = 20 per cent and D = 0.7
Number of lanes required = 4 in each direction.

REFERENCES
1. Chandra, S., and Kumar, U. (2003), “Effect of lane width on capacity under mixed traffic conditions
in India”, Journal of Transportation Engineering ASCE, Volume 129, No. 2, pp. 155- 160.
2. Dhamaniya, A., and Chandra, S. (2013), “Concept of Stream Equivalency Factor for Heterogeneous
Traffic on Urban Arterial Roads”, Journal of Transportation Engineering ASCE, Vol. 139, no. 11,
pp. 1117-1123.
3. Edie LC (1961) “Car Following and Steady State Theory for Non-Congested Traffic” Journal of
Operations Research, Vol. 9 (1), pp. 66-76.
4. Edie LC (1965) “Discussion of Traffic Stream Measurements and Definitions”, Proceedings of the
Second International Symposium on the Theory of Traffic Flow. J. Almond (Editor), Paris, OECD,
pp. 139 - 154.
5. HCM (2010) “HCM 2010: Highway Capacity Manual”, Special Report No. 209, 5th Edition,
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC.
6. IRC: SP-99 (2013) “Manual of Specification and Standards for Expressways”, Indian Roads
7. Madhu, E and Velmurugan, S., (2011) “Estimation of Roadway Capacity of Eight-Lane Divided
Urban Expressways under Heterogeneous Traffic through Microscopic Simulation Models”,
International Journal of Science and Technology Education Research Volume 11 No.6, (Online
Journal).
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Akcelik R (1996) “Relating flow, density, speed and travel time models for uninterrupted and
interrupted traffic”, Traffic Engineering and Control. pp. 511 - 516.
2. Ameena P, Lelitha V, Subramanian SC, Manda H (2009) “Prediction of Traffic Density for
Congestion Analysis under Indian Traffic Conditions”, Proceedings of the 12th International
IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems, St. Louis, MO, USA, October 3 - 7, 2009.
3. Arasan VT, Koshy RZ (2005) “Methodology for modelling highly heterogeneous traffic flow”,
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol 131, No. 1. ASCE, pp. 544 - 551.
4. Arasan VT, Dhivya G (2010) “Simulation of Highly Heterogeneous Traffic Flow”, Proceeding of
24th European Conference on Modelling and Simulation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1 - 4 June,
2010, pp 81 - 87.
5. Asha R, Lelitha V, Subramanian C (2011) “Traffic Density Estimation under Heterogeneous
Traffic Condition using Data Fusion”, IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) Baden, Germany,
June 5-9, 2011.
6. Cassidy M, Coifman B (2014) “Relation among Average Speed, Flow, and Density and
Analogous Relation between Density and Occupancy”, Transportation Research Record No
1591, pp. 18 - 27.
7. Daiheng N, John DL (2006) “Direct Methods of Determining Traffic Stream Characteristics by
Definition”, TRB Annual Meeting CD-ROM.
8. Gazis D, Liu C (2003) “Kalman filtering estimation of traffic counts for two network links in
Tandem”, Transportation Research Part B. 37. (2003) pp. 737 - 745.

9. Greenshields, B.D. (1935) “A study of highway capacity”, Proceedings Highway Research Record,
Washington Volume 14, pp. 448 - 477.
10. Haynes J (1965) “Some considerations of vehicular density on urban freeways”, Highway
Research Board, Record 99, HRB, Washington D.C., 1965, pp. 59-80.
11. Qiu TJ, Lu XY, Andy HF, Shladover C, Steven E (2010) “Estimation of Freeway Traffic Density
with Loop Detector and Probe Vehicle Data”, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board, No. 2178, Transportation Research Board of the National
Academies, Washington.
12. Singh K, Li B (2012) “Estimation of Traffic Densities for Multilane Roadways Using a Markov
Model Approach”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. Volume 59. NO. 11.
13. Sun X, Mufioz L, Horowitz R (2003) “Highway Traffic State Estimation Using Improved
Mixture Kalman Filters for Effective Ramp Metering Control”, Proceedings of the 42nd IEEE
Conference on Deeidon and Control Maui, Hawaii USA, December 2003.
14. May AD (1962) “California Freeway Operations Study”, Thompson Ramo Wooldridge, Chats-
worth, Calif., pp. 71-81 and 93 – 100.
15. May AD (1990) “Traffic flow fundamentals”, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,
1990.
16. Nazer PA (2001) “Density of mixed traffic stream from the speeds of individual vehicles”,
Traffic Engineering and Control. pp. 308 - 310.
17. Tiwari G, Joseph P, Fazio E, Chatteerjee N (2008) “Continuity equation validation for non-
homogeneous traffic”, Journal of Transportation Engineering. ASCE. 134(3). pp. 118 - 127.

ANNEXURE 4A: DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY

Videography method is generally employed for speed and traffic volume data. A trap of
suitable length not less than 50 m should be marked / identified on the road by using retro reflective
white colored tape for measurement of the speed. Video graphic traffic survey should normally be
conducted during the morning hours (8:00 AM to 12:00 AM) as well as during the evening hours (2:00
PM to 6:00 PM), which should consider the different traffic flow conditions prevailing within a day.
Roadway condition and road geometry data should be collected using Automated Road Survey System
(ARSS) or by any other suitable method. For the purpose of operational analysis, it is recommended
that at least traffic flow data for 4 hours is collected on expressway(s) under consideration.

ANNEXURE 4B: CAPACITY AND LOS ANALYSIS

The methodology given in this chapter is applicable for basic freeway segments. It can be used
to analyse the capacity, LOS and effect of design features on the performance of basic expressway
segments. It starts with estimation of capacity under base conditions and then applying the adjustment
factors for the prevailing site conditions. The homogenisation of the traffic stream has been done by
estimating Passenger Car Units (PCU) for individual vehicle types. The manual adopts PCU estimation
method based on speed and area ratio of subject vehicle and standard car developed by Chandra et al
(2003). LOS is measured based on density and v/c ratio. Figure 4B.1 illustrates the basic methodology
used in operational analysis.
Figure 4B.1: Methodology Flow Chart

ANNEXURE 4C: PCU AND STREAM EQUIVALENCY

FACTOR ESTIMATION
4C.1 Speed-Area Ratio
Capacity of a highway facility catering to heterogeneous traffic flow with vehicles of widely
varying static and dynamic characteristics is best expressed in terms of Passenger Car Units per
hour (PCU/h). Different vehicle types such as buses, light commercial vehicles, trucks, motorized
two-wheelers and auto rickshaws are expressed in equivalent PCU. This necessitates estimation of
PCU, which varies dynamically with various traffic flow parameters such as stream speed, vehicle
composition and volume-capacity ratio. Chandra and Kumar (2000) proposed the concept of dynamic
PCU considering the various traffic interactions and flow characteristics. The PCU for a vehicle is
calculated using Equation 4C.1
Equation 4C.1
Where,
PCUi : Passenger Car equivalent of the subject vehicle i,
Vc : Average speed of standard cars in the traffic stream,
Vi : Average speed of subject vehicle i,
Ac : Projected rectangular area of standard car as reference vehicle and
Ai : Projected rectangular area of the vehicle type i.
4C.2 Stream Equivalency Factor

The wide variety of vehicles in a mixed traffic stream and diversity in their size and speed
over a wide range make it extremely complex to study traffic behaviour and operations on roadways
under prevailing traffic conditions. It may be noted that PCU values obtained by different methods
are different for similar traffic flow conditions. This variation in PCU may be accompanied by the
methods which are used in estimating the PCUs. Considering the complexity in estimating PCU
values, an approach of Stream Equivalency Factor (SEF) has been utilised in this study to convert
heterogeneous traffic into equivalent homogeneous flow. Dhamaniya and Chandra (2013) introduced
this approach of applying stream equivalency factor to convert mixed traffic stream into a homogenous
equivalent without making use of PCU values in urban midblock sections. Stream equivalency factor
is developed by finding the ratio of traffic volume in PCU/hour to traffic volume in vehicles/hour
given by Equation 4C.2.
Equation 4C.2
5-minute interval is used for developing the SEF and this interval is also likely to provide
considerable variations in traffic volume as well as traffic composition. An example of development
of stream equivalency factor developed for 4-lane divided Ahmedabad - Vadodara (Interurban)
expressway is given in Figure 4C.1.
A linear plot of flow expressed as PCU/h vs flow in vehicles/h is developed for Ahmedabad-
Vadodara expressway. A linear relation with zero intercept (Se should be zero for no flow condition)
suggests the average value of Se is 0.82. The data points in Figure 4C.1 are quite staggered, having
many values of flow in vehicles per hour corresponding to the same value of flow expressed in PCU
per hour and vice versa. As such, Se value is found to be increasing with the higher proportion of heavy
vehicles in the traffic stream. R2 value for the equation also suggests good fit between the variables.

Figure 4C.1: Plot for Stream Equivalency for Flow on Interurban Expressways
Considering the effect of mix traffic proportion on Se value, a generalized equation relating Se
with the composition of traffic stream and traffic volume has been developed using the multiple linear
regression analysis. Relative percentage of composition of big-car, LCV, bus and truck is considered
for developing the regression model. The mathematical form of the derived relationships using the
above analogy separately for interurban and urban expressways are given in Equations 4C.3 to 4C.6.
Interurban Expressways
For Level Section:
Equation 4C.3
For Upgrade Section:
Equation 4C.4
For Downgrade Section:
Equation 4C.5
Urban Expressways
Equation
4C.6
Where,
Se = Stream Equivalency Factor (SEF)
PHCV = Proportion of Two / Three Axle Trucks in the traffic stream
PMAV = Proportion of Multi Axle Vehicles/Trucks in the traffic stream
P2W = Proportion of Two wheelers in the traffic stream
PAUTO = Proportion of Auto rickshaws in the traffic stream
n = Total flow in vehicles per hour

ANNEXURE 4D: FACTORS AFFECTING FREE FLOW SPEED

Free Flow speed of an expressway is dependent upon roadway and traffic conditions. Effects
of these conditions are described below:
4D.1 ROADWAY WIDTH

Free flow speed increases with increase in number of lanes. The number of lanes on an
expressway segment influences free-flow speed. As the number of lanes increases, so does the
opportunity for drivers to position themselves in order to avoid slower moving traffic. A four-lane
divided expressway provides less opportunity for drivers to move around slower traffic than six lanes.
Decreased manoeuvrability tends to reduce the average speed of vehicles. Figure 4D.1 (vide nos. a, b,
c, d, e and f) illustrate the effect of roadway width on free flow speeds of different vehicle types.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
Figure 4D.1: Effect of Roadway Width on Free Flow Speed of different Vehicle Types

4D.2 GRADIENT
The presence of grade decreases free flow speed of an expressway segment. This may be
attributed to the vehicle operating capabilities like acceleration, deceleration and the ability to
maintain speed decreases with the increase in the gradient on the test sections. The gradient range
considered varied between +3.5 % upgrade to -3.5 % downgrade. Figure 4D.2 (vide nos. a, b, c, d, e
and f) illustrate the effect of gradient on free flow speeds of different vehicle types.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
Figure 4D.2: Effect of Gradient on Free Flow Speed of different Vehicle Types

ANNEXURE 4E: DETERMINATIONOF TRAFFIC DENSITY

Traffic density is one of the fundamental macroscopic characteristics and it is of prime
importance when assessment of a facility has to be done based on both users as well as planner’s
perspective. According to the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), of USA, for expressways and
multilane roads, LOS has been defined taking density as the indicative factor. Density is treated as
the fundamental macroscopic spatial parameter of traffic flow, as it directly indicates the quality of
traffic flow and ease with which one can drive. Traffic density is the number of vehicles occupying a
unit length of roadway at any instant of time per traffic lane. The minimum length to be considered
for measurement of traffic density should be 100 m, in order to reduce the chances of overestimation
or underestimation. It may be considered representative of density per km length. The three methods
proposed in the study for the purpose of estimating traffic density over the study sections are:
• Fundamental equation relating speed, flow and density
• Cumulative input-output Plots
• Generalised Edie’s method.
Inference drawn from previous studies shows that density values estimated using Input -
Output method, fundamental traffic flow equation and Edie’s definition are quite consistent under
uncongested traffic flow conditions. However, in case of congested traffic flow state, density values
estimated by Input-Output method (cumulative plots) and fundamental traffic flow equation are
found to be inconsistent. Input-output method and Generalised Edie’s method yield the same density
under both circumstances. For macroscopic traffic analysis, it may be better to employ Input-Output
method, as it requires time data at entry and exit points and not the whole vehicle trajectory data.
Three methods proposed for deployment while estimating traffic density on the study section
is described in the succeeding sections.
4E.1 METHOD 1: FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIP OF TRAFFIC FLOW

CHARACTERISTICS
The relationship between the basic variables of traffic flow, namely speed (us), flow (q), and
density (k) is called the fundamental relationship of traffic flow characteristics and mathematically, it
is expressed as given in Equation 4E.1.
𝑘=𝑞/𝑢𝑠 Equation 4E.1
The equation assumes stationary traffic flow, i.e. the parameters do not change with time.
However, traffic is dynamic and changes over both space and time. Due to non-stationary nature of
traffic, the above equation might generate some errors in density estimation.
4E.2 METHOD 2: DENSITY MEASUREMENT USING CUMULATIVE PLOTS

(INPUT-OUTPUT METHOD)
This method assumes that the flow of vehicles between upstream (u/s) and downstream
(d/s) is conserved and cumulative plots are accurately estimated. Theoretically, this method should
provide the ‘true’ value of density. The area between the plots as defined by the vertical cuts in Figure
4E.1 represents the total density during time period of [t - k/2, t + k/2]. Average density during this
time period is this area divided by the length of time period (𝜆) and section length (L) as presented
in Equation 4E.2.
Equation 4E.2

Where,
–
dt is the time differentiation.
L is the length of the section from u/s to d/s
U (t): Cumulative plot of volume at u/s
D (t): Cumulative plot of volume at d/s
𝜆: Time Period Interval
Figure 4E.1: Graphical representation of Cumulative Plot method
4E.3 Method 3: Generalized Edie’s Definition

Edie (1961 and 1965) proposed generalized definitions of flow, density, and speed for individual
facilities (or road segments), which can be calculated in a two-dimensional (2D) time-space diagram.
In Figure 4E.2, a section of trap length, d is considered to determine traffic flow characteristics for the
time interval, t. At the beginning of the time interval (t=0), two vehicles (1st and 2nd) can be observed
in the trap area at a distance of d1 and d2, respectively from the exit line. So these are the vehicles,
which travelled a part of the trap area during time interval t. From this figure, it can also be observed
that as time passes, another two vehicles (3rd and 4th) travel across the trap length. At the end of the
time interval one vehicle (5th) can be witnessed, which travelled a distance d3 and given in Equations
4E.3 to 4E5.
Equation 4E.3
Equation 4E.4
Equation 4E.5
Where, q (A), k (A) and v (A) are flow, density and space mean speed for observed vehicles in
shaded region A as shown in Figure 4E.2.
t (A) is the total time spent by all vehicles in region A.
|𝐴| is the area covered by shaded region A.

Figure 4E.2: Trajectories in a Time-Space Diagram
For this method, two-dimensional (2D) time-space trajectory based data of every vehicle
is essential. However, due to limited facilities, it has been a challenge to obtain detailed vehicle
trajectories on Indian roadway infrastructure. In the present study, shaded area (region A) is
considered as rectangle with a side parallel to y-axis equal to trap length and x-axis as time interval.

ANNEXURE 4F: EXPLANATION ON LEVEL OF

SERVICE ESTIMATION
Level of Service (LOS) of a system, in general, can be defined as the functional efficiency
of the system in satisfying the needs of the users of the system. The level of service concept with
regard to highways was introduced in the United States Highway Capacity Manual (US-HCM) in 1965,
as a convenient way to describe the general quality of operations on a facility with defined traffic,
roadway and control conditions. Using a letter scale from A to F, a terminology for operational quality
was created that has become an important tool in communicating complex issues to decision-makers
and the general public. As per US-HCM 2010, “Level of Service (LOS) is a quality measure describing
operational conditions within a traffic stream, generally in terms of such service measures as speed
and travel time, freedom to manoeuvre, traffic interruptions, comfort, convenience and safety.” The
six defined levels of service, A to F, describe operations, from the best to the worst, for each type of
facility. The factors which affect the capacity and LOS can be considered under the following two main
categories:
Roadway Factors: Roadway factors pertain to restrictive physical features of a road such as lane
width, lateral clearance, shoulder type and width, auxiliary lanes, surface conditions, alignment and
grade.
Traffic Factors: Traffic factors pertain to characteristics of traffic such as volume, traffic composition,
speed, freedom to manoeuvre, comfort, convenience, etc.
Each facility type that has a defined method for assessing capacity and level-of service also
has performance measures that can be calculated. These measures reflect the operating condition
of a facility, given a set of roadway, traffic, and control conditions. For expressways, although speed
is a major concern of drivers as related to service quality, freedom to manoeuvre within the traffic
stream and proximity to other vehicles are equally noticeable concerns. These qualities are related
to the density of the traffic stream. Unlike speed, density increases as flow increases up to capacity,
resulting in a measure of effectiveness which is sensitive to a broad range of flows. The operating
conditions for the six levels of service selected in the Indo-HCM are as follows; Level A representing
the highest and Level F representing the lowest. Table 4F.1 gives the pictures illustrating various LOS.
Table 4F.1: Typical Illustration of LOS on Six-lane divided Interurban Expressway

Level of Service A: LOS A describes free-flow conditions
The operation of vehicles is virtually unaffected by
the presence of other vehicles, and the operations are
constrained only by the geometric features of the highway
and by driver preferences. Manoeuvrability within the
traffic stream is good. Minor disruptions to flow are
easily absorbed without a change in travel speed.
LOS- A

Level of Service B: LOS B also indicates free flow,

although the presence of other vehicles becomes
noticeable Average travel speeds are the same as in LOS
A, but drivers have slightly less freedom to manoeuvre.
Minor disruptions are still easily absorbed.
LOS-B
Level of Service C: In LOS C, the flow is stable but
influence of traffic density starts on operations The ability
to manoeuvre within the traffic stream is somewhat
affected by other vehicles. Minor disruptions can cause
local deterioration in service.
LOS- C
Level of Service D: At LOS D, the traffic approaches
unstable flow and the ability to manoeuvre is restricted
due to traffic congestion Travel speed is reduced by
the increasing volume. Only minor disruptions can be
absorbed without extensive queues forming.
LOS-D
Level of Service E: LOS E represents operations at or near
capacity, an unstable level The densities vary depending
on the FFS. Vehicles are operating with the minimum
spacing for maintaining uniform flow. Disruptions cannot
be dissipated readily, often causing queues to form and
service to deteriorate to LOS F.
LOS-E

Level-of-Service F: LOS F represents forced or breakdown

flow. It occurs when vehicles arrive at a rate greater
than the rate at which they are discharged or when the
forecast demand exceeds the computed capacity of a
planned facility. Although operations at these points
and on sections immediately downstream appear to
be at capacity, queues form behind these breakdowns.
Operations within queues are highly unstable, with
vehicles experiencing brief periods of movement
followed by stoppages. Note that the term LOS F may be
used to characterize both the point of the breakdown
and the operating condition within the queue.

ANNEXURE 4G: DDHV VALUES BY VARYING

K FACTOR AND D VALUES
Directional Design Hour Volume (DDHV) values are given in Table 4.G.1 for varying K-factor
ranges starting from 8 % to 10 % coupled with Directional Distribution Factor (DDF)-values between
0.5 to 0.7.
Table 4G.1: DDHV Values by Varying K factor and D Values
K- Factor
DDF 8% 8.5 % 9% 9.5 % 10 %
0.5 4000 4250 4500 4750 5000
0.55 4400 4675 4950 5225 5500
0.6 4800 5100 5400 5700 6000
0.65 5200 5525 5850 6175 6500
0.7 5600 5950 6300 6650 7000

Chapter 5:
Urban Roads
Urban Roads

Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Principal Scientist and Co Champion, Indo-HCM
Regional Coordinator (RC) and

CSIR-CRRI Team
Team Members
Dr. A. Mohan Rao, Work Package Leader,

Prof. K. Gunasekaran,
Principal Scientist,
Anna University, Chennai, RC
Traffic Engineering and Safety (TES) Division
Team Members
Ms. Kamini Gupta, Prof. K. Karthiga,

Technical Officer, TES Division Anna University, Chennai.
Sh. Satyabir Singh, Prof. V. Thamizh Arasan

Senior Technician, TES Division IIT, Madras, Chennai (Retired) - Adviser
Sh. Narendra Kumar,

Laboratory Assistant, TES Division
Sh. Daleep Mutreja

Urban Roads
Ms. Namita George Ms. Laxmi
Ms. Titty Thomas Mr. B.M.V Praneet
Mr. Umesh Shroff Mr. Sathishkumar.S
Mr. Pradeep Ram Ms. Pendyala Phani Sindhusha
Mr. Dave Darshan Dilip Mr. Amandeep Singh
Mr. Goutam Pattnaik Ms. Aleena C
Mr. Anshul Dixit Mr. Pankaj Jha, Senior Project Fellow
Students pursued their Thesis and Staff worked

@ Anna University, Chennai
M.Tech. Students
Ms. M. Hemavathy Mr. S. Shankara
Ms. H. Gayathri Mr. B.V.J. Vishnuvardhan
Project Staff
Mr. S. Kalaanidhi, Project Associate Mr. S. Gopinathan, Project Associate
Mr. A. Madhan, Project Associate Mr. P. Prasad, Project Associate
Ms. J. Preethy Catherine Angela, Project Associate Mr. S. Suresh, Project Staff
Ms. Jeevitha, Project Staff Ms. M. Jayanthi, Project Staff
Ms. Sridevi, Project Staff Ms. Bindhu, Project Staff
Mr. M. Rajendran, Project Staff

Urban Roads
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The team of CSIR - CRRI and Anna University (Chennai) would like to thank the following
organizations for permitting data collection and extending necessary help:
1. Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi Traffic Police
2. Prof. V.T. Arasan, (Retired), IIT, Madras and Vice Chancellor, Vels University, Chennai
3. Dr S Ganesan, Vice Chancellor and Registrar, Anna University
4. Dr P Narayanasamy Dean CEG, Anna University
5. Dr K Ilamparuthy, Chairman Civil Engineering, Anna University and
6. Dr K Nagamani Head Department of Civil Engineering, Anna University
7. Study Team for this chapter would like to place on records essential technical inputs rendered
by Mr. A. Kalaanidhi, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Surathkal,
during his stint as Project Fellow at Anna University, Chennai from 2012 - 15.

Urban Roads
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
5.1 INTRODUCTION 1
5.1.1 Study Objectives 1

5.2.1 Road Parameters 2
5.2.2 Traffic Characteristics 2
5.3 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF BASE ROAD SECTION 3
5.4 METHODOLOGY 4
5.4.1 Passenger Car Unit 4
5.4.2 Car as a Single Category 5
5.4.3 Stream Equivalency Factor (Se) 7
5.4.4 Capacity of Base Sections 9
5.4.5 Operating Speed Model 12
5.4.6 Level of Service of Urban Roads 13
5.4.7 Adjustment Factors 16
Example 5.5.1 18
Example 5.5.2 20
Example 5.5.3 21
Example 5.5.4 22

Urban Roads
REFERENCES 24
ANNEXURE 5A: VEHICLE TYPES ON INDIAN URBAN ROADS 26
ANNEXURE 5B: P
ARAMETERS FOR SELECTION OF BASE TEST SECTIONS OF
27
URBAN ROADS
ANNEXURE 5C: DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY 28
ANNEXURE 5D: DATA EXTRACTION METHOD ADOPTED 29
ANNEXURE 5E: DATA ANALYSIS 30
5E.1 Data Preparation 30
5E.2 PCU Estimation 30
5E.3 Determination of Stream Equivalency Factor (Se) 31
5E.4 Speed - Flow Relationship 31
5E.5 Development of Lane Capacity - Operating Speed Model 32
5E.6 Procedure to Determine Level of Service 32
5E.7 Adjustments for Friction Parameters 33

Urban Roads
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
5.1 Plot between flow in veh/hr and PCU/hr on Urban Roads 7
5.2 Methodology for the Determination of Capacity and LOS of Urban Roads 8
5.3 Speed - Flow Model for Two-lane Undivided Urban Roads 9
Speed - Flow Relationship for Four-lane Divided
5.4 10
Urban Roads (per direction)
Speed - Flow Relationship for Six-lane Divided Urban Roads
5.5 10
(per direction)
Speed - Flow Relationship for Eight-lane Divided
5.6 11
Speed - Flow Relationship for Ten-lane Divided
5.7 11
Relationship between Lane Capacity (PCUs/h/lane) and
5.8 13
Operating Speed
5C.1 Typical Layout of a Study Section 28
5C.2 Typical view of one of the Base Section Selected for Data Collection 28
5D.1 Screenshot of Software used for Data Extraction 29
5E.1 General shape of Speed-Flow Curve 32
5E.2 Data Collection Arrangement at Study Section with Roadside Friction 34
Typical Layout of Study Sections with various types of
5E.3 34
Roadside Friction

Urban Roads
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
5.1 Number of Test Sections considered across Varying Road Widths 1
5.2 Suggested PCU Values for Undivided and Divided Roads 5
5.3 Suggested PCU Values for Varying Widths of Urban Roads 6
Capacity and Recommended Design Service Volume of Base Sections
5.4 12
of Urban Roads
5.5 Lane Capacity of Divided Urban Roads based on Operating Speed 12
LOS of Two lane Undivided Urban roads based on Stream speed, V/C
5.6 14
Ratio and FFS
LOS of Multilane Divided Urban Roads based on Stream speed, V/C
5.7 14
Ratio and FFS
5.8 Typical Illustration of LOS of Urban Roads 14-15
On-street Parking Adjustment Factors based on
5.9 16
Length of Road Occupation
5.10 On-street Parking Adjustment Factors based on Manoeuvres per hour 16
5.11 Adjustment Factors for Impedance to Traffic Flow at Bus stops 17
5.12 Adjustment Factors due to Presence of Access Point 17
Observed Classified Traffic Flow on the Six Lane Divided Urban
5.13 18
Segment
Observed Classified Traffic Flow on the Eight Lane Divided Urban
5.14 20
Segment
5.15 Estimated Traffic Flow on the Proposed Corridor 21
5.16 Estimated Traffic Flow on the Four Lane Divided Urban Segment 22
Vehicle Types on the Urban Roads of India and their
5A.1 26
Average Dimensions
5B.1 Parameters for Selection of Base Test sections of Urban Roads 27

Urban Roads
ti time taken by ith vehicle to travel the trap length D
1/n total number of vehicles counted in the analysis period
TW Two Wheeler
AB Articulated Bus
Ac Plan Area of Car
ADV Animal Drawn Vehicle
AF Adjustment Factor
Ai Plan Area of Subject Vehicle
Auto Auto rickshaw
B Bus
BC Big Car
C Actual Capacity
C Bicycles
C0 Base Capacity for ideal condition (PCU/h)
CLane Capacity per lane of divided urban road
CY Cycle Rickshaw
ELD Eight-lane Divided
FAC Adjustment Factor for access point
FBS Adjustment Factor for Bus stops
FFS Free Flow Speed
FFS Free Flow Speed
FLD Four-lane Divided
FOP Adjustment Factor for On-street parking
MAT Multi Axle Trucks/Vehicles
MB Mini Bus
N Total volume in vehicles per hour

Urban Roads
P HV Percentage composition of Heavy vehicles

PAuto Percentage composition of Motorized Three-Wheelers
PBus Percentage composition of Buses
PCU/km Passenger Car Unit per kilometer
PLCV Percentage composition of Light Commercial Vehicles
PNMT Percentage composition of Non-Motorized Vehicles
PTW Percentage composition of Motorized Two-Wheelers
S standard deviation of SMS
SC Standard Car
Se STREAM EQUIVALENCY FACTOR
SEF Stream Equivalency Factor
SLD Six-lane Divided
SMS space mean speed
TAT Two / Three Axle Truck
TeLD Ten-lane Divided
TMS Time Mean Speed
TT Tractor with Trailer Combination
Us average SMS of a traffic stream
Ut average TMS of a traffic stream
VC critical speed
Vc Speed of Standard Car
vehicles/km Vehicles per kilometer
Vi Speed of Subject Vehicle
VOperating Speed Operating Speed in km/h

Urban Roads
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Urban road is the one with a relatively high density of driveway access located in an urban
area and having traffic signals with a minimum spacing of one kilometer. The term ‘Urban Road
Segment’ refers to the length of road with control arrangements at both of its ends, i.e. the upstream
and downstream intersections are controlled intersections. This chapter describes the procedures
for calculation of capacity and performance measures of two lane undivided and four to ten lanes
divided urban roads in India for the given roadway, traffic and environmental conditions.
5.1.1 Study Objectives

• Study and characterization of the basic road traffic flow characteristics such as speed, flow,
density which can eventually lead to the development of Speed-Flow and Speed-Density
relationships for varying widths of urban roads.
• Development of capacity norms and Level of Service (LOS) and for varying road widths of
urban roads including quantification of the friction due to bus bays, on-street parking and
access roads.

Urban roads are generally classified based on the functional characteristics and configuration.
However, as the functional classification varies from city to city. In this context the standard road
width per lane considered is 3.5 m with an additional shyness of 0.25 m provided on either edge of
the road. Hence the typology of roads considered in this manual includes the following:
Divided Roads (in each direction of travel with 0.25 m kerb shyness on either edges of the road):
• 7.5 m road width i.e. Four-lane Divided Road
• 11 m road width i.e. Six-lane Divided Road
• 14.5 m road width i.e. Eight-lane Divided Road
• 18.0 m road width i.e. Ten-lane Divided Road
Undivided Roads: (Road width of 7.0 m plus 0.25 m kerb shyness on either edge)
• 7.5 m road width i.e. Two-lane Undivided Road
The scope of the chapter includes capacity and LOS analysis for the above class of roads only
in this manual. The number of base and non base sections considered across varying road widths
selected in different metropolitan cities of the country namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Jaipur, Chandigarh, Surat, Ahmadabad, Thiruvanthapuram and Guwahati is presented in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1: Number of Test Sections considered across Varying Road Widths
Number of Road Sections

S.No. Type of Road
Base Non Base
1 Four lane Divided Urban Road 11 26

2 Six Lane Divided Urban Road 11 6
3 Eight Lane Divided Urban Road 4 2
4 Ten lane Divided Urban Road 3 1
5 Two Lane Undivided Urban Road 2 1

Urban Roads

5.2.1 Road Parameters
• Bus Lane : A lane on the urban road reserved primarily for buses during specified periods
• Bus Stop: An area in which one or more buses stop to enable loading and unloading of
passengers.
• Road Width: It is the paved width of the road with or without shoulders available for
movement of vehicles.
• Divided Road: A two-way road on which traffic movement is segregated direction-wise by
physical separation
• Effective Road Width: It is the width of the road that is effectively used for vehicle movement
out of the total road width available
• Frictional Resistance / Elements: The activities on the roadside that are likely to influence
the carrying capacity of the road section are considered as a frictional element e.g., Bus bay,
access road, roadside parking, etc.
• Kerb: It is a vertical or sloping member along the edge of a pavement or shoulder forming
part of a gutter, strengthening or protecting the edge, and clearly defining the edge to the
drivers.
• Link: A link represents a length of roadway between two points.
• Median: The physical feature that separates the two directions of opposing flow on divided
roads.
• Point: A point represents the boundary between links and usually indicates an intersection
or a ramp terminal.
• Segment: A link with its boundary intersections is referred to as a segment.
• Segment Length: It represents the distance between the boundary intersections defining the
road segment.
• Shoulder: The additional paved width available for on-street parking and vehicle movement
during certain periods.
• Side Friction: The physical features that are likely to impede the traffic flow.
• Undivided Road: A road with no median or any form of physical feature to separate the
opposing traffic streams.
• Urban Area: An area typified by high densities of development or concentration of population,
drawing people from several areas within a region.
5.2.2 Traffic Characteristics

• Annual Average Daily Traffic Volume: The total yearly traffic volume in both directions of
travel divided by the number of days in a year.
• Average Daily Traffic Volume : The total traffic volume in both directions of travel during a
time period more than one day but less than one year divided by the number of days in that
time period.
• Basic Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point or section
of road on a lane or roadway, during one hour under the most nearly ideal roadway and traffic
conditions which can possibly be attained.
• Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicle per unit of time that can be handled by a
particular roadway component under the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
• Density: It is the number of vehicles present on unit length of road at any particular instant
of time. It is usually expressed in vehicles per kilometer
• Free Flow Speed: The mean speed of standard cars that can be accommodated under low
to moderate flow rates on a road segment under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions

Urban Roads
[HCM, 2010]. Free Flow Speeds may be measured for a given vehicle when the traffic flow is
such that the time gap between two consecutive vehicles is more than 8 seconds.
• Flow Rate: It is a macroscopic flow parameter defined as a number of vehicles passing a point
in a given period of time. It is usually expressed as hourly flow rate.
• Jam Density: It refers to extreme density associated with completely stopped traffic flow.
• Lane Capacity: The traffic capacity of a lane of an urban road.
• Lane Configuration: Lane configuration of an urban road is defined as the total number of
lanes available for traffic movement.
• Level of Service (LOS): It is a quality measure describing the operational conditions within a
traffic stream, generally in terms of service measures such as speed and travel time, freedom
to manoeuvre, traffic interruption, comfort, and convenience. The LOS for basic roadway
segment is based on the traffic density expressed in Passenger Car Unit per kilometre (PCU/
km) and Vehicles per kilometre (vehicles/km).
• Occupancy: The physical area occupied by the vehicles on the road section relative to the
total road area available.
• Operating Speed: It is the speed at which drivers are observed to operate their vehicles
under Free Flow Speed (FFS) conditions.
• Passenger Car Unit: Passenger Car Unit (PCU) is a universally adopted unit used for capacity
analysis of a roadway system having heterogeneous traffic condition. The PCU value of a small
car is identified as one. The interaction of vehicles in the traffic stream is represented in terms
of Passenger Car Unit (PCU), which is the amount of impedance caused to flow of traffic by
other vehicle types (Refer Annexure 5A) in comparison with that of car.
• Peak Hour Factor: A ratio of the volume occurring during the peak hour to the peak rate
of flow during a given time period within the peak hour (typically, 1 hour, 15 minutes or 5
minutes).
• Prevailing Condition: The geometric, traffic and control conditions observed at the study
section.
• Space Mean Speed: The harmonic mean of vehicle spot speed observed over a road segment.
An average speed based on the average travel time of vehicle to traverse a segment of roadway.
• Service Flow Rate: The maximum rate of flow that can be maintained for the analysis period
under the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
• Side friction Adjustment Factor: It is the factor which incorporates the effect of side friction
on the road capacity.
• Stream Equivalency Factor: It is the ratio of traffic volume in PCUs per hour to volume in
vehicles per hour
• Vehicle Headway: It is the elapsed time between the arrival of the leading vehicle and the
following vehicle at a designated test point.
• Volume: The number of vehicles passing an observation line expressed in vehicles per hour.
• Volume to Capacity Ratio: The ratio of flow rate to the capacity of a road segment.
5.3 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF BASE ROAD SECTION

Urban road sections of 50 to 75 meters length (also called as trap), of road segment, are
selected for traffic flow recording. The selected shall possess the following:
• part of a straight urban road segment located in plain terrain
• free from roadside frictions like the presence of bus stops, on-street parking, pedestrian
crossing/ pedestrian movement on the road, access to adjacent properties/side roads etc.

Urban Roads
• located at a distance of 500 meters from the upstream intersection and to ensure that vehicles
are in cruising mode.
The urban road section satisfying the above conditions is treated as base road section.
The parameters to be considered for classifying the road segment as base section is detailed in
Annexure 5B.
5.4 METHODOLOGY
The methodology to be adopted for determining the base capacity, Level of Service and
adjustment for friction factors has been formulated based on the various research studies [(Chandra
and Dhamaniya (2014), CHCM, (1999), CRRI, (1998), HCM, (2000), HCM, (2010), IHCM, (1993), IRC:
106, (1990)] and the same is presented in Figure 5.1. The analyst has the option of adopting the
PCU values and capacity of the urban road section by adopting values suggested in the manual or to
establish the same from field studies. The capacity of an urban road segment depends on the available
road width, presence of shoulder/kerb, presence of median, presence of access roads, parking on
roadside, presence of bus bay etc. The road available and presence/absence of median is considered
for classification of urban roads and the establishment of capacity. Based on the road typology like
divided road or undivided road, road width and presence of side friction and the category of friction,
the capacity values are to be used by the analyst from this chapter.
If the analyst wants to establish from field studies the classified traffic count, vehicular
composition and speed of vehicles at the test sections, the user can collect by videography or by
suitable techniques (Refer data collection strategy presented in Annexure 5C and data extraction
method described in Annexure 5D). PCU values for different vehicle types normally observed in Indian
cities / urban centers are given in the manual in the form of range of values and the median value. The
analyst can directly use the above PCU values or alternatively use the Stream Equivalency method
while establishing speed - flow relationship to determine capacity and suitable adjustment factors
if side frictions are prevailing at the considered road segments. Further, a relationship between lane
capacity and operating speed has been established by considering the varying widths of divided roads
together. Based on the above relationship, the analyst need to collect data of only the free speeds of
cars for the multi lane urban road sections considered during its analysis to derive the capacity of any
road segment.
5.4.1 Passenger Car Unit

Traffic stream in India consists of different vehicle types including car, bus, truck, motorized
two wheelers, auto rickshaws (three and four wheeled), buses, light commercial vehicles, heavy
commercial goods vehicles (like two axle and multi-axle trucks), tractors with trailers, bicycles,
cycle rickshaws, animal driven carts, etc. These vehicles have different maneuverability and speed
characteristics. More than dozen vehicle types are observed on the Indian urban roads; however, the
composition of traffic on Indian roads varies across the country. While, the size of an auto rickshaw
is almost the same as that of a small car, but its acceleration capability is lower as compared to the
latter. On the other hand, motorized two wheelers have excellent maneuverability and acceleration
characteristics. All these combinations in a mixed traffic situations makes the traffic movement
an extremely complex phenomenon. Considering the above, the Passenger Car Units (PCUs) are
determined to express the flow in a common unit. PCUs for the vehicles plying on Indian roads
have been determined using Dynamic PCU method (Chandra et. al., (1995), Dilip et. al, (2015)). In
Dynamic PCU method, PCU of the subject vehicle is estimated as the proportion of speed ratio of the
subject vehicle to that of a standard vehicle and plan area ratio of the subject vehicle to that of the
standard vehicle. In this manual, the standard vehicle refers to the car and the average plan area of
cars observed in the city is adopted as the plan area of the standard vehicle.

Urban Roads
5.4.2 Car as a Single Category

The share of small car and big cars in the traffic stream has been enumerated separately at the
start of the study. However, it has been noted during the course of the analysis of the candidate study
sections spread across the country that as far as urban roads are concerned, the maneuverability and
speed of standard / small and big cars are quite similar despite the larger size of the latter. Due to the
observed phenomenon, it has been felt prudent to consider the cars together by accounting for the
weighted average area of small cars and big cars (determined to be 6.19 sq m) based on their presence
in the traffic stream and the same analogy has been used during the computation of dynamic PCUs
for cars.
The suggested PCUs based on the above concept are presented in Table 5.2 and Table 5.3. The
analyst can select median PCU values from Table 5.2 for divided and undivided roads for planning
purposes and median PCU values from Table 5.3 for evaluation of existing conditions of 4-lane or
6-lane or 8-lane or 10-lane divided roads. The range of PCU values indicates the values obtained on
base sections spread across urban roads covering traffic data collected across varying widths of roads
in 10 Indian metropolitan cities. Lower PCU values indicate that subject vehicle moves at higher speed
than that of standard car whereas higher PCU values indicate that subject vehicle moves at lower
speed than that of standard car. The PCU values can be selected from the above range if the analyst
is able to categorize the subject vehicle speed and relate with that of standard car. The median values
can be used if user does not have information about vehicular speed. The analyst has the option
to compute the flow rate in PCUs by dynamic PCU method if the speed of vehicles and flow data
are readily available for any road segment or alternatively by using the Stream Equivalency Factor
method if the hourly flow rate (in vehicles per hour) and traffic composition are readily available.
Table 5.2: Suggested PCU Values for Undivided and Divided Roads
Undivided Roads Divided Roads

S.No. Vehicle Type
Motorized Traffic
1 Two Wheeler (TW) 0.10 - 0.31 0.20 0.10 - 0.45 0.22
2 Auto rickshaw (Auto) 0.33 -2.65 0.73 0.38 - 2.11 0.90
3 Car (Small and Big Car) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
4 Bus (B) 1.79 - 6.5 3.77 1.99 - 6.0 4.60
5 Mini Bus (MB) 1.36 - 3.11 1.80 1.62 - 4.10 2.07
6 Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 2.10 - 3.49 2.30 2.10 - 4.50 2.38
7 Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 2.70 - 4.81 3.70 2.70 - 7.50 3.90
8 Multi Axle Truck (MAT) - - 3.30 - 7.90 5.90
9 Tractor Trailer Combination - 4.50 2.51 - 5.89 5.40
10 Bicycle 0.34 - 0.50 0.39 0.30 - 0.80 0.42
11 Cycle Rickshaw - 1.80 0.88 - 3.16 2.04
‘-‘ implies insufficient sample size

Table 5.3: Suggested PCU Values for Varying Widths of Urban Roads
Two Lane
Four Lane Divided Six Lane Divided Eight Lane Divided Ten Lane Divided
Bidirectional
Vehicle Type
Range Median Range Median Range Median Range Median Range Median
Motorized Traffic
Two Wheeler 0.10 - 0.31 0.20 0.11 - 0.33 0.20 0.10 - 0.71 0.21 0.10 - 0.56 0.24 0.11 - 0.41 0.24
Autos 0.33 - 2.65 0.73 0.39 - 1.66 0.80 0.36 - 2.68 0.83 0.41 - 1.30 0.96 0.44 - 1.73 0.96
Car 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Bus 1.79 - 6.50 3.77 1.62 - 5.90 4.58 1.58 - 5.90 4.60 1.56 - 5.90 4.60 2.47 - 5.90 4.60
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi

Mini Bus 1.36 - 3.11 1.80 1.08 - 3.94 2.10 1.02 - 3.53 2.16 1.08 - 2.98 2.16 1.47 - 2.98 2.61
Urban Roads
LCV 2.10 - 3.49 2.30 2.10 - 3.60 2.30 2.10 - 3.60 2.30 2.10 - 3.60 2.38 2.10 - 3.60 2.38
TAT 2.70 - 4.81 3.70 2.70 - 5.68 3.80 2.70 - 7.58 3.90 2.70 - 7.50 3.90 2.70 - 7.50 3.90
MAT - - 3.61 - 7.91 5.10 3.52 - 9.50 5.90 4.11 - 9.50 5.90 4.53 - 9.90 5.90
Tractor Trailer
- 4.50 3.38 - 7.43 5.38 3.73 - 6.39 5.47 3.85 - 7.31 5.88 - -
Combination
Bicycle 0.34 - 0.50 0.39 0.34 - 0.50 0.39 0.30 - 0.80 0.46 - - - -
Cycle Rickshaw 1.80 - 1.39 - 3.16 2.04 1.52 - 2.62 2.04 - - - -
‘-’ implies that insufficient sample size.
Page 5 - 6
Urban Roads
5.4.3 Stream Equivalency Factor (Se)

Hence, a single set of PCU cannot be recommended for all types of traffic conditions. A small change
in either traffic volume or traffic composition may change PCU factors substantially, especially for
large size vehicles. Moreover, the tabulated values presented in Table 5.2 and 5.3 are not sufficient
to understand the complete variation in PCU for a vehicle type. The concept of Stream Equivalency
denoted by (Se) is an alternative approach suggested by Dhamaniya and Chandra (2014) and the same
is included in this manual to calculate the overall flow in PCUs if the user intends to derive traffic flow
(in PCUs) without substituting individual PCU values for the vehicles. The flow values as observed in
veh/hr are converted into equivalent PCU per hour using Equation 5.1. The plots between these flow
values are shown in Figure 5.1. As such, Se is the ratio of flow values in PCU/hr and Veh/hr as given
in Equation 5.1.
Equation 5.1
Figure 5.1: Plot between flow in veh/hr and PCU/hr on Urban Roads
Stream Equivalency Factor models derived separately for divided and undivided roads are
presented in Equations 5.2 and 5.3.
For Divided Roads:
Se = 1 - 0.77*PTW – 0.28*PAuto + 0.53*PLCV + 2.60*PBus + 1.83*P HV - 0.66*PNMT + 12.71*(1/N)
Equation 5.2
For Undivided Roads:
Se = 1- 0.85*PTW - 0.31*PAuto + 0.60*PLCV + 3.09*PBus + 1.06*P HV - 1.30*PNMT - 1.29*(1/N)
Equation 5.3
Where,
Se = Stream Equivalency Factor
PTW = Percentage composition of Motorized Two-Wheelers
PAuto = Percentage composition of Motorized Three-Wheelers
PLCV = Percentage composition of Light Commercial Vehicles i.e LCV and Mini buses
PBus = Percentage composition of Buses

Urban Roads
Figure 5.2: Methodology for the Determination of Capacity and LOS of Urban Roads
Page 5 - 8
Urban Roads
P HV = Percentage composition of Heavy vehicles i.e TAT, MAT and TT.

PNMT = Percentage composition of Non-Motorized Vehicles i.e. Bicycle and Cycle rickshaw
N = Total volume in vehicles per hour.
The overall methodology to be adopted to determine the hourly flow in PCUs, base capacity
of varying types of urban road sections, application of adjustment and Level of Service is illustrated
in Figure 5.2.
5.4.4 Capacity of Base Sections

The evolved capacity values for the urban road base sections based on different studies
(Chandra and Dhamaniya, 2014, Satish, et. al., 2016, Umesh Shroff, et. al., 2014) are presented in
this section. The analyst based on the road geometrics can adopt the capacity values by applying
adjustment factors conforming to the site conditions (Refer for data analysis methodology presented
in Annexure 5E).
5.4.4.1 Base Capacity of Two-lane Undivided Roads
Speed - Flow model for the two-lane undivided urban road is shown in Figure 5.3. The
suggested capacity of Two-lane undivided roads is 2400 PCUs/hour.
Figure 5.3: Speed-Flow Model for Two-lane Undivided Urban Roads
5.4.4.2 Base Capacity of Divided Roads

The speed-flow relationship and the derived Speed - Flow plot (per direction) established for
divided roads encompassing the Four-lane, Six-lane, Eight-lane and Ten-lane divided roads is shown
in Figures 5.4 to 5.7 respectively.

Urban Roads
The derived capacity values are given in Table 5.4. The Design Service Volume (DSV) for the
above class and width of urban roads has been computed for LOS - C and presented in Table 5.6 and
Table 5.7 for the given V/C ratio ranges.
Figure 5.4: Speed-Flow Relationship for Four-lane Divided Urban Roads (per direction)
Figure 5.5: Speed-Flow Relationship for Six-lane Divided Urban Roads (per direction)

Urban Roads
Figure 5.6: Speed-Flow Relationship for Eight-Lane Divided Urban Roads (per direction)
Figure 5.7: Speed-Flow Relationship for Ten-lane Divided Urban Roads (per direction)

Urban Roads
Table 5.4: Capacity and Recommended Design Service Volume of

Base Sections of Urban Roads
Capacity Lane Capacity Design Service

S. No. Typology of the Road
(PCUs/hr) (PCUs/hr) Volume (PCUs/hr)
1 Two-lane Undivided 2400 1200 1680
2 Four-lane Divided 5400 (2700) 1350 3780 (1890)
3 Six-lane Divided 8400 (4200) 1400 5880 (2940)
4 Eight-lane Divided 13600 (6800) 1700 9520 (4760)
5 Ten-lane Divided 20000 (10000) 2000 14000 (7000)
Note: The values in parenthesis / brackets represent PCUs per hour per direction’
It may be noted that the eight Lane and ten lane divided study sections considered in this
manual offers enhanced level of mobility due to the spacing between the signals / intersections
normally ranges between 1 to 3 km distance resulting in enhanced capacity. Therefore, the capacity
values proposed for the above class of roads i.e. eight lane and ten lane divided urban roads are
applicable for similar site conditions.
5.4.5 Operating Speed Model

Operating speed of vehicles measured on roadways is the critical component for a host of
analysis in the transportation field including transportation safety, roadway geometric design, etc.
Operating Speed has also been used for measurement of quality of roads, performance and level
of service. In this regard, the 85th percentile of the free flow speed of cars is used to establish the
operating speed. The relationship between lane capacity of candidate test sections and operating
speed is given as Equation 5.4 and presented in Figure 5.8.
CLane = 20.11*VOperating Speed + 210.8 Equation 5.4
Where,
CLane = Capacity per lane of divided urban road
VOperating Speed = Operating Speed in km/h
The above model is valid for base urban road sections only and the derived values are
presented in Table 5.5. The operating speed of standard cars in the urban midblock sections is found
to vary from 40 to 80 km/h and the equation is only valid up to the above speed range only. The
presence of Two / Three Axle Trucks (TATs), Multi Axle Trucks (MATs), Cycle Rickshaw (CY Rick)
and Animal Drawn Vehicles (ADV) do not have much influence on the operating speed due to their
insignificant proportion on urban roads of all the metropolitan cities of India.
Table 5.5: Lane Capacity of Divided Urban Roads based on Operating Speed
S.No. Operating Speed (km/h) Lane Capacity (PCU/h)

1. 55 1317
2. 60 1417
3. 65 1518
4. 70 1619
5. 75 1719

Urban Roads
Figure 5.8: Relationship between Lane Capacity (PCUs/h/lane) and Operating Speed
As such, the operating speed is found to vary with the functional use as well as the presence
of roadside friction [Mohan and Rao (2015) and Chandra et. al., (2016)]. This indicates that if any two
candidate road sections located at different locations / cities possess the identical road width, the
functional characteristics of the urban road i.e. arterial road or sub arterial road or Collector Street
dictates the operating speed. Eventually, the capacity would be low under low operating speed and
higher under higher operating speed. The analyst based on the operating speed prevalent on the
study section can derive the capacity using the above model presented in Equation 5.4. This implies
that based on the above relationship, the analyst need to collect data on the free speeds of standard
cars only (minimum sample size of 100 numbers.) for the candidate divided road section considered
so as to derive capacity.
5.4.6 Level of Service of Urban Roads

In general, it is an established fact that the term ‘capacity’ and ‘LOS’ will have a close
relationship. Capacity refers to the quantitative measure of road section and LOS represents the
qualitative measure of the road section [(Bhuyan and Rao 2010, 2011, Patel and Joshi, (2012)]. For
a given road facility, capacity can be constant whereas actual flow will be a varying parameter
depending on the time of the day. The objective of LOS is to relate the traffic service quality to a
given flow rate of traffic. It is a term that designates a range of operating conditions on a particular
type of facility. Speed has been considered as the principal factor affecting the LOS of an urban road
segment under ideal conditions. Stream speed has been considered as the basic parameter for the
estimation of LOS in the present study and Clustering technique has been used for grouping of the
speed data. The suggested LOS for the range of stream speed, Volume Capacity Ratio and percentage
of free flow speed are presented in Table 5.6 and Table 5.7 for two lane undivided and divided urban
roads respectively. As mentioned earlier, the data on free flow speed of vehicles for selected road
sections can be collected through videography or through any other techniques like pneumatic tube
or infrared methods.

Urban Roads
Table 5.6: LOS of Two lane Undivided Urban Roads based on

Stream speed, V/C Ratio and FFS
Level of Service Volume/Capacity Ratio Percentage of Free Flow Speed
LOS A < 0.35 > 89
LOS B 0.36 - 0.55 88 - 55
LOS C 0.56 - 0.70 54 - 21
LOS D 0.71 - 0.85 20 - 12
LOS E 0.86 - 1.00 11 - 6
LOS F > 1.00 <6
Table 5.7: LOS of Multilane Divided Urban Roads based on

Stream Speed, V/C Ratio and FFS
LOS Volume/Capacity Ratio Percentage of Free Flow Speed
LOS A < 0.15 > 84
LOS B 0.15 - 0.45 83 - 76
LOS C 0.46 - 0.75 75 - 59
LOS D 0.76 - 0.85 58 - 41
LOS E 0.86 - 1.00 40 - 22
LOS F > 1.00 < 22
A typical representation of traffic flow for varying LOS on a typical multilane divided urban
road is presented in Table 5.8.
Table 5.8: Typical Illustration of LOS of Urban Roads
LOS Description Illustration

Represents a condition of free flow. Individual drivers
are virtually unaffected by the presence of others in the
traffic stream. Freedom to select desired speeds and to
maneuver within the traffic stream is high. The general
LOS A
level of comfort and convenience provided to the road
users is excellent

Urban Roads
Represents a zone of stable flow, with the drivers still

having reasonable freedom to select their desired speed
and maneuver within the traffic stream. The level of
comfort and convenience provided is somewhat less
LOS B than the Level of Service A, because the presence of other
vehicles in the traffic stream begins to affect individual
behaviour.
This also is a zone of stable flow but marks the beginning

of the range of flow in which the operation of individual
drivers starts getting affected by interactions with
others in the traffic stream. The selection of speed is now
LOS C affected by the presence of others, and maneuvering
within the traffic stream requires vigilance on the part
of the user. The general level of comfort and convenience
starts declining at this level.
Represents the limit of stable flow, with conditions
approaching unstable flow. Due to high density, the
drivers are severely restricted in their freedom to
select desired speed and maneuver within the traffic
LOS D stream. The general level of comfort and convenience
is poor. Small increase in traffic flow will usually cause
operational problems at this level.

Represents operating conditions when traffic volumes
are at or close to the capacity level. The speeds are
reduced to a low, but relatively uniform value. Freedom
to maneuver within the traffic stream is extremely
difficult and is generally accomplished by forcing a
LOS E vehicle to give way to accommodate such manoeuver.
Level of comfort and convenience is extremely poor, and
driver’s frustration is generally high. Operations at this
level are usually unstable. Small increases in flow or
minor disturbances within the traffic stream will cause
breakdowns.
Represents zone of forced or breakdown flow. This
condition occurs when the amount of traffic approaching
a point exceeds the amount which can pass it. Queues form
behind such locations. Operations within the queue are
LOS F characterized by stop and go waves, which are extremely
unstable. Vehicles may progress at a reasonable speed
for several hundred meters and may then be required to
stop in a cyclic fashion. Due to high volumes, break-down
occurs, and long queues and delays result.

Urban Roads
5.4.7 Adjustment Factors

There are several factors that would have impact on traffic movement and on capacity as
compared to the base section. Roadside frictions are events that would have influence / impact on
traffic movement and as a result, it reduces the capacity as compared to the base section. It is also
defined as a composite variable describing the degree of interaction between the traffic flow and
activities on the Clear Zone and sometimes across or within the traveled way (Bang, 1995). The
factors considered in this manual for assessment of influence on capacity include on-street parking
maneuvers (Mohan Rao et. al, 2014, 2015); entry and exit of vehicles from access road and bus pull
in and pull out manoeuvers in bus bays as well as access points. The level of friction is categorized as
low, medium and severe based on the extent of resistance or speed reduction to the flow as compared
to base sections. Therefore, the capacity of the urban road section with side friction is computed
using Equation 5.5 and a brief on the same are presented in the succeeding sections.
C = C0 * FOP * FBS * FAC Equation 5.5
Where,
C = Actual Capacity (PCU/h)
C0 = Base Capacity for ideal condition (PCU/h)
FOP = Adjustment Factor for On-street parking
FBS = Adjustment Factor for Bus stops
FAC = Adjustment Factor for access point
5.4.7.1 Adjustment Factor On-street Parking

On-street parking and maneuvers from the road to parking space and from parking space to
road reduces the stream speed of traffic flow on the road and in capacity. The reduction in stream
speed and the adjustment factors evolved due to the level of parking intensity on the study sections
and the associated parking maneuvers in comparison to the base section which is free from on-street
parking activities are given in Table 5.9 and Table 5.10.
Table 5.9: On-street Parking Adjustment Factors based on Length of Road Occupation
Level of Intensity in terms of Percentage On-street Parking

S. No.
friction segment length occupied % reduction Adjustment factor
1 Low < 25 30 0.70
2 Medium 25 - 50 35 0.65
3 Severe > 50 60 0.40
Table 5.10: On-street Parking Adjustment Factors based on Manoeuvres per hour
Level of Intensity in terms of Percentage On-street Parking

S. No.
Friction manoeuver* per km per hour reduction Adjustment factor
1 Low ≤ 500 35 0.65
2 High > 500 60 0.40

*In calculating maneuvers parking in and parking out are considered as two maneuvers.

Urban Roads
Adjustment factors suggested in Table 5.8 are to be used when long term parking is observed
and the parking maneuvers are minimal, whereas the adjustment factors suggested in Table 5.9 are
to be used when short term parking is observed and the parking maneuvers are intense.
5.4.7.2 Adjustment Factor for Bus stops

In urban areas, there are two types of bus stops namely; kerbside bus stops i.e. which are
located on the travelled way itself and bus stops with bus bays.
It is a known fact that the kerb side bus stops reduce the effective road available for movement
of other vehicles in the traffic stream. The stream speed gets reduced due to deceleration of buses
which are about to stop / already stopped on main carriageway road and subsequent acceleration of
buses that had stopped resulting in capacity reduction.
At exclusive bus bays, the pulling in/out of the buses to the bus bays reduces the stream speed
of vehicles on the main carriageway resulting in capacity reduction of the road.
The level of friction offered is classified as low, medium and high and the adjustment factors
for the two types of bus stops studied are presented in Table 5.11.
Table 5.11: Adjustment Factors for Impedance to Traffic Flow at Bus stops
Type of Bus Frequency Percentage Adjustment

S.No. Level of Friction
Stop Bus/hour reduction factor
Low ≤30 20 0.80

1 Kerbside
High >30 40 0.60
Low ≤30 10 0.90

2 Bus Bay
High >30 20 0.80
5.4.7.3 Adjustment Factor for Access Points

Access to adjoining property, local streets and collector streets are a common feature
observed on urban roads of India. Though left turning to from the access roads is permitted, the
vehicle that enters and exits from / to the access roads reduces the stream speed of vehicles on the
road and eventually the capacity of many road sections. Hence, the adjustment factors accounting
for the number of vehicles entering and leaving the study section from / to access road are given in
Table 5.12.
Table 5.12: Adjustment Factors due to Presence of Access Point
Level of Total Vehicle Entry

S.No. Percentage reduction Adjustment Factor
Friction and Exit per hour
1 Low < 200 10 0.90
2 Medium 200 - 500 20 0.80
3 High > 500 30 0.70

Urban Roads

Example 5.5.1:
Two Six-lane divided urban road segments ‘A’ and ‘B’ carry peak hour traffic of 4004 vehicles
in a direction with composition of the vehicles as given in Table 5.13.
i) Find the LOS of the road section ‘A’, if the road section does not offer any friction to flow
ii) Find the LOS of the road section ‘B’ if a curbside bus stop is located in its midsection and
56 bus arrivals are observed per hour.
Table 5.13: Observed Classified Traffic Flow on the Six Lane Divided Urban Segment
Vehicle Type Flow (Vehicles/h
Motorized Traffic
Two Wheeler 1441
Auto rickshaw 379
Car 1985
Mini Bus 44
Bus 56
Light Commercial Vehicle 15
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 42
Bicycles 21
Cycle Rickshaws 21
Solution:
1. Flow Estimation in PCUS: (using Method-1: Dynamic PCUs)
PCU values are taken from Table 5.3 for 6 lane divided road.
Vehicle Type Flow (veh/h) PCU Value PCU/h
Motorized Traffic
Two Wheeler 1441 0.21 303
Auto rickshaw 379 0.83 315
Car 1985 1.00 1985
Mini Bus 44 2.16 101
Bus 56 4.60 258
Light Commercial Vehicle 15 2.30 35
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 42 3.90 164
Bicycles 21 0.46 10
Cycle Rickshaws 21 2.04 43
Total flow of the road section in PCUs
= (1441*0.21)+(379*0.83)+(1985*1)+(44*2.16)+(56*4.60)+(15*2.30)+
(42*3.90) + (21*0.46) + (21*2.04) = 3153 PCUs/h.

Urban Roads
2. Flow Estimation in PCUS: (Method 2 using Stream Equivalency Factor Model)

Use Stream Equivalency Factor model (vide Equation 5.2) to calculate flow in PCUs/hour
Se = 1 - 0.77 PTW – 0.28 PAuto + 0.53 PLCV + 2.60 PBus + 1.83 P HV - 0.66 PNMT + 12.71(1/N)
Vehicle Type Flow (Vehicles/h) % of composition
Two Wheeler 1441 36
Auto rickshaw 379 9.5
Car 1985 49.6
Mini Bus 44 1.1
Bus 56 1.4
Light Commercial Vehicle 15 0.4
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 42 1
Bicycles 21 0.5
Cycle Rickshaws 21 0.5
Se = 1- 0.77*0.360 - 0.28*0.095 + 0.53*(0.011+0.004) +2.60*0.014 +

1.83*(0.010) - 0.66*(0.005+0.005) +12.71*(1/4004)
Se = 0.755
Volume by Stream Equivalency Factor (0.755*4004) = 3023 PCUs/h.
3. Determination of Base Capacity
i) Section ‘A’
Capacity of the six lane divided road section ‘A’ (Refer Table 5.3) = 4200 PCUs/h
i) Section ‘B’
Type of Side friction = Kerbside Bus Stop
Number of bus Arrivals = 56/hour
Capacity of section = Base Capacity x Adjustment factor for side friction
= 4200*0.6 = 2520 PCUs/hour
4. Determination of LOS:
i) Section ‘A’
V/C Ratio = 3023/4200 = 0.72
LOS for the given section ‘A’ based on Table 7 is LOS-C.
ii) Section ‘B’
V/C ratio = 3023/2520 = > 1.0
LOS of the road section ‘B’ based on Table 7 is LOS-F.

Urban Roads
Example 5.5.2:
An eight-lane divided road, with signal spacing more than 1.5 km, carries a peak hourly flow
of 5987 vehicles in each direction carrying the traffic composition presented in Table 5.14.
Table 5.14: Observed Classified Traffic Flow on Eight Lane Divided Urban Segment
Vehicle Type Flow (Veh/hour)

Two Wheeler 2640
Auto 858
Car 2239
Mini Bus 11
Bus 81
LCV 120
Multi Axle Trucks/Vehicles (MAV) 12
Tractor with Trailer (TT) 16
Determine the LOS of the road section if the section does not have any side friction.
Solution:
1. Estimation of Flow in PCUs: (using Dynamic PCU)
Adopting the appropriate PCU values provided in Table 5.1 and Table 5.2, the total flow of the
given 8 Lane Divided road segment is computed as given under:
Vehicle Type Flow (Veh/h) PCU Value PCU/h

Three Wheeler 858 0.96 824
Car 2239 1.00 2239
Mini Bus 11 2.61 29
Bus 81 4.60 373
LCV 120 2.38 286
Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 10 3.90 39
Tractor with Trailer (TT) 16 5.88 94
Total flow of the road section in PCUs = (2640*0.24) + (858*0.96) + (2239*1) + (11*2.61) +
(81*4.60) +(120*2.38) + (10*3.90) + (12*5.90) + (16*5.88)
= 5228 PCUs/h.

Urban Roads
2. Determination of Base Capacity

Base Capacity of 8 Lane divided road (Refer Table 5.3) = 6800 PCUs/h
V/C Ratio = 5228/6800 = 0.77
LOS of the study section based on Table 5.6 is LOS D.
Example 5.5.3
An urban road is to be constructed to cater to a peak hour one directional flow of 2131 vehicles
with the traffic composition presented in Table 5.15. The overall traffic is expected to grow at 6 % per
annum. Find the width of road required if the road section is to serve for a period of 5 years.
Table 5.15: Estimated Traffic Flow on the Proposed Corridor
Vehicle Type Flow (veh/h)

Two Wheeler 900
Auto 140
Car 810
Mini Bus 18
Bus 68
Light Commercial Vehicle 180
TAT 15
Solution:
1. Flow Estimation: (using Dynamic PCU)
PCU values are taken from Table 5.1 as the width of road is unknown. During the planning of
new road link, it is prudent to determine the required width of road. In this regard, PCU derived and
presented in Table 5.2 may be used to determine the requisite road width and typology.
Vehicle Type Flow (veh/h) PCU Value PCU/h

Auto 140 0.90 126
Car 810 1.00 810
Mini Bus 18 2.07 37
Bus 68 4.60 313
Light Commercial Vehicle 180 2.38 428
TAT 15 3.90 59

Urban Roads
Flow in PCUs = ( 900*0.22) + (140*0.90) + (810*1) + (18*2.07) + ((68*4.60) +

(180*2.38) + (15*3.22)
= 1971 PCUs/hr/direction.
Projected traffic at end of 5 years = 1971*(1+0.06)5= 2638 PCUs / hour/direction.
2. Determination of Road width
Road Width required to carry 2638 PCUs/ hour/ direction at Level of Service ‘C’ i.e., Design
Service Volume is Six Lane divided road. (This is derived based on Table 5.4. Design Service Volume
for Four lane divided is 1890 PCUs/h/direction whereas six lane divided is 2940 PCUs/hour/direction).
Example 5.5.4
An urban four lane divided road is expected to carry 1068 vehicles per hour per direction
during the peak hours after 5 years. Estimate the additional traffic that can be diverted to the section
per direction for a desirable LOS ‘C’. The composition of the traffic is given in Table 5.16.
Table 5.16: Estimated Traffic Flow on the Four Lane Divided Urban Segment
Vehicle Type Flow (veh/hour)
Motorized Traffic
Two Wheeler 369
Auto 168
Car 236
Bus 58
Mini Bus 20
LCV 78
Multi Axle Trucks/Vehicles (MAT) 75
Tractor Trailer Combination 2
Bicycle 25
Cycle Rickshaw 12

Urban Roads
Solution:
1. Estimation of Flow in PCUs: (using Dynamic PCUs)
PCU values are taken from Table 5.2 for four lane divided road.
Vehicle Type Flow (veh/h) PCU PCUs/h
Motorized Traffic
Auto 168 0.80 134
Car 236 1.00 236
Bus 58 4.58 266
Mini Bus 20 2.29 42
LCV 78 2.28 179
TAT 25 3.80 95
MAT 75 5.10 380
Tractor Trailer Combination 2 5.38 11
Bicycle 25 0.39 10
Cycle Rickshaw 12 2.04 29
Total Total 1459
Flow anticipated after 5 years per direction=1459 PCUs/h. (vide Table 5.11)
Flow that can be carried for LOS C (Design Service Volume)=1890 PCUs/hr/direction (From Table 5.4)
Additional traffic that could be carried for desirable LOS ‘C’ = 1890-1457
= 433 PCUs/hr/direction

Urban Roads
REFERENCES
1. A Mohan Rao, Arpita Chakraborty and Velmurugan. S, (2014), “Application of GIS for Identification
and Impact Evaluation of Road Side Friction Points on Urban Traffic Speeds” Indian Geo Spatial
Forum 2014, 05-07 February 2014, Hyderabad.
2. A Mohan Rao, Velmurugan.S, and Laxmi P., (2015), “Evaluation of Impact of Road Side Friction
on Capacity of Urban Arterials - A Case Study of Delhi”, A paper published and presented at the
World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR), Shanghai.
3. A. Mohan Rao and Ramachandra Rao. K., (2015), “Free speed modeling for urban arterials - a
case study on Delhi” by in the Periodica Polytechnica Transportation Engineering 43 (3) ISSN:
1587-3811, pp. 111-119.
4. Bhuyan, P.K. and Krishna Rao, K.V. (2010), “FCM Clustering Using GPS Data for Defining Level of
Service Criteria of Urban Streets in Indian Context” Transport Problems, 5(4).
5. Bhuyan, P.K. and Krishna Rao, K.V. (2011), “Defining Level of Service criteria of urban streets in
Indian context” European Transport Vol. 49, pp. 38-52.
6. Chandra, S. and Dhamaniya, A. (2014), “Capacity Drop of Urban Arterial due to a Kerbside Bus
Stop” ICSCI 2014 © ASCE India Section, Oct 17 - 18, 2014, Hitex, Hyderabad, Telengana, India.
7. CHCM (1999), “China Highway Capacity Manual” National Highway Project of the People’s
Republic of China.
8. CRRI (1988), “Capacity of Roads in Urban Areas”, A project sponsored by Ministry of Surface
Transport, Govt. of India.
9. Dave Darshan Dilip, A. Mohan Rao, S. Velmurugan, Manish P. Jain (2015), “Estimation of Dynamic
Passenger Car Units for Vehicles Plying on Urban Roads” 2015, 2015, RATE 2015, SVNIT
10. Dhamaniya, A. and Chandra, S. (2013), “Concept of Stream Equivalency Factor for Heterogeneous
Traffic on Urban Arterial Roads” Journal of Transportation Engineering, ASCE, DOI: 10.1061/
TE.1943-5436.0000581
11. HCM. (2000), “HCM 2000: Highway Capacity Manual”, .Special Report No. 209, 4th Edition,
12. HCM. (2010), “HCM 2010: Highway Capacity Manual”, .Special Report No. 209, 5th Edition,
13. Gayathri H., Kalaanidhi S., Gunasekaran K., and Velmurugan S., (2015), “Capacity Estimation of
Urban Roads Carrying Mixed Traffic in Chennai”, National Conference on Transportation Young
Researchers Symposium (TYRES 2015), NIT Warangal.
14. IHCM (1993), “Indonesian Highway Capacity Manual”, Directorate General of Highways Ministry
of Public Works.
15. IRC: 106 (1990), “Guidelines for Guidelines for Capacity of Urban Roads in Plain Areas”, Indian
Roads Congress, New Delhi.
16. Karl. Bang, (1995), “Impact of side friction on Speed - Flow Relationships for Rural and Urban
Highways”. Indonesian HCM Studies, SWEROAD Indonesia.
17. Patel, C.R. and Joshi, G.J. (2012), “Capacity and LOS for urban arterial road in India mixed traffic
condition” Transport Research Arena – Europe 2012, Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences
48 (2012) pp 527 – 534.

Urban Roads
18. Satish Chandra, Kumar, V. and Sikdar, P. K., Dynamic (1995), “PCU and Estimation of Capacity of
Urban Roads”, Indian Highways, Volume 23(4), 1995, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
19. Satish Kumar, A. Mohan Rao, and Velmurugan. S, (2016), “Capacity estimation for Four lane ideal
urban roads in mixed traffic condition”, A paper presented and published at the International
Conference Transportation Planning Methodologies for Developing Countries (TPMDC),
Mumbai.
20. Satish Kumar, A. Mohan Rao, and Velmurugan. S, (2016), “Traffic operating speed modelling for
urban roads under heterogeneous traffic conditions” TPMDC 2016.
21. Umesh Shroff, A. Mohan Rao, and Velmurugan. S, (2014), “Estimation of Four Land urban Arterial
capacity”, A paper presented and published at the Colloquium on Transportation Systems
Engineering And Management May 12-13, 2014; NIT Calicut.
22. Umesh Shroff, A. Mohan Rao, S. Velmurugan, and C.S. R.K. Prasad (2014), “Characterization of
Heterogeneity for varying widths of Urban roads in India”, National Conference on Transportation
Young Researchers Symposium (TYRES 2014), NIT Warangal.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Bhuyan, P.K. and Krishna Rao, K.V. (2012),“Defining LOS criteria of urban streets using GPS
data: k-means and k-medoid clustering in the Indian context”, European Transport, DOI:
10.3846/16484142.2012.692354; Vol 27(2), pp. 149 - 157.
2. HCM. (1965), “HCM -1965, Highway Capacity Manual”, .Special Report No. 209, 2nd Edition,

Urban Roads
ANNEXURE 5A: VEHICLE TYPES ON

INDIAN URBAN ROADS
The vehicle types that are witnessed on Indian urban roads and their dimensions are given
in Table 5A.1.
Table 5A.1: Vehicle Types on the Urban Roads of India and their Average Dimensions
Vehicle Type Length (m) Width (m) Projected Area (sq m)

Motorized Traffic
Two-Wheeler (TW) 1.87 0.64 1.20
#
Auto rickshaw (Auto) (Three and Four
Wheeled Rickshaws including electric 3.20 1.40 4.48
rickshaws)
Standard Car (SC)* 3.72 1.44 5.36
Big Car (BC)* 4.58 1.77 8.11
Mini Bus (MB) 6.00 2.43 14.58

Bus (B) 10.10 2.43 24.54
$
Articulated Bus (AB) 18.00 2.60 46.8
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) 6.10 2.10 12.81

Two / Three Axle Truck (TAT) 7.50 2.35 17.63
Multi Axle Trucks/Vehicles (MAT) 12.10 2.44 29.52
Tractor with Trailer (TT) 7.40 2.20 16.28
Bicycles (C) 1.90 0.45 0.86
Cycle Rickshaw (CY) 2.66 1.16 3.09
Animal Drawn Vehicle (ADV) 5.50 1.75 9.63
# Quantum of electric or e- rickshaws is insignificant in all the candidate road sections.

* The share of small car and big cars in the traffic stream has been enumerated separately at the start of
the study. However, it has been noted during the course of the analysis of the candidate study sections
spread across the country that as far as urban roads are concerned, the maneuverability and speed of
standard / small and big cars are quite similar despite the larger size of the latter. Due to the observed
phenomenon, it is felt prudent not to evolve separate PCUs for small and big cars. Therefore, it has
been felt prudent to consider the cars together by accounting for the weighted average area of small
cars as well as big cars based on their presence in the traffic stream on the candidate road sections.
$ The proportion of Articulated Buses Animal Drawn Vehicles are negligible on all candidate urban road
sections considered in this manual.

Urban Roads
ANNEXURE 5B: PARAMETERS FOR SELECTION OF BASE

TEST SECTIONS OF URBAN ROADS
The parameters considered for the selection of base test sections across varying widths of
urban roads are given in Table 5B.1.
Table 5B.1: Parameters for Selection of Base Test Sections of Urban Roads
Parameter Value Remarks
Classification is based on the width of the road rather than the
function of the road.
 Undivided Roads
1. Roads with paved road width from 6.0 to 11 m –
However, covered only road widths greater than 7.0 m
in the Indo-HCM study due to time and resource issues.
 Divided Roads
As per 1. Roads with 7.0 m wide paved road in each direction
Type of Road
Facility [Four-lane Divided (FLD)].
2. Roads with 10.5 m wide paved road in each direction
[Six-lane Divided (SLD)].
[Eight-lane Divided (ELD)]
[Ten-lane Divided (TeLD)]
Note: Minor variations in the widths up to ±0.5 m are permissible
Sight Distance >300 m 250 m to 300 m
Plain Up to 15m/km
15 - 25 m/km
Rolling
Terrain (No test sections selected under this category in Indo - HCM)
Mountainous > 25 m/km
and Steep (No test sections selected under this category in Indo - HCM)
Side Friction Low -
Road Side -
Negligible
Land use
Traffic Flow Split –
50/50 -
Undivided roads
Roughness < 3 IRI -
Traffic Control
Good Good Signs, Road Markings and Street lighting.
Devices
If paved Shoulder width is provided beyond the road edge with
1.5 m to
Shoulders delineation i.e. Road marking, the section is considered under
2.0 m
Adjustment Factor (AF) category only i.e. Non-Ideal.
No
At any distance from the upstream intersection, formation of
Traffic Condition Platooning
platooning should in no way affect the behaviour of traffic.
Effect

Urban Roads
ANNEXURE 5C: DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY
Figure 5C.1: Typical Layout of a Study Section
Data collection has been carried out at 57 urban mid-block sections through videographic
technique. The video camera installation has been done either on the adjacent high- rise buildings so
as to cover trap length of 60 to 75 metres of the mid-block section or alternatively using a pneumatic
mast (Fi7gure 5C.1 and Figure 5C.2). Traffic cones or adhesive tapes have been used to demarcate
the boundaries of the section i.e. trap length before the start of the survey. Subsequently, cones have
been removed to avoid the driver distraction. The video recording has been performed generally for
8 hours covering both morning and evening peak periods. The video data has been transferred to the
computer and the trap length has been demarcated with the aid of multimedia software for ease of
data extraction.
Figure 5C.2: Typical View of one of the Base Section Selected for Data Collection

Urban Roads
ANNEXURE 5D: DATA EXTRACTION METHOD ADOPTED

A customized semi automatic software tool has been developed for data extraction. Due to the
above feature, manual assistance has been sought during the course of data extraction (Figure 5D.1)
to extract vehicle count, speed and composition. The video records, with the boundary of sections
drawn, have been loaded in the extraction software and the time taken to enter and exit the section,
by each subject vehicle type has been recorded. The classified volume count and speed of the vehicles
for 5 minute time period have been stored for further analysis.
Figure 5D.1: Screenshot of Software used for Data Extraction

Urban Roads
ANNEXURE 5E: DATA ANALYSIS

5E.1 DATA PREPARATION
The classified volume count for 5 minute period has been extrapolated to hourly flow and
expressed as vehicles per hour. The stream speed for the corresponding 5 minute period has been
calculated with space mean speed (SMS) formula and not with Time Mean Speed (TMS) formula:
Time mean stream speed (ut) is the arithmetic mean of the speed of all vehicles included in the
analysis time period. It is given by Equation 5E.1.
Equation 5E.1
Where,
1/n is the total number of vehicles counted in the analysis period, and
ti is the time taken by ith vehicle to travel the trap length D.
Space Mean Speed (us) is calculated on the basis of the average travel time of N vehicles to traverse
the trap length ‘D’ using Equation 5E.2.
Equation 5E.2
SMS is related with TMS through the relationship based on the established literature given in
Equation 5E.3.
Equation 5E.3
Where,
Ut is the average TMS of a traffic stream
Us is the average SMS of a traffic stream.
In traffic flow analysis, it is prudent to use SMS only for the development of the relationship
between Speed - Flow and hence it is designated by letter ‘V’ in this manual and referred accordingly.
Moreover, density has been estimated by dividing the flow rate by space mean speed of traffic stream
during the corresponding time interval. The traffic parameters viz., flow rate, stream speed and
density have been computed for the total width of the road rather lane wise, as lane discipline is not
practiced/observed to the desired level in India.
5E.2 PCU Estimation

Passenger Car Units (PCUs) of the vehicles plying on urban roads have been determined using
Dynamic PCU formula as proposed by Chandra and Sikdar (2000). The formula used to determine the
PCU value of the subject vehicle is given in Equation 5E.4. The speed of the subject vehicle and car are
the harmonic mean of the speed values observed for the subject vehicle and car for the corresponding
period.
PCUi = (Vi/Vc)/(Ai/Ac) Equation. 5E.4
Where,
Vi = Speed of Subject Vehicle
Vc = Speed of Small Car
Ai = Plan Area of Subject Vehicle
Ac = Plan Area of Car

Urban Roads
PCU values for observed vehicle types have been determined for all 5 minute periods
considering the candidate road sections. It has been noted during the course of videography surveys
and analysis of the candidate study sections spread across the country that as far as urban roads are
concerned, the maneuverability and speed of small and big cars are quite similar despite the larger
size of the latter. Due to the observed phenomenon, it is felt prudent not to evolve separate PCUs for
Small (Standard Car) and Big Car. On the other hand, it has been decided to consider the cars together
by accounting for the weighted average area of small cars, and big cars (determined as 6.19 sq m)
based on their presence in the traffic stream for a given road section and this analogy, has been used
for the computation of dynamic PCUs for cars. The standard area used for the estimation of Passenger
Car Unit is already discussed in Table 5.A.1. The estimated dynamic PCU values for different road
types categorized based on the road width and observed traffic flows conforming to vehicle types are
furnished separately for Two-lane undivided, Four-lane divided, Six-lane divided, eight lanes and ten
lanes divided roads in Table 5.2 and Table 5.3 respectively in the main section of this chapter.
5E.3 DETERMINATION OF STREAM EQUIVALENCY FACTOR (Se)

The wide variety of vehicles present in a typical mixed traffic stream and diversity in their size
and speed over a wide range make it extremely complex to study traffic behaviour and operations at
roadways under prevailing traffic conditions in India. As mentioned earlier, the mixed traffic flow is
often converted to equivalent flow in passenger car units (PCUs) by multiplying the number of each
category of vehicles in the traffic stream by their respective PCU factors and then adding them up.
However, the estimation of PCUs is a complex phenomenon and depends on a multitude of factors.
Considering the above, an alternative novel method has been proposed in this manual
to convert the mixed traffic stream prevalent in India into a homogeneous equivalent, thereby
eliminating the need to employ dynamic PCU factors for arriving at the roadway capacity. Traffic
volume and speed data collected on varying widths of roads have been analyzed to determine Stream
Equivalency Factor (Se ) values for different vehicle types found on these roads. SEF denoted by the
term ‘ Se ‘ devised by Dhamaniya and Chandra (2015) is deployed in this manual. These Se values can
be used to convert heterogeneous traffic volume in vehicles per hour to homogeneous volume in
PCUs per hour. It is the ratio of traffic volume in PCU per hour and volume in vehicles per hour as
given in Equation 5E.5.
Equation 5E.5
As such, the Se factor proposed in the manual is related to traffic composition and volume on
the road and, is estimated through the regression analysis method. The inherent advantage of this
method is that it is simple to use and moreover it eliminates the need to deploy the PCU factors which
is a bone of contention due to their traffic heterogeneity observed on Indian roads. Consequently, a
generalized equation relating Se factor with the composition of traffic stream and traffic volume has
been formulated using the multiple linear regression methods.
5E.4 SPEED - FLOW RELATIONSHIP

The relationship between stream speed and flow rate in PCUs/h is used to determine
the capacity of the roadway. Greenshield’s model is used to estimate the capacity of urban roads.
Greenshields theory behind the speed – flow relationship is that if the flow rate is low, the driver
have the freedom to drive the vehicle at its own maximum capable speed. As the flow rate increases,
the vehicles tend to follow the vehicles and cannot drive at its maximum capable speed. The general
shape of speed – flow relationship is shown in Figure 5E.1.

Urban Roads
The capacity of the roadway is achieved at the critical speed (VC) and is the maximum possible
flow rate at the section.
Figure 5E.1: General Shape of Speed-Flow Curve
5E.5 DEVELOPMENT OF LANE CAPACITY - OPERATING SPEED MODEL

Operating speed of vehicles measured on roadways is a critical component for a host of
analysis in the transportation field including transportation safety, roadway geometric design, etc.
Operating Speed has also been used by the road engineers for the measurement of roads quality,
performance and service. Operating speed is the speed at which drivers operate their vehicles under
Free Flow Speed (FFS) conditions. Generally, FFS is measured during low traffic conditions wherein
the headway distribution is 8 seconds or more (AASHTO, 2004). Hence, FFS is the average speed of
the traffic stream when traffic volumes are sufficiently low that the drivers are not influenced by the
presence of other vehicles in the traffic stream and when intersection traffic control is not present or
is sufficiently distant as to have no effect on speed choice (HCM, 2010). The 85th percentile of the free
speed of cars is the operating speed.
Out of the study locations, 24 candidate test sections have been only selected for the
development of Lane Capacity - Operating Speed model due to the fact that these road sections
exhibited variations in proportions of different vehicle types and road width.
The estimated capacity of candidate test sections based on dynamic PCUs (Chandra, et al,
2003) is plotted against the operating speed as shown in Figure 5.7. By deriving the relationship
between the operating speed and capacity, analyst can easily determine the capacity by collecting
FFS data and thus derive the operating speed which can be eventually used to estimate the capacity.
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis has been performed by considering Lane Capacity as dependent
Variable and Operating Speed as the independent variable.
5E.6 PROCEDURE TO DETERMINE LEVEL OF SERVICE

Since capacity is used to refer the quantitative measure of road section whereas LOS represents
the qualitative measure of the road section. For a given road or facility, capacity could be constant
whereas actual flow will be a varying parameter depending on the time of the day. The objective of LOS
is to relate the traffic service quality to a given flow rate of traffic. It is a term that designates a range
of operating conditions on a particular type of facility. Speed has been considered as the principal
factor affecting the LOS of an urban road segment under ideal conditions. Clustering technique is

Urban Roads
used in this study for the grouping of the data. The parameter such as average travel speed has been
employed in HCM (2000) whereas Chetan and Joshi, (2012) in their study used Volume by Capacity.
Stream speed is considered as the basic parameter for the estimation of LOS in the present study.
For calculating the Level of Service of urban roads, the Speed-Flow data of undivided and
divided sections of the urban roads have been taken at the aggregate level. The speed ranges have
been computed for each cluster. After getting the speed ranges, the Volume to capacity ratio has
been calculated. It divides the quality of traffic into six levels ranging from level A to level F. LOS A
represents the best quality of traffic where the driver has the freedom to drive with free flow speed
and LOS F represents the worst quality of traffic.
5E.7 ADJUSTMENTS FOR FRICTION PARAMETERS

Urban roads are the location of high intensity activities. Urban areas are designed in such a
way that traffic can have ease of access to arterial roads, through a network of local, collector and
sub-arterial streets. The roadside activities and the street openings of urban road network interact
with the flow of traffic on urban roads. The impedance to the flow of traffic along the urban road due
to various parameters is known as the friction factors to highway capacity. The base / ideal sections
of the urban roads are expected to be devoid of any form of roadside frictions located on plain terrain
having good riding quality. The urban road section which fails to satisfy the criteria of a base section
is known to be road section with some form of friction and hence considered for the quantification
of Adjustment Factor. The frictional aspects affect the smooth flow of traffic and the speed of the
traffic is considerably reduced. The capacity values of such sections are less compared with the base
sections. To estimate the capacity of these road sections, adjustment factors are introduced in this
manual which can be multiplied with the capacity of the base section of the respective road category.
The influence of the following friction parameters is dealt with.
• On-Street Parking
• Bus stops
• Access points
The levels of friction offered due to these parameters are classified into three levels, viz.,
low, moderate and high. Adjustment factors for each of these friction levels, in an urban context, are
suggested in this chapter.
On sections identified with the presence of friction, the traffic data collection has been done
through videography (flow and speed) coupled with the enumeration of the friction parameters
present on the study section. A typical data collection arrangement for selecting and planning data
collection for study sections having friction parameters is shown in Figure 5E.2. Typical sections
having kerbside Bus Stops, Bus bays, on-street parking, and access roads are shown in Figure 5E.3.
At the same time, dynamic friction data has been collected using videography over the entire length
of the section extending up to a minimum of 100 m in both directions of travel. The roadside friction
survey results have been transcribed from the field data sheets for further analysis. The stream speed
up to LOS-C and LOS-D at a section without side friction and with side friction has been compared
to estimate the adjustment factor. The results of this analysis have been used to adjust (normalize)
the speed observation for each of the test sections to account for the differences between candidate
test sections due to the presence of roadside friction and the base sections without friction. The
adjustments during the normalization process have been made to establish the adjustment factors for
the friction parameters based on the capacity established for base and non-base sections i.e. sections
with the above types of friction factors.

Urban Roads
Figure 5E.2: Data Collection Arrangement at Study Sections with Side Friction
Figure 5E.3: Typical Layout of Study Sections with various Types of Roadside Friction

Chapter 6:
Signalized Intersections

Regional Coordinator and
CSIR-CRRI Team
Team Members
Sh. Subhash Chand, Principal Scientist, Work Package Leader, Prof. K.V. Krishna Rao, IIT
Traffic Engineering and Safety (TES) Division, CSIR – CRRI Bombay, RC
Dr. Neelam J Gupta, Principal Scientist,

Work Package Leader, TES Division, CSIR – CRRI
Team Members
Sh. Ramesh Chandra Majhi Prof. Tom V Mathew,

TES Division, CSIR - CRRI IIT Bombay
Sh. Rajan Verma, Technical Assistant Prof. P. Vedagiri,

Sh. Aniket Ranjan, Technician Prof. Gopal R. Patil,

Sh. Daleep Mutreja

M.Tech Students
Mr. Nimesh Kumar

Mr. Ani K.S.
Mr. Vishnu Vardhan B. V. J
Ms. Minu Raju
Mr. Shubham Sehgal
Students pursued their Thesis @ IIT Bombay

Ph.D. Students
Ms. Anna Charly (Ongoing) Ms. Neha Shirbhate (Ongoing)
Mr. Aniket Kataware (Ongoing) Mr. Sreekumar M (Ongoing)
Ms. Remya K Padinjarapat (Ongoing) Ms. Darshana Othayoth (Ongoing)
Dr. Digvijay S Pawar Dr. Caleb Ronald Munigety
Dr. Mariasamy Nathan S
M.Tech. Students and Project Staff

Mr. Abhijeet Ostawal Ms. Alakananda Sen
Mr. Abhishek Kumar Singh Mr. Chetan Yerane
Mr. Adil Nawaz Mr. Dheeraj Sawant
Mr. Aditya Sohoni Mr. Kamalapuram Sravya
Mr. Aditya Kumar Parsai Mr. Mariam Thomas
Ms. Maripini Himabindu Mr. Pijush Kanti Sarkar
Mr. Palaniappan S Mr. Ramesh Chandra Majhi
Mr. Rohan Joshi Mr. Rohan Shetkar
Mr. Siddhartha Gulhare Mr. Srinivas Thadoju
Ms. Sushmita Rai Ms. Vannur Swamy
Mr. Vishal Konbattulwar Mr. Vivek V (Project Staff)
Ms. Hemangi Satve (Project Staff)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the following organizations for permitting data collection and support:
1. Director, P. N. Shidore Civil Engineers (I) Pvt. Ltd., Kalyan (W) 421301, Maharashtra – for their
services in the collection of topographic data of intersections.
2. Metropolitan Commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)
3. Managing Director, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd. (MSRDC)
4. Municipal Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM)
5. Joint Commissionaire of Police, Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP)
6. Executive Engineer, MSRDC Ltd., Pune.
7. City Engineer, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC)
8. Executive Engineer, PWD, Satara Division. Mahabaleshwar
9. Chief General Manager and Regional Officer, Mumbai. National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI).
10. Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, New Delhi
11. Superintendent of Police, Traffic, NOIDA
12. Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Lucknow.
13. Last but the least, the tertiary contributions of the following Ph.D. students of IIT, Bombay
namely, Ms. Nidhi Goel, Ms. Suman Dash, Mr. Ayyanna Habal, Mr. Pabin Kumar Ashish, Ms.
Pushpa Choudhary, Mr. Bharat Kumar Pathivada, Mr. Jithin Raj, Mr. Suprabeet Dutta, Mr. Tushar
Choudhary and Mr. Sushma Prusty during data collection phase is gratefully acknowledged.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
List of Figures vii
List of Tables viii
List of Abbreviations ix
6.1 INTRODUCTION 1
6.3 BASE INTERSECTION 3
6.5 METHODOLOGY 4
6.5.1 Input Parameters 5
6.5.2 Geometric Characteristics 5
6.5.4 Control Characteristics 8
6.6 ESTIMATION OF SATURATION FLOW 9
6.6.1 Adjustment Factor for Bus Blockage 10
Adjustment Factor for Blockage by

6.6.2 10
Standing Right-turn Vehicles
6.6.3 Adjustment Factor for the Initial Surge of Vehicles 11
6.7 CAPACITY AND v/c RATIO 12
6.7.1 Capacity 12
6.7.2 Volume to Capacity Ratio 12

6.8 DELAY ESTIMATION 13
6.8.1 Control Delay Model 13
6.8.2 Intersection Delay 14
6.9 ESTIMATION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE 14
6.9.1 LOS Based on Control Delay 14
6.9.2 LOS Based on Volume Capacity Ratio (v/c) 15
6.10.1 Estimation of Capacity of an Intersection 16
Estimation of Capacity of intersection with

6.10.2 19
Exclusive Right Phase
REFERENCES 23
Annexure 6A: FIELD DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY 25
Annexure 6B: FIELD MEASUREMENT OF SATURATION FLOW 26
Annexure 6C: DETAILS OF PCU AND

28
SATURATION FLOW ESTIMATION MODEL
6C.1 Typical Discharge Pattern 28
6C.2 Optimization Model 28
6C.3 Saturation Flow Model for Base Intersection 29
Annexure 6D: FIELD MEASUREMENT OF STOPPED DELAY AND ITS

31
CONVERSION TO CONTROL DELAY
Annexure 6E: DETAILS OF CALIBRATION OF CONTROL DELAY MODEL 33
6E.1 Delays at Signalized Intersection 33
6E.2 Stopped Delay to Control Delay Conversion Factor 33
6E.3 Calibration of Control Delay Estimation Model 34

Annexure 6F: DETAILS OF USER PERCEIVED SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION LOS 37
6F.1 General Guidelines 37
6F.2 User Perception Survey 37
Annexure 6G: DETAILS OF ADJUSTMENT FACTORS 41
6G.1 Introduction 41
6G.2 Adjustment Factor for Bus Blockage 41
6G.3 Adjustment for Blockage by Standing Right-Turn Vehicles 41
6G.4 Adjustment Factor for Initial Surge of Vehicles 41

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
Methodology for Estimation of Capacity and LOS for a

6.1 4
Signalized Intersection
6.2 Line Sketch of the Example: 6.9.1 Intersection 16
6.3 Line Sketch of the Example: 6.9.2 Intersection 19
6A.1 Camera Position Arrangement for Data Collection 25
6C.1 Typical Discharge Pattern for 30 Signal Cycles at an Approach 28
6C.2 Relation between Unit Base Saturation Flow and Approach Width 30
6E.1 Illustration of various delay measures 33
Correlation between the Observed and the

6E.2 36
Calibrated Delay Model Estimates
6F.1 Classification of perceived waiting time into LOS categories 40
6G.1 Discharge profile during Green with Initial Surge of Vehicles 42

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
6.1 Input Parameters 5
6.2 Vehicle Types 6
6.3 Passenger Car Unit Values for Signalized Intersection 7
6.4 Combination of Movements at Signalized Intersection 8
6.5 Adjustment factor for Initial Surge of Vehicles 11
6.6 Saturation Flow Adjustment Factors 12
6.7 LOS based on Delay Criteria for Signalized Intersections 15
6.8 LOS based on v/c Ratio Criteria for Signalized Intersections 15
Geometric, Traffic and Control Characteristics of

6.9 16
Example: 6.9.1 Intersection
6.10 Phase Plan of Example: 6.9.1 Intersection 17
6.11 Estimation of Intersection Capacity 18
6.12 Estimation of Level of Service 19
Geometric, Traffic and Control Characteristics of the

6.13 20
Candidate Intersection
6.14 Phase Plan of Example: 6.9.2 Intersection 20
6.15 Capacity estimation of the illustrated example 21
6.16 Level of Service Estimation 22
6B.1 Sample Data Sheet for Field Measurement of Saturation Flow 27
6C.1 Minimum and Maximum Values for PCU 29
6D.1 Sample Stopped Delay Count Sheet 31
6F.1 Table 6F.1: User Perception Survey at Signalized Intersections 38
Average Bus blockage time based on land use type: User Perception
6G.1 41
Survey at Signalized Intersections

Ci Capacity of movement group ‘i’ in PCU/hour
dA Average control delay of approach A (in sec/PCU)
di Average control delay for movement group ‘i’ (in sec/PCU)
ds Average stopped delay in seconds per PCU
fbb Adjustment factor for bus blockage due to curb side bus stop
Adjustment factor for blockage of through vehicles by standing right turning
fbr
vehicles waiting for their turn
Adjustment factor for initial surge of vehicles due to approach flare and
fis
anticipation effect
gi Effective green time for movement group ‘i’ (in seconds)
nB Number of buses stopping in an hour (in buses/hour)
ni Number of vehicles of type i crossing the stop line during the Count Interval ‘i’
nij Number of discharging vehicles of type ‘j’ in interval ‘i’
Pi Passenger Car Unit of vehicle type ‘i’
Qb Initial queue (in PCU) at the start of time period ‘T’
Prevailing (after adjustments) saturation flow of the movement group ‘i’ (in PCU/
SFi
hour)
tb Average blockage time (s) during green
TR Duration of Surge/ Anticipation Flow
TU Effective Green Time
Va Total number of arriving vehicles in PCU during the survey period
VA Volume on approach ‘A’
Vi Number of stopped vehicles (in PCU) seen at the end of Count Interval i
Vi Volume of the movement group ‘i’
Auto Auto Rickshaws
B Approach Flare Effect
C Capacity in PCUs/hour
CY_Time Overall Cycle time (in seconds)
D Average control delay (in sec per vehicle)
d1 Average uniform delay per vehicle

d2 Average incremental delay per vehicle

d3 Additional delay per vehicle due to pre-existing queue
ds Stopped Delay per Average Stopped Delay
EB East Bound
F Adjustment Factor
fis Adjustment Factor for Initial Surge of Vehicles
g Effective Green Time
HCM Highway Capacity Manual
HCV Heavy Commercial Vehicle
CI Count Interval (in seconds)
K Adjustment factor for the signal control system
L Total lost time per cycle
LCV Light Commercial Vehicle
NB North Bound
Number of start-up count intervals. Intervals with surge flow are added and
NI
intervals with no surge flow are subtracted.
NO Number of count intervals during which obstructions were reported
Ns Number of Vehicles discharged
PF Uniform delay adjustment factor accounting for the effect of signal progression
PHF Peak Hour Factor
S Flow in PCU/hr crossing the stop line
SB South Bound
SF Saturation Flow Rate
SFR Surge flow rate during initial time
SFU Uniform saturation flow rate achieved after the initial surge
SR Surge Ratio
T Analysis period (in hours)
T Duration of the met demand during T in hours
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 6 - x

T duration of the unmet demand in hours

TW Motorized Two-wheeler
U Demand parameter
USF Unit Saturation Flow
USF0 Unit base saturation flow rate (in PCU/hour)
V Peak rate of Flows
v/c LOS based on Volume Capacity Ratio
v/SF Flow Ratio
VA Approach Volume
W Effective width of approach in m used by movement group
WB West Bound
Width of approach in m along the median occupied by the standing vehicles
wr
waiting for the exclusive right turn phase
X Degree of Saturation
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 6 - xi

6.1 INTRODUCTION
Intersections are the critical points of any road network, where delay normally occurs due
to sharing of space and time between conflicting streams / movements of vehicles. Depending upon
the type of control employed at the intersection, hierarchically can be termed as uncontrolled, stop
controlled, roundabout, signalized, grade separated intersection i.e. flyover and interchange. This
chapter deals with the methodology devised for determination of capacity and Level of Service (LOS)
of signalized intersections. It is imperative to study the varying typologies of signalized intersections
to arrive at the capacity and LOS norms under different operating conditions.
Accordingly, this chapter describes the methodology for the estimation of saturation flow,
capacity, delay and LOS for varying typologies of signalized intersections. The models developed
deal primarily with fixed time isolated signal controlled intersections. The methodology considers
a variety of prevailing operating conditions such as traffic composition, flow movements, geometric
characteristics and signal settings at such intersections.
Using this methodology, the saturation flow and delay can be estimated for existing signalized
intersections or for a newly planned intersection. Moreover, in the case of existing signalized
intersections, the users have the option of either using the models developed for the estimation of
saturation flow and control delay or directly obtain these parameters through field measurement
procedures prescribed in this manual. Further, adjustment factors accounting for the ground
conditions existing at any non-base intersections are also proposed in the manual which can be used
to obtain the prevailing saturation flows and capacity.

• Adjustment Factor (f): A factor applied to adjust a parameter derived for a base condition to
represent a prevailing condition.
• Amber Interval: The period, expressed in seconds, in the signal cycle during which, for a
given phase or movement group, the signal indication is amber (yellow). Traffic facing an
amber signal indication must stop before the stop line or other legally defined intersection
boundary, unless such stop cannot be made safely.
• Analysis Period (T): The time-period (in hours) during which the capacity analysis is
performed.
• Approach: Roadway leading to the stop line of the intersection that accommodates one or
combination of right-turn, through and left-turn movement of vehicles
• Approach Capacity (c): The maximum number of vehicles (in PCUs) an approach can
discharge per unit time under prevailing traffic, geometric and control conditions; usually
expressed in passenger car units/hour (PCU/h).
• Approach Volume (VA): The number of vehicles arriving on an intersection approach
upstream of the queue influence per unit time; expressed in PCU/h.
• Approach Flow Rate (VA): Approach volume during peak hour divided by the peak hour
factor (PHF); expressed in PCU/h.
• Base Saturation flow rate: Saturation flow rate under stated base conditions of intersection
relating to traffic, geometric and control conditions and is expressed in PCU/h. of green.
• Change Interval: The amber (yellow) plus all-red interval that occurs between phases of a
traffic signal to provide for clearance of the intersection before conflicting movements are
released.

• Clearance lost time: The time, in seconds, between signal phases during which an intersection
is not used by any traffic.
• Control delay (d): This is the average delay experienced by a vehicle due to the presence
of signal control. This includes stopped delay and the time lost due to queue move-up,
deceleration to stop and acceleration back to the desired speed. Control delay is expressed in
sec/vehicle or sec/PCU.
• Cycle (also signal cycle): One complete sequence of signal indications covering all phases.
• Cycle time (C): Duration of a cycle in seconds.
• Degree of Saturation (X): A measure of how much demand (volume) an approach is
experiencing compared to its capacity. It is the ratio of approach volume to approach capacity.
• Delay: Additional travel time (in sec) experienced by a vehicle to traverse through an
intersection.
• Discharge flow rate: The rate at which the vehicles in a movement group cross the stop line
during green interval. This is measured in PCU/h.
• Downstream: direction of flow of the traffic
• Green Time (G): Duration of time (in seconds) for which the signal indication is green for a
traffic movement.
• Effective Green Time (g): Green time minus the time lost at the beginning of green phase
when vehicles are still accelerating, plus the time gained by vehicles making use of the amber
period.
• Exclusive lane: An approach lane dedicated to a particular departure movement (typically
left-turn movement, through movement or right-turn movement).
• Fixed-time signal operation: A control mode of a signalized intersection in which the
sequence and duration of all signal indications (timing program) remains unchanged (from
one cycle to another).
• Flow Ratio (v/SF): Ratio of actual flow rate to saturation flow rate of a movement group.
• Interval: Duration of time during which all traffic signal indications remain constant
• Level of Service (LOS): A qualitative measure used to describe the operational condition of
a traffic facility.
• Lost Time (L): The time, in seconds, during which an intersection is not used effectively by
any movement; it is the sum of clearance lost time and start-up lost time.
• Movement Group: Any one or combination of through or right turning or left turning
movements at an intersection approach that are allowed in a shared operation in the same
phase. Movement group is treated as a separate entity by assigning appropriate effective
width of the approach for capacity and LOS analysis.
• Passenger Car Unit (PCU): The representation of a vehicle in equivalent units of standard
passenger car under specific roadway, traffic and control conditions.
• Phase: The part of the signal cycle allocated to any combination of traffic movements receiving
the right-of-way (green time) simultaneously
• Phase composition: The combination of vehicular, pedestrian and other movements, if any,
legally permitted during a phase.
• Phase sequence: The order in which the phases follow each other in a cycle.

• Queue: A line of vehicles waiting at the stop line for the green phase to be served by a signalized
intersection. Traffic moving slowly and joining the rear of the queue is usually considered as
part of the queue. The internal queue dynamics may involve a series of stops and starts.
• Queue Length: The number of vehicles in a queue, or the longitudinal distance which is
covered by the queue at the stop line of the approach of a signalized intersection.
• Saturation Flow Rate (SF): It is the steady state discharge rate of queued vehicles from an
approach at a signalized intersection with continuous green and an infinite queue. In practice,
it is measured as the maximum departure rate of queued vehicles from an approach during
the green interval measured at the stop line under prevailing conditions. It is expressed in
PCU/hour of green.
• Start-up lost time: The additional time, in seconds, consumed by the first few vehicles in a
queue at a signalized intersection because of the need to react to the initiation of the green
phase and to accelerate.
• Stopped Delay / Average Stopped Delay (ds): The time a vehicle is stopped in queue while
waiting to pass through the intersection. It begins when the vehicle is fully stopped and ends
when the vehicle begins to accelerate. Average stopped delay experienced by one flow unit i.e.
passenger car unit or vehicle during the analysis period can be calculated by dividing the total
stopped delay (of all flow units) by the number of flow units (passenger car units or vehicles)
and is reported in sec/PCU or sec/vehicle.
• Upstream: The direction from which traffic is coming.
6.3 BASE INTERSECTION

In this manual, an intersection is categorized as base intersection if it conforms to the
following listed conditions:
• Each approach is uniform in its width leading to the stop line.
• There is no bus stop (far side or near side) in the vicinity i.e. within 75 m from the nearest stop
line of intersection.
• The pedestrian flow is negligible, or phasing plan allows protected pedestrians crossing at
the intersection.
• The longitudinal gradient of all the approaches is almost zero.
• Through vehicles are not hindered by the right turning vehicles sharing the same approach
and waiting for their phase.
If the candidate intersection considered by the analyst does not conform to the aforesaid
conditions, then such intersections are to be classified as non-base intersections and adjustment
factors need to be applied for the deviations from the base conditions.

This chapter presents concepts and procedures for the estimation of capacity and LOS offered
by the fixed time isolated signal controlled intersections. For the purpose of estimation of saturation
flow and capacity, 23 signalized intersections possessing varying typologies located in 8 cities of the
country namely; Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Noida have been
considered for analysis. In the case of delay and Level of Service (LOS) estimation, perception data
of the vehicle users on the quantum of delay encountered as well as basic socio-economic aspects of
the respondents has been collected at 18 signalized intersections located in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata
and Noida. The above perception data has been collected by interviewing the respondents both at the

approach arms of the intersections as well as by intercepting the respondents at the parking lots /
fuel stations located adjacent to the above 23 intersections selected for saturation flow and capacity
analysis.
6.5 METHODOLOGY
The methodology for the collection of field data (refer Annexure 6A) followed by the procedure
for the estimation of capacity and LOS analysis of isolated signalized intersections is shown in Figure
6.1. The analyst has the option of measuring the saturation flow in the field following the procedure
prescribed (refer Annexure 6B) or estimating the saturation flow using the model given in this
manual. Passenger Car Unit (PCU) values for converting the observed vehicle types into equivalent
passenger cars are provided in this manual.
The estimated base saturation flow is adjusted by applying adjustment factors to get the
saturation flow under prevailing geometric, traffic and control conditions. The capacity of each
approach and that of the overall intersection can then be calculated based on the saturation flow,
effective green time and the cycle time. Control delay is prescribed as the measure of effectiveness
for determining the level of service of signalized intersections. The analyst here again, has the option
of obtaining the control delay using the calibrated delay model given in this chapter or directly
obtaining the same through field measurement procedure prescribed in Annexure 6D. The stopped
delay measured in the field is converted into control delay using the prescribed conversion factors.
Figure 6.1: Methodology for Estimation of Capacity and LOS for a Signalized Intersection

6.5.1 Input Parameters

The input parameters required for the estimation of capacity and LOS are listed in Table 6.1.
Table 6.1: Input Parameters
Parameter Type Parameter
1. Approach width, w (m)
2. Presence/absence of exclusive lanes for an exclusive right turn
Geometric Characteristics
phase/or free left turn
3. Presence / absence of bus bays or curbside bus stops
1. Classified peak hour traffic volume of all movements
2. Passenger Car Units
3. Unit base-saturation flow rate, USF0 (PCU/h/m)
Traffic Characteristics
4. Number of buses stopping at intersection, (bus/h)
5. Presence or absence of approach flare and anticipated early
movement and resulting initial surge
1. Cycle Time, C (seconds)
2. Green Time, G (seconds)
Control Characteristics 3. Change and clearance interval, Y (seconds)
4. Phase Plan
5. Analysis Period, T (hours)
6.5.2 Geometric Characteristics

The analyst needs to draw the layout of the intersection showing all the geometric features,
especially, the ones listed in Table 6.1.
6.5.2.1 Approach Width
This is the width of the approach at the stop line that is being used by the discharging vehicles
effectively. The unit base saturation flow obtained is multiplied with this effective width to get the
base saturation flow rate of the approach.
6.5.2.2 Exclusive Right and Left Turn Lanes
In the absence of exclusive right turn lane and if both straight and right turning movements
from an approach are allowed together in a single phase, these two movements are to be considered
together as a movement group while carrying out the capacity analysis. By substituting the effective
approach width shared together by this movement group in the saturation flow model, the saturation
flow corresponding to this situation can be obtained. If left turn movement also shares the approach
and is allowed in the same phase, causing friction to the through and right turn movements, left
turning volume also needs to be included together with through and right turning volumes in the
movement group for the capacity analysis. Movements operating through exclusive lanes need to
be analyzed separately and independently. In the case of exclusive right turn movement from an
approach having an exclusive phase but without an exclusive lane, adjustment factor for the blockage
of through vehicles by the right turning vehicles is to be applied.
6.5.2.3 Bus Bays and Curbside Bus Stops
If there are exclusive bus bays that do not hinder the intersection traffic movements, no
adjustment needs to be applied to the base saturation flow. If the curbside bus bays are not present
within the 75 m (from the stop line) vicinity of the intersection, no adjustment is to be applied to the
base saturation flow for this factor. Appropriate adjustment factor needs to be applied only when a

near-side or far-side bus stop is located within 75 m from the stop line (upstream or downstream) on
the curbside lane hindering the discharging of vehicles from the approach.

6.5.3.1 Traffic Volume
The traffic volume of each movement on each approach of the intersection needs to be
obtained through a classified turning movement count at the intersection during the peak hour.
However, these need to be estimated for the design or planning of a new intersection. The classified
peak hour turning vehicle counts are converted into PCUs using the values given in this chapter. The
peak hour volumes (V) are converted into peak rate of flows (v) using appropriate peak hour factor
(PHF), presented in Equation 6.1.
v = V/PHF Equation 6.1
Unit Base Saturation Flow Rate, USF0
The base saturation flow per unit width of the road is estimated using Equation 6.2 and the
results are presented later in Section 6.6.
Passenger Car Units (PCU)
For the estimation of capacity and LOS analysis of signalized intersections, the traffic flow
observed at a signalized intersection is to be classified into the vehicle types presented in Table 6.2.
The volume of each vehicle type is to be converted into equivalent volume of Passenger Car Units
(PCUs) for carrying out the analysis. In this manual, saturation flow has been used as the basis for
obtaining the PCUs of all vehicle types. The concept is to get the constant value for the saturation
flow when vehicle volumes with different compositions are converted into equivalent passenger car
volumes using these PCUs.
Table 6.2: Vehicle Types
Motorized Traffic
1. Two Wheelers TW
and Scooters
Motorized Auto rickshaws (Three
#
All Motorized
2. and Four Wheeled Rickshaws Auto
Auto Rickshaws
Small /Standard Cars / Big Cars All Cars and Vans including Sports Utility
3. C
/ Vans Vehicles
(up to Gross Vehicle Weight of 7.0 tonnes)
$
5. Heavy Commercial Vehicles HCV All Heavy Goods Vehicles
6. Buses Bus Transport Vehicles
7. Cycles CY
9. Hand/ Animal Drawn Vehicles ADV
#
Quantum of electric or e- rickshaws is insignificant in all the candidate intersections
$ Multi Axle Trucks are insignificant in all the urban intersections and hence combined together with Two /
Three Axle Trucks and considered as ‘Heavy Goods Vehicles’ in this chapter.

Using this concept, the PCU values are obtained by minimizing the variation in saturation
flow of a given approach among several cycles. The details on the method of estimation of PCU and
saturation flow are presented in Annexure 6C. It has been observed that since the PCU of big car is
not significantly different from that of standard car i.e. cars up to 1400 cc at a signalized intersection,
the PCU of standard and big cars are not differentiated in this chapter. The PCU values to be used for
converting the volumes of all vehicle types into equivalent volume of passenger cars are presented
in Table 6.3. The data collected from significantly large signalized intersections of varying typologies
located in several cities of India are used in obtaining these PCU values. The standard deviation values
of the PCU values derived based on analysis of results obtained from several intersections are also
given in Table 6.3 which furnishes an idea about the range of their variation. The PCU values reported
in Table 6.3 are generally applicable, provided the proportion of buses and heavy commercial vehicles
is less than 15% each in the total traffic volume of the approach under consideration. Data on this
is needed to apply adjustment to the base saturation flow reflecting the effect of blockage to flow of
traffic by the buses stopping at the near-side or far-side kerb lane bus stop within 75 m vicinity of
the stop line of the approach (upstream / downstream). The data needed is the number of buses/h
stopping during the peak period which is collected from the field for an existing intersection and
estimated for the design and planning of a new intersection.
6.5.3.2 Presence or absence of approach flare and anticipated early movement resulting in
initial surge
The observed discharge pattern of vehicles during the green interval in most signalized
intersections in India does not conform to the theoretical discharge pattern. This is shown in Figure
6C.1 in Annexure 6C. The discharge rate during the first 5 seconds is found to be significantly higher
than the steady state discharge rate i.e. saturation flow. This is happening due to two reasons.
i) Smaller vehicles, such as motorized two wheelers and motorized three wheelers with high
manoeuvrability, occupying the flared space of the intersection-approach beyond stop
line in the intersection area and utilizing larger width of approach while discharging. This
phenomenon is termed as flare effect.
Table 6.3: Passenger Car Unit Values for Signalized Intersection
Vehicle Type Passenger Car Unit Standard Deviation
Motorized Traffic
Two Wheelers (TW) 0.4 0.16
Auto Rickshaws (Auto) 0.5 0.21
Passenger Cars 1.0 Base
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) 1.1 0.05
All Heavy Goods Vehicles (HCV) 1.6* 0.16
Bus* 1.6* 0.35
Non-Motorised Traffic
Bicycle 0.3 0.14
Cycle rickshaw 1.8 -**
Hand / Animal Drawn cart 4.0 -**
* PCU value is valid when proportion of all types of goods vehicles / bus is not more than 15 % of total traffic
volume emerging from an intersection approach.
** Not reported due to insufficient sample size.

ii) Early initiation of queue discharge in anticipation of the green initiation utilizing the
clearance time of the previous phase. This phenomenon is termed as anticipation effect.
This anticipation effect is found to be more pronounced due to the presence of countdown
timer in the signal head and the presence of familiar drivers. Considering this kind of driver
behaviour, adjustment factors are proposed to be applied to base saturation flow to account
for the additional discharge that is taking place due to surge effect and anticipation effect. The
details of these two phenomena are provided in Annexure 6G.
6.5.4 Control Characteristics

The data on signal timing and phasing plans such as cycle time, green split, clearance and
change interval along with a phasing diagram are important inputs for the capacity analysis.
6.5.4.1 Shared or exclusive operation of movements on an approach and Phase Plan
On each approach during green interval, the operation of movements may happen in a shared
manner or in an exclusive manner. Table 6.4 shows typical shared and exclusive operations that are
in vogue on typical approaches of signalized intersections in India.
Table 6.4: Combinations of Movements at Signalized Intersection
Operation of Movements on the No. of Movement

S. No. Representation
Approach Groups
Left-turn, Through and Right-turn

1
shared approach operation
1
Exclusive Left-turn
+
2 Through and Right-turn shared 2
approach operation
Exclusive Left-turn
+
3 Through 3
+
Exclusive Right-turn
In shared operation, all the movements from an approach that are permitted in the same
phase and are in equilibrium need to be considered as one entity or movement group in the
analysis. The effective approach width available for this movement group needs to be used for the
computation of saturation flow for the group of movements. For example, as shown in S. No.1 in
Table 6.4, through and left-turn and right-turn movements are in shared operation from the approach
and are allowed in the same phase. These three movements are considered as one movement group,
and the corresponding volume used in analysis is the sum of the individual volumes of through, left-
turn and right-turn movements. The corresponding saturation flow would be obtained based on the
entire width of the approach across which the shared movements are discharging in equilibrium.
Further in S.No.2 of Table 6.4, only the through and right-turn movements are considered together
as one movement group and left-turn alone is considered as a separate entity as it operates from an
exclusive lane of the same approach. Moreover, in S.No.3 of Table 6.4, all the three movements are

considered as separate entities and effective widths are allocated for the determination of saturation
flow accordingly. The traffic, especially at the signalized intersections, being non-lane based this
kind of grouping of movements needs to be adopted in analysis of saturation flow. The critical flow
ratios i.e. volume to saturation flow ratios also needs to be worked out for each phase based on this
approach. In situations, where there is an exclusive phase for right turning traffic, but without an
exclusive right turn lane, during the green interval for the through movement on this approach, the
vehicles waiting for right-turn will block the through movement. In such cases, an adjustment factor
for reducing the saturation flow for the through vehicles is to be applied. The right-turn movement
needs to be analyzed by treating it as a separate entity and by finding the effective approach width
used by this right-turn movement.
6.5.4.2 Analysis Period
The analysis period, generally, is 15 minutes, i.e., T = 0.25 h. The traffic volume (or demand if
volume to capacity ratio is more than unity), for all the movements is to be measured during the peak
15-minute period and the same should be presented in the form of peak rate of flows (v) in PCU per
hour for capacity analysis. If the 15-minute data are not known, peak flow rate, v is estimated from
peak hour volume, V using appropriate peak hour factor (PHF).
6.6 ESTIMATION OF SATURATION FLOW

The procedure used for determining the PCU values also resulted in determining the saturation
flow for each of the approaches of base intersection. This procedure is explained in Annexure 6C. An
attempt has been made to correlate this base saturation flow (in PCU/h) with the geometric and
traffic characteristics of the approach. It has been found that there is a good correlation between the
unit base saturation flow and the width of the approach. Unit saturation flow is the saturation flow
per unit width of approach. As the approach width of the base intersections, for which extensive
data was collected, varies between 7 m and 10.5 m, the relation developed is valid only within this
range [IRC: SP-41 (1994)]. Based on the data collected in this study and expert judgment, separate
relations are suggested for the approach width < 7 m and when it is above 10.5 m. Thus, the unit base
saturation flow rate is presented in Equation 6.2.
Equation 6.2
Where,
USFO = Unit base saturation flow rate (in PCU / hour / m)
w = effective width of approach in meters (m).
The prevailing saturation flow of the intersection approach for the movement group under
consideration is then obtained as presented in Equation 6.3.
SF = w × USF0 × fbb × fbr × fis Equation 6.3
Where,
SF = Prevailing saturation flow rate in PCU/hour
w = effective width of the approach in ‘m’ used by the movement group
USF0 = Unit base saturation flow rate

fbb = Adjustment factor for bus blockage due to curbside bus stop
fbr = Adjustment factor for blockage of through vehicles by standing right turning vehicles
waiting for their turn.
fis = Adjustment factor for the initial surge of vehicles due to approach flare and anticipation
effect.
Instead of estimating the saturation flow using this model, for an existing intersection, analyst
has the option of measuring the saturation flow in the field. The measured saturation flow in vehicles/h
can be converted into PCU/h using the PCU values given in Table 6.3. The field measurement method
for determining saturation flow rate is given in Annexure 6B. No adjustment factors need to be
applied to the field measured saturation flow if the intersection considered is conforming to the base
conditions given in Section 6.3. On the other hand, adjustment factors are to be applied to the base
saturation flow for getting the prevailing saturation flow if the signalized intersection considered has
influence due to bus blockage, influence due to blockage by right turning traffic and also to account
for the influence initial surge due to flaring at the intersection or anticipation effects or both. The
details of these adjustment factors are discussed in the succeeding sections.
6.6.1 Adjustment Factor for Bus Blockage

Adjustment factor for bus blockage accounts for the reduction in saturation flow due to
presence of bus stops within 75 m of the intersection. This adjustment factor is computed as given
in Equation 6.4.
Equation 6.4
Where,
w = approach width in m,
tb = average blockage time (s) during green and
nB = number of buses stopping in an hour (buses/hour). If there are more than 200 buses
per hour, then should be limited to a practical value of 200.
The adjustment factor for bus blockage is adapted from HCM (2010) with appropriate
modifications. The average width of road section blocked by the buses is taken as 3 m and the value
of the average blockage time during green is taken as 18 seconds. This value is arrived at based on
reasonably large data of bus dwell times collected at various locations having different land use in
urban area. This factor is to be used only if the stops made by the buses at the intersections hinder the
discharge during green interval of the signal, otherwise the factor is taken as 1. Also in cases where
exclusive bus bays are present, the factor is taken as 1.
6.6.2 Adjustment Factor for Blockage by Standing Right-turn Vehicles

This adjustment to base saturation flow is applied when the through movement cannot use
the full width of approach due to the presence of standing vehicles along the median lane waiting for
their exclusive green phase. In the absence of field observed data, the default value for the width of
approach that is occupied by the right-turning vehicles (wr) may be taken as 2.5 m. This adjustment
factor is computed as given in Equation 6.5.
Equation 6.5

Where,
w = Approach width of the through movement, ‘m’.
wr = Width of approach in m along the median occupied by the standing vehicles waiting for
the exclusive right turn phase.
This factor is to be applied only if exclusive lanes are not present for the exclusive right turn
phase. if exclusive right turns lanes are present.
This factor is applicable to approaches which road width of 7 m or more.
6.6.3 Adjustment Factor for the Initial Surge of Vehicles

This adjustment factor is applied when flare effect or anticipation effect is observed at the
intersection. Due to the presence of these effects, there will be higher discharge of vehicles during
the first few seconds of green interval. The analyst needs to ascertain whether the initial surge is due
to flare effect or anticipation effect or both. The adjustment factor for only the effect that is present
is applied. The default values of adjustment factors for these situations are given in Table 6.5. The
adjustment factor depends on the green interval (G) of the phase and the surge ratio (SR). Surge Ratio
(SR) is the ratio of the initial higher discharge rate due to either flare effect or anticipation effect or
both to the uniform saturation flow. For practical purposes, the initial higher discharge rate or the
surge flow is worked out based on the discharge rate observed during the first 5 seconds of green
initiation. Instead of using the default values given in Table 6.5, the equations given in Annexure 6G
may be used for accurate adjustment of saturation flow on these counts.
Table 6.5: Adjustment Factor for Initial Surge of Vehicles
Anticipation and
Green Time Only Only Approach Flare Effect
Approach Flare Effect
of Phase Anticipation
(seconds) Effect Low High Low High
(SR=1.15) (SR=1.35) (SR=1.15) (SR=1.35)
< 15 1.133 1.020 1.047 1.153 1.180
15 - 30 1.067 1.010 1.023 1.077 1.090
30 - 45 1.044 1.007 1.016 1.051 1.060
45 - 60 1.033 1.005 1.012 1.038 1.045
60 - 75 1.027 1.004 1.009 1.031 1.036
75 - 90 1.022 1.003 1.008 1.026 1.030
90 - 120 1.017 1.002 1.006 1.019 1.023
> 120 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000
fis = 1 when no surge flow is observed on the approach

Based on the above, the factors applicable for the estimation of adjusted saturation flow are
presented in Table 6.6.

Table 6.6: Saturation Flow Adjustment Factors
S. No. Factor Formula Requirement Other Situations

fbb = in any of the following
situations:
1 Bus Blockage • Presence of bus bays
(Ref. Equation 6.3) • Buses do not hinder the
discharging of vehicles
fbr = 1 in any of the following
Blockage by situations:
2 Standing Right (Ref. Equation 6.4) • Exclusive right turning lane
Turning Vehicles Where ‘w’ is given in is present
terms of m. • No right turning vehicles
fis = 1 if initial surge is not
3 Initial Surge (Ref Table 6.5)
present
6.7 CAPACITY AND v/c RATIO

6.7.1 Capacity
The capacity (c) of a movement group of an approach of a signalised intersection can be
expressed as presented in Equation 6.6.
Equation 6.6
Where,
Ci = capacity of movement group ‘i’ in PCU/hour,
SFi = Prevailing (after adjustments) saturation flow of the movement group (in PCU/hour),
gi = Effective green time for movement group ‘i’ (in seconds), and
Cy_Time = Overall Cycle time (in seconds).
6.7.2 Volume to Capacity Ratio

Degree of saturation (X) or volume to capacity (v/c) ratio of a movement group of an approach
can be computed as given in Equation 6.7.
Equation 6.7
Where,
Xi = Degree of saturation or volume to capacity ratio of movement group ‘i’
vi = Volume of movement group ‘i’
ci = capacity of movement group i (in PCU/hour),
SFi = Prevailing (after adjustments) saturation flow of the movement group (in PCU/hour),
gi = Effective green time for movement group ‘i’ (in seconds) and
CY_Time = Overall cycle time (in seconds).

The critical volume to capacity ratio of the intersection can be determined using Equation 6.8.
Equation 6.8
Where,
XI = critical volume to capacity ratio of intersection
= summation of flow ratios for all critical movement groups ‘i’
C = cycle length in seconds
L = Total lost time per cycle.
6.8 DELAY ESTIMATION

6.8.1 Control Delay Model
As the control delay model of HCM (2010) of US is found to be in close agreement with the
observed control delay of the study intersections in India, the same theoretical form has been adopted.
The control delay has three components, viz., uniform delay, d1: that part when vehicles arrive at a
deterministic uniform rate, incremental delay, d2: that part accounts for random nature of arrivals)
and d3: that part which accounts for the presence of initial queue before the start of analysis period. The
models calibrated based on the study of the candidate signalized intersections is given in Equations
6.9 to 6.12.
d = 0.9 * d1 + d2 + d3 Equation 6.9
Where,
d = control delay, (in seconds/PCU)
Equation 6.10
Equation 6.11
Equation 6.12
The parameters, ‘t’ and ‘u’ are determined from Equation 6.13 and 6.14.
Equation 6.13
Equation 6.14
Where,
g = effective green period (in seconds)
CY_Time = Overall Cycle time (in seconds)
T = Analysis period (in hours)

X = Degree of saturation
Qb = Initial Queue (in PCU) at the start of time period ‘T’
t = Duration of the demand met during the analysis period ‘T’ (in hours)
u = demand parameter
CSI = Capacity of the candidate signalized intersection (in PCUs/hour)
It is to be noted that none of the isolated signalized intersections used for calibration of delay
model in Equation 6.8 have initial queue delay component. The calibration resulted in an equivalent
progression adjustment factor of 0.9. The details of calibration of the model are given in Annexure
6E. The analyst can use Equation 6.8 for the estimation of control delay for a movement group i.e.
Through or Through + Left or Through + Left + Right or only Right as the case may be allowed in a phase
of an approach (entity) by substituting relevant parameters.
6.8.2 Intersection Delay

If there are movement groups that are operated in different phases on an approach, the delay
for an approach is computed by aggregating the individual delays of these movement groups as per
Equation 6.15.
Equation 6.15
Where,
dA = Average control delay of a specific approach ‘A’ (in sec/PCU)
di = Average control delay for movement group ‘i, (in sec/PCU)
Vi = Volume of the movement group ‘i’
Intersection delay can be calculated as the weighted average of delay for each approach as
Equation 6.16
Where,
di = Average control delay of a specific approach ‘A’ (in sec/PCU)
dA = Average control delay for movement group ‘i, (in sec/PCU) and
VA = Volume on approach ‘A’.
The analyst has the option of measuring the control delay in the field, instead of estimating
it using the above control delay model. The procedure of measurement of control delay in the field is
given in Annexure 6D.
6.9 ESTIMATION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE

Level of Service (LOS) is determined based on the control delay encountered as well as volume
– capacity ratio of the candidate intersections considered in this study and the same are discussed in
the succeeding sections.
6.9.1 LOS Based on Control Delay

The control delay is considered as the service measure for the estimation of Level of Service
at signalized intersection. Based on the user perception survey (numbering around 6700 respondents)
collected at 18 signalized intersections in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai and Noida and their

corresponding control delay encountered are derived. Through this survey (refer Annexure 6F),
initially the most important factor(s) considered by the user for assessing the LOS provided by a
signalized intersection are obtained. As the time spent at the intersection waiting for the green signal
has been found to be the most important factors from this rating survey, use of control delay is taken
as an appropriate measure for arriving at the LOS. The users have been also asked to rate the LOS of
the intersection on a qualitative scale of excellent (A)/ very good (B)/ good (C)/ fair (D)/poor (E)/very
poor (F). The control delay and the corresponding Level of Service (LOS) thus evolved is presented in
Table 6.7. These LOS ranges have been arrived based on the above referred extensive user perception
survey. The analyst after computing the approach delay (vide Equation 6.15) and intersection delay
(vide Equation 6.16) can find the LOS at which an approach or the entire intersection is operating.
Table 6.7: LOS based on Delay Criteria for Signalized Intersections
LOS Control Delay (in seconds/ PCU)

A 20
B 20 and 40
C 40 and 65
D 65 and 95
E 95 and 130
F > 130
6.9.2 LOS Based on Volume Capacity Ratio (v/c)

Alternatively, an analysis has been done to find out v/c ratios corresponding to the above ranges
of LOS and presented in Table 6.8. As the control delay depends on many other factors in addition to
v/c ratio, it has been found that there is no definite existence of one-to-one correspondence between
the control delay ranges and v/c ratio values derived in this manual. Moreover, it is to be reminded
that the LOS ranges prescribed in this manual are arrived based on user perception. Therefore, it is
even more difficult to establish any correspondence between LOS ranges of control delay and v/c
ratio values. However, considering that v/c is an objective measure and is simple to compute, the
following approximate ranges of v/c are also provided as a guide in working out LOS for any candidate
intersection considered by the analyst.
Table 6.8: LOS based on v/c Ratio Criteria for Signalized Intersections
LOS Volume - Capacity Ratio (v/c)
A < 0.45
B 0.46 - 0.75
C 0.76 - 0.95
D 0.96 - 1.05*
E 1.06 - 1.10*
F > 1.10*
*This needs to be interpreted as demand - capacity ratio

6.10.1 Estimation of Capacity of an Intersection

The following section gives an illustration of the estimation of capacity of a signalized
intersection having two major road approaches intersecting on a typical urban environment. The
line sketch of the four armed intersection and the phase movements is shown in Figure 6.2. North
Bound to South Bound (NB - SB) road and East Bound to West Bound (EB - WB) arms are categorized
as major approaches based on the quantum of traffic handled and entry width. The details of the
approaches of the intersection and phase plan are given in Table 6.9 and Table 6.10. The analysis
period is 15 minutes. Determine the Capacity of the above Intersection.
Figure 6.2: Line Sketch of the Example: 6.9.1 Intersection
Table 6.9: Geometric, Traffic and Control Characteristics of

Example: 6.9.1 Intersection
Details SB WB NB EB
Approach Width, w (m) 7 7 7 7
Demand Volume, PCU/h 935 856 756 587
PHF 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
842 770 680 528
Peak Hour Volume, PCU/h
(0.9 x 935) (0.9 x 856) (0.9 x 756) (0.9 x 587)
Presence/absence of exclusive lanes
Absent Absent Absent Absent
for an exclusive right phase
Presence/absence of Bus bays Absent Absent Absent Absent
Number of buses stopping at
0 45 112 0
intersections, nB (buses/h)

Details SB WB NB EB
Initial Surge Present Absent Absent Absent
(A) Anticipation effect Present Absent Absent Absent
(B) Approach Flare Effect Absent Absent Absent Absent
(C) Surge Ratio 1.15 - - -
Table 6.10: Phase Plan of Example: 6.9.1 Intersection
Phase Number Phase Movement Green Time (sec) Amber Time (sec)
1 25 3
2 25 3
3 25 3
4 25 3
Solution:
Capacity Estimation
The capacity of the approaches is estimated after determining the saturation flow and
capacity model by using the relevant equations given in the above sections. Accordingly, the estimated
saturation flow and the capacity of intersection approaches are presented in Table 6.11.

Table 6.11: Estimation of Intersection Capacity
Phase Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Approach - SB - - WB - - NB - - EB -
Approach Width, w - 7 - - 7 - - 7 - - 7 -
Unit base saturation

flow rate in PCU/
- 720 - - 720 - - 720 - - 720 -
hr/m, USF0 (Ref.
Equation 6.2)
Adjustment factors
for bus blockage due
to downstream bus - 1 - - 0.903 - - 0.760 - - 1 -
stops, fbb
(Ref. Equation 6.4)
Adjustment factors
for blockage by right
turning vehicles in
- 1 - - 1 - - 1 - - 1 -
case of exclusive right
turns, fbr
(Ref. Equation 6.5)
Adjustment factor for

initial 5-second surge
- 1.067 - - 1 - - 1 - - 1 -
of vehicles, fis (Ref.
Table 6.5)
Adjusted saturation
flow rate in PCU/hour
- 5378 - - 4551 - - 3830 - - 5040 -
/m, SFadjusted
(Ref. Equation 6.3)
Effective green time

- 22 - - 22 - - 22 - - 22 -
(g) (in sec),
Capacity in PCU/hour,
- 1056 - - 895 - - 752 - - 990 -
(Ref. Equation 6.6)
Level of Service Estimation

Similarly, LOS of the approaches is estimated using the delay model given in the relevant
sections above. Accordingly, the estimated LOS is presented in Table 6.12.

Table 6.12: Estimation of Level of Service

Approach - SB - - WB - - NB - - EB -
g/C ratio, λ - 0.20 - - 0.20 - - 0.20 - - 0.20 -
Degree of 0.86 0.90
saturation, X - 0.80 - - - - - - 0.53 -
(Ref. Equation 6.7)
Approach delay in
sec/PCU, da - 45 - - 50 - - 56 - - 38 -
(Ref. Equation 6.15)
Approach LOS
- C - - C - - C - - B -
(Ref. Table 6.6)
Intersection Delay
in sec/PCU, D 48
Intersection LOS
based on Delay C
(Ref. Table 6.6)
6.10.2 E
stimation of Capacity of an Intersection with Exclusive Right
Phase
The following section gives an illustration of the estimation of capacity at a typical major
- minor urban road signalized intersection. North Bound to South Bound (NB - SB) road is the
major road while the East Bound to West Bound (EB - WB) is the minor road. The line sketch of the
intersection and the phase movements is shown in Figure 6.3. The details of the approaches of the
intersection are given in Table 6.13 and Table 6.14. The analysis period is 15 minutes. The proportion
of vehicles turning right is 7 % and 10 % in NB and SB directions respectively.
Figure 6.3: Line Sketch of the Example: 6.9.2 Intersection

Table 6.13: Geometric, Traffic and Control Characteristics of the Candidate Intersection
Details SB WB NB EB
Approach Width, w (m) 10.5 7 10.5 7
Demand Volume, PCU/h 1456 795 1250 658
PHF 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
Peak Hour Volume, PCU/h 1310 716 1125 592
Presence/absence of
exclusive lanes for an Present Absent Present Absent
exclusive right phase
Proportion of Right Turn 0.2 - 0.22 -
Presence/absence of bus
Absent Absent Present Present
bays
Number of buses stopping
at intersections, nB 0 145 97 150
(buses/h)
Initial surge Absent Present Absent Present
Anticipation effect (A) Absent Present Absent Present
Approach Flare Effect (B) Absent Absent Absent Present
Surge Ratio (C) - 1.35 - 1.35
Table 6.14: Phase Plan of Example: 6.9.2 Intersection

Green Time Amber Time
Phase Number Phase Movement
(sec) (sec)
1 25 3
2 45 3
3 25 3
4 15 3
Determine the capacity of the above Intersection having exclusive right turning phase.

Solution:
The capacity of the approaches is estimated using the saturating flow and capacity model
given in Section 6.9.1. The calculations and the results are presented in Table 6.15.
Table 6.15: Capacity estimation of the illustrated example
Approach - EB - SB NB - - WB - SB NB -
Approach Width, w
- 7 - 10.5 10.5 - - 7 - 3.5 3.5 -
(m)
Unit base saturation

flow rate in PCU/
- 720 - 510 510 - - 720 - 630 630 -
hr/m, USF0
(Ref. Equation 6.2)
Adjustment factors
for bus blockage due
to downstream bus - 0.792 - 1 1 - - 0.756 - 1 1 -
stops, fbb
(Ref. Equation 6.4)
Adjustment factors
for blockage by right
turning vehicles in
- 1 - 0.762 0.762 - - 1 - 1 1 -
case of exclusive
right turns, fbr
(Ref. Equation 6.5)
Adjustment factor
for initial 5-second
- 1.067 - 1 1 - - 1.090 - 1 1 -
surge of vehicles, fis
(Ref. Table 6.5)
Adjusted saturation
flow rate in PCU/h
- 4260 - 4080 4080 - - 4152 - 1575 1575 -
/m, SFadjusted
(Ref. Equation 6.3)
Effective green time

- 22 - 42 42 - - 22 - 12 12 -
in sec, g
Capacity in PCU/h, c
- 852 - 1558 1558 - - 830 - 172 172 -
(Ref. Equation 6.6)
* Approach width taken considering exclusive right turn and given percentage of right turning traffic.

Level of Service Estimation

The level of service of the approaches is estimated using the delay model given in section
above. The calculation and the results are presented in Table 6.16.
Table 6.16: Level of Service Estimation

Approach - EB - SB NB - - WB - SB NB -
g/C ratio, λ - 0.2 - 0.382 0.382 - - 0.2 - 0.109 0.109 -
Degree of
saturation, X - 0.839 - 0.782 0.649 - - 0.713 - 0.534 0.657 -
(Ref. Equation 6.7)
Approach delay in
sec/PCU, - 48 - 31 27 - - 42 - 53 60 -
Approach LOS
- C - B B - - C - C C -
(Ref. Table 6.7)
Intersection Delay
in sec/PCU, D 36
Intersection LOS
based on Delay B
(Ref. Table 6.7)

REFERENCES
3. IRC: SP-41 (1994) “Guidelines for Design of At-Grade Intersections in Rural and Urban Areas”,
Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
4. Majhi, R. C., (2014). “Saturation Flow Modelling using Dynamic Passenger Car Unit under Mixed
Traffic Condition”, Unpublished Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Technology (Transportation Systems Engineering), IIT (Bombay)
Mumbai, India.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Akçelik, R., and Rouphail, N.M., (1993). “Estimation of delays at traffic signals for variable
demand conditions”, Transportation Research Part B, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 109-131.
2. Alam, J. B., Osra, K. A., Al-Bar, H. O., and Zahran, S. Z., (2011). “Signalized Intersection Capacity
Adjustment Factors for Makkah, Saudi Arabia”, Canadian journal of Transportation, Vol. 4, Part
1, pp. 56 - 61.
3. Bhuyan, P.K and Krishna Rao, K.V. (2011), “Application of GPS and Clustering Techniques in
defining LOS Criteria of Signalized Intersections for Indian Cities”, Highway Research Journal,
Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi. Volume 4. Number - 1. pp. 69 - 75.
4. Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers (2008), “Canadian Capacity Guide for Signalized
Intersections (CCG)”, Third Edition, Canada.
5. Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Public Works (1993), Indonesian Highway Capacity
Manual.
6. Fambro, D., and Rouphail, N. (1997). “Generalized Delay Model for Signalized Intersections and
Arterial Streets”, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board,
Vol. 1572, pp. 112 - 121.
7. Hadiuzzaman, M., Rahman, M. M., and Karim, M. A., (2008). “Saturation Flow Model at Signalized
Intersection for Non-lane Based Traffic”, Canadian Journal of Transportation Vol. 2, Part 1, pp.
78 - 90.
8. Kebab, W., and Dixon, M., (2006) “Field Measurement of Delay at Signalized Intersection”,
National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology, University of Idaho, Moscow.
9. Mousa, R., (2002). “Analysis and Modelling of Measured Delays at Isolated Signalized
Intersections”, Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 128, No. 4, pp. 347 - 354.
10. Quiroga, C.A., and Bullock, D., (1999). “Measuring control delay at signalized intersections”,
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol.125, No. 4, pp. 271-81.
11. Radhakrishnan, P., and Mathew, T. V., (2009). “Passenger car units and saturation flow models
for highly heterogeneous traffic at urban signalized intersections”, Transportmetrica, Vol. 7, No.
2, pp. 141 - 162.

12. Shao, C., Rong, J., and Liu, X., (2011). “Study on the saturation flow rate and its influence factors
at signalized intersections in China”, Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences, Vol. 16, pp. 504
– 514.
13. Susilo, B. H., and Solihin, Y., (2011). “Modification of Saturation Flow Formula by Width of Road
Approach”, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 16, pp. 620 - 629.
14. Turner, J., and Harahap, G., (1993) “Simplified Saturation Flow Data Collection Methods”,
Crowthorne: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), Technical Paper, PA 1292/93.

ANNEXURE 6A: FIELD DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY

For the capacity and LOS analysis of signalized intersection, user has to collect the intersection
inventory details such as layout of the intersection indicating all the geometric details, signal timing,
phasing plan and traffic volume data. A reconnaissance survey of the selected intersections is
recommended before commencing the exercise for actual data collection. It is recommended that
the intersection layout along with all its geometric and location details be recorded by conducting a
total station survey. The traffic data is to be collected during peak period. The data may be collected
manually or using automated techniques. Manual method of data collection using videography,
although time consuming, is the most accurate method of data collection. If automated data collection
techniques are employed, a reasonable level of accuracy to distinguish various classes of vehicles
described should be ensured. The video graphic method is recommended for recording the traffic data
at the intersections. As it is not practicable to record traffic volume data of more than one approach
by a single camera, user can record the data of each approach by a separate camera. The location of
the video camera for recording traffic data of an approach should be such that the entire length of
the queue on the concerned approach is visible, especially if the data is to be extracted for field delay
estimation. The guidelines given below should be followed for data collection in videography method
(refer Figure 6A.1).
• Camera location should be fixed in such a way that stable and unobstructed view of each
approach including the stop line is achieved.
• A minimum height of 6 m for the camera is recommended to capture the end of queue.
• A trap length of minimum 20 m should be marked either by traffic cones or by adhesive tape as
shown in Figure 6A 1. The rectangle of known dimensions formed by these cones or adhesive
tape can be used for extracting speed profiles of vehicles for detailed analysis.
• Clear visibility of stop line including other road markings should be ensured.
• Camera should be placed closer to the end of median as shown in Figure 6A.1 to capture
traffic on the opposite approach.
Figure 6A.1: Camera Position Arrangement for Data Collection
The traffic data is extracted by playing these recorded videos. The extracted traffic data is
analyzed for obtaining the needed traffic parameters for carrying out capacity and LOS analysis.

ANNEXURE 6B: FIELD MEASUREMENT OF

SATURATION FLOW
Considering the non-lane based mixed traffic operation in Indian context, the flow profile
method suggested by TRL (UK) is a suitable field method for measurement of saturation flow. Its
principle is that the number of vehicles passing the stop line during green is counted at fixed short time
intervals. The length of time interval can be chosen to reflect local conditions: 5 seconds is generally
recommended; 10 seconds may be used where the green time and the queues are long. Vehicles are
classified as per their type. Before the surveys, the number of signal cycles to be measured must
be determined. Measurements should ideally be made at sites which are free from all obstructions.
If any obstruction occurs within a cycle, the observations for that cycle should be discarded. For
unobstructed traffic conditions, the saturation flow of each approach is simply the average flow for
all saturated intervals i.e. once the initial start-up period has been completed, and while the flow is still
being supplied from a queue. If the flow in the first 5-second interval is higher than that in the other
intervals when initial surge of vehicles is present due to anticipated advance movement and presence
of approach flare, saturation flow is worked out as the average flow for all intervals including the
initial interval. The classified traffic data at the end of each interval during the green phase is noted
in a tabular form and a typical sample of the datasheet obtained from field measurement is given in
Table 6B.1. The flow (S in PCU/hour) derived from the observed traffic flow parameters (entered in
the last but one column in Table 6B.1), is worked out as given in Equation 6B.1:
Equation 6B.1
Where,
S = Flow in PCU per hour crossing the stop line
ni = Number of vehicles of type i crossing the stop line during the Count Interval (CI)
Pi = Passenger car unit of Vehicle Type ‘i’ (Ref. Table 6.3)
CI = Count Interval (in seconds)
Saturation Flow (SF) under prevailing conditions is worked out as given in Equation 6B.2:
Equation 6B.2
Where,
SF = Field measured saturation flow under prevailing conditions
∑S = sum of all values of S excluding the values where obstructions were reported but including

startup values (values in first count interval of green in each cycle) if surge conditions were
reported. Startup values are not included if there were no surge conditions reported.
Ne = N – N0 NI Number of count intervals excluding the ones during which obstructions were
reported
Where,
N = total number of count intervals over all cycles of measurement
NO = Number of count intervals during which obstructions were reported
NI = Number of startup count intervals. Intervals with surge flow are added and intervals with
no surge flow are subtracted.

Table 6B.1: Sample Data Sheet for Field Measurement of Saturation Flow
Number of vehicles crossing stop-line during the

5 second interval
Flow in
Remarks
Cycle No.
Drawn Cart (n9)

Cycle Rickshaw
Hand/ Animal
Two Wheeler
PCU/h
Bicycle (n7)
Autos (n3)
HCV (n5)
LCV (n4)
Bus (n6)
Interval
5s Time
Car (n1)
(ni×pi×
(n2)
(n8)
720)
1 1 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6070 Surge
1 2 6 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5465
1 3 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5443
1 4 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4680 Obstruction
1 5 4 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 5558
1 6 5 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 5566
2 1 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6343 Surge
2 2 4 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 5386
2 3 3 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5227
2 4 4 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 5350
2 5 6 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5105 Obstruction
2 6 5 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 5436
3 1 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6343 Surge
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note: The average of all the flow values excluding the ones with obstruction but including the ones with
surge is the field observed saturation flow. If initial surge is not present, the first interval in each cycle
should be omitted while computing the average.

ANNEXURE 6C: DETAILS OF PCU AND

SATURATION FLOW ESTIMATION MODEL
6C.1 Typical Discharge Pattern
Figure 6C.1 shows the number of vehicles discharging in each of the 5 seconds time interval
starting from the initiation of green for a typical approach of one of the signalized intersections. Each
dot in Figure 6C.1 corresponds to one cycle among the data of 30 cycles. It can be seen that vehicles
are discharging at very high rate during the first 5s time interval compared to other time intervals.
The reasons for this initial surge, viz. utilization of flared approach space by smaller vehicles and
anticipated advance movement of vehicles, are explained in Section 6.4.3. Once this surge effect
ceases, vehicles are discharging as per the normal rate at full saturation during the next 4 to 5
intervals. The variation in saturation flow from cycle to cycle and interval to interval as observed
in Figure 6C.1 is due to the heterogeneity in vehicle mix. If all the vehicles are only cars, one would
expect constant discharge rate over all the saturated intervals. Thus, this manual, the passenger car
units for converting all other vehicles into equivalent number of cars have been arrived at by solving
the following optimization:
Figure 6C.1: Typical Discharge Pattern for 30 Signal Cycles at an Approach
6C.2 Optimization Model

Equation. 6C.1
Subject to
Pj min ≤ Pj ≤ Pj max and
S min ≤ S ≤ Smax
Where,
S = Number of discharging vehicles (in PCU) in each saturated interval at constant saturation
flow

Nij = Number of discharging vehicles of type j in interval i

Pj = PCU of vehicle type j
n = Number of intervals with saturation flow
m = Number of vehicle types.
The decision variables in the above optimization problem are S and . Essentially, the PCU
values are determined in such a way that the flow in PCU is as close as possible to the constant
saturation flow in all the saturated intervals. The maximum and minimum values for PCU used in this
manual are given in Table 6C.1 (Majhi, 2014).
Table 6C.1: Minimum and Maximum Values for PCU
Decision Variable Minimum Value Maximum Value

PCU of motorized two-wheeler 0.2 0.75
PCU of motorized three-wheeler 0.3 1.0
PCU of Small Car 1.0 1.0
PCU of Big Car 1.0 1.5
PCU of LCV 1.0 2.0
PCU of Bus 1.5 4.0
PCU of Truck 1.5 4.0
PCU of Bicycle 0.2 0.5
PCU of Cycle Rickshaw 1.5 4.0
PCU of Hand /Animal drawn vehicles 4.0 8.0
6C.3 Saturation Flow Model for Base Intersection

The PCU values and the saturation flow have been estimated using the above-mentioned
approach by collecting the data for 18 signalized intersections spread across the country. The unit
saturation flow obtained for base intersections are found to relate well with the approach width. Unit
saturation flow (PCU/hour/m) is the saturation flow per meter width of approach. The intersection
which satisfies the following requirements is taken as base intersection:
• A signalized intersection with all approaches with at least 2 lanes in each direction
• Approach width should be uniform
• No bus stops in 75m vicinity of intersection
• No street parking on the approach in the 75m vicinity of intersection (Neither upstream nor
downstream)
• Negligible pedestrian movements or separate phase for pedestrians
• Roads should cross at 90 degrees
• Zero gradient on the approaches

The relation obtained between unit base saturation flow and the approach width is as shown
in Figure 6C.2.
Figure 6C.2: Relation between Unit Base Saturation Flow and Approach Width
The relation obtained for the unit saturation flow of the base intersections is as given in
Equation 6.2.
USF0 = – 60.506 * width + 1137.6 Equation 6C.2
≈ – 60 * width + 1140
As the approach widths of intersections considered in this study range between 7 m and 10.5
m, the above relation is valid only between these widths. For widths less than 7 m and more than
10.5 m, a constant USF0 has been proposed as given in Equation 6.1.The saturation flows measured
for non-base intersections have been compared with the base saturation flows and the adjustment
factors have been derived for each of the conditions different from that of base intersection in this
manual. The details of these adjustment factors are given in Annexure G.

ANNEXURE 6D: FIELD MEASUREMENT OF STOPPED

DELAY AND ITS CONVERSION TO CONTROL DELAY
The field method for measuring stopped delay is outlined here:
• Choose an appropriate count interval (preferably 5 seconds). The delay survey should start
from the beginning of red phase. At the end of every count interval, the vehicles standing on
the approach are counted. Vehicles which are stopped and are creeping forward in a queue
that is not discharging are counted during each interval. This stopped vehicle count can be
conveniently made by playing the recorded videos of approaches.
• For example, if the count interval is 5 s, starting from the beginning of red phase, after every
5 seconds, the stopped vehicles on the approach are counted and entered in the datasheet in
Table 6D.1. The entry 1TW, 4C, 1B in the first interval in Table 6D.1 implies that at the end of
the 1st count interval i.e., 5 seconds one motorised two-wheeler, four cars and one bus were
found standing at the approach waiting for the green phase.
• A separate classified volume count of total number of vehicles arriving during the survey
period is to be made.
The number of vehicles in queue for each sampling interval and the approach volume during
the survey period forms the data for average stopped delay estimation. The duration of the survey
is such that it covers at least 25 consecutive cycles resulting in a good estimate of delay. The average
stopped delay (vehicles/second) can be estimated using Equation 6D.1.
Equation 6D.1
Where,
ds = Average stopped delay in seconds per PCU
CI = count interval in seconds
Vi = Number of stopped vehicles in PCU seen at the end of count interval i
Va = Total number of arriving vehicles in PCU during the survey period.
0.9 is the empirical correction factor that accounts for the over estimation error in this method.
Table 6D.1: Sample Stopped Delay Count Sheet

Number of Stopped Vehicles (in queue)
Cycle
Count Interval
Number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1TW, 4C,
1
1B
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
…
Total (PCU) V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10
TW: Motorized Two-wheeler; C: Car; B: Bus

The estimated stopped delay is converted to control delay using a multiplicative conversion
factor arrived at as detailed in Annexure 6E. This factor accounts for the delay due to acceleration
and deceleration of the vehicles. The control delay is computed using this conversion factor as per
Equation 6D.2.
d = 1.19 × ds Equation 6D.2
Where,
d = Control delay in seconds per PCU
ds = Stopped delay in seconds per PCU

ANNEXURE 6E: DETAILS OF CALIBRATION

OF CONTROL DELAY MODEL
6E.1 Delays at Signalized Intersection
Delay is a measure that most directly relates driver’s experience and it is measure of excess
time consumed in traversing the intersection. While it is possible to measure delay in the field, it is
a difficult process, and different observers may make judgments that could yield different results.
It is, therefore, advisable to have a predictive model for the estimation of delay. Delay, however, can
be quantified in many different ways. The most frequently used forms of delay are stopped delay,
time-in-queue delay and control delay. Stopped-time delay is defined as the time a vehicle is stopped
in queue while waiting to pass through the intersection. It begins when the vehicle is fully stopped
and ends when the vehicle begins to accelerate. Time-in-queue delay is the total time from a vehicle
joining an intersection queue to its discharge across the STOP line on departure. Control delay is the
delay caused by a control device, either a traffic signal or a STOP-sign. It is nearly equal to time-in-
queue delay plus the acceleration-deceleration delay component.
6E.2 Stopped Delay to Control Delay Conversion Factor

The procedure for delay estimation explained in Annexure 6D yields the stopped delay per
PCU. It is often desirable to convert these into the control delay estimates. For this, it is multiplied
with a conversion factor. Control delay is the actual delay incurred by the vehicle while traversing
the intersection. The following procedure is used for the estimation of conversion factor to arrive at
control delay from estimate of stopped delay.
• Obtain the trajectory of a sample of vehicles at the approach from the V-box survey or any
other suitable method.
• Estimate the average speed of the vehicle crossing the intersection.
• The time which the vehicle reduces the speed (t1) because of the control device and the time
at which the vehicle regains the average speed (t4) is noted (Figure 6E.1).
Figure 6E.1: Illustration of various delay measures

• The time the vehicle will take to cover the same distance if moving at the average speed is
calculated (t5).
• The time difference (t4-t1) gives the time taken to regain the average speed. The time difference
(t4-t1)-t5 gives the control delay.
• The time for which the vehicle is actually stopped due to control device, stopped delay (t3 – t2)
is noted.
• The ratio of control delay to stopped delay gives the stopped delay to control delay conversion
factor.
The observations with difference between control delay and stopped delay less than 6 seconds
can be omitted as these observations pertain to aggressive driving behaviour of high order.
6E.3 Calibration of Control Delay Estimation Model

In analytic models for predicting delay, there are three distinct components of delay, namely,
uniform delay (that part when vehicles arrive at a deterministic uniform rate), incremental delay or
random delay (that part accounts for random nature of arrivals) and overflow delay (that part which
accounts for the presence of initial queue before the start of analysis period). The various analytical
delay models include Webster’s delay model, Robertson’s delay model, Australian delay model,
Canadian delay model and US-HCM delay model. The analytical control delay model given in Section
6.7.1 is developed based on the HCM 2010 delay model. As the control delay model of HCM 2010
was found to be in close agreement with the observed control delay of the study intersections of this
manual, the theoretical form of the same has been adopted. The HCM control delay model is given by
the Equation 6E.1.
d = d1PF + d2 + d3 Equation 6E.1
Where,
d is the average control delay in sec/PCU, d1is the average uniform delay,
d2 is the average incremental delay, d3 is the additional delay per vehicle due to pre-existing
queue,
PF is the uniform delay adjustment factor accounting for the effect of signal progression.
The uniform delay, incremental delay and overflow delay are given in Equation 6E.2, Equation
6E.3 and Equation 6E.4.
Equation 6E.2
Equation 6E.3
Equation 6E.4
Where,
g is the effective green period in seconds
C is the cycle time in seconds
T is the analysis period in hours

X is the degree of saturation

I is the adjustment factor for upstream filtering/metering (I = 1 for isolated intersections)
k is the adjustment factor for the signal control system (k = 0.5, for isolated intersections)
Qb is the initial queue (in PCU) at the start of time period ‘T’
T is the duration of the unmet demand in hours
u is the demand parameter
CSI is the capacity of the candidate signalized intersection (in PCUs/hour)
The parameters t and u are determined from the equations Equation 6E.5 and Equation 6E.6.
Equation 6E.5
Equation 6E.6
This focuses on under saturated signals; initial queues do not exist for such conditions. It
is to be noted that none of the isolated signalized intersections used for calibration of delay model
in Equation 6.8 have initial queue delay component. The delay model is calibrated to estimate the
value of PF. The calibration resulted in an equivalent progression adjustment factor of 0.9. Hence, the
modified delay equation is shown in Equation 6E.7.
d = 0.9 d1 + d2 + 0 Equation 6E.7
Where,
d is the average control delay in sec/vehicle,
d1 is the average uniform delay per vehicle,
d2 is the average incremental delay per vehicle.
The average uniform delay and average incremental delay are presented in Equations 6E.8
and 6E.9.
Equation 6E.8
Equation 6E.9
Where,
T is the analysis period in hours,
g is the effective green period in seconds,
C is the cycle time in seconds,
X is the degree of saturation in PCU/hour,
c is the capacity in PCU/hour.
Figure 6E.2 shows the relation between the observed delay values and the delay model
estimates.

Figure 6E.2: Correlation between the Observed and the

Calibrated Delay Model Estimates

ANNEXURE 6F: USER PERCEPTION SURVEY TO DERIVE

LOS OF SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION
6F.1 General Guidelines
Level of Service and their corresponding control delay thresholds presented in Table 6.7
have been arrived through an extensive user perception survey. The factors influencing the users’
perception of LOS are identified from the literature and incorporated in the questionnaire. The
following are the general guidelines for carrying out user perception questionnaire survey
• The survey should be carried out at locations near the already selected intersections.
• The possible survey locations are commercial buildings, work places, petrol pumps, bus depot
etc. around the intersection.
• The respondents should be familiar with the candidate intersection.
• Respondents of age less than 18 years are not qualified for the survey
• To avoid any bias in the results, samples should be collected covering all types of vehicle users
covering a minimum of 30 samples from each vehicle type
6F.2 User Perception Survey

The questionnaire deployed in the study for conducting the user perception survey at
signalized intersections is presented in Table 6F1. This survey has been done to understand how
users rate the various factors affecting the quality of service at a signalized intersection. If the analyst
wants to arrive at LOS for any candidate intersection, the same can be employed.

Table 6F.1: User Perception Survey at Signalized Intersections
Sample Number: Date of survey:
Name of intersection: ____________________________ Approach name: _________________________________
PART A: SOCIO-ECONOMIC INFORMATION
Gender Male Female

Age 18-30 30-55 above 55
Occupation Govt. Employed Self-employed Student Others
Monthly Income <15 15-40 40-60 >60
(In Rupees thousands)
PART B: TRAVEL INFORMATION
Driving experience (years) : ___________________

Purpose of trip:
Work Education Social Shopping Recreation Personal business
Vehicle used for the trip:
Motorized two-wheeler Car Bus Motorized three-wheeler Others
How often you drive through this intersection: Daily Occasionally
Approximate time of day at which you have crossed the intersection: ____________________________________
How much time normally you used to wait at the intersection?
<30 sec 30 sec-1min 1-2min 2-3min 3-5 min 5-8min 8-10min >10min
What is the maximum acceptable waiting time for you?________
PART C: PERCEPTION-RELATED INFORMATION
1. Rate the following factors according to their importance in influencing the quality rating of a
signalized intersection in 1-5 scale (1-indicates less influencing, 5-indicates highly influencing).
1 2 3 4 5
Waiting time at signal
Exclusive right turn lanes
Road surface quality
Visibility of traffic signals from queue
Clear/legible signs and road markings
Presence of heavy vehicles
Presence of pedestrians
Obstructions (parked vehicles, bus stops etc.)
Scenery/Aesthetics

2. Please give tick mark for the following attributes pertaining to the intersection approach
being used by you.
Variable Qualitative terms

Waiting time at signal Low Medium High
Separate right turn lanes Yes No
Road surface quality Poor Moderate Good

Visibility of traffic signals from queue Poor Moderate Good
Clear/legible signs and road markings Poor Moderate Good
Presence of heavy vehicles Low Medium High
Presence of pedestrians Low Medium High
Obstructions (parked vehicles, bus stops etc.) Low Medium High
Scenery/Aesthetics Poor Moderate Good
3.
Please describe any other factor which is important when you drive through an intersection
________________________________________________
4. Overall rating of this intersection as perceived by you: __________
A B C D E F
Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Very poor
Any suggestion: ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: _____________________________ Contact no: (optional) __________________________
Insert Picture of the intersection
Thank you for taking out your valuable time to answer these questions.

Through this user perception survey, initially the most important factors considered by the
user for assessing the quality of service provided by a signalized intersection are obtained. As the
time spent at the intersection waiting for the green signal was found to be the most important factors
from this rating survey, use of control delay is an appropriate measure for arriving at the LOS. The
users were also asked to rate the LOS of the intersection on a qualitative scale of excellent (A)/ very
good (B)/ good (C)/ fair (D)/poor (E)/very poor (F). The observed distribution of the perceived
waiting time into each LOS category based on the number of responses obtained is shown in Figure
6F.1.
Figure 6F.1: Classification of perceived waiting time into LOS categories
Based on the opinion sought from the experts and from field observation, it is observed that
the perceived waiting time is 1.8 times that of actual waiting time. Based on the user ratings collected
over large number of study intersections and their corresponding control delay, the ranges are
worked out are given in Table 6.7.

ANNEXURE 6G: DETAILS OF ADJUSTMENT FACTORS

6G.1 Introduction
The adjustment factors used for adjusting the base saturation flow for specific conditions are
described in this section. The adjustment factors given are for bus blockage, exclusive right turns and
initial surge. The adjustment factors for skewed intersections, parking activity etc. are not taken into
account in this manual.
6G.2 Adjustment Factor for Bus Blockage

The adjustment factor proposed in the manual for bus blockage accounts for the reduction in
saturation flow due to presence of bus stops within 75 m vicinity of the intersection. The adjustment
factor for bus blockage is adapted from the HCM 2010 of US with appropriate modifications. The
occupied lane width for a stopped bus is taken as 3m. The average delay caused by a bus stopping at
an intersection is taken as 18 seconds based on field surveys. This value includes the acceleration/
deceleration of the bus near the bus stops and the total dwelling time. The value has been arrived at
by surveys conducted in bus stops located in different land use types like residential, commercial/
work places, educational, recreational / shopping and transit points. The mean bus stoppage duration
in each land use types as observed in the field are given in Table 6G.1.
Table 6G.1: Average Bus blockage time based on land use type
Land Use Type Average Bus Blockage Time, (in Seconds)

Commercial / Offices 19.44
Educational 13.00
Residential 11.73
Transit point 29.08
Recreational / Shopping 16.77
6G.3 Adjustment for Blockage by Standing Right-Turn Vehicles

In approaches with exclusive right turning phase but without exclusive right turning lane, the
queued right turning vehicles hinder the free flow of the through and left turning vehicles. They also
reduce the total width of road available for the through and left turns. This effect is taken care in terms
of an adjustment factor which represents the effective width available for the flow of the through and
left turns. The width is taken to be reduced by 2.5 m. This adjustment factor is applicable for roads
with lane width more than 7 m. However, for the estimation of saturation flow in the exclusive right
turn phase, the width of road available for the exclusive right turn is taken as 3m.
6G.4 Adjustment Factor for Initial Surge of Vehicles

The observed discharge pattern of vehicles during the green interval in most signalized
intersections in India does not conform to the theoretical discharge pattern. The theoretical and
actual discharge profiles for a saturated approach during green time are shown by dotted blue line
and continuous blue line respectively in Fig. 6G.1. The discharge rate during the initial few seconds,
instead of remaining much less than saturation flow, is found to be significantly higher. This is
happening due to two reasons.

i) Smaller vehicles, such as motorized two wheelers and motorized three-wheelers

with high manoeuvrability, occupying the flared space of the intersection-approach
beyond stop line in the intersection area and utilizing wider width of approach while
discharging. This phenomenon is termed as flare effect.
ii) Early initiation of queue discharge in anticipation of the green initiation utilizing the
clearance time of the previous phase. This phenomenon is termed as anticipation
effect. This anticipation effect will be more pronounced due to the presence of
countdown timer in the signal head and the presence of familiar drivers.
The flow profile shown in Figure 6G.1 has both flare and anticipation effect. It can be seen that
flow is starting 2 seconds ahead of green initiation and due to the flare effect, the flow is going beyond
the saturation flow. The ratio of surge flow to the uniform saturation flow is termed as the surge ratio
as given in Equation 6G.1.
Equation 6G.1
Where,
SR = surge ratio,
SFR = Surge flow rate during initial time and
SFU = Uniform saturation flow rate achieved after the initial surge.
The adjustment factors for flare effect and anticipation effect are worked out by approximating
the area under the discharge profile with rectangles. As per Figure 6G.1, the number of vehicles
discharged (Ns) during a saturated green phase considering the surge effect can be computed as the
area under both the rectangles as given in Figure 6G.1 and vide the following equations (namely,
Equations 6G.2, 6G.3, 6G.4 and 6G.5).
Figure 6G.1: Discharge Profile during Green with Initial Surge of Vehicles
Equation 6G.2
Where,
TU = effective green time, and
TR = duration of surge/anticipation flow
As in the analysis, we use only effective green time, the saturation flow needs to be adjusted
by a factor to get the discharged vehicles as , thus:
Equation 6G.3

Equation 6G.4
Equation 6G.5
Where,
fIS = Adjustment factor for initial surge.
Equation 6G.2 is applicable when there is both flare effect and anticipation effect. When there
is only anticipation effect and there is no flare effect, takes a value of 1.
If only flare effect is seen at an approach and there is no anticipation effect, the adjustment
factor is given by Equation 6G.6.
Equation 6G.6
The adjustment factors given in Section 6.5.3 are derived for various possible situations
arising in the field.

Chapter 7:
Roundabouts
Roundabouts

CSIR - CRRI Team
and Team Members
Sh. Subhash Chand, Work Package Leader, Prof. P.K. Sarkar, RC

Principal Scientist, Traffic Engineering and SPA, New Delhi
Safety (TES) Division
Dr. Neelam J Gupta, Work Package Leader,

TES Division, Principal Scientist
Team Members
Sh. Rajan Verma, Technical Assistant, Prof. Sewa Ram,

TES Division, CSIR - CRRI SPA, New Delhi
Sh. Aniket Ranjan, Technician, Sh. Bhaskar Gowd Sudagani,

TES Division, CSIR - CRRI SPA, New Delhi
Prof. Sanjay Gupta, SPA, New Delhi
Prof. Vinay Maitri, SPA, New Delhi
Sh. Daleep Mutreja, CSIR – CRRI, New Delhi
Sh. Manish Kumar, SPA, New Delhi

Roundabouts
M.Tech Students pursued their Thesis @ CSIR - CRRI and SPA, New Delhi
Ph.D. Students
Sh. Bhaskar Gowd Sudagani (ongoing) Dr. Mayank Dubey
Ammu G. (ongoing)
M.Planning. Students pursued their Thesis @ SPA, New Delhi and

CSIR – CRRI, New Delhi
Ms. Revathy Pradeep Mr. Rahul Kapoor

Mr. Rahul Singh Mr. Mayank Dubey
Ms. Deshmukh Asmita Gajanan Mr. Aditya Karan
Ms. Jyotiraditya Verma Mr. Manmohan Singh
Mr. Parth Soni Ms. Naina Gupta
Mr. Tarun Songra Mr. Chirag Chutani
Mr. Prakash Chand Arya Mr. Thoyyeti Siva Teja
Ms. Ann George Mr. Hemant
Mr. Komaravelli Shiva Narayana Ms. Nitya Jain
Project Staff employed @ SPA, New Delhi
Ms. Sohana Debbarma, Project Associate Sh Rahul Shukla, Project Associate

Sh. Mayank Dubey, Project Associate Sh. Devesh Kumar, Project Associate
Sh. Himaskhi Bhatia, Project Associate Sh. Ajay Kumar, Project Staff
Sh. Ankit Kumar Gehlot, Project Staff Sh. Pankaj, Project Staff
Sh. Pradeep Kumar, Project Staff

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, New Delhi
2. Superintendent of Police, Traffic, NOIDA
3. Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Lucknow

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
7.1 INTRODUCTION 1
7.1.1 Mini Roundabouts 1
7.1.2 Single Lane Roundabouts 2
7.1.3 Multilane Roundabouts 2
7.3.1 Geometric Parameters 4
7.3.2 Flow Parameters 5
7.3.3 Driver Behaviour Parameters 6
7.3.4 Performance Parameters 7
7.4 METHODOLOGY 7
7.5 INPUT PARAMETERS 7
7.5.1 Geometric Characteristics 9
7.5.3 Driver Behaviour 11
7.6 CAPACITY ESTIMATION 11

Roundabouts
7.7 LEVEL OF SERVICE 13
7.8.1 Estimation of Capacity of LOS of a 66 m Diameter Roundabout 14
7.8.2 Estimation of Capacity and LOS of a 45 m Diameter Roundabout 17
REFERENCES 20
ANNEXURE 7A: METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION AND DATA RETRIEVAL 21
7A.1 Measurement of Geometric Elements 21
7A.2 Retrieval of Gap Data from Video and Data Entry Sheet 21
7A.3 Gap Data Extraction 22
7A.4 Critical Gap and Follow-up Time 24
ANNEXURE 7B: METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF PASSENGER CAR UNITS 25
ANNEXURE 7C: METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF CRITICAL GAP AND FOLLOW-UP

27
TIME
7C.1 Calculation of Critical Gap 27
7C.2 Calculation of Follup-up Time 28

Roundabouts
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
7.1 Typical Mini Roundabout 1

7.2 Typical Single Lane Roundabout 2
7.3 Typical Multilane Roundabout 3
7.4 Geometric Elements of Roundabout 4
7.5 Terminology for Traffic Flow movement 5
7.6 Entry and Circulating Headway and Gap 6
7.7 Flow Chart for Operational Analysis of Roundabouts 8
7.8 Entry Capacity for Varying Circulating flow 12
Relationship Between Approach Traffic Flow and
7.9 13
Average Vehicular Delay
7A.1 Camera View 22
7A.2 Gap Extraction Methodology 23
7A.3 Steps to measure Gap 23
7B.1 Methodology of Determination of PCU 25
7B.2 Typical Illustration for PCU Calculation 26

Roundabouts
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
7.1 Input Parameters 8
Notation used for Entry Flow and Circulating

7.2 9
Flow of Roundabout Approaches
7.3 Vehicle Types 10
7.4 Suggested Passenger Car Units 10
Critical Gap and Follow-up Time for different

7.5 11
diameters of Roundabouts
7.6 Entry Capacity Model for Varying Diameters of Roundabout 12
7.7 Level of Service based on Overall Vehicular Delay 13
Observed Turning Traffic to Various

7.8 14
Approaches in the Roundabout
7.9 Suggested PCU Value 15
7.10 Estimation of Traffic Flow in PCUs 15
7.11 Estimation of Entry Capacity 16
7.12 Capacity of Roundabout 16
7.13 Observed Turning Traffic to Various Approaches in the Roundabout 17
7.14 PCU Values 17
7.15 Estimation of Traffic Flow in PCUs 18
7.16 Estimation of Entry Capacity 19
7.17 Capacity of Roundabout 19
7A.1 Geometric Elements of Roundabout 21
7A.2 Gap Data Extraction Format 24
7C.1 Critical Gap Calculation 27

Roundabouts
Ai Accepted gap of the ith entering vehicle (seconds)
Ci Speed reduction coefficient for standard passenger cars
Cn Speed reduction coefficient for vehicle type ‘n’
Cr Roundabout Capacity
Fi Vehicle width factor (in metres)
Mean lagging headway of standard car in the entry/circulating stream

Hc
(in seconds)
Mean lagging headway of vehicle type i in the entry/circulating stream
Hi
(in seconds)
Ɵ Angle of Conflict
p2W Proportion of two-wheeler in the traffic stream
Pj Proportion of mode ‘j’ in the traffic stream
Qc Circulating Flow
Qc Circulating Flow (in PCU/h)
Qc1 Circulating Flow Section1
Qc2 Circulating Flow Section 2
Qe Entry Flow
Qe1 Entry Flow from Arm 1
QWBL Volume entering from west bound and leaving towards Left
QWBR Volume entering from west bound and leaving right
QWBS Volume entering from west bound and leaving straight
QWBU Volume entering from west bound and taking turn
Ri Speed reduction ratio due to different conflict angles

Roundabouts
Ri Highest Rejected gap of the ith entering vehicle (seconds)
Tc Critical Gap
Tc Critical Gap in seconds
tc,2W Critical gap of two-wheeler
Tc,j Critical gap of mode ‘j’
TC,mix Critical gap of total traffic stream
Tf Follow-up time in seconds
Wi and Wc Maximum width of the vehicle type i and car
Additional width due to geometrics of the roundabout of the vehicle type i and
Xi and Xc
car.
v/c volume to capacity ratio
X Total Approach Traffic Flow (in Veh/h)
Y Vehicular Delay in seconds
Auto Auto rickshaws (Three and Four Wheeled Rickshaws including e-rickshaws)
CY Cycles
HVs All Heavy Vehicles

NMT Non-Motorised Traffic
PCU Passenger Car Units
RMS Root-Mean-Square
RoW Right of Way

SC Small / Standard Cars
TW Two Wheelers

Roundabouts
7.1 INTRODUCTION
At grade intersections are the critical points of a road network where delay normally occurs
due to sharing of space and time between conflicting streams / movements of vehicles. Depending
upon the type of control employed, intersections can be termed as uncontrolled intersections,
stop-controlled intersections, roundabouts, signal controlled / signalized intersections and grade
separated intersections or interchanges. It is necessary to study them to arrive at various capacity and
Level of Service (LOS) norms under different operating conditions. This chapter presents concepts
and procedures for estimating the capacity and LOS of Roundabouts.
A roundabout is a specialized form of at-grade intersection where vehicles from the converging
arms are forced to move round a central island in one direction in an orderly and regimented manner
and move/weave out of the roundabout into their desired direction. In a conventional roundabout,
traffic at entry seek suitable gap in the circulating stream to negotiate at the roundabout.
Roundabouts are categorized according to size and environment to facilitate analysis of
specific performance or design issues. There are three basic categories based on environment,
number of lanes and size.
• Mini Roundabouts
• Single Lane Roundabouts
• Multilane Roundabouts
7.1.1 Mini Roundabouts

Mini roundabouts are small roundabouts with a fully traversable central island. Figure
7.1 shows the features of a typical mini roundabout. They may be useful in environments where
a conventional roundabout design is not possible due to constraints of Right of Way (RoW). Mini
roundabouts are relatively less expensive because they typically require minimal additional pavement
at the intersecting roads and minor widening at the corner of kerb. They are generally recommended
when there is insufficient RoW to accommodate the design vehicle with a traditional single-lane
roundabout. They are small in diameter (ranging from 4 m to 12 m). Mini roundabouts are perceived
Figure 7.1: Typical Mini Roundabout

Roundabouts
as pedestrian friendly due to short crossing distances coupled with low speed of vehicles on each
of the entry and exit approaches. A fully traversable central island is provided to accommodate
large vehicles and it serves as one of the distinguishing features of a mini roundabout. It is basically
designed to accommodate passenger cars without requiring them to traverse over the central island
accompanied by the basic philosophy of applicable for the roundabouts so as to provide ‘priority
to circulating traffic from the right’. Vehicles entering the roundabout must give way to vehicles
approaching from the right, circulating the central island. The capacity and LOS estimation of mini
roundabouts has not been dealt within this manual due to non-availability of such roundabouts to
study the traffic characteristics in Indian cities.
7.1.2 Single Lane Roundabouts

This type of roundabout is characterized as having a single-lane entry at all legs and one
circulatory lane. Figure 7.2 shows the features of a typical single lane roundabout having a diameter
ranging from 27 m to 55 m. They are distinguished from mini-roundabouts by their larger inscribed
circle diameter and non-traversable central-islands. Their design allows slightly higher speeds at
the entry, on the circulatory roadway and at the exit. The geometric design typically includes raised
splitter islands, a non-traversable central island, crosswalks and a truck apron/ mountable area.
The size of the roundabout is largely influenced by the choice of a design vehicle and available RoW.
However, again the capacity and LOS estimation of single lane roundabouts has not been dealt in this
manual due to inadequate representation of such roundabouts to study the traffic characteristics in
Indian cities.
Figure 7.2: Typical Single Lane Roundabout
7.1.3 Multilane Roundabouts

Multilane roundabouts have at least one entry with two or more lanes. In some cases, the
roundabout may have different number of lanes on one or more approaches (e.g., two lane entry on
the major approach and one lane entry on the minor approach). They also include roundabouts with
entries on one or more approaches that flare from one to two or more lanes. These require wider
circulatory roadways to accommodate more than one vehicle travelling side by side. Figure 7.3 shows
the features of a typical multi-lane roundabout having a diameter ranging from 46 m to 90 m. The

Roundabouts
speeds at the entry on the circulatory roadway and at the exit are similar or may be slightly higher
than those for the single lane roundabouts. The geometric design will include raised splitter islands,
truck apron, a non-traversable central-island and appropriate entry path deflection.
Figure 7.3: Typical Multilane Roundabout

Based on the study of typology of over 350 roundabouts located in different parts of India, it is
found that more than 70 percent roundabouts possess 20 m to 70 m diameter and average diameter
of roundabouts in Indian cities / town is 35 m. This chapter presents concepts and procedures for the
estimation of capacity and LOS of multilane roundabouts of diameter of 20 m to 70 m with two lane
approach roads having mixed traffic flow conditions. The methodology proposed is applicable to base
roundabouts satisfying most of the requirements mentioned below:
• Roundabouts at Four-arm intersection having two-lane approaches only.
• Roundabouts have circular shape of Central Island.
• Roundabouts shall have three-lane weaving width.
• Intersection angle shall preferably be at 90 degree +/- 10 degree.
• Central Island diameter in the range of 20 m to 70 m.
• Roundabouts catering to low percentage of two wheelers and less than 5 per cent heavy
vehicles and Non-Motorised Traffic (NMT).
The methodology allows the analyst to assess the operational performance and capacity of
existing or planned roundabouts based on the given traffic demand levels.

The basic definitions and terminologies associated with the roundabouts and determination
of its capacity and LOS are discussed in this section.

Roundabouts
7.3.1 Geometric Parameters

The geometric elements of a typical roundabout are given in Figure 7.4.
Figure 7.4: Geometric Elements of Roundabout
• Central Island: It is the raised portion around which the vehicles move to negotiate to their
respective destination arm. The basic function of the central island is to convert the direct
conflict points into angular conflict points or reduce severity of conflict points .It is also meant
for providing proper turning radius to the vehicle.
• Entry Radius: It is radius of curvature provided at entry arm so that vehicle entering from
approach arm decelerates and enters the roundabout at designated speed range.
• Entry Width: The entry width is defined as the width of the carriageway at the entry of the
roundabout. It is the distance from the edge of deflecting island to edge of inscribed circle
diameter.
• Exit Angle: It is the angle by which traffic is deflected from the weaving section towards exit
of the roundabout.
• Exit Radius: It is the radius of curvature provided at exit side of the roundabout so that
vehicle from roundabout is accelerated to leave the roundabout.
• Exit Width: It is width of carriageway from edge of deflecting island to edge of inscribed
circle diameter, at the exit side of the roundabout.
• Inscribed Circle Diameter: The inscribed circle diameter is the basic parameter used to
define the size of a roundabout. It is measured between the outer edges of the circulatory
roadway.
• Non-Weaving Width: It is the width of the carriageway used by the circulating traffic. It can
also be defined as the width of the road from the edge of the central island to the deflecting
island.

Roundabouts
• Splitter or Deflecting Island: A kerbed island and associated road markings on the
carriageway, located between an entry and exit on the same roundabout arm and shaped
so as to direct and also separate opposing traffic movements onto and from a roundabout
circulatory carriageway.
• Truck Apron: A slightly raised circular paved path along the circumference of the central
island, which help long vehicles turn safely through the roundabout.
• Weaving Length: It is the length of the weaving section.
• Weaving Section: It is the road space used by the traffic where the merging and diverging
of traffic takes place within the roundabout. It can also be defined as the space where the
traffic coming from the approach arm enters and traffic coming from non-weaving section
also enters.
• Weaving Width: It is the width of the carriageway of the weaving section.
7.3.2 Flow Parameters

• Circulating Stream: The two circulating streams in the roundabout are defined as the near
and far major streams, with respect to the entering vehicles or the yield line. For the case
of two entry lanes, the inner and outer minor lane are so defined that the outer lane is the
one closest to the kerb line. (Figure 7.5). Traffic flow negotiating from one arm to any of the
approach arm is also shown in Figure 7.5.
• Entry Flow: The traffic inflow from an entry to a roundabout.
Qc = Circulating Flow
Qe = Entry Flow
QWBL = Volume entering from west bound

and leaving towards Left
QWBS = Volume entering from west bound
and leaving straight
QWBR = Volume entering from west bound
and leaving right
QWBU = Volume entering from west bound
and taking turn
Figure 7.5: Terminology for Traffic Flow movement

Roundabouts
7.3.3 Driver Behaviour Parameters

• Classification of Gap Acceptance: Gap acceptance parameters are affected by geometry of
the entry. These parameters are function of the circulating flow and measured in seconds.
• Critical Gap: Critical gap is defined as the minimum headway in the circulating flow when an
entering vehicle can safely enter a roundabout, assuming all entering drivers are consistent
and homogeneous (refer Figure 7.6).
• Floating Entrance: If the driver finds a gap and does not have to stop at the yield sign, the
vehicle is defined as floating. It is only the first vehicle entering a gap while floating vehicle is
the succeeding vehicle known as follow-up vehicle.
• Follow-up Time: Follow-up time is defined as the time span between two queued vehicles
entering the circulating stream in the same gap. The follow-up time is the headway between
the vehicles entering. If more than one vehicle from minor stream uses a gap then the
succeeding vehicles are referred to as follow-ups. It can be measured only when there is a
queue situation.
• Gap Acceptance: All gaps greater than or equal to the critical gap would be accepted.
• Gap Rejection: All gaps less than the critical gap would be rejected.
• Gap: A gap is defined as the time span between two consecutive circulating vehicles that
create conflict with an entering vehicle. The described time span is measured only when the
entering driver is at the yield line when the gap begins.
• Headway: It is the time between two following vehicles and is measured from the first
vehicle’s front bumper to the following vehicle’s front bumper.
• Lag: A lag is defined as the time between the arrival of entering vehicle at roundabout entry
and the arrival of successive conflicting vehicle in the circulating flow.
• Static Entrance: If a vehicle has to stop at the yield sign and wait for a sufficient gap to occur
before entering the roundabout, it is referred as static entrance.
Figure 7.6: Entry and Circulating Headway and Gap

Roundabouts
7.3.4 Performance Parameters

• Delay: Delay is a standard parameter used to measure the performance of a roundabout.
There are two components of the delay at roundabouts, namely queuing delay and geometric
delay.
• Entry Capacity: Entry Capacity at roundabouts is defined as the maximum traffic inflow from
an entry to a roundabout when the traffic flow at that entry is sufficient to cause continuous
queuing in its approach road.
• Geometric Delay: Geometric delay is the delay to drivers slowing down to negotiate speed,
proceeding through the roundabout and then accelerating back to normal operating speed.
Further, this is the delay to drivers slowing down to stop at the end of the queue and, after
accepting a gap, accelerating to further negotiate at the roundabout to increase speed,
proceeding through the roundabout and then finally accelerating further to reach normal
operating speed. It excludes the time to wait for an acceptable gap.
• Level of Service (LOS): Level of service offers the qualitative traffic flow condition of
roundabout, i.e. free flow, stable flow, unstable flow or forced flow. At roundabouts, LOS is
expressed in terms of average delay per vehicle.
• Queuing Delay: Queuing delay is the delay to drivers waiting to accept a gap in the circulating
traffic.

This chapter presents concepts and procedures for the estimation of capacity and LOS of
multilane roundabouts of diameter of 20 m to 70 m with two lane approach roads having mixed
traffic flow conditions conforming to base condition criteria detailed in Section 7.2. The other
types of roundabouts with approach lanes more than two lanes have not been taken into account
for further studies due to the fact that the degree of magnitude of traffic at the approach arms was
not adequate enough for generation of critical gap as against the flow of circulating traffic in the
roundabout. Eventually, 18 Roundabouts (diameter ranging between 20 to 70 m) located in 9 cities
of the country namely; Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Gandhinagar, Surat, Navi Mumbai, and
Salem have been considered for analysis.
7.4 METHODOLOGY
The methodology can be applied to three analysis levels for an isolated roundabout
intersection. They are used at operational, design and planning level. The operation level requires
detailed information about the geometric, traffic and control conditions. Design level requires the
information regarding the traffic condition and desired LOS. Planning level of analysis requires
fundamental data and all other input parameters are substituted with the default values. The overview
of the methodology is shown in Figure 7.7.
7.5 INPUT PARAMETERS

The various input parameters required for the estimation of capacity and LOS as prescribed
in this chapter may be classified broadly into three categories. The various input parameters are
presented in Table 7.1. The estimation of these parameters is described in the succeeding sections.
Videography method may be used for collection and extraction of field traffic and performance data
as detailed out in Annexure 7A.

Roundabouts
Figure 7.7: Flow Chart for Operational Analysis of Roundabouts
Table 7.1: Input Parameters
Parameter Description Remarks

1. Diameter of the Roundabout in m
2. Number of Approach Lanes
Geometric
3. Approach Width in m Field measurements
Characteristics
4. Number of Circulating Lanes
5. Circulating Roadway width in m
1. Entry Flow in veh/h (Qe)
Video Extraction
2. Circulating Flow in veh/h (Qc-)
Traffic Characteristics 3. Passenger Car Units (PCU)
Conversion of traffic flow
4. Entry Flow in PCU/h (Qe)
to PCU
5. Circulating Flow in PCU/h (Qc)
1. Critical Gap, Tc (sec)
Driver Behaviour Computed
2. Follow-Up Time, Tf (sec)

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7.5.1 Geometric Characteristics

An intersection is accompanied with a layout of the roundabout. All the details of the
intersection are to be recorded precisely on the layout. This includes diameter of the roundabout,
number of approach lanes, approach width, number of circulating lanes and circulating roadway
width.
7.5.1.1 Diameter of Roundabout
The diameter of the roundabout is the diameter of the central island of any roundabout
considered for capacity and LOS estimation.
7.5.1.2 Approach Width
The width of the approach is the distance from the edge of deflecting island to edge of
inscribed circle diameter.
7.5.1.3 Circulating Road Width
It is the width of the carriageway used by the circulating traffic. It can also be defined as the
width of the road from the edge of the central island to the deflecting island. In order to identify and
apply the appropriate capacity model, it is necessary measure the geometrics of the roundabout.

The various traffic parameters which are to be taken into account for capacity estimation are
presented in the succeeding sections.
7.5.2.1 Entry Flow
The volume of traffic that enters the intersection from different approaches is to be accounted
for. The traffic flow should be classified based on different vehicle types present in the traffic stream
and need to be converted into PCUs.
7.5.2.2 Circulating Flow
The volume of traffic that is circulating in the non-weaving section and is conflicting with
the entry traffic at the intersection from different approaches is to be accounted for in a classified
manner for all the approaches. The classified circulating traffic flow must be deduced and further
to be converted as described in para 7.5.2.3 by relating with Passenger Car Units. In this regard,
classified traffic volume count during the peak periods is required to be extracted for the traffic flow
parameters namely; entry flow and circulating flow and is to be tabulated for different approaches
using the notations given in Table 7.2.
Table 7.2: Notation used for Entry Flow and Circulating Flow of Roundabout Approaches
Entry Flow (in Vehicles/h) Circulating Flow (in Vehicles/h)
Entry Flow from Arm 1 = Qe1 Circulating Flow Section1 = Qc1
Entry Flow from Arm 2 = Qe2 Circulating Flow Section 2 = Qc2

Roundabouts
The vehicle types considered in this chapter are listed in Table 7.3:

Motorized Traffic
1. Two Wheelers TW Two Wheelers including Bikes and Scooters
Auto rickshaws
2. (Three and Four Wheeled Auto Auto Rickshaws
Rickshaws including e-rickshaws)
Commercial Pick Up Vans, Mini Trucks and
5. Light Commercial Vehicles LCV Mini Buses (up to Gross Vehicle Weight of
7.0 tonnes)
All Heavy Vehicles which includes Buses,
6. All Heavy Vehicles1 HVs
Two / Three Axle and Multi Axle Trucks
7. Cycles CY
8. Cycle Rickshaws CY RICK Slow Moving Vehicles
7.5.2.3 Passenger Car Units

Based on the static and dynamic characteristics, the vehicles observed in an urban
intersection have been classified as presented in Table 7.3. Passenger Car Units (PCUs) derived for
different vehicle types, based on five important inputs namely, traffic flow, headway, conflict angle
of vehicles negotiating the roundabout, vehicular speed and composition of traffic [Anurag, (2015),
Revathy (2015)]. PCU thus evolved are presented in Table 7.4. The methodology for determination of
passenger car equivalency is given in Annexure 7B.
Table 7.4: Suggested Passenger Car Units
Motorized Traffic Non-Motorized Traffic

Diameter
(in m) Two- Autos Small Big Heavy Cycle
LCVs Cycle ADV
Wheeler Cars Cars Vehicles Rickshaw
20 <D ≤ 30 1.88 3.65 0.18 1.12
30 < D ≤40 1.65 3.45 0.21 1.31
0.32 0.83 1.00 1.40 4.0
40 < D ≤50 1.53 3.20 0.25 1.56
50 < D ≤70 1.46 3.05 0.28 1.74
1
s the candidate roundabouts have been considered in typical urban areas in various cities, the proportion of
A
heavy goods vehicles has been found to be negligible and hence combined with buses.

Roundabouts
7.5.3 Driver Behaviour

7.5.3.1 Critical Gap
Critical gap represents the minimum time interval in the circulating flow when an entering
vehicle from approach can safely enter a roundabout as mentioned earlier. Thus, the critical gap is the
minimum gap that would be acceptable. A particular driver may reject gaps less than the critical gap
and accept gaps greater than or equal to the critical gap. Critical gap can be estimated on the basis of
observations of the largest rejected and smallest accepted gap for a given intersection.
7.5.3.2 Follow-up Time
The time between the departure of one vehicle from the approach and the departure of the
next vehicle using the same gap in circulating flow, under a condition of continuous queuing condition,
is called the follow-up time. Thus, follow-up is the headway that defines the saturation flow rate for
the approach if there were no conflicting vehicles on movements of higher rank. In order to calculate
entry capacity, it is required to calculate the critical gap and follow-up time for the roundabout. The
methodology for determination of critical gap and follow-up time is given in Annexure 7C along with
required input data. It is found that critical gap and follow-up time at a roundabout primarily vary
with the diameter of the roundabout. For the purpose of planning and design, the values of critical gap
and follow-up time parameters for roundabouts of different diameters evolved based on the studies
conducted at 18 roundabouts are presented in Table 7.5. It may be noted that follow-up time is to be
considered as 0.75 times the Critical Gap.
Table 7.5: Critical Gap and Follow-up Time for different diameters of Roundabouts
Diameter, D (m) Critical Gap(sec) Follow-up Time (sec)

20 < D ≤30 2.00 1.50
30 < D ≤40 1.90 1.40
40 < D ≤50 1.65 1.25
50 < D ≤70 1.60 1.20
7.6 CAPACITY ESTIMATION

This section presents the process for determining the entry capacity of roundabout. It may be
noted by the analyst that the maximum flow rate that can be accommodated at a roundabout entry
depends on two factors namely, the circulating flow on the roundabout that conflicts with the entry
flow and the geometric elements of the roundabout.
When the circulating flow is low, drivers at the entry are able to enter the roundabout without
significant delay. The larger gaps in the circulating flow are more useful to the entering drivers and
more than one vehicle may enter each gap. As the circulating flow increases, the size of the gaps in the
circulating flow decrease, and the rate at which vehicles can enter also decreases correspondingly.
Similarly, the geometric elements of the roundabout also affect the rate of entry flow. The most
important geometric element is the width of the entry and circulatory roadways, or the number of
lanes at the entry on the roundabout. Two entry lanes permit nearly twice the rate of entry flow as
that of a single lane. Wider circulatory roadways allow vehicles to travel alongside, or follow, each
other in tighter bunch and so provide longer gaps between bunches of vehicles. The flare length also
affects the capacity. The inscribed circle diameter and the entry angle have minor effects on capacity.
Figure 7.7 demonstrates the methodology devised for the estimation of entry capacity of the round-
about. The capacity of roundabout is a function of entry flow and circulating flow. As driver behaviour

Roundabouts
appears to be a significant variable affecting roundabout performance, consideration of critical gap

and follow-up time is recommended to produce accurate capacity estimates. The following exponen-
tial model(s) adopted from HCM (2010) can be used by the analyst for the estimation of entry capacity
of roundabout:
C = A * Exp (–B*Qc) Equation 7.1

A =3600/Tf Equation 7.2
B= (Tc – 0.5*Tf )/ 3600 Equation 7.3
Where,
Tf = Follow-up time in seconds
Tc = Critical Gap in seconds
Qc = Circulating flow in PCU/hour
Using the average critical value and follow-up time presented in the earlier section, the entry
capacity models / equations for varying range of diameters of roundabouts have been derived and
presented in Table 7.6. The Nomograph for the direct estimation of entry capacity of varying sizes of
roundabouts is presented in Figure 7.8.
Table 7.6: Entry Capacity Model for Varying Diameters of Roundabout
Critical Follow-up B =(Tc -

Diameter,
Gap, Time, A=3600/Tf 0.5*Tf) C = A*Exp(-B*Qc)
D (m)
Tc (s) Tf (s) /3600
20 < D ≤ 30 2.01 1.51 2384 0.00035 C = 2384* Exp (-0.00035 * Qc )
30 < D≤ 40 1.87 1.40 2571 0.00032 C = 2571* Exp (-0.00032 * Qc )
40 <D ≤ 50 1.65 1.24 2903 0.00029 C = 2903* Exp (-0.00029 * Qc )
50 < D≤ 70 1.61 1.21 2975 0.00028 C = 2975 * Exp (-0.00028 * Qc )
Figure 7.8: Entry Capacity for Varying Circulating flow

Roundabouts
7.7 LEVEL OF SERVICE

The estimation of LOS is based on the delay model derived from studies conducted on
multilane roundabouts of varying diameter by taking into account the delay experienced by the
vehicle from entry point to reach the exit point of the roundabout.
The delay model empirically derived is as presented in Equation 7.4.

y= 0.8*e0.001x Equation 7.4
Where,
y= Vehicular Delay in seconds.
x= Total Approach Traffic Flow in Veh/h.
Figure 7.9 gives the LOS derived for roundabouts from the above equation and cluster analysis.
Figure 7.9: Relationship Between Approach Traffic Flow and Average Vehicular Delay
As mentioned earlier, based on the observed overall vehicular delay at roundabout and
prevailing traffic flow, LOS has been established by using clustering technique to represent the quality
of traffic flow on roundabout. Accordingly, LOS for the roundabout is given in Table 7.7. If the volume
to capacity v/c ratio of a lane exceeds 1.0, regardless of the delay, the LOS of the roundabout is defined
as LOS- F.
Table 7.7: Level of Service based on Overall Vehicular Delay
LOS Average Delay ‘d’ per Vehicle (Sec)
A <5
B 6 ≤ d < 15
C 16 ≤ d < 20
D 21 ≤ d < 35
E 36 ≤ d < 65
F > 65

Roundabouts

7.8.1 Estimation of Capacity and LOS of a 66 m Diameter Roundabout
A roundabout with diameter of 66 m has 2 lane approaches on its entry. Traffic data is
presented in Table 7.8. Determine the Capacity and Level of Service of the roundabout.
Table 7.8: Observed Turning Traffic to Various Approaches in the Roundabout
Entry Flow (in Vehicles/h)

Light
Small Big Heavy Two Three
Total Commercial
Cars Cars Vehicles Wheelers Wheelers
Vehicles
Arm 1
1641 762 283 5 35 423 133
(Qe1)
Arm 2
418 174 56 10 15 128 35
(Qe2)
Arm 3
1570 837 145 15 47 359 167
(Qe3)
Arm 4
788 361 142 20 27 181 57
(Qe4)
Total 4417
Circulating Flow (in Vehicles/h)
Light
Total Commercial
Vehicle
Circulating
754 279 162 12 25 198 78
Section1(Qc1)
Circulating
1767 978 235 10 37 380 127
Section2(Qc2)
Circulating
349 137 87 8 17 57 43
Section3(Qc3)
Circulating
1457 647 162 10 47 510 81
Section4(Qc4)
Total 4327
Solution:
Step 1: Conversion of traffic flow to flow in Passenger Car Units
Arm wise and section wise traffic volume data should be converted into PCU/h.
a) Selection of PCU Values
By using the PCU values for different modes presented in Table 7.4 (vide the diameter range),
the above roundabout falls in the range of 50m -70m and accordingly, Table 7.9 present the PCU
values considered.

Roundabouts
Table 7.9: Suggested PCU Values
PCU
Diameter Motorized Motorized Light

Small Heavy
Cycle Two- Three- Big Car Commercial
Car Vehicle
Wheeler Wheeler Vehicle
50 <D ≤ 70 0.28 0.32 0.83 1.00 1.40 1.46 3.05
b) Conversion of traffic flow to PCUs/h

Using the PCU values, the entry flow and circulating flow is determined as presented in
Table 7.10.
Table 7.10: Estimation of Traffic Flow in PCUs
Entry Flow Qe (in PCU/h)

Light
Total Commercial
Vehicle
Arm 1 (Qe1) 1517 762 396 7 107 135 110
Arm 2 (Qe2) 383 174 78 15 46 41 29
Arm 3 (Qe3) 1459 837 203 22 143 115 139
Arm 4 (Qe4) 776 361 199 29 82 58 47
Circulating Flow Qc (in PCU/h)
Light
Total Commercial
Vehicle
Circulating
729 279 227 18 77 63 65
Section1(Qc1)
Circulating
1662 978 329 15 113 122 105
Section2(Qc2)
Circulating
378 137 122 13 52 18 36
Section3(Qc3)
Circulating
1263 647 227 15 144 163 67
Section4(Qc4)
Step 2: Capacity Calculation

a) Selection of Entry Capacity Equation
Table 7.6 gives the Entry Capacity equation for different diameters of roundabouts. Since the
given roundabout falls in the range of 50m -70 m, the following equation i.e. Equation 7.5 is considered.
C = 2975 * Exp (-0.00028 * Qc) Equation 7.5

Roundabouts
b) Calculation of Entry Capacity

The entry capacity is calculated using the above equation by substituting the circulating flow
Qc from Table 7.10 and estimated capacity are presented in Table 7.11.
Table 7.11: Estimation of Entry Capacity
Entry Capacity
(in PCU/h)
Arm 1 C1 2426
Arm 2 C2 1868
Arm 3 C3 2676
Arm 4 C4 2089
c) Estimation of Roundabout Capacity Cr

Roundabout capacity is defined as the maximum of the summation of entry capacity of one
arm and the entry flow of the other three arms as expressed in Table 7.12.
Table 7.12: Capacity of Roundabout
Capacity Combinations
Cr1= C1+Qe2+ Qe3+ Qe4 2431+383+1459+776 = 5044
Cr2= Qe1 +C2+ Qe3+ Qe4 1518+1872+1459+776 = 5620
Cr3= Qe1+ Qe2+C3+ Qe4 1518+383+2682+776 = 5352
Cr4= Qe1+ Qe2+ Qe3+C4 1518+383+1459+2093 = 5448
Maximum 5620
Roundabout capacity is the maximum of all four combinations of capacities, i.e. 5620 PCU/h.
Step 3: Level of Service Estimation
Section 7.7 gives the LOS equation as y= 0.8*e0.001x for the above typology of roundabout. By
substituting the total approach volume of 4417 veh/h in place of x (from Table 7.8), vehicular delay,
‘y’ is derived at Equation 7.6 as follows:
y = 0.8*e 0.001*4417 = 66.28 seconds Equation 7.6
From Table 7.7, it can be inferred that the delay of 66.28 seconds falls in the range of more
than 65 seconds denoting the existence of LOS-F at the roundabout considered. This implies urgent
measures need to be undertaken for its improvement.

Roundabouts
7.8.2 Estimation of Capacity and LOS of a 45 m Diameter Roundabout

A roundabout with diameter of 45 m has 2 lane approaches on its entry and traffic data is
presented in Table 7.13. Determine the Capacity and Level of Service.
Table 7.13: Observed Turning Traffic to Various Approaches in the Roundabout

Entry Flow (in Vehicles/hr)
Light
Total Commercial
Vehicle
Arm 1 (Qe1) 1160 540 186 15 25 300 94
Arm 2(Qe2) 560 230 76 10 20 176 48
Arm 3(Qe3) 950 480 109 12 28 219 102
Arm 4(Qe4) 480 221 81 14 16 113 35
Total 3150
Circulating Flow (in Vehicles/hr)
Light
Total Commercial
Vehicle
Circulating
495 230 79 12 11 128 35
Section1(Qc1)
Circulating
1170 592 134 14 34 270 126
Section2(Qc2)
Circulating
230 106 36 7 5 60 16
Section3(Qc3)
Circulating
966 400 130 25 28 300 83
Section4(Qc4)
Total 2861
Solution:
Step 1: Conversion of traffic Flow to Flow in Passenger Car Units
Arm wise and section wise traffic volume data should be converted into PCU/hr.
c) Selection of PCU Values
By using the PCU values for different modes presented in Table 7.4 (vide the diameter range),
the above roundabout falls in the range of 40m -50m and accordingly, Table 7.9 list the PCU values
considered.
Table 7.14: PCU Values
PCU
Diameter Two- Three- Small Heavy
Cycle Big Car LCVs
Wheeler Wheeler Car Vehicle
40<D≤50 0.25 0.32 0.83 1.00 1.40 1.5 3.2

Roundabouts
d) Conversion of traffic flow to PCUs/hr

Using the PCU values, the entry flow and circulating flow is determined which is presented in
Table 7.15.
Table 7.15: Estimation of Traffic Flow in PCUs
Entry Flow Qe (in PCU/hr)
Light
Total Commercial
Vehicle
Arm 1 (Qe1) 1077 540 260 23 80 96 78
Arm 2 (Qe2) 512 230 106 15 64 56 40
Arm 3 (Qe3) 895 480 153 18 90 70 85
Arm 4 (Qe4) 472 221 113 21 51 36 29
Circulating Flow Qc (in PCU/hr)
Light
Total Commercial
Vehicle
Circulating
464 230 111 18 35 41 29
Section1(Qc1)
Circulating
1100 592 188 21 109 86 105
Section2(Qc2)
Circulating
215 106 50 11 16 19 13
Section3(Qc3)
Circulating
874 400 182 38 90 96 69
Section4(Qc4)
Step 2: Capacity Calculation

d) Selection of Entry Capacity Equation
Table 7.6 gives the entry capacity equation for different diameters of roundabouts. Since
the given roundabout falls in the range of 40 m -50 m, the following equation i.e. Equation 7.7 is
considered.
C = 2903 * Exp (-0.00029 * Qc) Equation 7.7
e) Calculation of Entry Capacity
The entry capacity is calculated using the above equation by substituting the circulating flow
(Qc) from Table 7.15 and the estimated capacity for each arm is presented in Table 7.16.

Roundabouts
Table 7.16: Estimation of Entry Capacity
Entry Capacity
(in PCU/hr)
Arm 1 C1 2350
Arm 2 C2 1793
Arm 3 C3 2602
Arm 4 C4 2013
f) Estimation of Roundabout Capacity Cr
Roundabout capacity is defined as the maximum of the summation of entry capacity of one
arm and the entry flow of the other three arms as expressed in Table 7.17.
Table 7.17: Capacity of Roundabout
Capacity Combinations
Cr1= C1+Qe2+ Qe3+ Qe4 2543+512+895+472 4229
Cr2= Qe1 +C2+ Qe3+ Qe4 1077+2144+895+472 4312
Cr3= Qe1+ Qe2+C3+ Qe4 1077+512+2733+472 4663
Cr4= Qe1+ Qe2+ Qe3+C4 1077+512+895+2258 4573
Maximum 4663
Roundabout capacity is the maximum of all four combinations of capacities, i.e. 4663 PCUs/h.
Step 3: Level of Service Estimation
Section 7.7 gives the LOS equation as y= 0.8*e0.001x for the above roundabout. By substituting
the total approach volume as 3150 PCU/h in place of x from Table 7.8, vehicular delay, ‘y’ is derived
at Equation 7.8 as follows:
y = 0.8*e 0.001*3150=18.67 seconds Equation 7.8
From Table 7.7, it can be inferred that the delay of 18.67 seconds falls in the range of 15 - 20
seconds denoting the existence of LOS-C at the roundabout considered.

Roundabouts
REFERENCES
1. Anurag Bora (2015) “Evaluation of dynamic PCU of vehicles in a roundabout under various flow
and traffic conditions.” Unpublished M.Planning Thesis, Department of Transport Planning,
School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
2. Revathy Pradeep (2015), “Capacity of Roundabout in Mixed Traffic Conditions” Unpublished
M.Planning Thesis, Department of Transport Planning, School of Planning and Architecture,
New Delhi.
3. HCM (2010) “HCM 2010: Highway Capacity Manual”, .Special Report No. 209, 5th Edition,
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC. USA.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Akcelik R, Chung E and Beasley M (1998),” Roundabout Capacity and Performance analysis”,
Res. Rep. ARR 321, ARRB Transport Research Ltd, VIC Australia.
2. Bissell H.H. (1960), ”Traffic Gap Acceptance from a STOP Sign” Research Report, University of
California , Berkeley, pp. 24-26.
3. Bhaskar Gowd Sudagani (2007) “Practical Capacity of Roundabouts”, Unpublished M.Planning
Thesis, Department of Transport Planning, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
4. Faddah M.Z. (1966), “Capacity of Roundabout Entries,” M.S. Thesis, Department of Civil
Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, lrbid, Jordan.
5. IRC: 65-(1976), “Recommended Practice for Traffic Rotaries,” published by the Indian Roads
Congress, 1976.
6. Kimber R.M (1980) “The Traffic Capacity of Roundabouts”, Laboratory Report 942, Transport
and Road Research Laboratory, Crowthorne, Berkshire, England.
7. Masaied R, Faddah Z (1997),”Capacity of Roundabouts in Jordan”, Transportation Research
Record 1572, Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C, pp. 76-85.
8. Polus A, Lazar S.S and Livneh M (2003),”Critical Gap as Function of Waiting Time in Determining
the Roundabout Capacity”, Journal of Transportation Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 129, No 5, pp. 504-
508.
9. Stuwe B (1991) “Capacity and Safety of Roundabout – German Results,” Intersection without
Traffic signals ii, pp 126-140.
10. Sewa Ram (2013) “Planning and Design Guidelines of Roundabouts in mixed traffic conditions”,
Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Transport Planning, School of Planning and
Architecture, New Delhi.
11. Troutbeack R.J (1989) “Evaluating the Performance of Roundabout,” Australian Road Research
SR 45, pp 25-31.
12. Troutbeack R.J (1991) “Recent Australian Unsignalized Intersection Research and Practices,”
Intersection without Traffic Signals ii, pp 238-257.

Roundabouts
ANNEXURE 7A: METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

AND DATA RETRIEVAL
The estimation of critical gap and follow-up time and entry capacity from field requires proper
data collection and extraction techniques. This Annexure presents the guidelines for data collection
method followed by discussions on the data extraction process from the recorded videos.
7A.1 Measurement of Geometric Elements

Topographic mapping of roundabout should be done to cover all required geometric
parameters. In order to identify the appropriate capacity model, it is necessary to measure and record
the geometric parameters of the roundabout given in Table 7A.1
Table 7A.1: Geometric Elements of Roundabout
S. No. Geometric Element

1 Diameter of the Roundabout in m
2 Number of Approach Lanes
3 Approach Width in m
4 Number of Circulating Lanes
5 Circulating roadway width in Meters
Video Recording and Extraction of Traffic and Flow Parameters

• Video cameras need to be placed at vantage position focused on the entire stretch of weaving
section covering entry, circulating and exit flow for all the approaches or at least one approach.
• It is recommended to place the camera at 6m height at the splitter island in case a vantage
position is not available.
• In order to capture all the gap acceptance parameters the recording camera must be focused
in such a way that it also covers part of the non-weaving section so that available gap in the
circulating traffic is visible before being accepted or rejected by the entry vehicle. Similarly,
expected queue length at entry should also be covered in the recording.
• Data extraction was carried out with respect to gap acceptance parameters (accepted gap,
rejected gaps, follow-up time) for different classes of vehicles and corresponding classified
entry and exit flows. Various traffic flow parameters to be recorded and extracted for the
roundabout are presented pictorially in Figure 7A.1 as well as panoramic view from the
camera.
7A.2 Retrieval of Gap Data from Video and Data Entry Sheet
Data extraction involve determining three events, which are necessary to define various
accepted and rejected headway events needed for critical headway and follow-up headway
calculations. Following three time events must be recorded for entry vehicle:
• Time at which vehicle stopped for gap occurrence (at the entry or stop line or any place within
the weaving section)

Roundabouts
Figure 7A.1: Camera View
• Passage time of circulating vehicles that directly conflicted with entry vehicle
• Time at which the vehicle left from the waiting place (at exit line)
7A.3 Gap Data Extraction

The gap data extraction methodology is listed below:
• Stop line at entry, Imaginary Dynamic Reference line at conflicting point and Exit Line at the
end of the weaving section should be drawn.
• As an entry vehicle enters the weaving section, the entry time of its front and rear bumper
should be noted down.

Roundabouts
• After its entry, the time of front bumper of first circulating vehicle crossing the dynamic
reference line in weaving section should be noted down.
• The front and rear bumper time of all circulating vehicles should be noted down till the entry
vehicle accepts the gap.
• Its exit time should be noted down at the end of the weaving section
The time lapse between the rear bumper and the front bumper of the consecutive circulating
vehicle is the gap between the two vehicles. Figure 7A.2 shows gap data extraction methodology
whereas Figure 7A.3 shows the steps to be followed to measure gap. Table 7A.2 shows Gap data
extraction format for data retrieval from the recorded video. Gap for entry vehicle is rejected till it
is not accepted by circulating vehicle. Maximum Rejected Gap and Accepted Gap are quantified from
extraction sheet.
Figure 7A.2: Gap Extraction Methdodology
Figure 7A.3: Steps to measure Gap

Roundabouts
Table 7A.2: Gap Data Extraction Format
7A.4 Critical Gap and Follow-up Time

Critical gap represents the minimum time interval in the circulating flow when an entering
vehicle from approach can safely enter a roundabout. Thus, the driver’s critical gap is the minimum
gap that would be acceptable. A particular driver would reject gaps less than the critical gap and
would accept gaps greater than or equal to the critical gap. Critical gap can be estimated on the
basis of observations of the largest rejected and smallest accepted gap for a given intersection. The
time between the departure of one vehicle from the approach and the departure of the next vehicle
using the same gap in circulating flow, under a condition of continuous queuing condition, is called
the follow-up time. Thus, follow-up time is the headway that defines the saturation flow rate for the
approach if there were no conflicting vehicles.

Roundabouts
ANNEXURE 7B: METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF

PASSENGER CAR UNITS
The methodology of determination of PCU value is shown in Figure 7B.1. In order to estimate
the PCU for different types of vehicles, five important inputs namely traffic volume, headway, conflict
angle of vehicles negotiating the roundabout, vehicular speed and composition of traffic have been
taken in to account.
Figure 7B.1: Methodology of Determination of PCU
PCU for different types of vehicles are derived from the following equations namely, 7B.1,
7B.2 and 7B.3.
Equation 7B.1
Where,
Hi = Mean lagging headway of vehicle type i in the entry/circulating stream (in seconds)
Hc = Mean lagging headway of standard car in the entry/circulating stream (in seconds)
Fi = Vehicle width factor (in metres)
Ri = Speed reduction ratio due to different conflict angles
Equation 7B.2
Where,
Wi and Wc = Maximum width of the vehicle type i and car.
Xi and Xc = Additional width due to geometrics of the roundabout of the vehicle type i and car.
Ri = Sin θ { log (Cn/Ci) } Equation 7B.3

Roundabouts
Where,
Cn = Speed reduction coefficient for vehicle type ‘n’
Ci = Speed reduction coefficient for standard passenger cars
Ɵ = Angle of conflict
Figure 7B.2: Typical Illustration for PCU Calculation

Roundabouts
ANNEXURE 7C: METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF

CRITICAL GAP AND FOLLOW-UP TIME
7C.1 Calculation of Critical Gap
Critical gap is a parameter that depends on local conditions such as geometric layout, driver
behaviour, vehicle characteristics and traffic conditions. However, critical gap cannot be measured
directly in the field or from recorded events. the critical gaps are estimated based on the technique
related to the accepted and maximum rejected gaps using Root-Mean Square Method. Root Mean
Square (RMS) is an analytical model where the minimization of square root of the mean squared
deviation of predicted value from a given baseline or fit gives the absolute measure fit. Critical gap
estimation requires information about the accepted gap and the maximum rejected gap for each
driver. RMS model minimizes the square root of the mean squared deviation of Rejected gap value Ri
and Accepted gap value Ai from expected critical gap value Tc to give the average critical gap value.
The function depicting the estimation of critical gap can be written as given in Equation 7C.1.
Equation 7C.1
Where,
Ai = Accepted gap of the ith entering vehicle (seconds),
Ri = Highest Rejected gap of the ith entering vehicle (seconds) and
Tc = Critical gap value (seconds).
Using Solver option in Microsoft EXCEL, function minimization can be carried out which is
basically an iterative process and the first value for iteration must be logical. It would be good to use
average of all the highest rejected gaps and all accepted gaps as a first value or starting point so that
it can converge fast and reduce the number of iterations.
Critical gap estimation is enumerated within the Excel worksheet as presented in Table 7C.1.
The values in column A and column B are the Maximum rejected gaps (Ri) and accepted gaps (Ai)
respectively. The initial value of Tc = 5.480 (cell C21) to start the iteration is the average of all accepted
Table 7C.1: Critical Gap Calculation

Roundabouts
and rejected gaps (values in cell A3 to B18). This is used to calculate the value of function as given
in column C. The sum of the function is given in the cell C20. The iteration process is started using
the solver function in MS EXCEL to get the minimum value of sum of Root Mean squared values.
The iterative process utilized helped in converging the function value from 44.724 to 44.705. The
convergence was achieved at Tc = 5.384 s, which is the estimated critical gap for a specified vehicle
type.
Critical gap can be calculated mode-wise as the traffic composition varies on each roundabout.
Critical gap for total traffic stream can be calculated as per the Equation 7C.2.
Equation 7C.2

Tc,mix = tc,2W* p2W + tc,3W* p3W + tc,SC* pSC+ tc,BC* pBC+ tc,HV* pHV
Where,
tc,2W = critical gap of two wheeler
p2W = proportion of two-wheeler in the traffic stream
TC,mix = Critical gap of total traffic stream
Tc,j = Critical gap of mode j
Pj = Proportion of mode j in the traffic stream
7C.2 Calculation of Follow-up Time

Tf is measured at the stop line between the vehicles using the same gap in circulating flow.
The vehicles on entry leg should be in a queuing position following each other while accepting the
same gap in circulating flow. Follow-up Time is the time between two entering vehicles, front to front,
which can be calculated by the average difference between the passage times of two entering vehicles
accepting the same mainstream gap under a queued condition. Follow-up time is computed from
recorded time events. Once the individual follow-up time was obtained, the follow-up time is then
calibrated by taking a mean value of all measured follow-up times for each roundabout. The critical
gap and follow-up time based on the roundabouts considered in this manual is presented in Table 7.5.
It is to be noted that follow-up time is considered to be 0.75 times the Critical gap as given in HCM,
(2010).

Chapter 8:
Unsignalized Intersections

CSIR-CRRI Team Regional Coordinator
Dr. Mukti Advani, Senior Scientist, Work Package Prof. Satish Chandra, IIT Roorkee and
Leader, Transportation Planning (TP) Division Prof. Akhilesh Maurya, IIT, Guwahati
Team Members
Sh. P.V. Pradeep Kumar, Senior Principal Scientist,

Environmental Sciences (ES) Division
Sh. R.S. Bhardwaj, Chief Scientist

TSS Division
Sh. Naresh Kumar, Technical Officer, E-II

TES Division
Sh. Satyabir Singh, Senior Technician

TSS Division
Sh. Daleep Mutreja

M.Tech. Students pursued their Thesis @ CSIR - CRRI, New Delhi
M.Tech. Students
Sh. Cheeti Sai Abhishek
Sh. Rahul Bhasin
Sh. Saurabh Kaushik
Students pursued their Thesis @ CSIR - CRRI, IIT, Roorkee and

IIT, Guwahati
Ph.D. Students
Dr. Mithun Mohan Ms. Geetimukta Mahapatra, IIT Guwahati (Ongoing)
Dr. Anuj Budhkar, IIT Guwahati Sh. Arunabha Banerjee, IIT Guwahati (Ongoing)
Sh. Suresh Nama, IIT Guwahati (Ongoing) Ms. Sanhita Das, IIT Guwahati (Ongoing)
M.Tech. Students
Ms. Hemavathy, Anna University, Chennai and Mr. C.S. Abhishek, CSIR - CRRI
CSIR - CRRI
Ms. Sanhita Das, IIT Guwahati Ms. Shreya Dey, IIT Guwahati
Sh. Suresh Nama, IIT Guwahati Sh. Subhadipto Poddar, IIT Guwahati
Sh. Nilanjan Adhikary, IIT Guwahati Sh. Vishal Kumar, IIT Guwahati

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
2. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Guwahati City
3. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-I) Guwahati
4. Major Joshi, OC Contract, 87 Road Construction Coy (GREF), C/O 99 APO
5. District Commissioner, Gangtok
6. Er. Aalok Anandmani, Project Director, Jorabat – Shillong Expressway Limited, Guwahati.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
List of Figures v
List of Tables vi
8.1 INTRODUCTION 1
8.2 DEFINITIONS OF TERMINOLOGIES 2
8.3 BASE INTERSECTION 4
8.4 SCOPE LIMITATION 4
8.5 METHODOLOGY 5
8.5.1 Input Data: Step 1 6
8.5.2 Convert Traffic Volume into PCU:: Step 2 7
8.5.3 Calculate Conflicting Traffic Flow Rates: Step 3 9
8.5.4 Determine Critical Gap Value from Tables: Step 4 12
8.5.5 Calculate Capacity of a Movement: Step 5 13
8.5.6 Level of Service: Step 6 13
8.6.1 Estimation of Capacity of Three-Legged Intersection 14
8.6.2 Estimation of Capacity of Four-Legged Intersection 16
REFERENCES 20
ANNEXURE 8A : CALCULATION OF CRITICAL GAP USING OCCUPANCY TIME
22
METHOD
ANNEXURE 8B : PASSENGER CAR EQUIVALENT BASED ON OCCUPANCY TIME 24
ANNEXURE 8C: GAP MEASUREMENT AT REFERENCE LINE 25

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
Typical Three Approach Intersection with Four Lane Divided
8.1 1
Carriageways on all Approaches
Typical Four Approach Intersection with Two Lane Undivided
8.2 2
8.3 Conflict area of Three and Four Approached Intersections 3
8.4 Follow up time 3
8.5 Time Gap between Two Successive Vehicles 3
8.6 Time Lag 4
8.7 Suggested Methodology 5
8.8 (a) Vehicular movements at Typical Three-Legged intersection 7
8.8 (b) Vehicular movements at Typical Four-Legged intersection 7
8.9 Conflicting Movements for Right Turn from Major Road 9
8.10 Conflicting Movements for Right Turn from Minor Approach 10
8.11 Conflicting Movements for Through Movements on Minor Approach 11
Conflict Area for extracting Occupancy Time for Through
8A.1(a) 22
Traffic from Minor Approach
Conflict Area for extracting Occupancy Time for
8A.1(b) 22
Right Turning Traffic from Major Approach
8A.2 Cumulative Distribution Curves of Fot and (1- Fa) 23
8C.1 Right Turning Movement from Major Stream to Minor Stream 25

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
8.1 Vehicle Types 6
8.2 Priority Ranks for Different Movements 7
8.3 Suggested Passenger Car Units 8
8.4 Typical Format for Input Data Recording 8
8.5 Calculation of Conflicting Traffic Flow 11
8.6 Base Critical Gap Value (seconds) 12
Adjustment Factor for proportion of Large

8.7 12
Vehicles in Conflicting Traffic Streams
8.8 Adjustment Factors for Capacity Model 13
8.9 Level of Service at Unsignalized Intersection 13
8.10 Observed Turning Traffic on a Four-Legged Intersection 14
8.11 Traffic converted into PCUs 15
8.12 Calculation of Conflicting Flow 15
8.13 Critical Gap Values 16
8.14 Capacity Calculation 16
Observed Turning Traffic to Various Approaches on a

8.15 17
Four-Legged Intersection
8.16 Traffic converted into PCUs 18
8.17 Calculation of Conflicting Flow 18
8.18 Critical Gap values 19
8.19 Capacity Calculation 19
8C.1 Worksheet for Recording of Lags and Gaps 25

Cx Capacity of Movement ‘x’ (in PCU/h)
OTi Average Occupancy time of a vehicle type i (s)
OTSC Average Occupancy of standard car (s)
PCUi PCU for vehicle type ‘i’
PLV Proportion of Large Vehicles in the conflicting traffic stream
Vc,x Conflicting Flow Rate corresponding to movement x (PCU/h)
fLV Adjustment factor for large vehicles (vehicle larger than big cars)
Base Critical Gap value for corresponding vehicle type
tc,base
executing the same movement
tc,x Critical Gap (s) for Vehicle Type ‘x’
tc,x critical gap of standard passenger cars for movement ‘x’ (s)
tf,x follow-up time for movement ‘x’ (s)
wi Width of vehicle type ‘i’ (m)
wsc Width of standard car (m)
‘a’ and ‘b’ Adjustment Factors based on intersection geometry
Motorized Auto rickshaws
Auto
(Three and Four Wheeled Rickshaws including electric rickshaws)
Bus Buses
CVC Classified Turning Volume Count
CY Cycles
Fot Frequency Distribution Curve
OT Occupancy Time
OT Occupancy Time of the subject vehicle

OTM Occupancy Time Method

PCU/hour Passenger Car Units per hour
SC Small /Standard Cars
ta Accepted Gap or Lag
Trac Tractors / Tractor with Trailers
TW Two Wheelers

8.1 INTRODUCTION
An unsignalized intersection refers to “an intersection without signal or manual control
and also without any central island”. It is formed when two roads intersect (or join) each other at
grade. Based on the relative importance of the two roads, one of them is generally designated as
major road and the other as minor road. When traffic on minor road is controlled by STOP signs, the
intersection is called a Two-Way Stop Controlled (TWSC). In case STOP signs are placed on all the
approaches of an intersection, it is termed as an All Way Stop Controlled (AWSC) intersection. Due to
weak enforcement of traffic regulations and lack of understanding of priority rules among road users
in India, no distinction is made in this manual between a TWSC and AWSC intersection.
An unsignalized intersection can be three legged, four legged or multi-legged type. A typical
three-legged intersection is formed when a side street joins a major street (refer Figure 8.1). A four-
legged intersection is formed when two roads cross each other. One of the two roads are generally
a minor street but both streets can also be minor / major street (refer Figure 8.2). A limited priority
of movement is followed by road users in India. Considering the above circumstances, the road that
is wider among the two or which carries heavy volume of traffic in an unsignalized intersection is
considered as ‘major’ road and the other intersecting road is considered as ‘minor’ road. The methods
presented in the manual are applicable for three legged and four legged unsignalized intersections
only.
Figure 8.1: Typical Three-Approach Intersection with Four Lane Divided


Figure 8.2: Typical Four-Approach Intersection with Two Lane Undivided

8.2 DEFINITIONS OF TERMINOLOGIES
Different techniques are practiced across the globe to estimate the critical gap (Mohan,
M. and Chandra, S. 2016a and Velmurugan et al, 2016) and capacity of different movements at an
unsignalized intersection. The most popular technique is the gap acceptance process, which assumes
a minor street vehicle to come to a halt on its arrival at the intersection and wait for a suitable gap
in the conflicting traffic stream to complete its desired manoeuvre. The procedure proposed in this
manual is based on gap acceptance process. Therefore, a clear understanding of the terms associated
with the gap acceptance phenomenon a prerequisite. These terms are defined as under:
 Capacity: Capacity at an unsignalized intersection is defined for each non-priority movement
or stream. It is the maximum number of vehicles that can execute a certain non-priority
movement under the given traffic flow condition on all remaining approaches which is
generally expressed in terms of Passenger Car Units per hour (PCU/h). Capacity of an
unsignalized intersection (as a whole) is not of much importance because by the time traffic
volume grows to the level comparable to capacity (generally at volume much lower than
capacity), the intersection will normally be installed with traffic signals.
 Critical Gap: Critical gap refers to the minimum gap in the priority stream, which is acceptable
to a driver executing a non-priority movement. It varies among drivers and always lies
between the maximum rejected gap and the accepted gap of a driver. Since critical gap could
not be measured in the field, it has to be estimated based on other measurable parameters
like accepted gap, rejected gap, occupancy time, etc.
 Conflict area: Conflict occurs when two or more movements compete for right of way of
the same area. The common area within an intersection that is being used by more than one
traffic movement is considered as conflict area (refer Figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3: Conflict Area of Three and Four Approached Intersections
 Follow up time (in seconds): The follow-up time is the time headway between successive
minor street vehicles while accepting the same gap size in the priority stream, when there is
a continuous queuing on the minor approach (refer Figure 8.4).
Figure 8.4: Follow up time
 Gap (in seconds): The gap is a measure of the time elapsed between passing of rear end of the
lead vehicle and arrival of front end of the follower vehicle at the reference line along the road
(refer Figure 8.5). A driver in the non-priority stream evaluates the gaps that are presented
and finally accepts the one that the driver believes to be sufficiently large to complete the
desired movement, while rejecting the rest of the presented gaps.
Figure 8.5: Time Gap between Two Successive Vehicles
 Lag (in seconds): The lag is a portion of the first gap faced by a vehicle in the minor road. The
time interval from the moment a minor stream/road vehicle reaches the intersection (or the
head of the line, if there is a line of waiting vehicles) to the arrival of next major stream / road
vehicle exactly opposite to it (refer Figure 8.6).

Figure 8.6: Time Lag
 Major and Minor Street: A road with higher priority is named as major street and road with
low priority is named as minor street in this chapter. Decision regarding priority is left to the
analyst. However, it is advisable to consider the hierarchy of road network while defining a
road as major or minor.
 Occupancy Time (in seconds): This refers to the time that a vehicle incurs in completely
clearing the conflict area of the intersection. It is measured as the time elapsed between
the arrival of subject vehicle at the edge of the conflict area and its complete exit from the
intersection conflict area.
8.3 BASE INTERSECTION

In this manual, an unsignalized intersection is categorized as base intersection if it conforms
to the conditions listed below:
• Number of intersecting approaches = 3 or 4
• Angle of intersection at 90 degrees on a three or four-legged intersection with a deviation of
+/- 10 degrees.
• 2 or 4 lane divided major road
• Negligible presence of non-motorized traffic, on-street parking, hawkers or any other landuse
activities within 75 m from the centre of the intersection
• No gradient on the intersecting approaches
• Safe stopping sight distance is available
• No speed breakers on any approach within 75 m from the centre of intersection
If the candidate intersection considered by the analyst does not conform to the previously
mentioned conditions, then such intersections are to be classified as non-base intersections and
adjustment factors need to be applied for deviations from the base conditions.

This chapter presents the concepts and procedures for the estimation of capacity and Level
of Service (LOS) offered by the three legged and four legged unsignalized intersections only. In
this context, 12 unsignalized intersections possessing varying three legged as well as four-legged
configuration has been considered. These intersections are located in eight metropolitan cities of the
country namely, Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Maraimalainagar (on the outskirts of Chennai), Thiruvanthapuram,
Bhubaneshwar, Meerut, Faridabad and Noida.

8.5 METHODOLOGY
Various methods for calculating the capacity of traffic movements for three approached /
four approached unsignalized intersections have been reported (Mohan, M. 2017). As mentioned
earlier, capacity of an unsignalized intersection in this manual is based on gap acceptance theory.
Accordingly, limitations of gap acceptance theory are applicable here as well. Since, gap acceptance
theory is primarily dependent on critical gap value, a method termed as Occupancy Time Method
(OTM) has been conceived (Chandra et al., 2014; Mohan, 2017) in this Chapter for the calculation
of critical gaps. Unlike the other methods of critical gap estimation, OTM also incorporates actual
driver behaviour observed on unsignalized intersections largely. As such, OTM accounts for the actual
clearing pattern of the conflict area and the traffic interaction that occurs within this region. (Refer
Annexure 8A for details). Thereafter, the capacity for various movements observed at an unsignalized
intersection is carried out through a series of steps as given in Figure 8.7.
Data regarding the geometry and classified turning volume count (CVC) for each movement
are to be collected at the candidate intersection to be analyzed. Traffic data are then expressed in
terms of equivalent number of standard car using the PCU factor and conflicting flow is established
separately for each non-priority movement.
Critical gap for each movement is computed from the base critical gap values, which are then
adjusted for the proportion of heavy vehicles in the conflicting streams. Using the critical gap for
passenger cars (s), conflicting flow (PCUs/h) and assuming follow-up time as 60 % of critical gap, the
capacity (PCUs/h) for individual movements is estimated. Capacity values and Level of Service (LOS)
presented in this manual are based on the data collected at 12 unsignalized intersections covering
three-legged / four-legged configuration with divided / undivided road intersection typologies. The
methodology presented in this section estimates the capacity of three movements i.e. right turn from
major street, right turn from minor street and through movement on minor street occurring on three
legged as well as four legged unsignalized intersections. The steps to be followed for the calculation of
capacity and LOS of a typical unsignalized intersection are presented in Figure 8.7.
Figure 8.7: Suggested Methodology

8.5.1 Input Data: Step 1

This step includes data collection of two types i.e. geometry data and traffic data. Geometry
data of the intersection is presented in the form of a diagram indicating location of the intersection,
number of intersecting streets, divided / undivided streets, etc. Traffic data input includes classified
traffic volume counts for various movements of intersection for peak 1-hour interval. During the field
studies, the traffic flow observed at an unsignalized intersection can be classified into the vehicle
types presented in Table 8.1.
Motorized Traffic

1. Two Wheelers TW
and Scooters
Motorized Auto rickshaws# (Three

All Motorized
2. and Four Wheeled Rickshaws Auto
Auto Rickshaws

(up to Gross Vehicle Weight of 7.0 tonnes)


25.200 tonnes)
8. Buses Bus Transport Vehicles
10. Cycles CY

#
Quantum of electric or e- rickshaws is insignificant in all the candidate intersections
Figure 8.8 (a) and 8.8 (b) presents traffic movement (in terms of numbers) that occurs at
typical three legged and four legged unsignalized intersections respectively. Table 8.2 shows the
priority of these movements.

Figure 8.8 (a): Vehicular Movements at a Figure 8.8 (b): Vehicular Movements at a
Typical Three-Legged intersection Typical Four-Legged intersection
Table 8.2: Priority Ranks for Different Movements
Priority Rank Movement
Movement 2
Movement 3
1
Movement 5
Movement 6
Movement 1
2
Movement 4
Movement 7
3
Movement 10
Movement 8
4
Movement 11
Note: Movement 9 and 12 do not have significant effect on other traffic movements observed on Indian
roads
8.5.2 Convert Traffic Volume into PCU: Step 2

Volume of traffic executing each turning movement at the intersection is to be converted into
equivalent number of passenger cars using the PCU values derived in this study and presented in
Table 8.3. Method used for obtaining PCU values is given in Annexure 8B.

Table 8.3: Suggested Passenger Car Units

Vehicle Type PCUs
0.48 Through movement on major
Motorized Two Wheelers
0.34 All other movements
Auto rickshaw 0.98
Small /Standard Cars 1.00
Big Cars and Vans 1.29
Light Commercial Vehicles 1.70
Buses 2.29
Two / Three Axle HCVs 2.38
Multi Axle HCVs 3.06
Tractors 1.62
Tractors with Trailer 3.13
Cycles 0.42
Cycle Rickshaws 1.29
Animal Drawn Vehicles 3.85
Table 8.4 presents the typical format proposed for recording of classified traffic flow data.
Table 8.4: Typical Format for Input Data Recording
Date:
Location Details:
Type: 3 approach / 4 approach
Approach Details
Number of Divided/
Approach
lanes Undivided
Approach 1:
Approach 2:
Approach 3:
Approach 4:
Classified Traffic Volume Count (1-hour peak) for different movements
Two Auto Standard Big 2 / 3 Axle
Movement LCVs Others*
Wheelers Rickshaws Cars Cars Trucks
Movement 1 ----
Movement 2
Movement 3
Movement 4
……
……
Movement 12
* Note: Number of columns in the above table may be increased / decreased depending upon vehicle types
actually present at the study location

8.5.3 Calculate Conflicting Traffic Flow Rates: Step 3

Any movement of higher priority with which the subject movement shares the right of way is
to be included as conflicting flow for that movement. Currently in India, priority among movements
is rarely followed. As such, movements of lower priority might cause hindrance to the movements of
higher priority. Hence lower priority movement is also to be considered while calculating the rate of
conflicting flow. Volume of traffic executing each movement at the intersection is to be counted and
converted into equivalent number of passenger cars using the PCU values given in Table 8.3. Vehicles
executing a particular movement might be required to cross multiple streams and finally merge with
the intended traffic stream. However, the typical traffic operations at uncontrolled intersection in
India consider merging to be a simple operation and hence left turning movements from major and
minor approaches do not face much hindrance from other traffic streams as the approaches are flared
or channelized for these movements. Gap acceptance process is absent for these movements and thus
the capacity analysis for these movements at the intersections become irrelevant. The influence that
a particular movement has on the subject vehicle varies with the type of movement and intersection
geometry. In the case of multilane approaches, turning movement merges into the nearest lane and
only faces conflict from traffic on this lane. Therefore, the contribution towards conflicting traffic
is only the traffic flow on this particular lane. Similarly, the peculiar behaviour of traffic in different
streams inflicts different levels of conflict and these have been estimated based on field observations.
The guidelines for computing conflicting flow rates are discussed in the succeeding sections. The
analyst is requested to refer Figures 8.8 (a) and 8.8 (b) presented above for understanding the
numbers assigned to each movement.
Rank 2 Movements (Movements 1 and 4):

Rank 2 movements are relatively easier to execute, as they have to cross only one stream of
through traffic. At intersections having four-lane divided major street configuration, the approaches
are often flared or channelized and the effect of left turners (movement-6) from major road can be
ignored (refer Figure 8.9). The conflicting traffic for right turn movements are presented in Equations
8.1 and 8.2. However, if left turn is not channelized or flared, left turn flow is to be added to the below
equations while calculating the conflicting flow.
Figure 8.9: Conflicting Movements for Right Turn from Major Road
For four-lane major streets:

Vc,1 = v5 ………………… Equation 8.1
Vc,4 = v2 ………………… Equation 8.2
At the same time, when the major street is of two-lane undivided configuration, left turning
movement is not channelized and in such cases, left turners from Major Street will conflict with the

subject movement as well. Moreover, when there is no divider on the minor street approach, right
turners from minor occupies the right side of the approach causing further hindrance to the subject
movement. The impact of Major Street through movement on the subject movement is enhanced due
to the absence of sufficient waiting space. The expressions for calculating conflicting flows for Rank-2
movements at intersections having two-lane Major Street are given in Equations 8.3 and 8.4.
For two-lane major street
Vc,1 = 1.5v5 + v6 + v7 Equation 8.3
Vc,4 = 1.5v2 + v3 + v10 Equation 8.4

At uncontrolled intersections in India, right turn from minor is easier to execute than through
movements from minor as the former involves crossing only one stream of major street through
traffic while the latter had to cross two streams of through traffic (refer Figure 8.10). Right turning
movements have to cross the near side through movements on major (V2 or V5) and right turning
movement of major on the near side (V4 and V6) and finally merge with the median lane of major street
on the far side. In case if the major street has multiple lanes, the subject movement competes only
with the vehicles on the lane next to the median. Conflicting traffic for this movement at intersections
having 4-lane divided approach can be found using Equations 8.5 and 8.6.
Figure 8.10: Conflicting Movements for Right Turn from Minor Approach
For four-lane major street:

Vc,7 = v4 + v5 + v1 + 0.5v2 Equation 8.5
Vc,10 = v1 + v2 + v4 + 0.5v5 Equation 8.6
For two-lane major streets, the entire flow on the merging street is to be included into
calculation of conflicting flow rate. The expression for calculating conflicting flow at intersections
with two-lane approach is presented in Equations 8.7 and 8.8.
Vc,7 = v4 + v5 + v1 + v2 Equation 8.7
Vc,10 = v1 + v2 + v4 + v5 Equation 8.8

Through movements on minor streets is the most difficult movement to execute at an
uncontrolled intersection in India, as it has to cross two streams of through traffic in the major stream

(refer Figure 8.11). This comprises of right turn from far side of major, right turn from Minor Street
and finally merges with major street right turner from the near side and left turner of major on the
far side. Since the major street left turns are channelized at intersections having four-lane divided
major street, left turning movements can be ignored in the calculation of conflicting traffic and the
expression for calculating critical gaps at intersections having four-lane major street are given in
Equations 8.9 and 8.10.
Figure 8.11: Conflicting movements for Through Movements on Minor Approach
For four-lane major street

Vc,8 = v4 + v5 + v1 + v2 + v10 Equation 8.9
Vc,11 = v1 + v2 + v4 + v5 + v7 Equation 8.10
For intersections having two-lane major street configuration or when left turn traffic
emerging from major street is not channelized, major street left turners should also be considered
while calculating conflicting flow. This is done using Equations 8.11 and 8.12.
Vc,8 = v4 + v5 + v1 + v2 + v3 + v10 Equation 8.11
Vc,11 = v1 + v2 + v4 + v5 + v6 + v7 Equation 8.12
Since, each movement faces a different set of conflicts, Table 8.5 shows conflicting movements
for the subject non-priority movement.
Table 8.5: Calculation of Conflicting Traffic Flow
Conflicting Flow (per hour)

Rank Movement
Two lane major street Four lane major street
v2
v3
1 -- --
v5
v6
v1 1.5v5 + v6 + v7 v5
2
v4 1.5v2 + v3+ v10 v2
v7 v4 + v5 + v1 + v2 v4 + v5 + v1 + 0.5v2
3
v10 v1 + v2 + v4 + v5 v1 + v2 + v4 + 0.5v5
v8 v4 + v5 + v1 + v2 + v3 + v10 v4 +v5 + v1 + v2 + v10
4
v11 v1 + v2 + v4 + v5 + v6 + v7 v1+ v2 + v4 + v5 + v7

8.5.4 Determine Critical Gap Value from Tables: Step 4

The base critical gap values for various movements can be obtained from Table 8.6.
Table 8.6: Base Critical Gap Value (seconds)

Vehicle Type
Two- Auto Standard Big TAT /
Movement LCV Bus
Wheeler rickshaw Car Car MAT
Four lane divided intersection
Right turning from major to minor street 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.9 3.3 3.6 3.8
Right turning from minor to major street 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.1 4.9 5.5 5.7
Through traffic on minor 5.8 5.9 6.8 7.6 7.9 7.9 8.6
Two lane undivided intersection
Right turning from major to minor street 2.9 3.2 3.5 3.9 - - -
Right turning from minor to major street 3.2 3.5 3.8 - - - -
Through traffic on minor 3.5 4.2 4.9 - - - -
In case, analyst would like to calculate critical gap based on site-specific data, method for extracting data
presented in Annexure 8C can be used.
Site-specific critical gaps for different movements can be obtained using the base value and
then adjusting them for the proportion of heavy vehicles in the conflicting traffic streams. So, critical
gap for any movement can be obtained using Equation 8.13.
tc,x = tc,base + fLV × ln (PLV) Equation 8.13
Where, is the critical gap (s) for vehicle type x, is the base critical gap value for corresponding
vehicle type executing the same movement (as given in Table 8.6), is the adjustment factor for large
vehicles (vehicle larger than big cars) and is the proportion of large vehicles in the conflicting traffic
stream. Table 8.7 gives the large vehicle adjustment factors for different vehicle types at intersections
having major streets with four lane and two lane configurations.
Table 8.7: Adjustment Factor for proportion of Large Vehicles in Conflicting Traffic Streams
Vehicle Type
Movement Two- Auto Standard Big TAT /
LCV Bus
Wheeler rickshaw Car Car MAT
Four lane divided intersection
Right turning from major to minor street 0.25 0.27 0.46 0.55 0.48 0.53 0.74
Right turning from minor to major street 0.61 0.64 0.88 0.93 0.86 0.84 0.85
Through traffic on minor 0.34 0.38 0.58 0.45 0.44 0.44 0.27
Two-lane undivided intersection
Right turning from major to minor street 0.38 0.63 0.78 1.02 - - -
Right turning from minor to major street 0.07 0.07 0.01 - - - -
Through Traffic on minor 0.07 0.07 0.07 - - - -
‘-‘ indicates insufficient sample size for estimation of Critical Gap

8.5.5 Calculate Capacity of a Turning Movement: Step 5

Capacity (Cx) for any movement at an unsignalized intersection can be computed based to the
gap acceptance model presented in Equation 8.14. Capacity of a movement can be deduced from the
estimated values of critical gap, follow-up time and conflicting flow rates. The adjustment factors in
the expression are to be taken from Table 8.8 based on intersection geometry.
Equation 8.14
Where,
Cx = capacity of movement ‘x’ (in PCU/h),
Vc,x = conflicting flow rate corresponding to movement x (PCU/h),
tc,x = critical gap of standard passenger cars for movement ‘x’ (s),
tf,x = follow-up time for movement ‘x’ (s), and
‘a’ and ‘b’ = adjustment factors based on intersection geometry.
The value of adjustment factor “b” for right turn from major at intersections having 2 lane
Major Street is negative, while the values of all other factors are positive. As such, the negative value
of adjustment factor to account for the aggressive behaviour of minor street right turners in the above
typology of intersection.
Table 8.8: Adjustment Factors for Capacity Model
Major Street Adjustment Subject Movement
Configuration Factors Right Turn from Major Right Turn from Minor Through on Minor
Four-lane a 0.80 1.00 0.90
divided b 1.30 2.16 5.04
Two-lane a 0.70 0.80 1.10
undivided b -0.11 0.72 0.72
8.5.6 Level of Service: Step 6

Delay experienced by drivers of non-priority movements is commonly used to ascertain the
quality of traffic operations at unsignalized intersection. Delay occurs due to limited opportunities
for these drivers to enter the intersection. During field studies on intersections, it has been invariably
observed that drivers from minor approach do not wait on the STOP line of the approach and wait
for opportune moment to cross the intersection; rather they force their entry into the intersection
area causing slowing down of the vehicles on priority streams. This phenomenon is observed not
necessarily due to high traffic volume, but primarily due to impatient behaviour exhibited by Indian
drivers. Therefore, LOS in the manual is defined based on the ratio between volume and capacity for
each individual movement. Thus, the LOS derived based on the observed volume - capacity ratio at
the candidate intersections is given in Table 8.9.
Table 8.9: Level of Service at Unsignalized Intersection
Level of Service Volume-Capacity ratio
A < 0.15
B 0.16 - 0.35
C 0.36 - 0.55
D 0.56 - 0.80
E 0.81 - 1.00
F > 1.00


8.6.1 Estimation of Capacity of Three Legged Intersection
A Three-Legged Unsignalized Intersection having Four Lane Divided Configuration on each
of the approaches and the associated turning CVC data is presented in Table 8.10. Determine the
Capacity and Level of Service of the candidate intersection.
Step 1: Collect Geometry and Traffic Volume Data:
Step 2: Traffic Volume to PCUs. Classified Traffic volume has to be converted into total PCUs (given in
Table 8.11) based on the PCU values given in Table 8.3.
Table 8.10: Observed Turning Traffic on a Four-Legged Intersection
Date: 25th March 2016

Study Section Details: Faridabad -
Gurgaon Toll Road, Haryana
Type: 3 - approach intersection
Approach details
Approach Number of Divided/

lanes undivided
Approach 1 4 lanes Divided
Classified Traffic Volume (peak 1 hour) for different movements
Two- Auto Standard All Heavy

Movement Big Car LCV
Wheeler rickshaw Car Vehicles
1 307 30 250 60 23 34
2 1297 150 1684 364 83 73
5 1298 113 2022 529 101 107
6 732 100 780 266 93 66
7 602 110 691 179 60 71
9 163 20 102 31 9 25

Table 8.11: Traffic converted into PCUs
Two- Auto All Heavy Total

Movement Car Big Car LCV
Wheeler rickshaw Vehicles (in PCU/h)
307x0.34 30x0.98 250x1 60x1.29 23x1.70 34x2.34
1 v1 = 579
=104 =29 = 250 =77 =39 =80
1297x0.48
2 147 1684 470 196 172 v2 = 3227
= 623
1298x0.48
5 111 2022 682 238 253 v5 = 3852
= 623
732x0.34
6 98 780 343 219 156 v6 = 1780
= 249
602x0.34
7 108 691 231 142 168 v7 = 1500
= 205
163x0.34
9 20 102 40 21 59 v9 = 290
= 55
Step 3: Convert movement volumes to flow rates and calculate conflicting flow, which is
presented in Table 8.12.
Table 8.12: Calculation of Conflicting Flow
S.No. Movement Conflicting flow equation Conflicting Flow
Movement 2
Movement 3 (in case of 4-legged
1 intersection) - -
Movement 5
Movement 6
Movement 1 v5 3852
2 Movement 4 (in case of 4-legged
v2 -
intersection)
Movement 7 v4 + v5 + v1 + 0.5*v2 6044
v1 + v2 + v4 + 0.5*v5 -
intersection)
Movement 8 v4 + v5 + v1 + v2 + v10 -
Movement 9
v1 + v2 + v4 + v5 + v7 -
intersection)
Movement 12

Step 4: Determine Critical Gap Values (vide Table 8.13) from associated Tables vide Table 8.6 and
Table 8.7.
Table 8.13: Critical Gap Values
Adjustment factor Proportion of

Critical gap
Base Critical for light and heavy heavy vehicles
Movement tc,x = tc,base + fLV ×
Gap (tc,base) commercial vehicles in the conflicting
ln (PHV)
(fLV) traffic stream (PLV)
Movement 1 2.70 0.457 4.99 3.48
Movement 7 3.80 0.885 4.94 5.19
Step 5: Calculate the capacity of each turning movement at the candidate intersection based on
Equation 8.14 and the capacity thus estimated is presented in Table 8.14.
Equation 8.14
Capacity of Movements 1 and 7 are presented in Table 8.14.
Table 8.14: Capacity Calculation
Critical Follow-up
Conflicting
gap time Adjustment Adjustment Capacity
Movement flow
tc,x tf,x factor “a” factor “b”
vc,x
(s) =0.6*col-2
Col-1 Col-2 Col-3 Col-4 Col-5 Col-6 Col-7
Movement 1 3.48 2.09 3852 0.8 1.3 334
Movement 7 5.19 3.11 6044 1.0 2.16 38
Step 6: LOS
LOS for movement 1: Volume/Capacity = 579/334 = 1.73 which implies that the above
movement is overloaded and operating at LOS F. It requires geometric improvements at the
intersection, which can be in the form of converting into a roundabout because such intersections
can be quite efficient in handling the right turning traffic.
8.6.2 Estimation of Capacity of Four-Legged Intersection

A Four-Legged Unsignalized Intersection having Four Lane Divided carriageway configuration
on major and minor approaches and the associated turning flow data in the form of Classified Volume
Count (CVC) data is presented in Table 8.15. Determine the Capacity and Level of Service of the
candidate intersection.
The road geometry and CVC data for the candidate intersection need to be collected as given
in Table 8.15.

Table 8.15: Observed Turning Traffic to Various Approaches on a Four-Legged Intersection
Road Section Details: Sector 1, Noida, Uttar

Date: 1st October 2016; Type: 4 Approach
Pradesh.
Approach Details
Number of Divided /
Approach
lanes Undivided
Approach 1: towards
4 lanes Divided
Faridabad
Approach 2: towards
4 lanes Divided
Gurgaon
Approach 3: 4 lanes Divided
Approach 4: 4 lanes Divided
Classified Traffic Volume during peak hour

Two- Auto Standard Big All Heavy
Movement LCV
Wheeler rickshaw Car Car Vehicles
1 60 34 37 7 28 20
2 340 27 617 102 82 99
3 107 39 59 34 49 34
4 60 32 182 49 27 23
5 225 17 511 151 73 111
6 107 39 124 61 11 39
7 36 32 78 8 21 21
8 76 9 266 34 18 19
9 22 4 49 18 25 13
10 115 11 52 15 32 16
11 38 29 219 67 29 4
12 213 18 77 32 16 1
Step 1: Collect Geometry and Traffic Volume Data:

Step 2: Convert Traffic Volume to passenger car units (PCUs) i.e. Classified Traffic volume has to be
converted into total PCUs (given in Table 8.16) based on the PCU values given in Table 8.3.

Table 8.16: Traffic Converted into PCUs
Two Auto Standard All Heavy Total

Movement Big Car LCV
Wheeler rickshaw Car Vehicles (PCU/h)
60x0.34 34x0.98 37x1.00 7x1.29 28x1.70 22x2.34 194
1
=20 =33 =37 =9 =48 =47
340x0.48 27x0.98 617x1.00 102x1.29 82x1.70 99x2.34
2
=163 =26 =617 =132 =139 =232 1309
3 36 38 59 44 83 80 340
4 20 31 182 63 46 54 396
5 108 17 511 195 124 260 1215
6 36 38 124 79 19 91 387
7 12 31 78 10 36 49 216
8 26 9 266 44 31 44 420
9 7 4 49 23 43 30 156
10 39 11 52 19 54 37 212
11 13 28 219 86 49 9 404
12 72 18 77 41 27 2 237
Step 3: Convert movement volumes to flow rates and calculate conflicting flow as given in Table 8.17.
Table 8.17: Calculation of Conflicting Flow
Priority Conflicting flow Conflicting

Movement
Rank equation Flow
Movement 2
Movement 3 (in case of 4-legged intersection)
1 - -
Movement 5
Movement 6
Movement 1 v5 1215
2
Movement 4 (in case of 4-legged intersection) v2 1309
Movement 7 v4 + v5 + v1 + 0.5*v2 2460
3
Movement 10 (in case of 4-legged intersection) v1 + v2 + v4 + 0.5*v5 2507
Movement 8 v4 + v5 + v1 + v2 + v3 + v10 3326
Movement 9
4
Movement 11 (in case of 4-legged intersection) v 1 + v2 + v4 + v5 + v6 + v7 3330
Movement 12

Step 4: Determine Critical Gap Value from relevant Tables vide Table 8.6 and Table 8.7 and the
estimated Critical Gap (CG) are presented in Table 8.18.
Table 8.18: Critical Gap values
Base Proportion of
Adjustment factor Critical Gap
critical heavy vehicles
Movement for light and heavy tc,x = tc,base + fLV x
gap in the conflicting
commercial vehicles fLV ln (PLV)
tc,base traffic stream PLV
Movement 1 2.7 0.457 16.94 3.99
Movement 4 2.7 0.457 14.32 3.15
Movement 7 3.8 0.885 16.38 5.22
Movement 10 3.8 0.885 15.70 5.19
Movement 8 6.8 0.583 17.25 8.46
Movement 11 6.8 0.583 24.81 8.67
Step 5: Calculation of Capacity of Turning Movements based on Equation 8.15 and the capacity thus
estimated is presented in Table 8.19.
Equation 8.15
Table 8.19: Capacity Calculation
Critical Follow-up
Conflicting
Gap time Adjustment Adjustment
Movement flow Capacity
tc,x tf,x factor “a” factor “b”
vc,x
(s) =0.6*col-2
Col-1 Col-2 Col-3 Col-4 Col-5 Col-6 Col-7
Movement 1 3.99 2.39 1215 0.8 1.3 707
Movement 4 3.15 1.89 1309 0.8 1.3 1075
Movement 7 5.22 3.13 2460 1 2.16 344
Movement 10 5.19 3.11 2507 1 2.16 343
Movement 8 8.46 5.08 3326 0.9 5.04 128
Movement 11 8.67 5.20 3330 0.9 5.04 105
Step 6: Level of Service (LOS)

LOS at the selected unsignalized intersection for movement 1: Volume/Capacity = 194/707
= 0.27 which implies that this right turning movement is presently operating under LOS ‘B’ based on
Table 8.9. Similarly, the LOS for movement 4: 396 /1075 = 0.37, this indicates that this movement is
presently operating under LOS C.

REFERENCES
1. Abhishek, C. S., Advani, M., Kumar, P. and Velmurugan, S. (2014), “Determination of Critical Gap at
an Unsignalised Three Armed Intersections - Case Study”, Transportation Systems Engineering
and Management colloquium, NIT-Calicut. 12th - 13th May 2014.
2. Chandra, S., Mohan, M., and Gates, T. J. (2014), “Estimation of Critical Gap using Intersection
Occupancy Time”, 19th International Conference of Hong Kong Society for Transportation
Studies, Z. Leng, ed., Hong Kong, pp. 313–320.
3. Mohan, M. (2017) “Analysis of Mixed Traffic Flow at Uncontrolled Intersection”, An Unpublished
Ph.D. Thesis, IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India.
4. Mohan, M and Chandra, S. (2016a), “Review and Assessment of Techniques for Estimating
Critical Gap at Two‐way Stop‐controlled Intersections”, European Transport Journal, 61, paper
no. 8.
5. Mohan, M. and Chandra, S. (2016b), “Three Methods of PCU Estimation at Unsignalized
Intersections”, Transportation Letters: The International Journal of Transportation Research.
DOI: 10.1080/19427867.2016.1190883.
6. Velmurugan, S., Bhasin, R., Advani, M. and Kumar, P.V. (2016), “A model for Critical gap estimation
based on deviation of accepted and rejected gap from critical gap values”, A paper published
and presented in the 14th World Conference on Transportation Research (WCTR), Shanghai,
China.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Asha Lata R. and Chandra, S. (2011) “Critical gap through clearing behavior of drivers at
unsignalized intersections”, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, 15(8):1427-1434.
2. HCM (2000). “Highway Capacity Manual”, SR 209, Transportation Research Board, National
Research Council, Washington D.C.
3. Hewitt, R. H. (1983). “Measuring Critical Gap”, Transportation Science, 17 (1), 87- 109.
4. Miller, A. J. (1972) “Nine Estimators of Gap Acceptance Parameters”, in Traffic Flow and
Transportation, (Ed: G. F. Newell), American Elsevier Publishing Co, Inc., New York, 215-235.
5. Mohan, M. and Chandra, S. (2016) “Influence of Major Stream Composition on Critical Gap
at Two Way Stop‐Controlled Intersections”, 95th Annual Meeting of Transportation Research
Board, Washington D. C., Paper no. 16‐1625.
6. Mohan, M. and Chandra, S. (2016), “Concept of Queue Clearance Rate for Estimation of
Equivalency Factors at Priority Junctions”, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 43, 593-598.
Doi: 10.1139/cjce-2015-0396.
7. Polus, A. (1983) “Gap Acceptance Characteristics at Unsignalized Urban Intersections”, Traffic
Engineering and Control, 24 (5), 255-258.
8. Raff, M. S., and Hart, J. W. (1950) “A volume warrant to urban stop signs”, Eno Foundation for
Highway Traffic Control, Saugatuck, Connecticut.
9. Solberg, P. and Oppenlander, J. C. (1966), “Lag and Gap Acceptances at Stop Controlled
intersection”, HRR 118, Highway Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.,
pp. 48-67

10. Siegloch, W. (1973), “Capacity calculations for unsignalized intersections”, Traffic Engineering
and Control, 20 (3), 255-258.
11. Teply, S., Abou Henaidy, M. I. and Hunt, J. D. (1997), “Gap Acceptance Behavior Aggregate and
Logic Perspective Part 1”, Traffic Engineering and Control, Vol. 38, Issue No. 9, pp. 474 - 482.
12. Troutbeck, R. J. (1992) “Estimating the Critical Acceptance Gap from Traffic Movements”,
Physical Infrastructure Centre Research Report 92-5, Queensland University of Technology,
Brisbane, Australia.
13. Weinert, A. (2000), “Estimation of Critical Gaps and Follow-up Times at Rural Unsignalized
Intersections in Germany”, Transportation Research Circular E-C 108: 4th International
Symposium on Highway Capacity, Hawaii.
14. Wu, N. (2006) “A New Model for Estimating Critical Gap and its Distribution at Unsignalized
Intersections Based on the Equilibrium of Probabilities”, Proceedings of the fifth International
Symposium on Highway Capacity and Quality of Service. Yokohama, Japan.

ANNEXURE 8A: CALCULATION OF CRITICAL GAP

USING OCCUPANCY TIME METHOD
Occupancy Time (OT) refers to the time interval between the entry of a vehicle into and its
complete exit from the intersection conflict area. It is the time taken by the subject vehicle to clear the
common intersecting area of the major and minor roads completely as represented by the hatched
portion in Figures 8A.1 (a) and 8A.1 (b). This area represents the zone of interaction between the
different traffic streams. Occupancy Time of a vehicle is defined as the time elapsed between the
entry of front bumper of the vehicle to the intersection conflict area and exit of the rear bumper of
the same vehicle from the intersection conflict area as shown in Figures 8A.1 (a) and 8A.1 (b). OT is
dependent on driver behaviour, intersection geometry, type of subject vehicle, opposing vehicular
traffic, manner in which conflict area is cleared and other factors. This will better represent the
operation in heterogeneous conditions due to complex clearing behaviour exhibited by the vehicles
at the intersections. Due to their small size and aggressive nature, two-wheelers in India will have
less OT when compared to large vehicles.
Figure 8A.1 (a): Conflict Area for extracting Occupancy Time for
Through Traffic from Minor Approach
Figure 8A.1 (b): Conflict Area for extracting Occupancy Time for
Right Turning Traffic from Major Approach

The value of accepted gap and lag varies from driver to driver even for the same vehicular
category. Hence, it is possible to draw the distribution function of accepted lags and gaps (Fa). Similarly,
the occupancy time will also vary among drivers of same vehicle category and can be represented by a
frequency distribution curve (Fot). Therefore, for a lower priority movement to clear the intersection
area safely through the gap in the conflicting traffic, the inequality (refer Equation 8A.1) must be
satisfied.
P(ta > t) > P(OT < t) Equation 8A.1
Where,
ta = accepted gap or lag
t = gap or lag being offered to minor street driver
OT = occupancy time of the subject vehicle.
The minimum value of time for which this inequality is satisfied is given by the point of
intersection of the two cumulative curves as shown in Figure 8A.2 (Mohan, M. and Chandra, S. 2016b).
This indicates the situation when the major street gap is just sufficient for the minor street vehicle to
clear the intersection conflict area safely.
Figure 8A.2: Cumulative Distribution Curves of Fot and (1- Fa)
The curves presented in Figure 8A.2 depict the distribution of accepted gap and occupancy
time for one vehicle type making through movement from Minor Street at intersection. The point of
intersection of the two curves suggests that the critical gap for the subject movement under the given
conditions at the intersection is 3.4 seconds

ANNEXURE 8B: PASSENGER CAR EQUIVALENT

BASED ON OCCUPANCY TIME
Occupancy time specifies the total time that a vehicle incur in clearing the conflict area of the
intersection. This will be the function of driver behaviour, intersection geometry, subject vehicle type,
opposing traffic and the manner in which the conflict area is cleared. Thus, occupancy time of a vehicle
relies heavily upon its length and operational performance of the vehicle. A motorized two-wheeler
is expected to have less occupancy time when compared to a heavy vehicle. Therefore, occupancy
time of a vehicle is a good measure of its impedance to traffic within the same stream as well as in
the conflicting streams. This parameter can be used for estimating the PCU factors. However, absence
of lane discipline is quite common in the traffic operations under heterogeneous traffic conditions.
Vehicles move abreast within the same approach while clearing the intersection. As such, the effect of
width of vehicle need to be considered as it is a parameter that influences the traffic operation within
the conflicting stream (Mohan and Chandra, 2016b). The presence of wider vehicles in the crossing or
turning stream will discourage smaller sized vehicles from fully utilizing their operational potential.
Thus, the PCU factors at an unsignalized intersection can be estimated by considering the relative
occupancy times and their widths, as presented in Equation 8C.1.
Equation 8C.1
Where,
OTi - Average occupancy time of a vehicle type i (in seconds)
OTsc - Average occupancy of standard car (s)
wsc - Width of standard car (m)
wi - Width of vehicle type ‘i’ (m)
PCUi - PCU for vehicle type ‘i’.

ANNEXURE 8C: GAP MEASUREMENT AT REFERENCE LINE

Data for measurement of accepted gaps (or lags) have to be collected for each movement
separately. For example, for right turn from Major Street, the data have to be extracted as presented
in Figure 8C.1.
Figure 8C.1: Right Turning Movement from Major Stream to Minor Stream
• Mark a line on the video (shown by red line in above Figure) in front of the median.
• Note the arrival of the right turn on Major Street (movement under consideration) and its type.
Theoretically, this vehicle should stop at STOP line and observe the traffic for availability of
the gaps (Abhishek, et al, 2014). However, in majority of the cases, it will slow down and come
out of the STOP line. Observe the time difference between the arrival of this vehicle at STOP
line and arrival of the first vehicle from opposing stream at the red line. Also, note down
occupancy time of the same vehicle (refer Annexure 8A) and as per the worksheet as shown
in Table 8C.1 for all accepted lags and gaps.
Table 8C.1: Worksheet for Recording of Lags and Gaps
Accepted Lag /
Occupancy Time
Vehicle Type Lag / Gap Gap Size
(seconds)
(seconds)
Standard Car Lag 1.8 3.5
Big Car Gap 3.2 3.4
Two-Wheeler …
Bus ….
and so on …
Values in Table 8C.1 are to be read / interpreted like this. The first vehicle arriving is a standard car faced a
time lag of 1.8 seconds which has accepted the gap and occupancy time of this subject vehicle is found to be
3.5 seconds. Then the next accepted gap and occupancy time for the succeeding vehicle, which is a big car in
this case, is found to be 3.2 seconds and 3.4 seconds respectively.

Chapter 9:
Pedestrian Facilities

Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Principal Scientist and Co-Champion, Indo-HCM
CSIR-CRRI Team Regional Coordinator and Team Members
Dr. Purnima Parida, Senior Principal Scientist, Prof. Manoranjan Parida, IIT Roorkee, RC
TP Division, Work Package Leader
Team Members
Dr. Mukti Advani, Senior Scientist, Prof. Gaurang. J. Joshi,

Transportation Planning (TP) Division, SVNIT, Surat
CSIR - CRRI
Dr. Pritikana Das, Scientist, Prof. Shriniwas S Arkatkar,

TP Division, CSIR - CRRI SVNIT, Surat
Sh. Daleep Mutreja

Students pursued their Thesis @ CSIR - CRRI,
IIT, Roorkee and SVNIT, Surat
Ph.D. Students
Dr. Pritikana Das, IIT, Roorkee Dr. Udit Jain, IIT Roorkee
Ms. G.R. Bivina, IIT, Roorkee (Ongoing) Dr. Jiten Shah, SVNIT Surat
M.Tech Students at IIT, Roorkee and CSIR - CRRI
Mr. Shashi Prabha Singh Mr. Nand Kishore
Mr. Avinash Chaudhary Mr. Diwakar Gupta
Ms. Natasha Singh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Director, IIT Roorkee
2. Deputy Director, IIT Roorkee
3. Dean, SRIC, IIT Roorkee
4. Head, Deptt. of Civil Engg., IIT Roorkee
5. Coordinator, Transportation Engg. Group, Deptt. of Civil Engg., IIT Roorkee
6. Dr. Rajat Rastogi, Deptt. of Civil Engg., IIT Roorkee
7. Dr. Indrajit Ghosh, Deptt. of Civil Engg., IIT Roorkee
8. Prof. V.K. Katiyar, Deptt. Of Mathematics, IIT Roorkee
9. Transportation Engg. Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Roorkee.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
List of Abbreviations ix
9.1 INTRODUCTION 1
9.1.1 Overview 1
9.1.2 Modal Characteristics 1
9.1.3 Human Factors 1
9.1.4 Variations in Demand across Pedestrian Facilities 2
9.2.1 Definitions 5
9.2.2 Pedestrian Space Requirements 6
9.3 WALKIING SPEED AT FOOTPATHS 7
9.4 WALKING SPEED AT CROSSWALKS 7
9.4.1 Pedestrian Critical Gap at Crosswalks 8
9.4.2 Pedestrian Waiting Time at Crosswalks 8
9.5 PEDESTRIAN FLOW MODELS 9
9.5.1 Principles of Pedestrian Flow 9
9.5.2 Macroscopic Modelling 9
9.6 FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS 10
9.6.1 Footpaths 10
9.6.2 Stairways 11
9.6.3 Foot Over Bridges 12
9.7 PEDESTRIAN LEVEL OF SERVICE (PLOS) 12
9.7.1 PLOS Ranges for Different Facilities 12
9.7.2 Methodology for Determination of PLOS 13
9.8 QUALITATITVE ASSESSMENT OF PEDESTRIAN FACILITY 15

9.9 EXAMPLE PROBLEMS 16

9.9.1 Example Problem 1 17
REFERENCES 21
ANNEXURE 9A : PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS AT FOOTPATHS 22
ANNEXURE 9.B : PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS AT CROSSWALKS 26
9B.1 Pedestrian Speed Characteristics at Crosswalks 26
9B.2 Pedestrian Critical Gap 26
9B.3 Waiting Time 27
ANNEXURE 9.C : PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS ON STAIRWAYS 28
ANNEXURE 9.D : PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS AT FOOT OVER BRIDGES 30
ANNEXURE 9.E : QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PEDESTRIAN FACILITY 31

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
9.1 Typical Footpath in Indian Cities 2
9.2 Hourly Variation in Pedestrian Demand at Typical Footpaths 2
9.3 Typical Crosswalk in Indian Cities 3
(a) Signalized crossing, (b) Pelican crossing, (c) Puffin crossing, (d)
9.4 4
Toucan crossing
9.5 Hourly Pedestrian Demand at Typical Crosswalks in India 4
9.6 Typical Stairway in Indian Suburban Train Stations 4
9.7 Typical Foot Over Bridge in Indian Cities 5
9.8 Minute-wise Pedestrian Demand at Typical Stairways in India 5
9.9 Pedestrian Body Ellipse for Space Requirement 6
9.10 Typical Snapshot of Pedestrian Space Estimation Procedure 6
9.11 Age and Gender-wise Speed Distribution on Footpaths 7
Flow-Density-Speed-Space relationships for Pedestrian Movement for

9.12 10
Various Lane uses
9.13 Methodology Flow Chart for PLOS determination of Footpaths 14
9.14 Methodology Flow Chart for PLOS determination of Crosswalks 14
9.15 Methodology Flow Chart for PLOS determination of Stairways 15
9.16 Methodology Flow Chart for PLOS determination of FOBs 15
9B.1 Cumulative distribution of Crossing Speeds on Crosswalks 26
9B.2 Critical Gap on different Roadway Configurations 27
9B.3 Cumulative distribution of Waiting Time at Crosswalks 27
Speed - Flow - Density - Space Relationships for Pedestrian Movement for

9C.1 29
Stairways at Suburban Stations
9D.1 Flow - Density - Speed - Space relationships for FOBs 30
Spider Net Graph on the Importance and Satisfaction Ratings on Physical

9E.1 36
and User Characteristics of each Land use

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
9.1 Modal Share of Pedestrians in Indian Cities 1
9.2 Space Requirements for Pedestrians in India 7
9.3 Crossing Speed at Crosswalks covering Varying Road Configuration 8
9.4 Critical Gap at different Roadway Configurations 8
9.5 Waiting Time at different Roadway Configurations 8
9.6 Pedestrian Flow Parameters for Footpaths 10
9.7 Estimated Shy distances in Indian context 11
9.8 Pedestrian Flow Parameters for Stairways 11
9.9 Pedestrian Flow Parameters for FOBs 12
9.10 PLOS for Footpaths 12
9.11 PLOS for Crosswalks 13
9.12 PLOS for Stairways 13
9.13 PLOS for Foot Over Bridge 13
9.14 Quality of Service for Footpaths 16
9.15 List of Example Problems 16
9A.1 Statistical Summary of Pedestrian Speeds on Footpaths 22
9A.2 Statistical Summary of Pedestrian Flow on Footpaths 22
9A.3 Land use based Speed of Pedestrians on Footpaths 22
9A.4 Land use based Macroscopic Speed - Flow Models for Footpaths 23
9A.5 Estimated Pedestrian Flow Parameters for Footpaths 24
PLOS for Footpaths considering Commercial,
9A.6 24
Institutional and Terminal Land uses
9A.7 PLOS for Footpaths considering Residential and Recreational Land uses 25
9A.8 Summary of Body Ellipse of Pedestrians 25
9B.1 Crossing Speed at Crosswalks on different Roadway Configurations 26
9C.1 Statistics of Speed of Pedestrian on Stairways 28
9C.2 Estimated Pedestrian Flow Model Equations for Stairways 28

9D.1 Statistics of Speed of Pedestrians on FOBs 30

9D.2 Estimated Macroscopic Flow Models for FOBs 30
9E.1 Design Factors considered for Walkability Assessment 31
9E.2 Physical Characteristics of Pedestrian Facility 32
9E.3 Facility Assessment by the Pedestrians 32
9E.4 Parameters and their Description 33-34
9E.5 Importance Rating of Pedestrian Facility across Various Land uses 35
9E.6 Satisfaction Rating of Pedestrian Facility for Various Land uses 35

FOB Foot Over Bridge
Qp Pedestrian Flow Rate
Vp Pedestrian Speed
Kp Pedestrian Density
S Pedestrian Space
S Area Module
PLOS Pedestrian Level of Service
QOS Quality of Service
Ai Importance Weight for physical and user characteristics
Bi Satisfaction Rating for physical and user characteristics
WI Walkability Index

9.1 INTRODUCTION
9.1.1 Overview
The definition of ‘Pedestrian’ includes people who walk, sit, stand in public spaces or use
mobility aids like walking stick, crutches or wheelchair, be they children, teenagers, adults, elderly
persons, persons with disabilities, workers, residents, shoppers or people watchers (IRC, 103:2012).
Walking is the basic mode of travel. It is healthy and sustainable to human society. As compared to
railways and vehicular transport, walking can happen anywhere: from roadside to covered shopping
malls and from underground stations to foot over bridges. Walking is still the most universal means
of travelling, especially for the first and the last trip leg of a journey. The importance of pedestrian
movements is understood globally and need not be overemphasized. Hence the pedestrian facilities
are analyzed by using factors like speed, pedestrian flow and density culminating with capacity and
Level of Service (LOS) of various forms of pedestrian facilities. Apart from these quantitative factors,
qualitative factors like pedestrian needs and perceptions of the pedestrians in the form of subjective
data are also included in defining Walkability Index for Footpaths are also dealt in this manual.
9.1.2 Modal Characteristics

Walking is a mode of transport which is commonly used for short trips. Walking mode
provides the fundamental interface between the various types of land-use and other transport modes.
Pedestrians are more flexible than vehicular traffic. Ministry of Urban Development Report (MoUD,
2008) has remarked out that the walk mode share is declining and is projected to decline further over
the next 20 years; particularly in cities having less than 2 million populations. Pedestrian fatality
share at the national level is 9.5 % (MoRT&H, 2015). The modal share of pedestrians across seven
Indian cities is given in Table 9.1 (MoUD, 2008).
Table 9.1: Modal Share of Pedestrians in Indian cities
Description Modal Share by Walk (%)

< 5 lakh Population, Plain Terrain 34
< 5 lakh Population, Hilly Terrain 57
5-10 lakh Population 32
> 80 lakh Population 22
9.1.3 Human Factors

Pedestrians can move in any direction according to their convenience which indicates
more flexibility in comparison to motorized users. The interaction of pedestrian with other modes,
including other fellow pedestrians results in reduced safety, comfort, travel hindrance, and other
implications. Every pedestrian requires adequate space for comfortable movement. A pedestrian is
always exposed to external elements while walking. Due to this exposure, various environmental
and perceived safety factors significantly influence quality of service of pedestrian infrastructure. At
crowded locations, the quality of pedestrian flow is an important consideration. A pedestrian should
feel safe during the day as well as night while using a Footpath. Characteristics of this factor include

provision of adequate street lighting, police patrolling during night time, sufficient activities on the
surrounding built up environment etc. to create a sense of safety and security.
Environmental factors such as comfort, convenience, safety, security and economics of the
walkway system affect the walking experience and consequently the quality of service perceived by
pedestrians. A pedestrian needs to be protected from inclement weather like harsh sun and rain.
Trees protect pedestrians but if planted in an unplanned manner can also act as an obstruction.
9.1.4 Variations in Demand across Pedestrian Facilities

The various types of pedestrian facilities and the variation in their demand levels are discussed
in this section.
9.1.4.1 Footpath
A paved or unpaved path for pedestrians along the side of a road is known as Footpath. It
is an important part of transportation facility which provides a safe path for people to walk along
and is often separated from the motorized traffic (refer Figure 9.1). It caters to all human beings
in the society irrespective of gender, age and economic conditions by connecting transit stations
and terminals. Pedestrian demand depends on the location, activity, day and time. At some places,
secondary peaks or plateaus in demand may occur during the week day morning and evening peak
hours. Hourly variations in pedestrian demand on typical Footpaths are shown in Figure 9.2. Work-
related trips constitute the majority of morning peak-period pedestrian trips, while shopping and
tourist trips constitute the majority of the mid-day and evening pedestrian trips.
Figure 9.1: Typical Footpath in Indian Cities
Figure 9.2: Hourly Variation in Pedestrian Demand at Typical Footpaths

9.1.4.2 Crosswalk
A Crosswalk is defined as a path where pedestrians can safely walk across a street or road.
It provides connection between two sides of road i.e. across the road. It should ensure safety of
pedestrians and where they can cross most safely through the flow of vehicular traffic. In India, only
zebra crossings and signal controlled crossings are seen in cities as at-grade facilities. Other crossing
facilities like pelican, puffin and toucan crossings have been defined in this section for information.
These different types of crosswalks are described below.
Zebra Crossing: Zebra crossing is a clearly specified pedestrian track across the carriageway
(i)
and is delineated with the help of alternate black and white stripes, which should have
embossed texture for easy detection by persons with vision impairment. A typical mid-block
zebra crossing is shown in Figure 9.3.
Figure 9.3: Typical Crosswalk in Indian Cities
Signalized Crossing: Signalized pedestrian crossings seen in India are mostly fixed signal
(ii)
time crossings where phases of the signal are pre-defined irrespective of the pedestrian and
vehicular flow at the location. This type of crossing clearly segregates the movement of traffic
and pedestrians on road by providing a dedicated green phase for pedestrians to cross the
road. A typical fixed time pedestrian signal is shown in Figure 9.4 (a).
Pelican Crossing: The pelican crossing is a type of signalized crossing which uses far side
(iii)
pedestrian signal heads and a flashing amber/flashing green crossing period, of a fixed
duration, which is demanded solely by push button. A typical pelican signal is shown in Figure
9.4 (b).
Puffin Crossing: Puffin crossing uses near side pedestrian signal heads and an extendable all
(iv)
red crossing period which is instigated by a push button request accompanied by a pedestrian
detector demand. It is intended that the puffin operational cycle will become the standard
form of pedestrian crossing at standalone crossing and junctions. A typical puffin signal is
shown in Figure 9.4 (c).
Toucan Crossing: It is a crossing where both pedestrians and cyclists can cross together and
(v)
thus the name “Tou-can”. Toucan crossing has the same form of pedestrian crossing detector
as the puffin crossing. A typical toucan signal is shown in Figure 9.4 (d).

Figure 9.4: (a) Signalized crossing, (b) Pelican crossing,

(c) Puffin crossing, (d) Toucan crossing
Variation in pedestrian demand at a typical crosswalk location in India is shown in Figure 9.5.
Work-related trips constitute the majority of morning peak-period pedestrian trips, while shopping
and tourist trips constitute the majority of the mid-day and evening pedestrian trips. Also, pedestrian
demand is a function of surrounding land-use density and proximity to commercial area or other
important locations, in particular.
Figure 9.5: Hourly Pedestrian Demand at Typical Crosswalks in India
9.1.4.3 Stairway
It is a way of access (upward and downward) for pedestrians and consists of a set of
steps to reach a higher or lower level of a facility. A typical stairway can be a part of a Foot over
Bridge (FOB) or a separated pedestrian infrastructure in a railway terminal as presented in
Figure 9.6. At the same time, Foot Over Bridge (FOB) is a type of grade separated pedestrian
facility consisting of an enclosed or covered bridge connecting two Footpaths which is
presented in Figure 9.7. It eliminates all potential vehicle conflicts faced by pedestrians while
crossing a road.
Figure 9.6: Typical Stairway in Indian Suburban Train Stations

Figure 9.7: A Typical Foot Over Bridge in Indian Cities
Pedestrian volume at station platform increases at the time of arrival and departure of the
trains resulting in variation in walking speeds. At suburban rail / metro transit stations in India, the
frequency of trains during morning and evening peak period is normally 2 minutes whereas during
off-peak period, the frequency is between 4 - 8 minutes resulting in variation in pedestrian volume
during the observation period (Shah, et al, 2017). Variation in pedestrian demand for stairway
movement at typical rail transit terminal is shown in Figure 9.8.
Figure 9.8: Minute-wise Pedestrian Demand at Typical Stairways in India

9.2.1 Definitions
• Pedestrian Flow Rate (Qp): Number of pedestrians passing a given point per unit time,
expressed as pedestrians per 15 minutes or pedestrians per minute or pedestrians per hour;
“point” refers to a perpendicular line of sight across the width of walkway.
• Unit Width Flow: Average flow of pedestrians per unit width of effective walkway, expressed
as pedestrians per minute per meter.
• Pedestrian Speed (Vp): Average pedestrian walking speed, generally expressed in units of
meters per second.
• Pedestrian Density (Kp): Average number of pedestrians per unit of area within a walkway
or queuing area, expressed as pedestrians per square meter.
• Pedestrian Space (S): Average area available to each pedestrian in a walkway or queuing
area, expressed in terms of square meter per pedestrian. This is the inverse of density and is
a more practical unit for analysis of pedestrian facilities.

• Gap: The time difference between the tail of a leading vehicle and the head of the following
vehicle in the traffic stream. It is measured in seconds (s).
• Pedestrian Critical Gap: The minimum gap size in the traffic stream which will allow the
entry of a pedestrian to cross the road. It is measured in seconds (s).
• Rejected Gap: Insufficient gaps between vehicles which are rejected by pedestrians. These
are usually smaller than the critical gap. It is measured in seconds (s).
• Accepted Gap: The final gap size which the pedestrian perceives as a safe gap size to cross
the road. It is usually greater than the critical gap. It is measured in seconds (s).
• Pedestrian Waiting Time: It is the time lost between the arrival of a pedestrian at kerb side
or crossing location and starting of the crossing manoeuvre on accepting a gap. It is measured
in seconds (s).
• Frequency of Attempt: Number of attempts that a pedestrian makes to accept the vehicular
gap.
• Platoon Size: It refers to the number of pedestrians walking or crossing together as a group.
9.2.2 Pedestrian Space Requirements

The body depth and shoulder breadth are the primary measurements to define a body ellipse
for modelling a human body. The size of human body dimension varies in different countries and
circumstances. The dimension of the human body is a primary factor that affects the requirement of
practical availability of pedestrian spaces and facility design. The larger the body size of individuals,
more the walking space is needed and greater is the hindrance imposed on pedestrian movement.
A simplified body ellipse of 0.35 m by 0.51 m (total area 0.18 m2) is used as the basic space for a
pedestrian in this manual. This represents the practical minimum space for standing pedestrians. The
required space for pedestrians in Indian context is provided in Table 9.2 and estimation procedure is
shown in Figure 9.9 and Figure 9.10.
Figure 9.9: Pedestrian Body Ellipse for Space Requirement
Figure 9.10: Typical Snapshot of Pedestrian Space Estimation Procedure

Table 9.2: Space Requirements for Pedestrians in India
Parameter India (Singh et. al., 2016) US-HCM (HCM, 2000)

Without Baggage:
Human Ellipse and Rectangular 0.35 m × 0.51 m = 0.18 m2 0.46 m × 0.61 m
area required With Baggage: = 0.28 m2
0.52 m × 0.51 m = 0.26 m2
9.3 WALKING SPEED AT FOOTPATHS

A total of 21 Footpath located in various cities of the country namely, Delhi, Mumbai,
Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Vadodara, Chandigarh and Roorkee has been considered as test
sections for analysis. As such, the walking speed of the pedestrians on the Footpaths is governed
by their environment. The influencing factors are type of facility, pedestrian characteristics,
group characteristics, land use, vehicular traffic volume and speed, age, gender, baggage
etc. Mean walking speed is the fundamental component of pedestrian flow model and free-
flow speed indicates the average speed of pedestrians when they are not hindered by other
pedestrians in an obstacle-free environment under normal conditions. Its value however
requires extensive data for calibration as the walking speed is subject to many factors.
Hence, the age and gender-wise distribution of speed of pedestrians on Footpaths has been
estimated in this manual based on extensive field studies conducted in the above mentioned
metropolitan cities. These are given in Figure 9.11. The details of the analysis are provided
in Annexure 9A.
Figure 9.11: Age and Gender-wise Speed Distribution on Footpaths
9.4 WALKING SPEED AT CROSSWALKS

The average crossing speed of pedestrians observed across varying roadway configurations at
8 typical Crosswalks in various cities of the country namely, New Delhi, Mumbai, Surat and Chandigarh
has been considered for analysis in this section. The analysis has been performed by classifying the
data on the basis of gender as well as roadway configuration and presented in Table 9.3. It has been
observed that male pedestrians walk faster as compared to female pedestrians and there is marginal
increase in the crossing speed as the number of lanes increase on divided roads. The details of the
analysis are provided in Annexure 9B.

Table 9.3: Crossing Speed at Crosswalks covering Varying Road Configuration
Average Crossing Speed (m/min)

S. No. Road Configuration
Male Female
1 2 Lane Undivided 94.8 85.8
2 4 Lane Divided 84.1 72.4
9.4.1 Pedestrian Critical Gap at Crosswalks

Critical gap is analyzed for crosswalks to understand the interaction between the pedestrians
and vehicles. A pedestrian who wishes to cross the road is subjected to vehicular gaps. Insufficient
vehicular gaps are rejected by pedestrians until an adequately safe gap size is available for the
pedestrian to complete the crossing maneuver. Critical gap is estimated based on the vehicular gaps
rejected and accepted by pedestrians. Critical gap has been estimated using Raff’s method in this
manual (Raff, 1950). Table 9.4 presents the critical gaps determined based on observations done at
typical crosswalks in India.
Table 9.4: Critical Gap at different Roadway Configurations

S. No. Roadway Configuration Critical Gap* (s)
1. 2 Lane Undivided 2.85
2. 4 Lane Divided 3.90
* Critical Gaps have been estimated for one side of the roadway in case of divided road segments
9.4.2 Pedestrian Waiting Time at Crosswalks

The waiting time at crosswalk locations is one of the most important factors in the pedestrian
crossing decision process. The waiting time of pedestrian increases when the traffic volume on the
road to be crossed is high and pedestrians do not get adequate acceptable (safe) gaps to cross the
traffic stream. With the increase in waiting time, the pedestrians tend to become impatient and
accept smaller vehicular gaps subjecting themselves to the risk of road crashes. Waiting time is also a
major portion of total delay faced by pedestrians during crossing. The average waiting time observed
at typical crosswalks in India has been categorized based on gender and presented in Table 9.5. Like
critical gap, the waiting time also increases as the number of lanes increase. Female pedestrians are
observed to wait longer before crossing the road as compared to male pedestrians.
Table 9.5: Waiting Time at different Roadway Configurations

Average Waiting Time for Average Waiting Time for
S. No. Roadway Configuration
Male pedestrians (s) Female pedestrians (s)
1 2 Lane Undivided 5.27 6.62

9.5 PEDESTRIAN FLOW MODELS

9.5.1 Principles of Pedestrian Flow
The relationship between density, speed and flow for pedestrians are presented in
Equation 9.1.
Qp = Vp × Kp Equation 9.1
Where,
Qp = flow (ped/min/m);
Vp = speed (m/min); and
Kp = density (ped/m2)
Alternatively, it can be as shown in Equation 9.2.
vp
Qp = — Equation 9.2
s
Where,
S = pedestrian space (m2/ped)
9.5.2 Macroscopic Modelling

This approach uses empirical equation to quantify the flow of pedestrian crowd and the
capacity of walking facilities. The relationship among density, speed and directional flow for
pedestrians is similar to that for vehicular traffic streams and it is expressed in Equation 9.3.
Qp = Vp × Kp Equation 9.3
Where,
Qp = Unit flow rate (ped/min/m)
Vp = Pedestrian speed (m/min), and
Kp = Pedestrian density (ped/m²)
Alternatively, Equation 9.4 can be used with the reciprocal of density or space:
vp
Qp = — Equation 9.4
s
Where,
S= Pedestrian Space (m²/ped)
General relationships for analysis amongst various pedestrian flow parameters have been
evolved based on single-regime approach, which is presented in Equations 9.5 to 9.8:
Pedestrian speed (Vp) and density (Kp): Vp = a – b × Kp Equation 9.5
2
Pedestrian flow (Qp) and density (Kp): a x Kp – b x Kp Equation 9.6
Pedestrian speed (Vp) and flow (Qp): Qp = Vp (a – Vp)/b Equation 9.7
a b
Pedestrian flow (Qp) and area module (S): Qp = — – — Equation 9.8
s s2

9.6 FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS

Fundamental relationships between speed, flow, density and space are developed for various
forms of pedestrian facilities namely, Footpaths, Stairways and Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) and
presented in the succeeding sections.
9.6.1 Footpaths
In the case of Footpaths, the above fundamental relationships have been developed covering
different land uses namely, institutional, recreational, commercial, terminal and residential land
uses. Capacity of the facility has been estimated from the models developed for Footpaths based on
data collected across different land uses and also by considering the aggregated data. The models
developed are described in Annexure 9A. Land-use based models will provide optimized design
solutions for Footpaths. The developed macroscopic fundamental diagrams using those models are
shown in Figure 9.12.
Figure 9.12: Flow-Density-Speed-Space relationships for

Pedestrian Movement for Various Land uses
The estimated values of pedestrian flow parameters for Footpaths are presented in Table 9.6
and land-use based values are given in Annexure 9A.
Table 9.6: Pedestrian Flow Parameters for Footpaths
Optimum Optimum Space at

Free Flow Speed Jam Density Max Flow
Density Speed Capacity
(m/min) (ped/m2) (ped/min/m)
(ped/ m2) (m/min) (m2/ped)
73.28 4.6 85 2.3 36.64 0.42

The estimation of capacity of Footpath considers effective width of the facility as well. The
effective width of the Footpath is the portion of a walkway that can be effectively used by pedestrians,
which is the width of the Footpath excluding the shy distance. Several types of obstructions tend to
make pedestrians shy away. Shy distances in Indian scenario estimated from the field observations
are given in Table 9.7. The lower value of shy distance indicates moderate value of obstruction along
the linear length of the Footpath and higher value indicates high degrees of obstruction. In the absence
of specific information regarding the degree of obstruction middle value can be used for calculation
of effective width.
Table 9.7: Estimated Shy distances in Indian context
Obstacle Shy Distance (m)
Bench 0.3 - 0.5
Kerb (in case of Divided Carriageway) 0.1 - 0.2
Kerb (in case of Bidirectional) 0.2 - 0.4
Wall 0.4 - 0.6
Guardrails 0.4 - 0.6
Hawkers 0.3 - 0.5
Light Pole 0.8 - 1.1
Traffic Signs 0.6 - 0.8
Traffic Signal Poles and Boxes 0.9 - 1.2
9.6.2 Stairways
The average speed and flow of pedestrians observed at 2 typical Stairways in suburban train
stations in Mumbai (catering up to crowded environment) has been deployed to develop macroscopic
fundamental diagrams between pedestrian flow parameters (Shah, et al, 2017) and the detailed
analysis results are presented in Annexure 9C. The estimated values of flow parameters are given in
Table 9.8. In the case of stairways, the flow reduces when the density increases beyond the optimum
level. Subsequently, queuing phenomenon occurs at the ends of stairway and pedestrian movement
decreases until the flow becomes zero and consequently density is identified as jam density.
Table 9.8: Pedestrian Flow Parameters for Stairways
Free Flow Optimum Optimum Space at

Jam density Max Flow
Speed Density Speed Capacity
(ped/m2) (ped/min/m)
(m/min) (ped/ m2) (m/min) (m2/ped)
39.08 8.15 82.5 4.0 17.0 < 0.4

9.6.3 Foot Over Bridges

The average free flow speed and quantum of pedestrian flow observed at 5 typical Foot
Over Bridge (FOBs) in selected cities of the country namely, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in India
has been considered for analysis. Based on the above data, macroscopic fundamental diagrams
between pedestrian flow parameters has been derived in the manual for FOB movement and the
analysis results are detailed in Annexure 9D. A brief on the estimated flow parameters is presented in
Table 9.9.
Table 9.9: Pedestrian Flow Parameters for FOBs
Free Flow Optimum Optimum Space at
Jam density Max Flow
Speed Density Speed Capacity
(ped/m2) (ped/min/m)
(m/min) (ped/ m2) (m/min) (m2/ped)
60.39 3.41 51.63 1.71 30.20 0.58
9.7 PEDESTRIAN LEVEL OF SERIVCE (PLOS)

Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS) is a measure for assessing the operating condition of
facilities in a quantitative manner. It denotes the level of comfort provided by the facility to pedestrians
while using the facility.
9.7.1. PLOS Ranges for Different Facilities

Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS) is defined based on fundamental pedestrian flow parameters
for five different land uses only in the case of Footpaths as test sections considered in the manual
encompassed varied land uses. Eventually, 6 LOS are defined starting from LOS A to LOS F for each
land use in Indian context. The range of flow values derived for Footpaths in this manual is presented
in Table 9.10. On the other hand, LOS for Crosswalks is evolved based on pedestrian delay observed at
the study locations. Consequently, pedestrian delay data are divided into six LOS categories from A to
F which is presented in Table 9.11. Similarly, PLOS for Stairways and FOBs are presented in Table 9.12
and Table 9.13 respectively. During the course of design of any type of pedestrian facility, it would
be prudent to achieve LOS B or LOS C in case of any physical constraints. Under no circumstances,
LOS can be worse than LOS C. Higher values of flow rate at LOS D and LOS E are attributed to smaller
value of human body ellipse in the pedestrian stream as presented in Section 9.2.2. Values derived for
LOS D and LOS E are estimated out of pedestrian stream flow models and need to be used only while
operational characterization of pedestrian flow. It may be noted that such high values of pedestrian
flow rate at LOS E has been recommended in the HCM (2010) wherein corresponding to LOS E flow
rate is > 49 - 75 ped/min/m.
Table 9.10: PLOS for Footpaths
(in ped/min/m)
LOS Commercial Institutional Terminal Recreational Residential
A ≤ 13 ≤ 13 ≤ 15 ≤ 12 ≤ 16
B > 13-19 > 13 - 19 > 15 - 26 > 12 - 20 > 16 - 23
C > 19-30 > 19 - 27 > 26 - 32 > 20 - 32 > 23 - 34
D > 30-47 > 27 - 36 > 32 - 68 > 32 - 54 > 34 - 47
E > 41-69 > 36 - 42 > 68 - 78 > 54 - 91 > 47 - 59
F Variable Variable Variable Variable Variable

Table 9.11: PLOS for Crosswalks
LOS Pedestrian Delay (in seconds)

A ≤5
B 5 - 10
C 11 - 25
D 26 - 45
E 46 - 80
F > 80
Table 9.12: PLOS for Stairways
LOS Flow (ped/min/m) Speed (m/min) Space (m2/ped)

A ≤ 10 ≥ 42.6 ≥ 2.5
B > 10 - 22 > 37.2 - 42.6 > 1.50 - 2.5
C > 22 - 46 > 31.2 - 37.2 > 0.75 - 1.50
D >46 - 55 >28.2 - 31.2 > 0.50 - 0.75
E >55 - 70 >24.2 - 28.2 > 0.40 - 0.50
F Variable - -
Table 9.13: PLOS for Foot Over Bridge
LOS Flow (ped/min/m) Speed (m/min) Space (m2/ped)

A ≤ 12 ≥ 56.78 ≥ 4.89
B > 12 - 17 > 55.03 - 56.78 > 3.3 - 4.9
C > 17 - 27 > 51.08 - 55.03 > 1.9 - 3.3
D > 27 - 38 > 45.65 - 51.08 > 1.2 - 1.9
E > 38 - 52 > 30.91 - 45.65 > 0.6 - 1.2
F Variable < 30.91 < 0.6
9.7.2 Methodology for Determination of PLOS

Quantitative assessment of the pedestrian facilities is performed by establishing PLOS. In
case of upgradation of existing pedestrian infrastructure, it is required to assess present LOS of the
facility in terms of PLOS. The methodologies adopted to determine PLOS and the evolved PLOS for
different forms of pedestrian facilities like Footpaths, Crosswalks, Stairways and FOBs are presented
in the succeeding section.

9.7.2.1 Determination of PLOS for Footpaths

PLOS has been established for Footpaths using the methodology flow chart presented in
Figure 9.13. Six steps should be followed to identify PLOS of Footpath. In the first step, Footpath
should be identified considering surrounding land use. Then in the second step, width of the available
Footpath should be measured and after that effective width should be calculated. Effective width
calculation is already discussed in the previous section. In the next step, pedestrian flow (ped/min)
should be observed from the selected site and peak flow value should be converted into flow rate
(ped/min/m) to estimate maximum or peak flow rate. In the final step, using the peak flow rate value,
PLOS can be identified for any Footpaths given earlier in Table 9.10.
Step 1: Identification of sidewalk based on land use
Step 2: Measurement of sidewalk width
Step 3: Estimation of effective width of the facility
Step 4: Observe pedestrian flow (ped/min)
Step 5: Estimation of maximum or peak flow rate (ped/m/min)
Step 6: Determination of PLOS
Figure 9.13: Methodology Flow Chart for PLOS determination of Footpaths
9.7.2.2 Determination of PLOS for Crosswalks

The methodology for determining the PLOS at crosswalks is given in Figure 9.14. The first step
is to identify the midblock crossing location where LOS needs to be determined. Then calculate the
average delay faced by pedestrians based on the field observations. Based on these observations, the
average delay faced by pedestrians at the study location can be calculated. Finally, the PLOS against
the observed average delay using the ranges furnished in Table 9.11 can be determined.
Step 1: Identification of midblock crossing location
Step 2: Calculation of delay faced by each pedestrian at the

crosswalk by field observations
Step 3: Estimation of average delay faced by pedestrians based

on the field observations
Step 4: Determination of the pedestrian crossing LOS using the

PLOS criteria table
Figure 9.14: Methodology Flow Chart for PLOS determination of Crosswalks

9.7.2.3 Determination of PLOS for Stairways
The methodology for determining the PLOS for stairways is presented in Figure 9.15.
The first step is to estimate the effective width of the stairway. Next, the pedestrian flow rate
and capacity are to be estimated and thereafter, PLOS can be determined using Table 9.12.
Step 1: Estimation of effective width of the facility
Step 2: Estimation of pedestrian flow rate (ped/min/m)
Step 3: Estimation of capacity (maximum or peak flow)
Figure 9.15: Methodology Flow Chart for PLOS determination of Stairways
9.7.2.4 Determination of PLOS for FOBs

The methodology for determination of PLOS for FOBs is given in Figure 9.16. In the first stage,
the width of the FOB should be measured. Then effective width of the facility should be estimated by
deducting shy distance. In the next step, pedestrian flow (ped/min) values should be calculated and
then peak flow value should be converted into peak flow rate (ped/min/m). Finally, the PLOS of the
FOBs can be assessed by using Table 9.13.
Step 1: Measure the width of FOB
Step 2: Estimation of effective width of FOB
Step 3: Observe pedestrian flow (ped/min)
Step 4: Estimation of maximum or peak flow rate
Figure 9.16: Methodology Flowchart for PLOS determination of FOBs
9.8 QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PEDESTRIAN FACILITY

Qualitative assessment for the evaluation of pedestrian facility encompasses the quality
assessment of the characteristics of the Footpaths. This method uses the perception of the pedestrians
and attempts to quantify the comfort level of pedestrians while encountering certain roadway
characteristics. Quality of Service (QOS) indicates the environmental qualities of pedestrian space and
serves as a guide for the development of standards for pedestrian facilities. Pedestrian spaces should
be designed considering human convenience and should be suitable to the needs of pedestrians.

Walkability Index is used for evaluating pedestrian infrastructure performance considering the
following factors:
• Physical and user characteristics/parameter
• Importance weight and satisfaction rating of individual parameter
To determine the Walkability Index, the perception of the pedestrians on the quality of
Footpaths available and needs of the pedestrians has been captured through a detailed questionnaire
surveys conducted at Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat by interviewing about
2500 respondents to build the Walkability Index. Thus, the Walkability Index is calculated using
Equation 9.9:
10
Walkability Index: QOS = ∑ i=1 Ai * Bi Equation 9.9
Where,
Ai: importance weight for physical and user characteristics
Bi: satisfaction rating for physical and user characteristics
Physical characteristics and user characteristics are listed in Annexure Table 9E.1. The
mean weights for importance and for satisfaction rating for physical features and user characteristics
computed are given in Annexure 9E (vide Table 9E.5 and 9E.6). Quality of Service (QOS) evolved in
this manual is based on the methodology discussed in Annexure 9E. The results derived from the
above methodology are presented in Table 9.14.
Table 9.14: Quality of Service for Footpaths
QOS Walkability Index / Score

A ≥ 124
B < 124 - 106
C < 106 - 70
D < 70 - 52
E < 52
9.9 EXAMPLE PROBLEMS

This section demonstrates the procedure for calculating the PLOS and QOS for different
pedestrian facilities with the help of example problems. The list of example problems dealt in the
Chapter is given in Table 9.15.
Table 9.15: List of Example Problems
Problem
Description Application
Number
1 Determination of PLOS of a Footpath Operational PLOS
2 Widening required for Footpath Improvement Design
3 Determination of Walkability Index Quality of Service
4 Determination of PLOS and QOS Comparing PLOS and QOS

9.9.1 Example Problem 1

Problem Statement: 2.5 m wide Footpath around transport terminal barricaded with guard
rail on both sides. The existing peak flow rate is 1000 pedestrians per 15 min. What will be the LOS
considering pedestrians growth rate of 3 % at transport terminal areas?
Solution:
Data specified:
Peak flow rate = 1000 pedestrians per 15-min
Total width of the Footpath = 2.5m
Guardrail on both sides
No other obstructions
Growth rate = 3 per cent
Step-1: Determination of effective width of Footpath
Shy away distance considering guardrail on both sides = 0.5 m (refer Table 9.7)
Effective width of Footpath = Total width – shy away distance
= 2.5 – (2*0.5)
= 2.5 – 1.00
= 1.5 m
Step 2: Determination of Peak Flow value (ped/min/m)
1000
Q = ——— = 44.44 ped/min/m
p 15 ×1.5
Step 3: Determination of Level of Service

Referring the LOS Table 9.10 for Footpath,
LOS corresponding to Qp = 44.44 ped/min/m is ‘D’.
Step 4: Determination of LOS considering 3 % growth rate, after one year,
15 min peak flow rate = 1030 pedestrians per 15 min
45.78 ped/min/m
LOS of Footpath assessed is ‘D’

Problem Statement: 2.0 m wide ideal Footpath i.e. with no obstructions around transport
terminal with a wall on one side and the other side of the Footpath is barricaded by guardrail. The
existing peak flow rate is 1800 pedestrians per 15 minute. Estimate the present Level of Service
(LOS). What will be the widening requirement to maintain the service quality at LOS C?
Solution:
Data specified:
Peak flow rate = 1800 pedestrians per 15 min
Total width of the Footpath = 2.0 m
Wall on one side and Guardrail on another side with no obstructions


= 2.0 - (0.5+0.5)
= 2.0 - 1.00
= 1.00 m
Step 2: Determine Peak Flow value (ped/min/m)
1800
Q = ——— = 120 ped/min/m
p 15 ×1.00

LOS F (refer Table 9.10)
Step 4: Determination of width of walkway to maintain operational level at LOS C
At LOS C flow value = > 26-32ped/min/m
Assume flow rate 30 ped/min/m
1800
Walkway width = ———
15 * 30
=4m
Modified width considering shy away distance = 4 + 1= 5 m
Extra widening required for Footpath = 5 - 2.0 = 3.0 m

Problem Statement: The Footpath of width 2 m in a residential area is to be redesigned
and improved by giving importance to perception of pedestrians in terms of satisfaction and their
importance on various qualitative Footpath attributes, rather than engineering considerations. The
surface condition of footpath in the study area is of reasonable quality. The footpath is raised without
any guard rails. The footpath surface was not level due to several building approaches resulting in
frequent climbing ups and downs. The kerb height is such that it is difficult for mounting. No signalized
crossing facilities were provided and encroachment along Footpaths causes walking difficulties.
Only very few obstructions not affecting the walking were noted. Street lamps are available along
the Footpaths with police patrolling during the day time that makes people feel secure. Comfort
factors like trees, benches, public rest rooms are absent along the facility. However, absence of litter
and garbage makes the walking environment good. Determine the Walkability Index of the existing
Footpath.
Solution:
Step 1: A field assessment was done by a transportation planner. The importance rating
and satisfaction rating (1 to 5) for Footpath attributes are collected by questionnaire survey where
importance (1=immaterial, 2=least importance, 3=important, 4=very important and 5=most important)
and satisfaction (1=poor, 2=satisfactory, 3=good, 4=very good, 5=excellent) with respect to ten
Footpath attributes. The factors affecting the quality of service for pedestrians have been classified
as physical characteristics (footpath surface, footpath width, obstruction, potential for vehicular
conflict, continuity) and the user factors (encroachment, availability of crossing facilities, security, walk
environment, comfort) of Footpaths are evaluated based on the description given in Proforma (refer
Annexure 9E).

Step 2: The weighted mean importance ratings (Ai) for commercial area are given in table
below where A1 is the importance rating of footpath surface, A2 for footpath width, A3 for obstruction,
A4 for potential for vehicular conflict, A5 for continuity, A6 for encroachment, A7 for availability of
crossing facilities, A8 for security, A9 for comfort and A10 for walking environment.
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10
3.48 3.35 3.22 3.16 2.32 3.1 3.17 3.05 2.74 2.98
The satisfaction ratings (Bi) have been assessed by the transportation planner by linking the
existing condition of the Footpaths with the help of factors defined in Annexure 9E. For the given
condition of Footpaths, the following satisfactory ratings are provided as given in table where B1 is
the satisfaction rating of footpath surface, B2 for footpath width, B3 for obstruction, B4 for potential
for vehicular conflict, B5 for continuity, B6 for encroachment, B7 for availability of crossing facilities, B8
for security, B9 for comfort and B10 for walking environment.
B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10
4 3 4 3 2 3 2 4 4 3
Step 3: Walkability Index has been computed as given below:

10
Walkability Index (WI) = ∑ i=1 Ai * Bi
WI = 3.48 × 4 + 3.35 × 3 + 3.22 × 4 + 3.16 × 3 + 2.32 × 2 + 3.10 × 3 + 3.17 × 2 + 3.05 × 4 + 2.74
× 4 2.98 × 3 = 13.92 + 10.05 + 12.88 + 9.48 + 4.64 + 9.30 + 6.34 + 10.96 + 8.94
WI = 98.71, say 99
Step 4: Determination of QOS (use Table 9.14).
Thus the QOS corresponding to Walkability Index of 99 is QOS C

Problem Statement: On a Footpath of width 3 m around terminal area, based on the field
survey, the flow rate is found to be 1100 pedestrians per 15 minute. The Footpath facility is bordered
by kerb on both sides. The surface condition of footpath is of reasonable quality with the absence of
contiguous footpath and crossing facilities. Few obstructions have been noted on the footpath that
does not affect walking. The street lamps are absent along the Footpaths. Comfort factors like trees,
benches, public urinals are absent along the facility. However, absence of litter and garbage makes the
walking environment somewhat good. Determine the PLOS of the existing Footpath and Walkability
Index / QOS?
Solution:
Data specified:
Peak flow rate = 1100 pedestrians per 15min
Total width of the Footpath = 3m
Kerb on both sides; few obstructions coupled with the absence of contiguous footpath,
crossing facilities and street lighting.
1. Determination of PLOS:
Shy away distance = 0.3*2 m (Table 9.7) = 0.6


= 3-(2*0.3)
= 3.0-`0.6
= 2.4 m
Step 2: Determine Peak Flow value (ped/min/m)
1100
Qp = ——— = 30.56 ped/min/m say 31 ped/min/m
15 × 2.4

Referring Table 9.10 for Footpath,
LOS corresponding to Qp = 31 ped/min/m is LOS C.
2. Determination of QOS:
Step 1: Using the description Annexure 9E and the description of the parameters affecting the
Quality of Service of Footpath, the assessment of Satisfaction Rating comes out to be:
B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10
1 2 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 1
Step 2: Using the weighted mean importance ratings (Table 9E.5), the Walkability index will

be computed as below:
10
Walkability Index (WI) = ∑ i=1 Ai * Bi
WI = 2.67 × 1 + 2.18 × 2 + 2.06 × 1 + 2.39 × 1 + 1.79 × 2 + 3.08 × 1 + 2.26 × 2 + 2.22 ×
2 + 1.70 × 2 + 1.92 × 1 = 2.67 + 1.36 + 2.06 + 2.39 + 3.58 n + 3.08 + 4.52 + 4.44 +
3.40 + 1.92
WI = 32.42 say, 32.
QOS corresponding to Walkability Index of 33 is QOS ‘E’.
From the derived results, it can be noted that the candidate Footpath offers PLOS ‘C’ and QOS
‘E’ to the pedestrians.
Thus it can be concluded that through purely from engineering perspective, the candidate
Footpath is found to be operating within acceptable range i.e. LOS-C, whereas the Walkability Index
offered by the facility is not within the acceptable range i.e. QOS-E. Therefore, appropriate measures
need to be undertaken by the concerned authorities from the above viewpoint.

REFERENCES
1. HCM (2010) “HCM 2010: Highway Capacity Manual”, .Special Report No. 209, 5th Edition,
2. IRC: 103 (2012), “Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities”, (First Revision) Indian Roads Congress,
New Delhi, India.
3. MoRT&H (2015), “Road Accidents in India - 2015”. Publication of Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways, Transportation Research Wing, Govt. of India.
4. MOUD (2008), “Study on Traffic and Transportation Policies and Strategies in Urban Areas in
India”.
5. Raff, M. S. (1950), “A Volume Warrant for Urban STOP Signs”. Eno Foundation for Highway Traffic
Control, Saugatuck, Connecticut.
6. Shah, J., Joshi, G., Parida, P. and Arkatkar, S. (2017), “Effect of Directional Distribution on Stairway
Capacity at Suburban Railway Station in India” Transportation Letters, The International Journal
of Transportation Research, Taylor and Francis, 10.1080, pp.1-15.
7. Singh, Natasha, Parida, P. and Advani, M. (2016) “Human ellipse of Indian pedestrians”,
Transportation Research Procedia 15, pp. 150-160.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Das, P., Parida, M., Bhaskar, A. and Katiyar V. K. (2016), “Optimization Technique for Pedestrian
Data Extraction”, Transportation Research Procedia, Vol. 17, pp. 32-42.
2. Das, P “Macroscopic Pedestrian Flow Modelling and Development of Level of Service”, An
unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, submitted to Centre for Transportation Systems, Indian Institute of
Technology, (Roorkee), Roorkee.
3. Fruin, J. J. (1971). “Designing for Pedestrians: A Level of Service Concept”. Highway Research
Record 355, 1-15.
4. Jain, U. and Rastogi, R. (2017), “Evaluating Methods of Critical Gap Estimation at Midblock
Pedestrian Crossings under Mixed Traffic Conditions”, A paper published in the 96th
Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., January 2017.
5. Parida, P (2006), “Planning, Design and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities in Delhi”, An
unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, submitted to Department of Architecture and Planning, Indian
Institute of Technology, (Roorkee), Roorkee.
6. Parida, P. and Parida, M. (2011), “Appreciation of Gender Difference in Development of
Qualitative Level of Service for Footpaths”, 4th International Conference on Women Issues in
Transportation, 27th to 30th October, 2011. Irvine, California. pp. 246 - 252.

ANNEXURE 9A: PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS

AT FOOTPATHS
The statistical summary of speed characteristics of pedestrian on Footpaths for Indian cities
is given in Table 9A 1. Using Scott Rule, 15th, 50th and 85th percentile speeds have been estimated from
the cumulative probability distribution curve. The estimated values of 85th, 50th and 15th percentile
speed is 80.5 m/min, 73.28 m/min and 63.8 m/min respectively.
Table 9A.1: Statistical Summary of Pedestrian Speeds on Footpaths

in m/min
Sample Size Maximum Minimum Mean Standard Error Std. Deviation

951 106.88 38.46 66.25 0.36 10.92
Statistical analysis of pedestrian flow values on Footpaths is provided in Table 9A.2. The
statistics of speed data for Footpath movement across different land uses are comprehended in Table
9A.3. Developed macroscopic flow models are provided in Table 9A.4. Estimated flow parameters for
land use based Footpath movement are given in Table 9A.5.
Table 9A.2: Statistical Summary of Pedestrian Flow on Footpaths

in Ped/m/min
Sample Size Maximum Minimum Mean Standard Error Std. Deviation

951 74.14 1 29.45 0.43 13.25
Table 9A.3: Land use based Speed of Pedestrians on Footpaths

in m/min
Land use Sample Size Min. Max. m/min Mean Median Std. Dev.
Terminal 951 47.00 109.44 76.21 75.52 10.45
Institutional 1517 38.31 103.27 71.85 71.68 10.06
Recreational 1390 28.86 106.07 58.03 57.20 9.20
Commercial 1054 37.18 105.06 62.72 62.18 7.34
Residential 343 35.50 113.21 82.42 80.32 13.23
Combined 951 35.25 106.88 66.35 65.55 11.03

Table 9A.4: Land use based Macroscopic Speed - Flow Models for Footpaths
Land use Relationship Equations

Terminal Flow-Density Parabolic Qp = 81.49 Kp – 21.16 Kp2
Speed-Density Linear Vp = 81.49 –21.16 Kp
Speed- Flow Parabolic Qp = (81.49 Vp - Vp2)/21.16
Flow-Space Inverse Parabola Qp = (81.49/ S) – (21.16/ S2 )
Institutional Flow-Density Parabolic Qp = 75.73 Kp –33.96 Kp2
Speed-Density Linear Vp = 75.73 – 33.96 Kp
Flow-Space Inverse Parabola Qp = (75.73/ S) – (33.96/ S2)
Recreational Flow-Density Parabolic Qp = 60.81 Kp – 10.15 Kp2
Speed-Density Linear Vp = 60.81– 10.15 Kp
Commercial Flow-Density Parabolic Qp = 64.62 Kp - 15.19 Kp2
Speed-Density Linear Vp = 64.62-15.19 Kp
Speed- Flow Parabolic Qp =(64.62 Vp - Vp2)/15.19
Flow-Space Inverse Parabola Qp = (64.62/S) – (15.19/ S2 )
Residential Flow-Density Parabolic Qp =85.14 Kp – 30.63 Kp2
Combined Flow-Density Parabolic Qp =73.28 Kp – 15.69 Kp2
Flow-Space Inverse Parabola Qp = (73.28/S) – (15.69/ S2 )

Table 9A.5: Estimated Pedestrian Flow Parameters for Footpaths

Mean Free Jam Max Flow Optimum Optimum Space at
Sample
Land use Speed density (ped/ Density Speed Capacity
Size
(m/min) (ped/m2) min/m) (ped/ m2) (m/min) (m2/ped)
Terminal 951 81.49 3.85 79 1.90 40.74 0.52
Institutional 1517 75.73 2.20 42 1.11 37.86 0.89
Recreational 1390 60.81 5.90 91 2.90 30.40 0.33
Commercial 1054 64.62 4.25 69 2.13 32.31 0.47
Residential 343 85.14 2.70 59 1.38 42.47 0.71
Combined
994 73.28 4.60 85 2.30 36.64 0.42
Footpath
The area module at capacity is minimum for recreational land use (0.33 ped/m2) as compared
to other land use due to presence of more number of pedestrian in unit area. This value is quite low as
compared to the space value specified for LOS in IRC: 103 (2012). The pedestrians try to reduce their
area module while walking in recreational land use to ensure movement with their family members.
The proportion of more child pedestrians in platoon can decrease the area requirement for individual
pedestrian. The space at capacity in commercial land use is found as 0.47 ped/m2. Due to obstructions
by hawkers on Footpaths, pedestrian try to avoid interaction with them and try to move in the middle
portion of facility. Further, the normal tendency exhibited by pedestrians to engross themselves in
window shopping while walking on the Footpath also contributes for the reduced walking speed.
These causes are collectively responsible for lowering of area module and reduction of speed of
pedestrians in commercial land use. The observed space requirement at capacity in commercial,
recreational and terminal land use is found lower as compared to the values in HCM (2010) and IRC:
103 (2012). Considering the above reported values, LOS values of Footpaths across different land
uses are evolved and presented in Table 9A.6 and 9A.7.
Table 9A.6: PLOS for Footpaths considering

Commercial, Institutional and Terminal Land uses
Commercial Institutional Terminal
LOS Space Flow Speed Space Flow Speed Space Flow Speed
(m2/ (ped/ (m/ (m2/ (ped/ (m/ (m2/ (ped/ (m/
ped) min/m) min) ped) min/m) min) ped) min/m) min)
A > 4.87 <=13 > 61.5 >5.29 <=13 >69.31 >5.22 <15 >77.44
> 3.07 > 59.7- >3.49 66.00 <2.82- 73.99-
B > 13-19 >13-19 >15-26
-4.87 61.50 -5.29 -69.31 5.22 77.44
> 1.87 >56.50- >2.29 60.90 <2.22- 71.96-
C > 19-30 >19-27 >26-32
-3.07 59.67 -3.49 -66.00 2.82 73.99
> 1.07 > 30-> >45.14- >1.49 52.94 <0.82- 55.69-
D >27-36 >32-68
-1.87 47 50.84 -2.29 -60.9 2.22 71.96
> 0.47- >29.11- >0.89 37.57 <0.52- 40.80-
E > 41-69 >36-42 >68-78
1.07 45.14 -1.49 -52.94 0.82 55.69
F <= 0.47 Variable < 29.11 < 0.89 Variable <37.57 <0.52 Variable <40.80

Table 9A.7: PLOS for Footpaths considering Residential and Recreational Land uses
Recreational Residential
LOS
Space Flow Speed Space Flow Speed
(m2/ped) (ped/min/m) (m/min) (m2/ped) (ped/min/m) (m/min)
A >4.73 <=12 >60.29 >5.11 <=16 >79.14
B >2.93-4.73 >12-20 >58.66-60.29 3.31-5.11 >16-23 >75.88-79.14
C >1.73-2.93 >20-32 >54.94-58.66 2.11-3.31 >23-34 >70.61-75.88
D >0.93-1.73 >32-54 >49.9-54.94 1.31-2.11 >34-47 >61.75-70.61
E >0.33-0.93 >54 -91 >30.05-49.90 0.71-1.31 >47-59 >41.98-61.75
F <0.33 Variable <30.05 <0.71 Variable <41.98
Table 9A.8: Summary of Body Ellipse of Pedestrians
Gender Parameters General With Baggage Without Baggage
Sample Size 615 156 455
Average Space
0.1042 0.1519 0.0881
(in m2)
Male
Std Dev (in m2) 0.0425 0.0416 0.0283
95th percentile
0.1700 0.2137 0.1400
(in m2)
Average Space
0.1045 0.1314 0.0695
(in m2)
Female
Std Dev (in m2) 0.04120 0.0367 0.0261
95th percentile
0.1730 0.1800 0.1200
(in m2)
Average Space
Male & 0.1040 0.1457 0.0865
(in m2)
Female -
Combined Std Dev (in m2) 0.0412 0.0411 0.0278
95th percentile
0.1733 0.2080 0.1400
(in m2)

ANNEXURE 9B: PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS

AT CROSSWALKS
9B.1. Pedestrian Speed Characteristics at Crosswalks
The average crossing speed of pedestrians at typical crosswalks in India has been classified
on the basis of gender and tabulated in Table 9B.1. It has been observed that male pedestrians
exhibited higher crossing speeds as compared to female pedestrians and there is a slight increase in
the crossing speed as the number of lanes increases on divided roads.
Table 9B.1: Crossing Speed at Crosswalks on different Roadway Configurations

Average Crossing
S. Sample Size Std. Dev. (m/min)
Road Configuration Speed (m/min)
No.
Male Female Male Female Male Female
1 2 Lane Undivided 2214 729 94.8 85.8 17.4 15.2
2 4 Lane Divided 1525 797 84.1 72.4 23.9 19.7
3 6 Lane Divided 3533 644 87.6 75.4 15.2 17.3
4 8 Lane Divided 2994 905 98.8 84.2 24.9 19.9
Pedestrian crossing speed follows normal distribution on all road configurations. The
cumulative distributions of pedestrian speed, categorized by age and gender observed at typical
crosswalks in India are presented in Figure 9B.1.
9B.2. Pedestrian Critical Gap

The critical gap is found by building a cumulative frequency graph of accepted gap and rejected
gap. The intersecting point of these two cumulative graphs is taken as the Critical Gap according to
the Raff’s method. Figure 9B.2 shows the Critical Gap at typical crosswalks in India by adopting the
above method. It has been observed that the critical gap increases with the increase in the number of
lanes which the pedestrian has to cross.
Figure 9B.1: Cumulative Distribution of Crossing Speeds of Pedestrians on Crosswalks

Figure 9B.2: Critical Gap on different Roadway Configurations
9B.3. Waiting Time

Waiting time at the kerb side or the median plays a vital role in the pedestrian crossing
decision process. Waiting time increases when a pedestrian does not get adequate gaps to cross the
road. Pedestrian waiting time follows lognormal distribution on all road configurations. Cumulative
distribution of pedestrian waiting time, categorized by age and gender, observed at typical crosswalks
in India are presented in Figure 9B.3.
Figure 9B.3: Cumulative Distribution of Waiting Time at Crosswalks

ANNEXURE 9C: PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS

ON STAIRWAYS
Walking speed characteristics of pedestrians on Stairways are furnished in Table 9C.1.
Table 9C.1: Statistics of Speed of Pedestrian on Stairways
Sample Mean Median Std. Dev.

Facility Min. m/min Max. m/min
Size (m/min) m/min m/min
Stairway 20579 30.60 30.24 7.26 13.2 36.00
The developed Flow relationships for stairways are provided in Table 9C.2. Developed
macroscopic flow diagrams are shown in Figure 9C.1.
Table 9C.2: Estimated Pedestrian Flow Model Equations for Stairways
Relationship Model Equation
Flow - Speed (Upper Region) Vp = -0.00001 Qp 2 - 0.001 Qp + 0.677
Flow - Speed (Lower Region) Vp = 0.002 Qp 0.981
Space- Flow Qp = 31.438 S-0.665
Density -Flow Qp = -5.624 Kp 2 + 40.47 Kp -2.397
Space - Speed Vp = 0.144 In(S) + 0.564
Density - Speed Vp = -0.14In(Kp) +0.564
Density - Speed Vp = -0.11In(Kp) + 0.495

Figure 9C.1: Speed – Flow – Density - Space Relationships for Pedestrian Movement for
Stairways at Suburban Stations

ANNEXURE 9D: PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS

AT FOOT OVER BRIDGES
A statistical summary of the speed of pedestrians on FOBs is provided in Table 9D.1.
Table 9D.1: Statistics of Speed of Pedestrians on FOBs
Sample Mean (m/ Median Std. Dev. Min. (m/ Max. (m/
Facility
Size min) (m/min) (m/min) min) min)
FOB 251 58.43 55.81 9.24 37.5 79.4
Developed Flow relationships for FOBs are provided in Table 9D.2. Developed macroscopic
flow diagrams are shown in Figure 9D.1.
Table 9D.2: Estimated Macroscopic Flow Models for FOBs
Relationship Equations
Flow-Density Parabolic Qp = 60.39 Kp –17.69 Kp 2
Speed-Density Linear Vp = 60.39 – 17.69 Kp
Speed- Flow Parabolic Qp = (60.39 Vp - Vp 2)/17.69
Flow-Space Inverse Parabola Qp = (60.39/S) – (17.69/S2)
Figure 9D.1: Flow - Density - Speed - Space relationships for FOBs

ANNEXURE 9E: QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT

OF PEDESTRIAN FACILITY
The physical and user characteristics are assessed based on the rating of pedestrian facility
i.e. only Footpaths are considered and thus the Walkability Index has been developed in this manual.
The design factors to be considered for developing WI are given in Table 9E.1:
Table 9E.1: Design Factors considered for Walkability Assessment
Physical Characteristics
Footpath surface A smooth surface (without any cracks or bumps) for comfortable walking.
Footpath Width A measure in metres of the width of the Footpath available to the pedestrian.
The obstruction can be a pole, tree, garbage bin, hoardings, parked vehicle
Obstructions
etc. The number of obstructions per kilometre of the Footpath was assessed.
Potential for It depends upon the condition of footpath; footpath is well protected, raised,
vehicular conflict availability of continuous guard rails etc.
It can be measured in term of ups and downs in particular stretch, kerb height
Continuity
viz., mountable or not.
User Characteristics
The informal commercial activities are an integral part of the Footpath
Encroachment environment in India. It may affect the pedestrians while walking on Footpath.
It is due to presence of hawkers on side walk.
Availability of It is a measure in terms of availability of signal on at-grade crossing, median
crossing facilities refuge, and foot over bridge on road crossing.
A pedestrian should feel safe during the day as well as at night while walking
on a Footpath. It can be analysed considering factors like illumination of
Security
Footpath, good visibility, police patrolling during day and night time, presence
of CCTV cameras.
There must be facilities on Footpath so that one can feel comfortable from
Comfort harsh sun and rain. Comfort is measured in term of availability of trees, public
toilets, benches and dustbins on the Footpath at proper locations.
Walk environment is governed by the surroundings of the facility. The walking
should be a pleasant enough for pedestrian. There should be good plantation
Walk environment
and should be clean without any garbage. The Footpath should be free of bad
smell.
The user perception of the Footpaths has been recorded with the help of questionnaire
surveys by collecting the physical characteristics and user characteristics. These are presented in
Table 9E.2 and Table 9E.3 respectively. Table 9E.4 gives brief description of each parameter.

Table 9E.2: Physical Characteristics of Pedestrian Facility

Parameters/ Weights/ Excellent/ Very good/ Good/vPNk Satisfactory/ Poor/[kjkc Code/dksM
ekud otu mRÑ"V cgqr vPNk larks"ktud
Footpath surface
iqQVikFk lrg
Footpath width
iqQVikFk dh pkSM+kbZ
Obstructions/
vojks/
Potential for
vehicular
conflict/ laHkkfor
okguksa ls la?k"kZ
Continuity/
fujarjrk
Table 9E.3: Facility Assessment by the Pedestrians

Parameters/ Weights/ Excellent/ Very good/ Good/vPNk Satisfactory/ Poor/[kjkc Code/dksM
ekud otu mRÑ"V cgqr vPNk larks"ktud
Encroachment/
vfrØe.k
Availability of
crossing/
ØkWflax lqfo/kvksa
dh miyC/rk
Security/ lqj{kk
Comfort/ vkjke
Walk
environment/
okrkoj.k

Table 9E.4: Parameters and their Description
9.
S.No. Parameters Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor
10.
Even surface
Reasonable Moderate quality, Bad condition.
with no cracks
1. Footpath Surface quality. Walking is with few bumps Lots of bumps and No raised footpath
or bumps, tactile
comfortable and cracks cracks.
flooring
2. Footpath width 3 m + wide 2 m to 3 m 1.5 m to 2 m < 1.5 m No footpath
(trees, hoardings,

No obstruction
poles, parked
Very few, but Few. Slight Many, some
cannot walk on the
vehicle)
3. Obstructions no problem in difficulty in difficulty in

footpath
walking walking walking
Well protected,
raised footpath,
Raised footpath, Raised footpath Footpath not
Potential for vehicular continuous guard
4. guard rails but not but no guard rails sufficiently raised Unsafe
Conflict rails, motorized
continuous and no guard rails
two-wheeler
cannot move
Frequent ups
1-2 ups and Few ups and Long stretches of
Longitudinal and downs, kerb
5. Continuous downs, kerb cuts downs, mountable discontinuity, Non
Continuity height difficult in
Page 9 - 33
provided kerb existent
mounting.
Hawking on
Slightly difficult to
Separate hawkers footpath but Very difficult to
6. Encroachment walk because of Cannot walk
zone provided no problem in walk
encroachment
walking
Signalized at grade Signalized at grade
Unsignalised Unsignalised
Availability of crossing crossing with without median FOB without lift
7. at grade zebra at grade crossing
facilities median refuge/ refuge / FOB with and escalator
crossing
FOB with lift lift/escalator
Well illuminated,
good visibility, Any three Any two None of the
Any one parameter
police patrolling parameters parameters parameters
in favor of
during day and in favor of in favor of in favor of
8. Security pedestrians.
night time. pedestrians. pedestrians. Can pedestrians.
Can walk only
CCTV cameras. Can walk till late walk only till late Unsafe during day
during daytime
Can walk during night. evening. also.

any time of day
(trees, public
Any three Any two Any one parameter
Very comfortable None of the
toilets, benches,
parameters parameters in favor of
(other than
9. Comfort parameters
dustbins)
in favor of in favor of pedestrians
dustbins)
in favor of
pedestrians, but pedestrians but
pedestrians
trees are essential. trees are essential.
Very pleasant, Any three Any two None of the
Any one parameter
Walking Environment plantation, no parameters parameters parameters
10 in favor of
garbage, no bad in favor of in favor of in favor of
pedestrians
smell pedestrians pedestrians pedestrians
Page 9 - 34
The mean weights of importance and satisfaction rating given by the pedestrians across
various land uses are presented in Table 9E.5 and Table 9E.6 respectively.
Table 9E.5: Importance Rating of Pedestrian Facility across Various Land uses
Land Use
Characteristics
Residential Commercial Institutional Terminal Recreational
Footpath surface 3.37 3.48 3.59 2.67 2.58
Footpath width 2.91 3.35 3.39 2.18 2.95
Obstruction 2.68 3.22 3.07 2.06 3.44
Potential vehicle
2.69 3.16 3.08 2.39 3.20
conflict
Continuity 2.03 2.32 2.45 1.79 2.80
Encroachment 2.73 3.10 2.92 3.08 2.89
Availability of
crossing facilities 3.02 3.17 3.14 2.26 3.18
Security 2.66 3.05 3.37 2.22 3.11
Comfort 2.2 2.74 2.58 1.70 3.22
Walk environment 2.09 2.98 2.96 1.92 2.66
Table 9E.6: Satisfaction Rating of Pedestrian Facility for Various Land uses
Land Use
Characteristics
Residential Commercial Institutional Terminal Recreational
Footpath surface 3.03 2.47 3.12 3.04 3.08
Footpath width 3.05 2.29 2.89 2.50 3.25
Obstruction 2.62 2.23 2.46 2.37 2.89
Potential vehicle
conflict 3.40 2.46 2.82 3.08 2.69
Continuity 3.34 2.81 3.06 3.67 3.10
Encroachment 2.69 2.27 2.61 2.53 2.85
Availability of
crossing facilities 2.95 2.23 2.85 2.47 2.84
Security 3.17 2.32 2.72 2.92 2.86
Comfort 3.09 2.38 2.84 2.86 2.79
Walk environment 2.58 2.32 2.98 1.82 3.29

The rating of Footpath facility across varying lad uses is represented using spider net graph
in Figure 9E.1.
Land Use Importance Rating Satisfaction Rating
Residential
Commercial
Institutional
Recrational
Terminal
Combined
Figure 9E.1: Spider Net Graph on Importance and Satisfaction Ratings on Physical and User
Characteristics of each Land use

Chapter 10:
Travel Time Reliability
as a Performance Measure
for Interurban and Urban Corridors
Travel Time Reliability as a Performance Measure for Interurban and Urban Corridors

Team Members from
CSIR-CRRI Team
Academic Institutes
Dr Ch. Ravisekhar, Principal Scientist, Work Package Leader, Prof. Gaurang J. Joshi,
Transportation Planning (TP) Division, CSIR - CRRI SVNIT, Surat
Dr. S. Velmurugan, Senior Principal Scientist, Prof. Shriniwas S Arkatkar

TES Division, CSIR - CRRI SVNIT, Surat
Sh. Daleep Mutreja

Students pursued their Thesis @ CSIR - CRRI and IIT, Roorkee
Ph.D. Students
Dr. Ankit Kathuria
Mr. Anish Kumar Bharathi (Ongoing)
M.Tech. Student at CSIR – CRRI and IIT, Roorkee
Mr. Rushikesh Balso Amrutsamanvasr

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Title
Number Number
Study Team i
Contribution of Students ii
List of Figures iv
List of Tables v
List of Abbreviations vi
10.1 INTRODUCTION 1
10.2 URBAN AND INTER URBAN CORRIDORS 1
10.2.1 Uninterrupted Flow in Urban Corridor 1
10.2.2 Interrupted Flow in Urban Corridor 1
10.2.3 Interurban Corridor 2
10.3 DEFINITIONS OF TERMINOLOGIES 2
10.4 FACTORS INFLUENCING TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY 4
10.6 METHODOLOGY 5
10.7 PROCEDURE FOR TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY AND LOS 5
10.8 TRAVEL TIME 6
10.9 TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY ANALYSIS 8
10.10 LOS BASED ON TRAVEL TIME FOR PRIVATE VEHICLES 9
10.11 LOS BASED TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY FOR PRIVATE VEHICLES 10
10.11.1 LOS Based on PT and BT 10
10.11.2 LOS Based on PTI and BTI 10
10.12 LOS FOR BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM (BRTS) 11
10.13 RELIABILITY BASED LOS FOR BRTS 12
10.14 RELIABILITY ANALYSIS FOR NORMAL PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS 13
RELIABILITY BASED LOS FOR INTERRUPTED 6-LANE DIVIDED
10.15 14
ARTERIAL CORRIDOR USING TWO WHEELER TRAVEL TIME
10.16 14
ARTERIAL CORRIDOR USING CAR TRAVEL TIME
10.17.1 Understanding of PTI and BTI 15
10.17.2 LOS based on PT and PTI for car on urban interrupted section 15
REFERENCES 17

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Title
Number Number
10.1 Typical Section of Urban Corridor of Uninterrupted Flow section 1
10.2 Typical section of Urban Corridor of Interrupted flow section 2
10.3 Typical Section of Interurban Corridor of Interrupted Flow section 2
10.4 Definition of Travel Time Reliability 3
10.5 Travel Time Reliability Measures 4
10.6 Factors influencing the Distribution of Travel Time 4
10.7 Study Methodology 5
10.8 Average Travel Time and Standard Deviation (SD) on Study Corridors 7
10.9 Variation of Average Travel Time 7
10.10 Planning Time and Buffer Time Comparisons among Study Corridors 8
10.11 Planning Time Index and Buffer Time Index on Study Corridors 9
Travel time Variation in each 30 minutes departure time window on
10.12 12
Typical Route
10.13 CV of Travel time on a Typical Route 12
10.14 Travel Time Variation on a Typical Bus Route 13

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Title
Number Number
10.1 LOS based on Travel Time for Private Vehicles 9
10.2 TTR LOS based on Planning Time (PT) and Buffer Time (BT) 10
10.3 TTR LOS based on Planning Time Index and Buffer Time Index 11
10.4 LOS based Travel Time and Travel Time Variation (TTV) for BRTS 13
10.5 Reliability LOS based on CV for Normal Buses 14
10.6 Reliability LOS based on CV, PT, BT and TTI for Two Wheelers 14
Reliability LOS based on CV, PT, BT and TTI for Cars on Uninterrupted
10.7 15
Four Lane Divided Urban Road

∅(t) probability distribution function
ANPR Automatic Number Plate Registration

ATCC Automatic Traffic Count Classified
BRTS BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM
BT Buffer Time
BTI Buffer Time Index
CV Coefficient of Variation
DTW departure time window
ITS Intelligent Transport System
O-D Origin-Destination
PT Planning Time
PTI Planning Time Index
PTTTR Public Transport Travel Time Reliability
SD Standard Deviation
T Acceptable Travel time
TTR Travel Time Reliability

10.1 INTRODUCTION
The concept of reliability helps in understanding two operating states, implying thereby
whether the road is connected or disconnected. This binary state approach limits the application to
everyday situation where road links are operating in between these two extremities. Also, the aspects
of this reliability are less useful to the road users than the transport system planners. This limitation,
further led to the development of various network reliability measures such as travel time reliability,
capacity reliability, parking reliability etc. Out of the various network reliability measures, travel time
reliability is considered as a useful tool for the road users as well as for the public transit system
planners. Since 1990, network reliability has been prominent research topic in transport planning
in Japan, especially after the Kobe earthquake of 1990. In its immediate aftermath, measures have
been undertaken on Japanese road network aimed at providing enhanced connectivity and reliability.
Travel Time Reliability concept was introduced by Asakura (Asakura and Kashiwadani 1991) by
considering selected network of roads in Japan. It was defined as the probability that the trip between
a given Origin - Destination (O-D) pair can be made with a certain degree of reliability under varying
time periods of the day and specified Level of Service. This measurement is found to be useful while
evaluating network performance under normal daily flow variations and various uncertainties.
In this regard, travel time reliability is an important attribute of urban transportation
services affecting choice of mode and route of travel. It is a measure of a roadway service quality
in transport network. Reliability by its nature implies about the certainty or stability of travel time
whereby it eliminates uncertainty for travelers in the sense that the travelling public does not have
to travel with any degree of uncertainty in respect of the probable / reliable time of arrival at their
respective destinations. This analogy is applicable to a large extent on the urban and interurban
carriageways and their characteristics are discussed in the succeeding sections.
10.2 URBAN AND INTERURBAN CORRIDORS

10.2.1 Uninterrupted Flow in Urban Corridor
Uninterrupted urban arterial section is a typical ideal / base section. Vehicular speeds along
this section does not get influenced due to merging or diverging traffic joining from the left-in and
left-out access roads. Moreover, the candidate road section should not have influence due to any form
of roadside friction (like on-street parking, kerb side bus stops) and presence of any sharp horizontal
curves and steep vertical gradients. The length of the selected uninterrupted section ranges from
2.5 to 3 km. Figure 10.1 presents the typical uninterrupted flow section of an urban arterial corridor
considered in this manual.
Figure 10.1: Typical Section of Urban Corridor of Uninterrupted flow section
10.2.2 Interrupted Flow in Urban Corridor

Interrupted Urban Corridor is a typical section of urban arterials witnessed in many of the
metropolitan cities of India. This section is largely influenced by major controlled intersections
(ranging between one to two intersections) and hence the speed of the vehicles along this section

would get influenced due to merging or diverging traffic joining from the adjoining network.
Moreover, the candidate road section should not have influence due to any form of roadside friction
(like the influence of on street parking, kerb side bus stops) and should not have any influence due to the
presence of any sharp horizontal curves and steep vertical gradients. The length of the interrupted
section is expected to be 1.5 km to 3 km. The location of controlled intersection is at least 500 m away
from the start and the end points of the study section. Figure 10.2 presents the typical interrupted
flow section of an urban arterial corridor considered in this manual.
Figure 10.2: Typical Section of Urban Corridor of Interrupted flow section
10.2.3 Interurban Corridor

Such a test section invariably exists beyond the urban periphery on the National Highways
or State Highways connecting major cities. Such road sections should not have influence due to the
aforesaid urban conditions except for catering to insignificant proportion of Left-in and Left-out
traffic from minor road (Figure 10.3). The length of the test section considered for analysis is at least
3 km which is termed as interurban corridor in this manual.
Figure 10.3: Typical section of Interurban Corridor of Interrupted Flow section

• Reliability: The term reliability is defined in system engineering as probability of a device
performing its purpose adequately for the period of time intended under the operating
conditions encountered (Billinton and Allan, 1992).
• Road Network Reliability: The road network reliability is defined as the network which
can guarantee an acceptable level of service for road traffic even if some links are physically
damaged or large amount of travel demand is occasionally generated (Asakura and
Kashiwadani, 1991). Road network reliability problems are caused mainly by uncertainty of
traffic conditions of the network. Sources of uncertainties can be an element of demand side
factors, supply side factors and other external factors of the road network.
• Travel Time Reliability (TTR): It is defined as the probability that trip between a given
O-D pair can be made successfully within a given time interval and specified level of service
(Asakura and Kashiwadani, 1991). This measurement is useful while evaluating network

performance under normal daily flow variations and various uncertainties. If route travel
time “t” is the random variable, travel time reliability can be expressed as the probability
that the trip can be finished within a given period of time or within the acceptable travel time
‘T’. Mathematically, this is explained in Equations 10.1 and 10.2. Figure 10.4 illustrates the
definition of travel time reliability (Ravi Sekhar 2008).
Figure 10.4: Definition of Travel Time Reliability
Reliability = Prob{t<T} Equation 10.1

T
TTR = ∫0 ∅(t)dt Equation 10.2
Where, ∅(t) is the probability distribution function (pdf) and T = acceptable travel time and R(T) is
acceptable travel time
• Coefficient of Variation: It is the ratio of standard deviation to the average travel time which
is given in Equation 10.3.
Standard Deviation
Coefficient of Variation = (CV) ——————— x 100 % Equation 10.3
Average Travel Time
• 95th Percentile Travel Time: Simplest measure of travel time reliability is the 95th percentile
travel time for specific travel routes or trips, which indicates the condition of delay during
travel.
• Buffer Time: It represents the extra time (buffer) to ensure on-time arrival for most of the
times. This extra time is added in order to account for any unexpected delay. It is calculated as
the difference of planning time and average travel time.
• Buffer Time Index (BTI): The buffer time index is the ratio of buffer time to average travel
time and it is expressed in terms of percentage as presented in Equation 10.4.
95th Percentile Trvel Time–Average Travel Time
Buffer Time Index (BTI) = ————————————————— Equation 10.4
Average Travel Time
For example, a buffer time index of 40 percent means that a traveler should have cushion of
an additional 12 minutes for a 30-minute average peak trip time and ensure on time arrival for 95
percent of the time i.e. travel time reliability.
• Planning Time Index (PTI): This index represents the amount of total time a traveler should
have to ensure on time arrival. It also represents the extra time that is included by most of the
travelers when planning peak period trips as given in Equation 10.5.
95th Percentile Trvel Time
Planning Time Index (PTI) = ————————— Equation 10.5
Free Flow Travel Time
All measurement indices are developed based on distribution of travel time. Figure 10.5
represents an idealized normal distribution of travel time with different measurements imposed on
distribution (FHWA 2006).

Figure 10.5: Travel Time Reliability Measures
10.4 FACTORS INFLUENCING TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY

The variations in travel times are the result of traffic flow operations, which are governed
by the interplay between traffic demand (the amount of travelers entering a network), traffic supply
characteristics (the available capacity on the infrastructure) and external factors. However, the
external factors have an indirect effect on travel time variation through supply side and demand
side factors. The interdependence of supply and demand side factors is one of the major causative
factors for travel time fluctuations. The distribution of travel times is a result of fluctuations in traffic
demand, supply and external characteristics as schematically presented in Figure 10.6.
vv Demand Side Factors: Travel demand varies within the day, between days and also from season
to season. Moreover, uncertain travel behavior also results in variations of travel demand. All
these factors affecting travel demand can have considerable effect on travel time variability.
vv Supply Side Factors: The non-recurring events such as road crashes, vehicle breakdowns, road
works, signal failure, road closure due to certain maintenance works cause worst impact on
the supply side of the road network resulting in reduction of roadway capacities.
vv External Factors: Factors such as adverse weather conditions like rainfall, snow fall, fog and
natural disasters like Earthquake, Tsunami, Landslides, etc. can have adverse effect on both
the supply and the demand side of the road transport system.
Figure 10.6: Factors influencing the Distribution of Travel Time

The present chapter provides the methodology to deploy travel time reliability as a
performance measure of urban arterial corridors which encompasses only the uninterrupted and
interrupted flow corridors as well as interurban corridors. It also provides a procedure to determine

the Level of Service (LOS) of the candidate test sections considered in this study. The study envisages
the inclusion of road sections falling under Plain Terrain only i.e. average Rise and Fall not exceeding
15 m/per km.
10.6 METHODOLOGY
This section presents the detailed methodology adopted for travel time reliability analysis
for uninterrupted and interrupted urban arterial roads and interurban highway corridor. The
methodology adopted for the estimation of travel time reliability measures and development of LOS
based on reliability measures is depicted in the form a flow chart in Figure 10.7.
Selection of Study Sections
Uninterrupted Urban Interrupted Urban Inter City

Arterial Corridor Arterial Corridor Highway Corridor
Vehicle License Plate Trap Length Data

Data Collection
Data • Speed Data
• Entry Side • Volume Data
• Exit Side
Estimation of
Travel Time
Travel Time
Reliability
Travel Time
Reliability
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
LOS Based on LOS Based on

Travel Time Travel Time Reliability
Figure 10.7: Study Methodology
10.7 PROCEDURE FOR TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY AND LOS

The steps to be followed for arriving at the travel time reliability and LOS is explained in this
section.
Step-1: Input Data
Frequency of Data Collection: Travel time studies need collection of traffic data over a
continuous period of one year or minimum of one-month period for analysis. This is possible only if
the traffic data is collected through any of the following means:
• Automatic Number Plate Registration (ANPR) Data
• Probe Vehicle Surveys
• ITS data facilitating Automatic Traffic Count Classified (ATCC) data
Due to the non-availability of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) data covering the entire
year for Indian traffic conditions, traffic data collected over three successive days (minimum of 8

hours in a day i.e. 7 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 8 pm) have been used, which included data collected on
1 working day as well as non-working day. As such, the following typical data are to be collected for
performing TTR:
• Classified Traffic Volume data for every 5-minute interval at entry point of the test section.
• Vehicular License plate data for 3 vehicle types, namely Car, Bus/Truck and 2-Wheeler coupled
with data pertaining to time of entry and time of exit along the test section.
• Speed of the individual vehicle data at entry point of corridor / segment on defined trap
length (of 50 to 60 m) considering all the vehicle types.
Step- 2: Travel Time Estimation
License plate matching technique has been considered for collecting the travel time data in
the study sections. In the absence of ITS data, video cameras are to be installed at a vantage point
both at entry and exit locations of the study sections in such a way that the license plates would be
distinctly visible. This technique consists of collection of vehicle license plate numbers and arrival
times at entry and exit points of the section, matching the license plate between entry and exit points
and computing travel time from the difference in arrival times.
Step 3: Estimation of Travel Time Reliability Measures
The following travel time reliability parameters have been considered in the present study:
• 95th Percentile Travel Time:
• Buffer Time Index (BTI):
• Planning Time Index (PTI)
Step-4: Travel Time Reliability with respect to traffic volume:
Volume to Capacity (V/C) ratio is used and reliability measures at different V/C ratios are
estimated based on field collected data.
Step-5: Performance Evaluation of Study Section
The classification of Travel Time Reliability measures is carried out for defining the Level of
Service (LOS) thresholds on urban street facilities as well as interurban highways based on travel
speed as a percentage of free flow speed.
10.8 TRAVEL TIME

The average travel time and standard deviation of travel time for working and non-working
days on the considered study sections is presented in Figure 10.8 and the variation of average travel
time is presented in Figure 10.9. There is significant difference in travel time variability characteristics
between uninterrupted flow and interrupted flow urban corridor:
• Uninterrupted Flow in Urban Corridor: The average travel time varies from 66 sec to 115 sec
per kilometer on working days and 58 sec to 89 seconds per kilometer on non-working days.
The standard deviation is 29 sec/km.
• Interrupted Flow in Urban Corridor: The average travel time is ranging from 105 sec to 251 sec
per kilometer on working days and 105 sec to 170 sec per kilometer on non-working days.
The standard deviation on interrupted flow corridor is 40 sec/km, which is higher than that
of uninterrupted flow section.
• Interurban Corridor: Marginal variation in average travel time is observed on interurban
corridor during working and non-working days. The average travel time varies from 45 sec to
50 sec per kilometer and standard deviation is 10 sec/km.

a) During working day b) During non working day
c) During working day d) During non working day
Figure 10.8: Average Travel Time and Standard Deviation (SD) on Study Corridors
a) Minimum Average Travel Time b) Maximum Average Travel Time

Figure 10.9: Variation of Average Travel Time

10.9 TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY ANALYSIS

The travel time reliability measures such as Planning Time (PT), Buffer Time (BT), Planning
Time Index (PTI) and Buffer Time Index (BTI) for the study corridors is presented in Figure 10.9,
10.10 and 10.11 and the following inferences are drawn.
• Uninterrupted Flow in Urban Corridor: The range of variation in PT and BT during working
day is 91 to 203 sec/km and 19 to 118 sec/km respectively. PTI and BTI values are ranging
between 3.5 to 7.7 and 0.2 to 0.7 respectively
• Interrupted Flow in Urban Corridor: The variation of PT and BT during working day is 144
to 320 sec/km and 32 to 93 sec/km respectively. PTI and BTI values are ranging from 1.6 to
3.5 and 0.2 to 1.3 respectively.
• Interurban Corridor: The variation of PT and BT during working day is 55 to 77 sec/km and
10 to 29 sec/km respectively. PTI and BTI values are ranging from 1.2 to 1.7 and 0.2 to 0.6
respectively.
The average PTI value on uninterrupted urban corridor is found to be 2.3 and 1.8 during
working and non-working days respectively. At the same time, in the case of interrupted urban
corridor, it is found to be 5.1 and 4.6 during working days and non-working days respectively.
a) During Working Days b) During Non-Working days
c) During Working Days d) During Non-Working days
Figure 10.10: Planning Time and Buffer Time Comparisons among Study Corridors

a) During Working Days b) During Non-Working days
c) During Working Days d) During Non-Working days
Figure 10:11: Planning Time Index and Buffer Time Index on Study Corridors
10.10 LOS BASED ON TRAVEL TIME FOR PRIVATE VEHICLES

Table 10.1 presents LOS thresholds based on travel time. At LOS B, the travel time on
interurban highway is 40 - 46 sec/km and whereas for same LOS, the range is 64 - 80 sec/km and
75 - 135 sec/km on urban uninterrupted corridor and interrupted urban corridors respectively. The
upper threshold value of travel time for a given LOS increased significantly for urban corridor due to
uncertainty in the travel time.
Table 10.1: LOS based on Travel Time for Private Vehicles

(in sec/km)
LOS Uninterrupted Corridor Interrupted Corridor Interurban Corridor

A < 64 < 75 < 40
B 64 - 80 75 - 135 40 - 46
C 80 - 95 135 -186 46 - 50
D 95 - 136 186 - 279 50 - 65
E > 136 > 279 > 65

10.11 LOS BASED TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY FOR PRIVATE VEHICLES

The assessment of operational performance of uninterrupted traffic flow corridor and
interrupted traffic flow corridor is a challenging task for any transportation engineer / planner due to
dynamic and mixed traffic. A qualitative traffic measure is considered on a scale of LOS A - F in the US-
HCM. The criteria of LOS are mainly based on traffic density along with speed for uninterrupted flow
corridors and from the field data. Therefore, the travel time and travel time reliability based approach
are becoming more and more important to measure the performance of urban and interurban
road corridors. The LOS ranges have been defined after performing K- mean clustering in MATLAB
software. Tables 10.2 and 10.3 illustrate the ranges or thresholds of different LOS with respect to
travel time; PT and BT; PTI and BTI parameters obtained after applying K-mean clustering using four
numbers of clusters.
10.11.1 LOS based on PT and BT

Table 10.2 presents travel time reliability based LOS corresponding to PT and BT. It can be
observed that the 95th percentile travel time for LOS B is more for urban arterial corridors as compared
to interurban corridor for the same width of carriageway. The upper limit of LOS B for PT is 132 sec/
km, 171 sec/km and 63 sec/km for uninterrupted urban, interrupted urban and interurban corridors
respectively. In the case of BT, the threshold of difference between 95th percentile and average travel
time for LOS B is 38 seconds, 38 seconds and 14 seconds for uninterrupted urban, interrupted urban
and interurban corridors respectively. The BT is comparatively more on the urban uninterrupted
corridor than that of interrupted corridor. This is mainly due to the higher average travel time on
interrupted corridor. Therefore PT can be a better reliability measure for LOS evaluation on urban
arterial corridors.
Table 10.2: TTR LOS based on Planning Time (PT) and Buffer Time (BT)
(in seconds/km)
Uninterrupted Corridor Interrupted Corridor Interurban Corridor

LOS
PT BT PT BT PT BT
A < 73 <5 < 87 < 10 < 43 <5
B 73 - 132 5 - 38 87 - 171 10 - 38 43 - 63 5 - 14
C 132 - 209 38 - 128 171 - 239 38 - 69 63 - 86 14 - 31
D 209 - 325 128 - 225 239 - 317 69 - 174 86 - 132 31 - 73
E > 325 > 225 > 317 > 174 > 132 > 73
10.11.2 LOS based on PTI and BTI

Table 10.3 illustrates the PTI and BTI values at different LOS on three study corridors. The
PTI based LOS threshold tends to increase from interrupted urban corridors to uninterrupted urban
arterial corridors whereas BTI values do not follow any trend. From this, it can be recommended
that PTI is more appropriate performance measure than the BTI for urban uninterrupted as well as
interurban highway corridor.

Table 10.3: TTR LOS based on Planning Time Index and Buffer Time Index
Uninterrupted Corridor Interrupted Corridor Interurban Corridor

LOS
PTI BTI PTI BTI PTI BTI
A < 1.26 < 0.10 < 1.60 < 0.10 < 1.00 < 0.05
B > 1.26 - 2.00 > 0.10 - 0.50 > 1.60 - 3.00 > 0.10 - 0.50 > 1.00 - 1.40 > 0.05 -0.30
C > 2.00 - 3.50 > 0.50 - 1.20 > 3.00 - 4.50 > 0.31 - 0.70 > 1.40 - 1.90 > 0.30 - 0.60
D > 3.50 - 5.50 > 1.20 - 2.20 > 4.50 - 5.80 > 0.70 - 1.30 > 1.90 - 2.50 > 0.60 - 1.30
E > 5.50 > 2.20 > 5.80 > 1.30 > 2.50 > 1.30
10.12 LOS FOR BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM (BRTS)

An attempt has been made to develop travel time reliability based LOS criteria for public
transport system as no such LOS has been developed in Indian context. Moreover, Public Transport
Travel Time Reliability (PTTTR) measurement has always been a challenge for different stakeholders.
No single measure can satisfy the concerns of different stakeholders related to Public Transport (PT)
systems. A lot of user and operator data is required to estimate the system reliability. Doing this
frequently is not feasible as lot of time and cost are involved in data collection. Therefore, this study
presents the typical application of available ITS data to understand the travel time reliability of BRTS
route network by studying the BRTS operation across different time periods of the day as well as
weekly data. Using such data, daily or weekly check on reliability of the BRTS routes can be done and
further improvements can be suggested to enhance the same. In this context, closed BRTS network
operating in the city of Ahmedabad has been considered for which various statistical measures
related to BRTS travel time reliability measures have been studied based on the Intelligent Transport
System (ITS) data.
Godavari et al (2012), considered Volume to Capacity ratio as a performance measure to
evaluate BRTS. Comparison of various routes was done based on these measures. In the present
study, performance of BRT routes has been evaluated by introducing Level of Service (LOS) criteria
based on the Travel Time Variation measures obtained from the ITS data. A total of 6011 trip data
have been considered (Ankit, et al 2016) which includes GPS device data in the form of travel time
summary in excel sheets for the entire service period. Real time data on departure and arrival times
for the considered routes has been deduced from the GPS device which has been fitted in each bus.
30-minute departure time window (DTW) has been selected to build the travel time plots along with
90th and 10th percentile of travel time for typical routes and presented in Figure 10.12. From this
figure, it can be seen that day to day travel time variation is observed by examining the gap between
the 90th and 10th percentile profile during morning and evening service periods. A constant travel time
variation is observed during inter peak hours. The average travel time of early trips during morning
and evening peak is less as compared to the late trips. This travel time variation is mainly due to
fluctuating passenger demand in different DTW and variation of time spent at the traffic signals and
bus stop delays. Higher travel time variation has been observed during morning and evening peak
whereas the inter peak almost exhibited a constant travel time variation on most of the routes (refer
Figure 10.12). The average percentile profile gap between early trips for both morning and evening
peak is less as compared to late trips.

Figure 10.12: Travel time Variation in each 30-minute

Departure time window on Typical Route
The day to day travel time variation has been analyzed and coefficient of variation of travel
time on typical route is presented in Figure 10.13. These heat maps illustrate travel time variability
based on coefficient of variation of travel time for the different days of the week. The maps have been
developed by considering two week data and a 30-min departure time window. All dark grey areas
depict unreliable service times. These reliability maps can be very useful to the operator to identify
the unreliable periods for different days and hence improvements can be proposed accordingly.
Figure 10.13: CV of Travel time on Typical Route
10.13 RELIABILITY BASED LOS FOR BRTS

In the present study, operator oriented parameters have been introduced for determining
TTV based LOS for BRT system. After correlation analysis, three parameters namely, average travel
time per kilometer, difference of 90th and 10th percentile travel time per kilometer and coefficient of
variation were considered for determining the LOS. The LOS ranges were defined after performing
K- mean clustering. Table 10.4 illustrates the ranges of different LOS with respect to travel time and
travel time variation parameters obtained after applying k-mean clustering using five numbers of
clusters.

Table 10.4: LOS based Travel Time and Travel Time Variation (TTV) for BRTS
Coefficient of Variation Average Travel Time / km T90 - T10/km

LOS
CV (in minutes) (in minutes)
A ≤ 0.09 ≤ 3.7 ≤ 0.8
B > 0.09 - 0.17 > 3.7 - 7.0 > 0.8 - 1.5
C > 0.17 - 0.25 > 7.0 - 9.3 > 1.5 - 2.3
D > 0.25 - 0.35 > 9.3 - 11.4 > 2.3 - 3.1
E > 0.35 > 11.4 > 3.1
10.14 RELIABILITY ANALYSIS FOR NORMAL PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS

In this chapter, an attempt has been made to perform reliability analysis of conventional form
of public transit system i.e. non - BRT system as well by considering limited bus routes (which are
equipped with online ITS data) in the city of Mysore, India. Accordingly, the travel time data for two
routes has been collected for 16-hour time period spread over 60 days. Travel time variation for the
above routes covering the above 16-hour period is plotted in Figure 10.14 which included 8 hours
during one weekday and weekend day. Bus journey speed (based on bus travel time on particular
segments) has been correlated with the stream speed. For the remaining weekdays and weekend days
(for which traffic volume data is unavailable), the generic relationship between bus journey speed
and stream speed was used for the estimation of volume for a given hour of the day. Travel times
considered in the present study also included dwell times as well as possible delays encountered by
the bus under mixed traffic conditions. Using k-means clustering technique, LOS thresholds based
on Coefficient of Variation (CV) and reliability measures have been estimated as illustrated in Tables
10.5.
Figure 10.14: Travel Time Variation on a Typical Bus Route

Table 10.5: Reliability LOS based on CV, PT, BT and TTI

for Normal Buses
Coefficient Average Travel Time PT/km BT/km BTI/ PTI/

LOS
of Variation / km (Minutes) (Minutes) (Minutes) km km
A < 0.15 < 2.5 < 0.5 < 0.6 < 15 < 1.8
B > 0.15 - 0.2 > 2.5 - 2.8 > 0.5 - 1.0 > 0.6 - 0.8 > 15 - 28 > 1.8 - 2.2
C > 0.2 - 0.23 > 2.8 - 4.25 > 1 - 2.0 > 0.8 - 1.3 > 28-30 > 2.2 - 2.4
D > 0.23 - 0.25 > 4.25 - 4.75 > 2 - 2.2 > 1.3 - 1.6 > 30-38 > 2.4 - 3.3
E > 0.25 > 4.75 > 2.2 > 1.6 >38 > 3.3
10.15 R
ELIABILITY BASED LOS FOR INTERRUPTED 6-LANE DIVIDED
ARTERIAL CORRIDOR USING TWO-WHEELER TRAVEL TIME
Travel time data is collected through probed vehicular runs for six-lane divided carriageway
along Gauravpath Road of Surat city of Gujarat. GPS fitted on the motorized two-wheeler has been
used as the probe vehicle and several runs (8 runs each in morning and evening period) has been
conducted along the selected 3.9-kilometer corridor during morning as well as evening hours. From
spot speed data of GPS, travel time data for every 10-m segment was extracted and then, reliability
indices have been determined. Speed and flow data of the selected corridor is considered from the
study of Vikas Reddy (2014) and relationship models between two-wheeler space mean speed and
stream speed has been developed. Reliability based LOS thresholds estimated have been depicted in
Tables 10.7 and 10.8.
Table 10.6: Reliability LOS based on CV, PT, BT and PTI for Two Wheelers
Coefficient Average Travel PT/km BT/km

LOS BTI/km PTI/km
of Variation Time/km (Minutes) (Minutes) (Minutes)
A ≤ 0.15 ≤ 1.79 ≤ 0.6 ≤ 0.16 ≤ 11 ≤ 1.65
B > 0.15 – 0.28 >1.79 – 2.21 > 0.6 – 1.0 > 0.16 – 0.31 > 11 – 16 > 1.65 – 2.1
C > 0.28 – 0.44 >2.21 – 2.58 > 1.5 – 1.8 > 0.31 – 0.61 > 16 – 23.2 > 2.1 – 2.78
D > 0.44 – 0.57 >2.58 – 3.08 > 1.8– 3.45 > 0.61 – 1.31 > 23.2– 40 > 2.78 – 3.55
E > 0.57 >3.08 > 3.45 >1.31 > 40 > 3.55
10.16
URBAN CORRIDOR USING CAR TRAVEL TIME
Study stretch of 2 km is selected between Panchavati Circle and Sardar Stadium Paanch Rasta
circle in Ahmedabad city. The study stretch is located on CG (Chimanlal Girdharlal) Road. The study
stretch comprises of three intersections, out of which one is major intersection at Swastik Char Rasta.
The study stretch is selected based on reconnaissance survey for carrying out travel time reliability
study on cars. Traffic direction leading towards Sardar Stadium Paanch Raasta is selected for the study.
Travel time data is collected from registration number plate matching using video graphic technique.
Travel time data of cars is collected for two days for a duration of 8 hours in a day which included
(one-week day and one weekend day). Reliability based LOS are presented in Tables 10.7.

Table 10.7: Reliability LOS based on CV for Cars on Uninterrupted

Four Lane Divided Urban Road
Average Travel Time/km PT/km BT/km
LOS CV PTI/km
(in minutes) (in minutes) (in minutes)
A < 0.3 < 2.1 < 0.45 < 0.3 < 1.1
B 0.3 - 0.35 2.1 - 2.6 0.45 - 0.8 0.3 - 0.5 1.1 - 1.4
C 0.35 - 0.4 2.6 - 3.0 0.8 - 1 0.5 - 0.7 1.4 - 1.6
D 0.4 - 0.5 3 - 3.5 1 - 1.3 0.7 - 1 1.6 - 1.8
E > 0.5 > 3.5 > 1.3 >1 > 1.8

10.17.1 Understanding of PTI and BTI
Planning Time Index (PTI): PTI of 2.00 means that for a trip that takes 1 min/km in light
traffic (Free Flow Travel time), a traveler should budget a total of 2 minutes to ensure on time arrival
95 percent of the time.
Free-flow travel time = 1 min/km
Planning time index = 2.00
Planning time = 1 minute × 2.00 = 2 minutes per kilometer
Solution:
Buffer Time Index: Buffer Time Index of 0.8 ( 80%) means that for a trip that usually takes 2 minutes
a traveler should budget an additional 1.6 minutes to ensure on-time arrival most of the time.
Average travel time = 2 min/km
Buffer index = 80 percent (0.80)
Buffer time = 2 minutes × 0.80 = 1.6 min/km
The additional time of 1.6 minutes is called as the buffer time. Therefore, the traveler should
allow 1.6 min/km for the trip in order to ensure on-time arrival for 95 percent of the time.
10.17.2 LOS based on PT and PTI for car on urban interrupted section
Car travel time data has been collected along a 2 km four lane divided interrupted road
segment in one of the Indian cities. Travel time data on a particular week day was collected for six
hours (9 AM to 3 PM) through videography method. Extracted travel time data through license plate
matching technique for each one-hour time interval is given in the following table. Estimate LOS
based on PT and PTI.
Synod. Hour of the day Travel time (in minutes) samples
1 9 AM to 10 AM 7.52, 6.53, 3.95, 9.62, 3.67, 5.68, 4.83
2 10 AM to 11 AM 7.07, 4.63, 4.58, 5.03
3 11 AM to 12 PM 6.07, 6.07, 6.48
4 12 PM to 1 PM 4.18, 9.22, 4.55, 4.37, 6.18, 6.37, 6.37, 2.22
5 1 PM to 2 PM 4.30, 6.10, 5.75, 5.88, 7.12, 5.73
6 2 PM to 3 PM 6.17, 6.82, 6.20, 7.63, 6.50, 6.13
*Small number of samples is furnished for illustrative purposes

Free flow travel time for the selected road segment during free flow conditions is observed
as 2.4 minutes.
Solution:
• For each of the 1-hour time intervals, 90th percentile travel time, 10th percentile travel time,
95th percentile travel time has been calculated as shown in the following table.
• Thereafter, all percentile travel times has been normalized to travel time per km by dividing
the percentile travel time values by total length of road segment, which is 2 km as given in
this example.
S. Per 2 km (length of segment) Per km

Hour of the day
No. 10th % TT 90th % TT 95th % TT 10th% TT 90th % TT 95th % TT
1 9 AM to 10 AM 3.84 8.36 8.99 1.92 4.18 4.49
2 10 AM to 11 AM 4.6 6.46 6.76 2.3 3.23 3.38
3 11 AM to 12 PM 6.07 6.4 6.44 3.03 3.2 3.22
4 12 PM to 1 PM 3.59 7.22 8.22 1.8 3.61 4.11
5 1 PM to 2 PM 5.02 6.61 6.86 2.51 3.3 3.43
6 2 PM to 3 PM 6.15 7.23 7.43 3.08 3.61 3.71
• PT has been calculated as difference between the 90th percentile and 10th percentile travel
times for each of the 1-hour time interval.
• PTI has been calculated based on definitions mentioned in Equation 10.5.
• LOS based on PT and PTI has been determined using thresholds given in Table 10.2 and Table
10.3.
S.No. Hour of the day PT (minutes) PTI LOS based on PT and PTI
1 9 AM to 10 AM 2.26 1.87 B
2 10 AM to 11 AM 0.93 1.41 A
3 11 AM to 12 PM 0.17 1.34 A
4 12 PM to 1 PM 1.81 1.71 B
5 1 PM to 2 PM 0.80 1.43 A
6 2 PM to 3 PM 0.54 1.55 A

REFERENCES
1. Ankit Kathuria, Parida M and Ravi Sekhar Ch (2017) “Route performance evaluation of a closed
bus rapid transit system using GPS data”, Current Science, Vol. 112, No. 8, pp. 1642 - 1652.
2. Asakura, Y and Kashiwadani. M. (1991) “Road Network Reliability Caused by Daily Fluctuation
of Traffic Flow”, Proceedings of the 19th PTRC, Summer Annual Meeting in Brighton, pp. 73-84.
3. Billnton, R and Ronald N. Allan (1992) “Reliability Evaluation of Engineering System Concepts
and Techniques”, 2nd Edition, Plenum Press, New York.
4. FHWA Report (2006) “Travel Time Reliability: Making it there on time, All the Time”, US
Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Web http://www.ops.fhwa.
dot.gov/publications/tt_reliability/index.htm>.
5. Highway Capacity Manual (2010), 6th edition. Transportation Research Board, Washington DC,
USA.
6. Godavarthi G.R, Ravi Sekhar.Ch, Velmurugan S (2014) “Measuring the Performance of Bus Rapid-
Transit Corridors Based on Volume by Capacity Ratio”, Journal of Transportation Engineering,
ASCE, Vol. 140, Issue 10, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)TE.1943-5436.0000698, pp. 1 to 12.
7. Ravi Sekhar Chalumuri (2008) “Measuring Travel Time Reliability Road Transportation System”,
Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation submitted to Graduate School of Science and Technology,
Kobe University, Kobe, Japan.
8. Vikas Reddy (2014) “Dynamic Equivalency factor of Mixed Traffic Stream for Urban Arterial
Midblock”, Unpublished Master’s Thesis submitted to Department of Civil Engineering, SVNIT
Surat, 2014.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Akhilesh Chepuri (2015) “Study of Travel Time Variability on Bus Routes in Mysore City”,
Unpublished Master’s Thesis submitted to Department of Civil Engineering, SVNIT Surat, 2015.
2. Akhilesh Chepuri, Sanskruti Joshi, Shriniwas S. Arkatkar, Gaurang Joshi, (2016) “Travel
Time Reliability Analysis on Selected Bus Routes in India: A Case Study in Mysore City”, A
paper presented and published at the 14th World Conference on Transport Research Society
(WCTRS-2016) held during 10th to16th July, 2016 at Shanghai.
3. Amol Wagh, Akhilesh Chepuri, Shriniwas S. Arkatkar, Gaurang Joshi (2015) “Study of travel time
variability using two-wheeler probed data - A case study of urban arterial in Surat”, A paper
pubslished in the Proceedings of the 3rd Conference of Transportation Research Group of India
(CTRG 2015) held at Kolkata.
4. MATLAB (2007) MATLAB and Simulink for Technical computing software, Math works
Incorporation, USA.
5. SHRP-2:L08 (2012), “Incorporation of Travel Time Reliability in to the Highway Capacity
Manual”.

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Highway Capacity Manual (Indo-HCM)

About the Manual

CSIR âè °â ¥æ§ü ¥æÚU - ·ð´¤¼ýèØ âÇ¸U·¤ ¥Ùéâ¢ÏæÙ â¢SÍæÙ, Ù§ü çÎËÜè-vv®®wz

About the Manual

CSIR âè °â ¥æ§ü ¥æÚU - ·ð´¤¼ýèØ âÇ¸U·¤ ¥Ùéâ¢ÏæÙ â¢SÍæÙ, Ù§ü çÎËÜè-vv®®wz

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Roorkee

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Guwahati

School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi

Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat

Indian Institute of Engineering and Sciences University (IIEST), Shibpur

Anna University (AU), Chennai

Automatic Road Survey System (ARSS) Team: CSIR - CRRI

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page i

1 CHAPTER 1: Basic Concepts and

2 CHAPTER 2: Single Lane, Intermediate

3 CHAPTER 3: Multilane Divided Interurban

4 CHAPTER 4: Interurban and Urban

5 CHAPTER 5: Urban Roads 5 - 1 to 5 - 34

6 CHAPTER 6: Signalized Intersections 6 - 1 to 6 - 43

8 CHAPTER 8: Unsignalized Intersections 8 - 1 to 8 - 25

9 CHAPTER 9: Pedestrian Facilities 9 - 1 to 9 - 36

10 CHAPTER 10: Travel Time Reliability as a

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page iii

18.12.2017 (Satish Chandra)

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STRUCTURE OF INDO - HCM

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NEW CONCEPTS IN INDO-HCM

Capacity and Level of Service of Mid Block Sections

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page x

Saturation Flow and Capacity of Signalized Intersections

Critical Gap and Capacity of Roundabouts

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Critical Gap and Capacity of Unsignalized Intersections

Capacity of Pedestrian Facilities

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xii

Travel Time Reliability as a Performance Measure for Interurban and

Innovative Process of Manual Development

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CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xiv

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page xv

Dr. S. Velmurugan, Senior Principal Scientist,

Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Transportation of Planning (TP) Division

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 1 - i

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1.1 Definition of Travel Time Reliability 7

1.2 Flow, Speed and Density Relationships 9

1.3 Typical Illustrative Pictures of Vehicle Types 12 - 13

1.1 Terrain Classification 8

1.2 Typical Vehicle Types and Mode Classification 11

1.3 Vehicle Types and Their Dimensions 14

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1.2 STUDY OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi Page 1 - 1

1.3 MODUS OPERANDI

1.4 PURPOSE OF INDO-HCM

1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGIES

1.5.1 Road Facility Based Terminologies

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