Level of Service

CE327, S2015, CCNY

Instructor: Mahdieh Allahviranloo
 Level of Service

Facility Type Performance Measure

Freeway
Vehicles @ Intersection
Sidewalk
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
 Level of Service

Facility Type Performance Measure

Freeway Speed, Density, Flow
Vehicles @ Intersection
Sidewalk
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
 Level of Service

Facility Type Performance Measure

Freeway Speed, Density, Flow
Vehicles @ Intersection Average Delay per Traveler
Sidewalk
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
 Level of Service

Facility Type Performance Measure

Freeway Speed, Density, Flow
Vehicles @ Intersection Average Delay per Traveler
Sidewalk Speed, Density, Flow
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
 Level of Service

Facility Type Performance Measure

Freeway Speed, Density, Flow
Vehicles @ Intersection Average Delay per Traveler
Sidewalk Speed, Density, Flow
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path Frequency of Conflict Events
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
 Level of Service
Facility Type
Freeway
Vehicles @ Intersection
Sidewalk
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
Performance Measure
Speed, Density, Flow
Average Delay per Traveler
Speed, Density, Flow
Frequency of Conflict Events
Frequency of Conflict Events
 Level of Service
Facility Type
Freeway
Vehicles @ Intersection
Sidewalk
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
Performance Measure
Speed, Density, Flow
Average Delay per Traveler
Speed, Density, Flow
Frequency of Conflict Events
Frequency of Conflict Events
Average Delay per Traveler
 Level of Service
Facility Type
Freeway
Vehicles @ Intersection
Sidewalk
Exclusive Off-Street Bicycle Path
Shared Off-Street Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Bicycles @ Intersection
Urban On-Street Bicycle Lane
Performance Measure
Speed, Density, Flow
Average Delay per Traveler
Speed, Density, Flow
Frequency of Conflict Events
Frequency of Conflict Events
Average Delay per Traveler
Average Travel Speed
Preliminaries
Volume and Flow rate
• Volume:
• The total number of vehicles that pass over a given
point during a given time interval (annual, hourly or sub-
hourly)
• Flow-rate:
• The equivalent hourly rate at which vehicles pass over a
given point during a given time interval of less than an
hour, usually 15 minutes
• Ex:
• Volume of 100 vehicles observed in a 15-min period,
implied a flow rate of 100veh/0.25 h or 400 vph
Demand
• http://pems.dot.ca.gov/
• http://gis.dot.ny.gov/tdv/
Demand
Daily Variations in flow rate
Demand
Hourly Variations in flow rate
Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Total annual traffic/365 days
Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Analysis Hour

Ranked Hourly Volumes

70
HOUR VOLUME AS PERCENT OF AADT

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1 101 201 301 401 501 601 701 801 901
HOUR RANK

Series1 Series2 Series3

Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Analysis Hour

Ranked Hourly Volumes

70
K-Factor: Proportion of AADT occurring in the
HOUR VOLUME AS PERCENT OF AADT

60 analysis hour
50

40

30

20

10

0
1 101 201 301 401 501 601 701 801 901
HOUR RANK

Series1 Series2 Series3

Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Analysis Hour
• Peak Hour Factor

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

𝑃𝐻𝐹 =
4 × 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 15 min 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

PHF range between 0.8 and 0.98

Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Analysis Hour
• Peak Hour Factor

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

𝑃𝐻𝐹 =
4 × 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 15 min 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

PHF range between 0.8 and 0.98

5 minutes peak hour
Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Analysis Hour
• Peak Hour Factor
• Design Hour Volume
𝐷𝐻𝑉 = 𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇 × 𝐾
• K: proportion of AADT in peak hour
Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Analysis Hour
• Peak Hour Factor
• Design Hour Volume
• Directional Design Hour Volume
𝐷𝐷𝐻𝑉 = 𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇 × 𝐾 × 𝐷
• K: proportion of AADT in peak hour
• D: proportion of peak-hour traffic in the peak direction
Definitions:
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
• Analysis Hour
• Peak Hour Factor
• Design Hour Volume
• Directional Design Hour Volume
• Saturation Flow Rate:
• Maximum flow rate in veh/h that a lane group can carry
if it has the green indication continuously
Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑆0 : base saturation flow rate

𝑁: 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠

𝑓𝑤 : 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ

𝑤 − 3.6
𝑓𝑤 = 1 + , 𝑤 = 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
9
Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝐻𝑉 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑦 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐

100
𝑓𝐻𝑉 =
100 + %𝐻𝑉 𝐸𝑇 − 1

𝐸𝑇 = 2 𝑝𝑐/𝐻𝑉
Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝑔 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒

%𝐺
𝑓𝑔 = 1 −
200
Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝑝 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒

18𝑁𝑚
𝑁 − 0.1 −
𝑓𝑝 = 3600
𝑁

𝑁: 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑠

𝑁𝑚 : 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠/ℎ
Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝑏𝑏 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑢𝑠

14𝑁
𝑁 − 3600𝑏
𝑓𝑏𝑏 =
𝑁

𝑁: 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑠

𝑁𝑏 : 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔/ℎ

Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝑎 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒

𝑓𝑎 = 0.9 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐶𝐵𝐷 𝑎𝑛𝑑 1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠

Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝐿𝑈 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑉𝑔
𝑓𝐿𝑈 =
𝑉𝑔1 𝑁

𝑉𝑔 = 𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠

𝑉𝑔1 = 𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠
Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝐿𝑇 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝

𝑓𝐿𝑇 = 0.95 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠

1
𝑓𝐿𝑇 = 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠
1 + 0.05𝑃𝐿𝑇
Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝑅𝑇 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝

𝑓𝑅𝑇 = 0.85 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠

𝑓𝑅𝑇 = 1 − 0.15𝑃𝑅𝑇 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠

𝑓𝑅𝑇 = 1 − 0.135𝑃𝑅𝑇 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒

Saturation Flow Rate:

𝑓𝐿𝑝𝑏 , 𝑓𝑅𝑝𝑏 = 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒

𝑓𝐿𝑃𝐵 = 1 − 𝑃𝐿𝑇 (1 − 𝐴𝑝𝑏𝑡 )(1 − 𝑃𝐿𝑇𝐴 )

𝑓𝑅𝑃𝐵 = 1 − 𝑃𝑅𝑇 (1 − 𝐴𝑝𝑏𝑡 )(1 − 𝑃𝑅𝑇𝐴 )

𝐴𝑝𝑏𝑡 : permitted phase adjustment

Intersections
Recall:
• Average delay for each phase in intersection:

C  1  i 
2

di 
2  (1  i  X i )

gi
i 
C
qi
Xi 
 i  Si Should be
adjusted
Level of Service:
𝑎 𝑑𝑎 𝑣𝑎
𝑑=
𝑎 𝑣𝑎

LOS Control Delay (sec/veh)

A 0-10
B 10-20
C 20-35
D 35-55
E 55-80
F >80
Basic Freeway
Segments
Basic Freeway Segment
 Basic Freeway Segments Speed-
Flow Curve

(Resource: HCM 2010, National Research Council . Transportation Research, 2010)

 Basic Freeway Segments Speed-
Flow Curve

LOS F

(Resource: HCM 2010, National Research Council . Transportation Research, 2010)

Basic Freeway Segment
Base facilities:

3.6 meters
Basic Freeway Segment
Base facilities:
LC1 + LC2 = 3.6 meters

LC1

LC2
Basic Freeway Segment
• Base facilities:
• Only passenger cars in traffic
• No direct access points along the roadway
• A divided highway
• Free flow speed higher than 100 km/hr
How to compute LOS in Multilane freeways?

• Factors required:
• Speed
• Flow Rate

Question 1: How to estimate FFS?

Question 2: How to adjust Flow Rate?
Free Flow Speed:
• Determining FFS through field measurements
under following conditions:
• Stable traffic regime of low to moderate flow conditions
(less than 1400 pc/h/ln)
• All the other geometric conditions for basic freeway are
met.
• Estimating FFS:
𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑤 − 𝑓𝐿𝐶 − 𝑓𝑀 − 𝑓𝐴
Free Flow Speed:
• Estimating FFS:
𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑊 − 𝑓𝐿𝐶 − 𝑓𝑀 − 𝑓𝐴

𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 ∶ 𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑚 ℎ)

Free Flow Speed:
• Estimating FFS:
𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑊 − 𝑓𝐿𝐶 − 𝑓𝑀 − 𝑓𝐴

𝑓𝐿𝑊 : 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ

Free Flow Speed:
• Estimating FFS:
𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑊 − 𝑓𝐿𝐶 − 𝑓𝑀 − 𝑓𝐴

𝑓𝐿𝐶 : 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

Free Flow Speed:
• Estimating FFS:
𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑊 − 𝑓𝐿𝐶 − 𝑓𝑀 − 𝑓𝐴

𝑓𝑀 : 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒

Median Type Reduction in FFS

Undivided highways 2.6
Divided highways 0
Free Flow Speed:
• Estimating FFS:
𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑊 − 𝑓𝐿𝐶 − 𝑓𝑀 − 𝑓𝐴

𝑓𝐴 : 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦

Access Points/kilometer Reduction in FFS(km/h)

0 0
6 4
12 8
18 12
≥24 16
Determining Flow Rate

𝑉
𝑉𝑝 =
𝑃𝐻𝐹 × 𝑁 × 𝑓𝐻𝑉 × 𝑓𝑝

𝑉𝑝 : 15 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑟 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (pc/h/ln)

𝑉: ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝑃𝐻𝐹 = 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝑁: 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠
𝑓𝐻𝑉 : ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑦 𝑣𝑒ℎ. 𝑎𝑑𝑗. 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝑓𝑝 : 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑤𝑎𝑦
Determining Flow Rate
𝑓𝐻𝑉 : ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑦 𝑣𝑒ℎ. 𝑎𝑑𝑗. 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

1
𝑓𝐻𝑉 =
1 + 𝑃𝑇 𝐸𝑇 − 1 + 𝑃𝑅 (𝐸𝑅 − 1)

𝐸𝑇 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐸𝑅 ∶ 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑟 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣. 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑠/𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠, 𝑅𝑉𝑠

𝑃𝑇 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑅 ∶ 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑠/𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠, 𝑅𝑉𝑠

Pedestrian facilities
Facility types:
• Walkways and sidewalks (terminals, staris, exclusive
paths)
• Pedestrian queuing areas (transit platforms, etc.)
• Shared off-street paths
• Pedestrian crosswalks
• Pedestrian facilities along urban streets
Walkways and sidewalks:

𝑉15
𝑉𝑝 =
15 × 𝑊𝐸

𝑉𝑝 : 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑝/ min/𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟)

𝑉15 : 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘15 min 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑝/ min/𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟)

𝑊𝐸 : 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ (𝑚)

Walkways and sidewalks:

𝑉15
𝑉𝑝 =
15 × 𝑊𝐸

𝑉𝑝 : 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑝/ min/𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟)

𝑉15 : 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘15 min 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑝/ min/𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟)

𝑊𝐸 : 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ (𝑚)

Walkways and sidewalks:

LOS Space (m2/p) Flow rate (p/min/m) Speed (m/s) v/c ratio
A > 5.6 ≤ 16 >1.30 ≤ 0.21
B >3.7-5.6 >16-23 >1.27-1.3 >0.21-0.31
C >2.2-3.7 >23-33 >1.22-1.27 >0.31-0.44
D >1.4-2.2 >33-49 >1.14-1.22 >0.44-0.65
E >0.75-1.4 >49-75 >0.75-1.14 >0.65-1.0
F ≤ 0.75 variable ≤0.75 variable

Capacity is 75 passenger/min/meter
Signalized intersections
0.5(𝐶 − 𝑔)2
𝑑𝑝 =
𝐶

𝑑𝑝 : 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑦 (𝑠)

𝑔: 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 (𝑠)

𝐶: 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑠)

Signalized intersections
0.5(𝐶 − 𝑔)2
𝑑𝑝 =
𝐶

LOS Pedestrian delay (s / p)

A < 10
B ≥10-20
C >20 - 30
D >30 - 40
E >40 - 60
F >60
Bicycle facilities
Bicycle facilities:
• Uninterrupted
• Exclusive off-street paths
• Shared off-street paths (shared with pedestrians,
skateboarders, etc. )
• On-street paths
• Interrupted
• Signalized intersection
• Urban streets
Exclusive off-street paths
• Compute frequency of events
• Events: number of times a bicycle is involved in passing
or meeting maneuvers
𝐹𝑝 = 0.188𝑣𝑠 , 𝐹𝑚 = 2 𝑣0
𝐹 = 0.5 𝐹𝑚 + 𝐹𝑝

𝐹𝑝 : 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 (𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 ℎ𝑟)

𝐹𝑚 : 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠(𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 ℎ𝑟)
𝐹: 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠(𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 ℎ𝑟)
𝑉𝑠 : 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑟)
𝑉𝑜 : 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑟)
Exclusive off-street paths
Signalized intersection
• Compute control delay for bike riders:
𝑔 2
0.5 𝐶 1 − 𝐶
𝑑𝑏 =
𝑔 𝑣
1 − 𝐶 min 𝑐 𝑏 , 1.0
𝑏

𝑑𝑏 : 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑦 (𝑠 𝑏𝑖𝑘𝑒)

𝑣𝑏 : 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑒 − 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒
𝑐𝑏 : 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 (𝑏𝑖𝑘𝑒 ℎ)

𝑔
𝑐𝑏 = 𝑠𝑏
𝐶
𝑔: 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 (𝑠)

𝐶: 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑠)

Transit
Transit Capacity
• Vehicle capacity
• The maximum number of transit vehicles (buses, trains,
vessels, etc.) that can pass a given location during a
given time period.
• Person capacity
• The maximum number of people that can be carried
past a given location during a given time period under
specified operating conditions; without unreasonable
delay, hazard, or restriction; and with reasonable
certainty.”
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Dimension
• Seating
• Number and height of steps
• Acceleration and deceleration rates
• etc.
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Right of Way Characteristics
• Cross section design
• Intersection design
• Degree of separation from the other traffic
• Horizontal and vertical alignments
• etc.
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Right of Way Characteristics
• Stop Characteristics
• Stop spacing
• Amount of time stopped
• Fare collection method
• Type of fare
• Passenger access to the stops
• Platform height
• etc.
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Right of Way Characteristics
• Stop Characteristics
• Operating Characteristics
• Intercity vs. urban city terminals
• Layover and schedule adjustments
• etc.
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Right of Way Characteristics
• Stop Characteristics
• Operating Characteristics
• Passenger Traffic Characteristics
• Passenger concentration at major stops
• Ridership parking
• etc.
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Right of Way Characteristics
• Stop Characteristics
• Operating Characteristics
• Passenger Traffic Characteristics
• Street Traffic Characteristics
• Traffic volume
• Presence of at-grade intersection
• etc.
Factors Influencing Transit Capacity
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Right of Way Characteristics
• Stop Characteristics
• Operating Characteristics
• Passenger Traffic Characteristics
• Street Traffic Characteristics
• Methods of Headway control
Elements of Good Transit Service
Transit Level of Service
• Much more complex than Highway LOS
• Many available measures
 Measure 1: Availability
• Accessibility (Distance to trip ends)
• Frequency
• Passenger loads
• Hours of Service
• Quality of information
Transit Level of Service
• Much more complex than Highway LOS
• Many available measures
 Measure 1: Availability  Measure 2: Comfort & convenience
• Accessibility (Distance to trip ends) • Passenger loads
• Frequency • Amenities
• Passenger loads
• Hours of Service • Reliability
• Quality of information • Speed/Travel Time
• Required Transfers
• Safety and Security
Transit Quality of Service :
• Availability Measure:
• Service Frequency at Transit Stops
• Urban Scheduled Transit Service
• Paratransit Service
• Intercity accessibility measures
Transit Quality of Service :
• Availability Measure:
• Service Frequency at Transit Stops
• Urban Scheduled Transit Service
Transit Quality of Service :
• Availability Measure:
• Service Frequency at Transit Stops
• Paratransit Service
Transit Quality of Service :
• Availability Measure:
• Service Frequency at Transit Stops
• Intercity accessibility measures
Transit Quality of Service :
• Availability Measure:
• Accessibility to Transit Stops:
• Pedestrians: walking distance to the stations, availability of
sidewalks, etc.
• Bicycles: availability of bike routes, bike racks on the buses, etc.
• Automobiles: availability of park and ride facilities.
Transit Quality of Service :
• Availability Measure:
• Route Segment Hours of Service
Transit Quality of Service :
• Comfort and Convenience Measure:
• Passenger loads at transit stops
Transit Quality of Service :
• Comfort and Convenience Measure:
• Passenger loads at transit stops
• Amenities at transit stops
• Bench
• Shelter
• Landing pad
• Information signs
Transit Quality of Service :
• Comfort and Convenience Measure:
• Passenger loads at transit stops
• Amenities at transit stops
• Reliability
Transit Quality of Service :
• Comfort and Convenience Measure:
• Passenger loads at transit stops
• Amenities at transit stops
• Reliability
• Headway adherence measure

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠

𝑐𝑣 =
𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦
Transit Quality of Service :
• Comfort and Convenience Measure:
• Passenger loads at transit stops
• Amenities
𝑐𝑣 =
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑
at 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
transit stops𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠
• Reliability 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑦
• Headway adherence measure
Information
• Real time vs. static
• At stop
• On-vehicle
• Mobile devices
Comfort is Relative
Amenities
Amenities Vary with Service
Bus Facilities
Bus Capacity
• Limited by
• Stops or loading areas to pick up and discharge
passengers
• Number of vehicles operated
• Distribution of boarding and alighting along a route
 Bus Capacity
• Bus loading areas
• curbside spaces where a single bus can stop to load and unload
passengers
• Bus stops
• formed from one or more loading areas
• Bus facilities
• roadways used by buses; may contain multiple bus stops along their
length
Loading Area Capacity
• Dwell time
• Average time a bus is stopped at the curb to serve
passenger movements, including the time required to
open and close the doors;
Dwell Time Variables
• Bus stop spacing
• Fare payment method
• Landside information
• Vehicle types
• In-vehicle circulation
• Wheelchair loading
• Bicycle loading
 Loading Area Capacity
• Clearance time
• Minimum time required for one bus to accelerate out of and
clear the loading area and the next bus to pull into the
loading area, including any time spent waiting for a gap in
traffic;

• Dwell time variability

• The consistency of dwell times among buses using the
loading area

• Failure rate
• The probability that a bus will arrive to a loading area
occupied by another bus

Further information on how to compute these parameters can be found at HCM- Chapter 27
Readings:
• HCM:
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 27