Transportation Systems Engineering 44.
Congestion Studies
Chapter 44
Congestion Studies
44.1 Introduction
Transportation system consists of a group of activities as well as entities interacting with each
other to achieve the goal of transporting people or goods from one place to another. Hence,
the system has to meet the perceived social and economical needs of the users. As these needs
change, the transportation system itself evolves and problems occur as it becomes inadequate
to serve the public interest. One of the negative impacts of any transportation system is
traffic congestion. Traffic congestion occurs wherever demand exceeds the capacity of the
transportation system. This lecture gives an overview of how congestion is generated, how
it can be measured or quantified; and also the various countermeasures to be taken in order
to counteract congestion. Adequate performance measures are needed in order to quantify
congestion in a transportation system. Quality of service measures indicates the degree of
traveller satisfaction with system performance and this is covered under traveller perception.
Several measures have been taken in order to counteract congestion. They are basically classified
into supply and demand measures. An overview of all these aspects of congestion is dealt with
in this lecture.
44.2 Generation of traffic congestion
The flow chart in Fig. 44:1 shows how traffic congestion is generated in a transportation system.
With the evolution of society, economy and technology, the household characteristics as well
as the transportation system gets affected. The change in transport system causes a change in
transport behaviour and locational pattern of the system. The change in household character-
istics, transport behaviour, locational pattern, and other growth effects result in the growth of
traffic. But the change or improvement in road capacity is only as the result of change in the
transportation system and hence finally a situation arises where the traffic demand is greater
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Traffic Congestion
Traffic Growth Roadway Capacity
Transport Behavior Location Patterns
Growth Effects
Transportation
System
Household Characteristics Evolution of Society Economy
& Norms Technology
Figure 44:1: Generation of traffic congestion
Evolution of Society, Household Characteristics
Economy and Technology
Growth Effects
Transportation
System
Traffic Growth
Location
Pattern
Roadway Capacity Traffic Congestion
than the capacity of the roadway. This situation is called traffic congestion.
44.2.1 Effects of congestion
Congestion has a large number of ill effects on drivers, environment, health and the economy
in the following ways.
• Drivers who encounter unexpected traffic may be late for work and other appointments
causing a loss in productivity and their valuable time.
• Since congestion leads to increase in travel time i,e.,vehicles are made to travel for more
time than required which consumes large amount of fuel there by causing fuel loss and
economic loss to the drivers.
• One of the most harmful effects of traffic congestion is its impact on the environment.
Despite the growing number of vehicles ,cars stopped in traffic still produces a large volume
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
of harmful carbon emissions . Increase in pollutants (because of both the additional fuel
burned and more toxic gases produced while internal combustion engines are in idle or in
stop-and-go traffic)
• Drivers who become impatient may be more likely to drive aggressively and dangerously
and leads to high potential for traffic accidents
• Negative impact on people’s psychological state, which may affect productivity at work
and personal relationships
• Slow and inefficient emergency response and delivery services
• Decrease in road surface lifetime: When a vehicle moves over the surface, the areas of
contact (where the vehicles’ tyres touch the road) are deflected downwards under the
weight of the vehicle and as the vehicle moves forward, the deflection corrects itself to its
original position.
• Vehicle maintenance costs; ’Wear and tear’ on mechanical components of vehicles such as
the clutch and brakes is also considerably increased under stop-start driving conditions
and hence increasing the vehicle maintenance costs.
• One beneficial effect of traffic congestion is its ability to encourage drivers to consider
other transportation options like a subway, light rail or bus service. These options reduce
traffic on the roads ,thereby reducing congestion and environmental pollution.
The summation of all these effects yields a considerable loss for the society and the economy
of an urban area
44.2.2 Traffic congestion
A system is said to be congested when the demand exceeds the capacity of the section. Traffic
congestion can be defined in the following two ways:
1. Congestion is the travel time or delay in excess of that normally incurred under light or
free flow traffic condition.
2. Unacceptable congestion is travel time or delay in excess of agreed norm which may vary
by type of transport facility, travel mode, geographical location, and time of the day.
Fig. 44:2 shows the definition of congestion. The solid line represents the travel speed under
free-flow conditions and the dotted line represents the actual travel speed. During congestion,
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Actual
Free flow Travel Speed
Travel Speed
Speed
Amount of
Congestion
Street 1 Street 2 Street 3 Street 4
Distance
Figure 44:2: Definition of congestion
the vehicles will be travelling at a speed less than their free flow speed. The shaded area in
between these two lines represents the amount of congestion. Traffic congestion may be of two
types:
1. Recurrent Congestion: Recurrent congestion generally occurs at the same place, at
the same time every weekday or weekend day. This is generally the consequence of factors
that act regularly or periodically on the transportation system such as daily commuting
or weekend trips. Recurrent congestion is predictable and typically occurs during peak
hours. It displays a large degree of randomness in terms of duration and severity.
2. Non-Recurrent congestion: Non-Recurrent congestion is the effect of unexpected ,un-
planned large events( road woks, accidents, special events and so on) that affect trans-
portation system more or less randomly and as such,cannot be easily predicted.
44.3 Measurement of congestion
44.3.1 Need and uses of congestion measurement
Congestion has to be measured or quantified in order to suggest suitable counter measures
and their evaluation. Congestion information can be used in a variety of policy, planning
and operational situations. It may be used by public agencies in assessing facility or system
adequacy, identifying problems, calibrating models, developing and assessing improvements,
formulating programs policies and priorities. It may be used by private sector in making
locational or investment decisions. It may be used by general public and media in assessing
traveler’s satisfaction.
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
44.3.2 System performance measurement
Performance measure of a congested roadway can be done using the following four components:
1. Duration,
2. Extent,
3. Intensity, and
4. Reliability.
44.3.3 Duration
Duration of congestion is the amount of time the congestion affects the travel system. The
peak hour has now extended to peak period in many corridors. Measures that can quantify
congestion include:
• Amount of time during the day that the travel rate indicates congested travel on a system
element or entire system.
• Amount of time during the day that traffic density measurement techniques (detectors,
aerial surveillance, etc.) indicate congested travel.
Duration of congestion is the sum of length of each analysis sub period for which the demand
exceeds capacity. This component measures the performance of a particular road in handling
traffic efficiently i,e.,with the increase in the duration of congestion, poorer will be the perfor-
mance of the transportation system. The maximum duration on any link indicates the amount
of time before congestion is completely cleared from the corridor. Duration of congestion can
be computed for a corridor using the following equation: For corridor analysis,
H =N ×T (44.1)
where, H is the duration of congestion (hours), N is the number of analysis sub periods for
which v/c > 1, and T is the duration of analysis sub-period (hours). For area wide analysis,
T vcii (1 − r)
Hi = (44.2)
1 − r( vcii )
where, Hi is the duration of congestion for link i (hours), T is the duration of analysis period
(hours), r is the ratio of peak demand to peak demand rate, vi is the vehicle demand on link i
(veh/hr), and ci is the capacity of link i (veh/hr).
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Table 44:1: Queue density default values
Subsystem Storage density Spacing
(veh/km/lane) (m)
Free-way 75 13.3
Two lane highway 130 7.5
Urban street 130 7.5
44.3.4 Extent
Extent of congestion is described by estimating the number of people or vehicles affected by
congestion and by the geographic distribution of congestion. These measures include:
1. Number or percentage of trips affected by congestion.
2. Number or percentage of person or vehicle meters affected by congestion.
3. Percentage of the system affected by congestion.
Performance measures of extent of congestion can be computed from sum of length of queuing
on each segment. Segments in which queue overflows the capacity are also identified. This is
useful for ramp metering analysis. To compute queue length, average density of vehicles in a
queue need to be known. The default values suggested by HCM 2000 are given in Table 1.
Queue length can be found out using the equation:
T (v − c)
QLi = (44.3)
N × ds
where; QLi is the queue length (meter), v is the segment demand (veh/hour), c is the segment
capacity (veh/hour), N is the number of lanes, ds is the storage density (veh/meter/lane), and
T is the duration of analysis period (hour). If v < c, Qi =0 The equation for queue length is
similar for both corridor and area-wide analysis.
Numerical example
Consider a road segment of 6 lanes with a capacity of 2400 veh/hr/lane. It is observed that
the storage density is 75 veh/meter and the segment demand is found to be 2800 veh/hr/lane.
Given that the duration of analysis sub period is 2 hrs calculate the queue length that is formed
due to congestion.
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Solution The queue length of a particular road segment is given by,
T × (v − c)
QL = (44.4)
N × ds
It is given that Number of lanes, N=6, Duration of analysis sub period, T= 2 hrs, Segment Ca-
pacity=c=2400 veh/hr/lane, Segment Demand=v=2800 veh/hr/lane, Storage Density=ds=75
veh/meter. Now,the queue length can be calculated by using the above formula as follows:
QL = 2 ∗ (2800 − 2400) ∗ 6/(6 ∗ 75) = 10.667mts Therefore, the extent of congestion in terms
of queue length is 10.667mts
44.3.5 Intensity
Intensity of congestion marks the severity of congestion. It is used to differentiate between levels
of congestion on transport system and to define total amount of congestion. It is measured in
terms of:
• Delay in person hours or vehicle hours;
• Average speed of roadway, corridor, or network;
• Delay per capita or per vehicle travelling in the corridor, or per person or per vehicle
affected by congestion;
• Relative delay rate (relative rate of time lost for vehicles);
Intensity in terms of delay is given by,
DP H = TP H − TP0 H (44.5)
where, DP H is the person hours of delay, TP H is the person hours of travel under actual
conditions, and TP0 H is the person hours of travel under free flow conditions. The TP H is given
by:
OAV × v × l
TP H = (44.6)
S
where, OAV is the average vehicle occupancy, v is the vehicle demand (veh), l is the length of
link (km), and S is the mean speed of link (km/hr). The TP H is given by:
OAV × v × l
TP0 H = (44.7)
S0
where, OAV is the average vehicle occupancy, v is the vehicle demand (veh), l is the length of
link (km), and S0 is the free flow speed on the link (km/hr)
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Numerical example
On a 2.8 km long link of road, it was found that the demand is 1000 Vehicles/hour mean speed
of the link is 12 km/hr, and the free flow speed is 27 km/hr. Assuming that the average vehi-
cle occupancy is 1.2 person/vehicle, calculate the congestion intensity in terms of total person
hours of delay.
Solution: Given data: Length of the link=l=2.8 km, Vehicle demand=v=1000 veh, Mean
Speed of the link=S=12 km/hr, Free flow speed on the link=So=27 km/hr, and Average Vehicle
Occupancy=AVO=1.2 person/veh. Person hours of delay is given as
DP H = TP H − TP0 H
Person hours of travel under actual conditions,
OAV × v × l
TP H =
S
1.2 × 1000 × 2.8
=
12
= 280 person hours
Person hours of travel under free flow conditions,
OAV × v × l
TP0 H =
S0
1.2 × 1000 × 2.8
=
27
= 124.4 person hours
Therefore, person hours of delay can be calculated as follows,,
DP H = = 280 − 124.4
= 155.6 person hours
= 156 person hours (approx).
Hence, the intensity of congestion is determined in terms of person hours of delay as 156 person
hours.
44.3.6 Relationship between duration, extent, and intensity of con-
gestion
The variation in extent and duration of congestion indicates different problems requiring dif-
ferent solutions. Small delay and extent indicates limited problem, small delay for large extent
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11111111111
00000000000
00000000000
11111111111
00000000000
11111111111
Time
Duration
00000000000
11111111111
00000000000
11111111111
00000000000
11111111111
00000000000
11111111111
Extent
Distance
Figure 44:3: Intensity of congestion-relation between duration and distance
Broad Critical
General System−Wide
Congestion Problems
Extent
Limited Critical
Links or
Problem Corridors
Duration
Figure 44:4: Intensity of congestion-Relation between extent and duration of delay
indicates general congestion, great delay for small extent indicates critical links and great delay
for large extent indicates critical system-wide problem. Fig. 44:3 also illustrates the relation-
ship between duration, extent and intensity The extent of congestion is seen on the x-axis, the
duration on the y-axis. The intensity is shown in the shading. Based on the extent and dura-
tion the congestion can be classified into four types as shown in Fig.44:4. Fig.44:3 indicates a
time distance graph with the shaded area indicating congestion in individual road segments for
discrete time periods. The figure shows the relationship between duration, extent, and inten-
sity. The product of extent and duration indicates the intensity, or magnitude of the congestion
problem.
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
44.3.7 Reliability
Reliability is a measure of a drivers ability to accurately predict and plan for a certain travel
time. The more unexpected events that occur on a roadway, the less reliable it is. Non
recurrent congestion has a bigger impact on the reliability of the roadway relative to concurrent
congestion. In other words, Travel-time reliability is defined as the level of consistency in
travel conditions over time and is measured by describing the distribution of travel times that
occur over a substantial period of time. Reliability is an important component of roadway
performance and perhaps more importantly, of motorists perceptions of roadway performance.
The importance of measuring and managing reliability in reducing congestion is explained as
follows.
• Motorists have less tolerance for unexpected delay than for expected delay
• Cost associated with unreliable travel
• Reliability is a valued service in other industries and utilities
Therefore, it is clear that reliability is the impact of non-recurrent congestion on transport
system and it can be expressed as average travel rate or speed standard deviation or delay
standard deviation.
44.4 Congestion countermeasures
Fully eradicating roadway congestion is neither an affordable, nor feasible goal in economically
dynamic urban areas. However, much can be done to reduce its occurrence and to lessen its
impacts on roadway users within large cities congestion is a phenomenon that can be better
and more effectively managed. There are many possible measures that can be deployed to treat
or mitigate congestion.
44.4.1 classification
Congestion countermeasures include supply measures and demand measures.,which will be dis-
cussed in detail in the next section. Other than these two measures, an additional longer-term
tool used against traffic problems is land-use planning and policy. It has the potential
• To control the number and growth of major traffic generators along congestion corridors.
• To establish sensible allocations of land for future development given present constraints
and expansion plans for the transportation network and
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• To enforce balanced employment and residential development, thus reducing the long
home-to-work trips.
44.4.2 Supply measures:
They add capacity to the system or make the system operate more efficiently. They focus on
the transportation system. All measures in this category supply capacity so that demand is
better satisfied and delays and queuing are lessened. Supply measures include
1. Development of new or expanded infrastructure: This includes civil projects (new free-
ways, transit lines etc), road widening, bridge replacements, permanent freeway lane
conversions, technology conversions(a new rail technology, a modernized bus fleet and
ITS)
2. Small scale capacity and efficiency improvements: This includes signal system upgrade
and coordination, freeway ramp metering, re-location of bus stops, lane management
schemes, bottleneck elimination through channelization and operational improvements.
44.4.3 Demand measures:
Demand measures focuses on motorists and travelers and attempt to modify their trip making
behaviour. All the measures that are employed in this category aim to modify travel habits so
that travel demand is considerably reduced or switch to other modes,other times or other loca-
tions that have more capacity to accommodate it. The demand measures include Congestion
pricing, Parking pricing and Restrictions on vehicle ownership and use. Congestion pricing is
the method in which users are charged on congested roads. This is discussed in detail in the
next section. Parking pricing discourages use of private vehicles to specific areas. It includes
heavy import duties, separate licensing requirement, heavy annual fees, expensive fuel prices,
etc to restrain private vehicle acquisition and use. Heavy annual fees, strict periodic inspections
and expensive fuel prices also restrict use of private vehicles. Intelligent Transportation systems
(ITS) provide tools for implementation of both supply and demand congestion measures. Sup-
ply type ITS tools include early incident detection and resolution, optimized signal operation
based on real time demand, freeway management with ramp metering, accident avoidance with
variable message signs(VMS) warning of upcoming conditions(congestion, fog etc.,) and bus
system coordination. Demand-type ITS include the provision of real-time traffic congestion
information at various places for informed travel decisions.
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Cost of Trips
P
S
O Q No. of trips
Figure 44:5: Demand Curve
44.4.4 Congestion pricing
Congestion pricing is a method of road user taxation, charging the users of congested roads ac-
cording to the time spent or distance travelled on those roads. The principle behind congestion
pricing is that those who cause congestion or use road in congested period should be charged,
thus giving the road user the choice to make a journey or not.
Economic principle behind congestion pricing
Journey costs include private journey cost, congestion cost, environmental cost, and road main-
tenance cost. The benefit a road user obtains from the journey is the price he prepared to pay
in order to make the journey. As the price gradually increases, a point will be reached when the
trip maker considers it not worth performing or it is worth performing by other means. This is
known as the critical price. At a cost less than this critical price, he enjoys a net benefit called
as consumer surplus(es) and is given by:
s =x−y (44.8)
where, x is the amount the consumer is prepared to pay, and y is the amount he actually
pays. The basics of congestion pricing involves demand function, private cost function as well
as marginal cost function. These are explained below.
Demand
Fig. 44:5 shows the general form of a demand curve. In the figure, area QOSP indicates the
absolute utility to trip maker and the area SRP indicates the net benefit.
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Private cost
Total private cost of a trip, is given by:
b
c=a+ (44.9)
v
where, a is the component proportional to distance, b is the component proportional to speed,
and v is the speed of the vehicle (km/h). In the congested region, the speed of the vehicle can
be expressed as,
v = d − eq (44.10)
where, q is the flow in veh/hour, d and e are constants.
Marginal cost
Marginal cost is the additional cost of adding one extra vehicle to the traffic stream. It reduces
speed and causes congestion and results in increase in cost of overall journey. The total cost
incurred by all vehicles in one hour(CT ) is given by:
CT = cq (44.11)
Marginal cost is obtained by differentiating the total cost with respect to the flow(q) as shown
in the following equations.
d(cq) dc
M= = c+q (44.12)
dq dq
dc dc dv
= × (44.13)
dq dv dq
= (−b)/v 2 × −e (44.14)
2
= be/v (44.15)
d(cq) dc
= c+q (44.16)
dq dq
b d − v be
= a+ + × 2 (44.17)
v e v
Note that c and q in the above derivation is obtained from Equations 44.9 and 44.10 respectively.
Therefore the marginal cost is given as:
b (d − v)b
M =a+ + (44.18)
v v2
Fig. 44:6 shows the variation of marginal cost per flow as well as private cost per flow. It is seen
that the marginal cost will always be greater than the private cost, the increase representing
the congestion cost.
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Private Cost of Trips
Marginal Cost / Flow
Private Cost / Flow
Flow(q)
Figure 44:6: Private cost/flow and cost and marginal curve
Equilibrium condition and Optimum condition
Superimposing the demand curve on the private cost/flow and marginal cost/flow curves, the
position as shown in Fig. 44:7 is obtained. The intersection of the demand curve and the private
costs curve at point A represents the equilibrium condition, obtained when travel decisions are
based on private costs only. The intersection of the demand curve and the marginal costs curve
at point B represents the optimum condition. At this point the flow Q0 corresponds to the cost
C0 which is the marginal cost as well as the value of the trip to the trip maker. The net benefit
under the two positions A and B are shown by the areas ACZ and BY CY Z respectively. If
the conditions are shifted from point A to B, the net benefit due to change will be given by
area CCy Y X minus AXB. If the area CCy Y X is greater than arc AXB, the net benefit will
be positive. The shifting of conditions from point A to B can be brought about by imposing
a road pricing charge BY. Under this scheme, the private vehicles continuing to use the roads
will on an average be worse off in the first place because BY will always exceed the individual
increase in benefits XY.
44.4.5 Numerical example
Vehicles are moving on a road at the rate of 500 vehicle/hour, at a velocity of 15 km/hr. Find
the equation for marginal cost.
Solution: Private cost of the trip is given by,
a+b
c =
v
a+b
=
15
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
Cost / Benifit
Z
Optimum
Condition
Marginal Cost / Flow
B
Private Cost / Flow
X A
Equilibrium
Condition
Y
Flow(q)
Figure 44:7: Relation between material cost, private cost and demand curves.
It is given that Flow rate, q=500 veh/hr. Speed of the vehicle is given by,
v = d − eq
= d − 500e
Marginal Cost is given by,
b (d − v)b
M = a+ +
v v2
b (d − 15)b
= a+ +
15 225
Therefore, the equation of marginal cost for the vehicles moving on the given congested road
is given by M = a + (b/15) + [(d − 15) ∗ b/225]
44.4.6 Uses of congestion pricing
1. Diverts travelers to other modes
2. Causes cancellation of non essential trips during peak hours
3. Collects sufficient fund for major upgrades of highways and other road maintenance works.
4. Cross-subsidizes public transport modes thereby fetching income to the government.
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Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
44.4.7 Requirements of a good pricing system
1. Charges should be closely related to the amount of use made of roads
2. Price should be variable at different times of day/week/year or for different classes of
vehicles
3. It should be stable and ascertainable by road users before commencement of journey
4. Method should be simple for road users to understand and police to enforce
5. Should be accepted by public as fair to all
6. Payment in advance should be possible
7. Should be reliable
8. Should be free from fraud or evasion
9. Should be capable of being applied to the whole country
44.5 Conclusion
Causes and effects of congestion along with various performance measures and with many other
counter measures are discussed in detail considering the actual or technical definition of con-
gestion. The congestion performance measures described are generalized measures. There are
several other performance measures and indices. Advanced study on congestion can include
improved measurement schemes and the combined travel demand modeling and route choice
under congested conditions. With the implementation of all the counter measures traffic conges-
tion, the most pronouncing problem of transportation may be reduced or controlled to certain
extent. The principle and process of congestion pricing was also discussed with the help of
certain graphs..
44.6 References
1. Transport research board - quantifying congestion volume 1 final report, nchrp report
398, 1997.
2. Highway Capacity Manual. Transportation Research Board. National Research Council,
Washington, D.C., 2000.
Dr. Tom V. Mathew, IIT Bombay 44.16 February 19, 2014
Transportation Systems Engineering 44. Congestion Studies
3. L. R Kadiyali. Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning. Khanna Publishers,
New Delhi, 1987.
4. Sarah B Medley and Michael J Demetsky. Development of congestion performance mea-
sures using its information. Virginia Transportation Research Council, 2019.
5. C. S Papacostas. Fundamentals of Transportation Engineering. Prentice-Hall, New
Delhi, 1987.
Dr. Tom V. Mathew, IIT Bombay 44.17 February 19, 2014
