Estimation of Level of Service for Heterogeneous Traffic in Urban Area - A case study of Ahmedabad city

Abstract

The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2010) has defined Level of Service (LOS) mostly for the developed
countries having leading contribution of motorized vehicles. Speed ranges of Level of Service (LOS) categories of urban
streets are not well defined for highly heterogeneous traffic flow condition on urban streets in Indian context. The boost
in urban traffic affects the quality of facility provided on the road. The flow of traffic on urban roads is highly complex &
differs from rural roads.The existing models does not reflect the true traffic flow behavior on urban corridors.
The present study includes the perception of road users in estimating the level of service criteria for
heterogeneous traffic in urban corridors. For quantifying the quality of travel, the speed variation, delay etc.
characteristics of different vehicles are studied on the urban roads. A sub-arterial road of Ahmedabad city is selected for
estimating LOS criteria. Considerable variation is observed in the criterion values for different vehicle types under the
automobile category. The observed capacity on Vijay cross road to Panjrapol cross road is varying from 3500 to 5000
PCU/hr. Speed-Flow relationship is developed for selected stretches. Revised LOS criteria for the observed traffic
condition is suggested for the sub-arterial roads of Ahmedabad city.