MODULE 5

TRAFFIC (TRIP) ASSIGNMENT

Traffic assignment is the last stage in the transport planning process wherein the trip interchanges
are allocated to different parts of the network forming the transportation system. Following
activities are carried out in this stage:
• The route to be travelled is determined
• The inter-zonal flows are assigned to the selected routes

To provide design hour traffic volumes on highway and turning movements at junctions.
Applications of Traffic Assignment
Some of the applications of traffic assignment analysis to the network are:
1. To determine the deficiencies in the existing transportation system by assigning the
future trips to the existing system
2. To evaluate the effects of limited improvements and additions to the existing
transportation system by assigning estimated future trips to the improved network.
3. To develop construction priorities by assigning estimated future trips for intermediate
years to the transportation system proposed for those years.
4. To test alternative transportation system proposals by systematic and readily repeatable
procedures.
Thus, the assignment process is useful to both to the transport planner because to evaluate how the
proposed transport system will work and to the highway designer for geometric design of
individual links and intersections.

Basic Elements of Transport Networks

A transport network may be formally represented as a set of links and a set of nodes.
 A link is a section of a transport network between two intersections.
 A node is either the centroid of a zone or the intersection of two or more links.
 A path, which is a sequence of distinct nodes connected in one direction by links
 A cycle, which is a path connected to itself at the ends;
 a tree- the sequence of nodes which defines the links compromising the minimum
path between any two zone centroids is called the ‘tree’.

Figure 5.1 provides an example of a transportation network with one origin centroid, two
destination centroids, five links, four internal nodes and 5 paths.
Path building Criteria, Moore’s Algorithm and Skim Tree
Path building criteria – the first step is to create the highway network with nodes and links. Later
the network description is coded. The next step is to select the minimum path between the zones and
assign predicted trips to these paths. Traffic volumes are thus accumulated for each section of the
network. The minimum path may be that route of travel which has least accumulation of time,
distance or other parameters. The ‘tree’ is determined starting from the zone centroid and
progressively selecting the shortest path to the terminal zone centroid. When traffic is
accumulated for each link it may so happen that certain individual links get overloaded. In that
event, certain adjustments will have to be made in accordance with travel time flow relationship.

A procedure commonly employed in traffic assignment studies is what is called as ‘Moore’s

Algorithm’. Moore developed a method for dealing with telephone calls on the basis of shortest
path, and this method has been exploited in many computer programs designed to assign the
traffic in a street network.

A simple example below illustrates the method of building the minimum path tree (skim tree).
ASSIGNMENT TECHNIQUES

Some of the basic methods of route assignment are

1. All-or-nothing assignment method
2. Multi-route assignment technique Methods
3. Capacity restraint assignment techniques
4. Diversion curve method

1. All-or-nothing assignment method

This is the simplest technique, and is based on the premise that the route followed by traffic is one
having the least resistance (travel time, cost, distance or combination of these parameters).
Generally, in All-or-nothing assignment method, all trips for a zone are assigned the
minimum path connecting the nodes. The minimum path is the route which has the least
travel time, travel
cost or distance. The technique assumes that the capacity of each ink is infinite so that the volume of
traffic does not affect the time of travel or cost of travel. In the first stage, the network
description and tree building are made. The next stage is to assign the traffic flows to the minimum
path tree.

All-or-nothing assignment method Limitations

a) If time alone is used as the governing factor in selecting the minimum path, the other important
factors like cost, distance, safety will be neglected. But a driver may attach more value to these
neglected factors, thus causing errors in the assigned flow. If cost is used as the sole governing factor,
difficulties can rise because different persons value cost differently. It is also difficult to quantify
all the cost involved in a journey.
b) Too many vehicles tend to be assigned to more attractive routes. This may cause increasing congestion
on these routes. This may cause increasing congestion on these routes and the technique take no
account of this factor. For the same reasons, all facilities in the network are not effectively utilized
under this procedure.
c) If a superior facility is available, say, for example a motorway people tend to prefer to use this
facility for longer journeys. This technique does not reflect this tendency All-or nothing assignment
method.
d) Small differences in journey times by different routes between the same origin and destination can
result in unrealistic journey paths.

2. Multiple Route Assignment method

All road users may not be able to judge the minimum path for themselves. It may also happen that
all road users may not have the same criteria for judging the shortest route. These limitations of
all-or- nothing approach are recognized in the multiple route assignment technique.
The method consists of assigning the inter zonal flow to a series of routes, the proportion of
the total flow assigned to each being a function of the length of the length of that route in
relation to the shortest route.
Mclaughlin developed one of the first multipath traffic assignment techniques. A driver route
selection criterion is used by Mclaughlin which is a function of travel time, travel cost, and
accident potential. The minimum resistance paths between each origin and destination pair are
calculated with all the link resistances set to values which correspond to a zero-traffic volume. The
minimum resistance value between an origin and destination pair with resistance values less than
this maximum value are identified.
Burrell identified another approach, wherein he assumed that a driver does not know the actual
travel times, but that he associates a supposed time with each link. This supposed time is drawn at
random from a distribution of times, having as its mean, the actual link time. The driver is then
assumed to select the route which minimizes the sum of his supposed link times.
Multiple route models have been found to yield more accurate assignment than all-or-nothing
assignments.

3. Capacity restraint assignment techniques

This is the process in which the travel resistance of a link is ncreased according to a relation
between the practical capacity of the link and the olume assigned to the link. This model has
been developed to overcome the inherent weakness of all-or-nothing assignment model which
takes no account of the capacity of the system betwe n a pair of zones. This method clearly restrains
the number of vehicles that can use in any particular corridor. The whole system, if assigned with
volumes which are beyond the capacity of the network, then t redistributes the traffic to realistic
alternative paths.

Steps:
 Here the procedure is similar to all-or-nothing assignment as far as the initial data input
are concerned. The additional data fed is the capacity of each link. The best paths are
determined in the same way as in all-or-nothing assignment by building the minimum path
trees.
 Traffic is then assigned to the minimum paths, either fully or in stages.
 As the assigned volume on each link approaches the capacity of the link, a new set of travel
time on the link is calculated.
 This results in a new network with a different minimum path tree, differing significantly
from the earlier minimum path tree. As a consequence, assigning the inter-zonal volumes to
the new tree produces a new volume on each link.
 This iterative process is repeated until a satisfactory balance between volume and speed
is achieved.

Some of the capacity restraint methods are:

a) Smock Method:
In this method all-or-nothing assignment is first worked out. In an iterative procedure, the link
travel times are modified according to the following function.
Smock model is used to compute link travel time as:
In the second iteration, the adjusted travel time (TA) is used to determine the minimum paths.
The resulting link volumes are averaged and these are again used to calculate the adjusted travel
time for next iteration.

b) Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) Method:

The formula used to update the link travel time is:

4. Diversion Curves

Diversion curves methods are one of the frequently used assignment techniques. Diversion
curves represent empirically derived relationship showing the proportion of traffic that is likely to
be diverted on a new facility (bypass, new expressway, new arterial street, etc.) once such a facility
is constructed. The curve is constructed by the data collected from the pattern of road usage in the
past.
The curves are generally constructed using variables such as:
i. travel time saved,
ii. distance saved,
iii. travel time ratio
iv. travel distance ratio
v. travel time and distance saved
vi. distance and speed ratio
vii. travel cost ratio
 Examples of diversion curve using single variable are given below.

A well-known example of diversion curve using travel time ratio to determine the traffic
diverted to expressway is the Bureau of Public Roads curve is shown below. The curve is
“S” shaped.
 The following formula has been fitted to this type of curves
P =100/1 + tR6
where,
P=percentage of traffic diverted to new system
tR=travel time ratio (time on new system/time on old system)

California Diversion Curves

California curves model is diversion curve method which uses two variables (travel time saved
and distance saved) using a motorway.

The following formula has been developed to fit the above curves.

Where,
d = distance saved on the new route
(miles) T = travel time saved (minutes)

Diversion curves limitation:

 Diversion curve assignments have the drawback that only two alternative routes for each pair of
zones are considered.
 The technique is therefore eminently suitable for new bypasses, new motorways and such new
facilities but is of limited use in a complex urban network.
 Diversion curve reflect the travel resistance as measured by present day travel, but their use for
future travel when the pattern can undergo radical changes is doubtful.

Land–Use Transport Interaction

 Land development generates travel, and travel generates the need for new
facilities, which in turn increases accessibility and attracts further
 development.
 The question of whether transportation influences land use (development) or whether
land use dictates transportation has been a matter of ongoing concern among transportation
professionals.
 Thus, the connection between transportation and land use is a fundamental concept,
which needs to be understood clearly, in transportation planning as transportation and land use
are inexorably connected.
 Everything that happens to land use has transportation implications and every transportation
action affects land use.
 Transportation's most significant impact on land use development and more development
generates additional travel.
 Increased access to land raises its potential for development and more development generates
additional travel.
 One access has been provided land patterns begin to change over a period of time. The results of
these changes are, for the most part, irreversible.

Selection of Land Use Transport Model

While selecting a model, a number of considerations become important. These are:

1) Simplicity – the model should have a simple casual structure which should be easy to comprehend. A
simple model will generally consume less time and resources.
2) Modest data requirements – data requirements must be modest. In fact, some of the good models
make use of data routinely availaable with the planning department.
3) Adaptability – the model should be adaptable to any given location.
4) Comprehensiveness – the model should be comprehensive and should synthesize the relationship
between activities, housing and transportation adequately well.
5) Operationality and rapidity – the model should be operational, capable of easy interpretation and
should be able to test rapidly a wide range of policy options.
6) Computer cost – the model should be operational at relatively cheap computer cost.

Lowery Derivative Model

The Lowery derivative models have many of the above attributes. They are simple to use, require
modest data, are comprehensive and economical, have good response to change in input variables and
have simple causal structure. They have therefore been used extensively and successfully in a number of
studies. The fundamental structure of the model is illustrated in Figure.

The Lowery model relates the three principle components of the urban area:
1. Population.
2. Employment.
3. Communication between population and employment.