ECV 5603

Advanced Transportation Engineering

Travel Time
and
Delay Studies
• A travel time study determines the amount of time
required to travel from one point to another on a given
route.

• In conducting such a study, information may also be

collected on the locations, durations, and causes of
delays.
When this is done, the study is known as a
travel time & delay study.
Applications of Travel Time & Delay Data
 Myth busters

• Speed and Delay studies are useful in

identifying the locations of congestion?
– True
– False
• Operation delay are cause at intersection
due traffic signals?
– True
– False
i. Determination of the efficiency of a route with
respect to its ability to carry traffic

ii. Identification of locations with relatively high delays

and the causes for those delays
iii. Performance of before-and-after studies to
evaluate the effectiveness of traffic operation
improvements

iv. Determination of relative efficiency of a route by

developing congestion indices
v. Determination of travel times on specific links for
use in trip assignment models

vi. Compilation of travel time data that may be used in

trend studies to evaluate the changes in efficiency
and level of service with time
vii. Performance of economic studies in the evaluation
of traffic operation alternatives that reduce travel
time
 Definition of Terms
related to
Time and Delay Studies
Travel time:
~ time taken by a vehicle to traverse a given section of
a highway

Running time:
~ time a vehicle is actually in motion while traversing a
given section of a highway
Operational delay:
~ part of the delay caused by the impedance of other
traffic.

 as side friction, where the stream flow is interfered

with by other traffic, e.g. parking or unparking
vehicles.

 as internal friction, where the interference is within

the traffic stream, e.g. reduction in capacity of the
highway
Stopped-time delay:
~ part of the delay during which the vehicle is at rest.

Fixed delay:
~ part of the delay caused by control devices such as
traffic signals. This delay occurs regardless of the
traffic volume or the impedance that may exist.
Travel-time delay:
~ the difference between:
actual travel time and the travel time that will be
obtained by assuming that a vehicle traverses the
study section at an average speed in uncongested
traffic flow on the section being studied.
 Recapped

Travel time

Running time

Operational delay

Stopped-time delay

Fixed delay

Travel-time delay
 Methods for Conducting
Travel Time and Delay Studies
Several methods have been used to conduct travel
time and delay studies.

These methods can be grouped into two general

categories.
1) Using test vehicle

2) Not requiring test vehicle

The particular technique used for any specific study

depends on the reason for conducting the study and
the available personnel and equipment.
Methods Requiring a Test Vehicle:
Minimum number of test runs can be determined
using the Equation (1)
zα/2 X σ 2
N=
d

where:
N = sample size (minimum number of test runs)
σ = standard deviation (km/h)
d = limit of acceptable error in the speed estimate (km/h)
Zα/2 = value of the normal distribution with (α/2) significance level
α = significance level
Limit of acceptable error used depends on the purpose of
the study. The following limits are commonly used:

• Before-and-after studies:
± 1.5 to ± 5.0 km/h

• Traffic operation, economic evaluations, trend analyses:

± 3.0 to ± 6.0 km/h

• Highway needs and transportation planning studies:

± 5.0 to ± 8.0 km/h
Problem
A traffic engineer, wishing to determine the travel
time and average speed along a section of an urban
highway as part of an annual trend analysis on the
traffic operations, conducted a travel time study
using the floating-car technique.

He carried out 10 runs and obtained a standard

deviation of ± 3 km/h in the speeds obtained.

If a 5% significance level is assumed, is the number

of test runs adequate?
Solution
We know that:

σ = ± 3 km/h zα/2 X σ 2
d = ± 3.0 (km/h)
N=
Zα/2 = 1.960
d
α = 5%
1.960 X 3 2

N=
3
N = 3.84
Floating-Car Technique
• Test car driven by an observer along the test section
so that the test car “floats” with the traffic.

• Driver of the test vehicle attempts to pass as many

vehicles as those that pass his test vehicle.

• Time taken to traverse the study section is recorded.

• Repeated, and the average time is recorded as the

travel time.
 Example
Total length of road section = 3.5km

Direction of Total stop delay (min- No. of vehicle No. of vehicle No. vehicles from
Trip Journal time (min-sec)
trip sec) overtaking overtaken the opposite site

1 N-S 6m 32s 1m 40s 4 7 268

2 S-N 7m 14s 1m 50s 5 3 186

3 N-S 6m 50s 1m 30s 5 3 280

4 S-N 7m 40s 2m 00s 2 1 200

5 N-S 6m 10s 1m 10s 3 5 250

6 S-N 8m 00s 2m 22s 2 2 170

7 N-S 6m 28s 1m 40s 2 5 290

8 S-N 7m 30s 1m 40s 3 2 160

 Example (con’t)
Direction of Total stop delay (min- No. of vehicle No. of vehicle No. vehicles from
Trip Journal time (min-sec)
trip sec) overtaking overtaken the opposite site

N-S 6m 32s 1m 40s 4 7 268

6m 50s 1m 30s 5 3 280
6m 10s 1m 10s 3 5 250
6m 28s 1m 40s 2 5 290
Total 26m 00s 6m 00s 14 20 1088
Mean 6m 30s 1m 30s 3.5 5 272

S-N 7m 14s 1m 50s 5 3 186

7m 40s 2m 00s 2 1 200
8m 00s 2m 22s 2 2 170
7m 30s 1m 40s 3 2 160
Total 30m 24s 7m 12s 12 8 179
Mean 7m 36s 1m 40s 3 2 286.4
 Example (con’t)
N-S Direction
• ny = Ave. no. of veh. Overtaking minus overtaken = 3.5 – 5 = -1.5
• na = Ave. no. of veh. During trips in opposite direction (for S-N trips) = 179
• tw = Ave. journey time with the stream, = 6min 30s = 6.5min
• ta = Ave. journey time during trips against the stream = 7min 36s = 7.6min

• Average volume, q =(na + ny) / (ta + tw) = (179 – 1.5) / (7.6 +6.5)
• = 12.59 veh/min

• Average journey time, t = tw – (ny/q) = 6.5 – (-1.5/12.59)

• = 6.62min (this includes the delays – be very carefull)

• Average journey speed = 3.5km / 6.62 = (3.5 x 60)/6.62

• 31.7km/h
 Example (con’t)
N-S Direction
• Average stopped delay = 1.5min
• Average running time
• = Ave. journey time – Ave. stopped delay
• = 6.62 – 1.5
• = 5.12min

• Average running speed = 3.5 / 5.12 = (3.5 x 60) / 5.12 = 41km/hr

 Example (con’t)
S-N Direction S-N Direction N-S Direction
• ny = 1 1.5
• na = 272 179
• tw = 7.6min 6.5min
• ta = 6.5min 7.6min
19.36 veh / min 12.59 veh / min
• Average volume, q =
7.55 min 6.62 min
• Average journey time, t =
27.8km/hr 31.7km/hr
• Average journey speed =
1.8min 1.5min
• Average stopped delay =
5.75min 5.12min
• Average running time =
36.5km/h 41.0km/h
• Average running speed =
Average-Speed Technique
• Technique involves driving the test car along the
length of the test section at a speed that, in the
opinion of the driver, is the average speed of the
traffic stream.

• Time required to traverse the test section is noted.

• Test run is repeated for the minimum number of

times, determined from Eq. (1), and the average
time is recorded as the travel time.
NOTE:

• In each of these methods, it is first necessary to

clearly identify the test section.

• How is travel time usually obtained?

~ observer starts a stopwatch at the beginning point
of the test section and stops at the end.
• Additional data also may be obtained?
~ by recording the times at which the test vehicle
arrives at specific locations which have
been identified before the start of the test runs.

• A second stop-watch also may be used to determine

the time that passes each time the vehicle is
stopped. The sum of these times for any test run
will give the stopped-time delay for that run.
 Sample:

Speed and Delay Study

Moving-Vehicle Technique
The observer makes a round trip on a test section. It is
assumed that the road runs east to west.

X Y
East

X West Y
• The observer starts collecting the relevant data at
section X-X, drives the car eastward to section Y-Y.

• Then turns the vehicle around and drives westward

to section X-X again.
 Moving vehicle technique

• Requires one testing vehicle, one driver, and three

observers on board. •
• Observer #1: counts mean time the testing car takes to
travel eastward and westward.
• Observer #2: counts the number of vehicles traveling in
opposite direction
• Observer #3: counts the number of vehicles that overtook
and are overtaken by the testing vehicle
• Driver: if possible try to balance the number of vehicles
(overtaking vs. overtook)
The following data are collected as the test vehicle
makes the round trip:

• Time it takes to travel east from X-X to Y-Y ,(Te) in

minutes

• Number of vehicles travelling west in the opposite

lane while the test car is travelling east (Ne)
• Time it takes to travel west from Y-Y to X-X ,(Tw) in
minutes

• Number of vehicles that overtake test car while it is

travelling west from Y-Y to X-X, that is, travelling in
the westbound direction (Ow)

• Number of vehicles that the test car overtakes

(passes) while it is travelling west from Y-Y to X-X,
that is, travelling in the westbound direction (Pw)
Volume (Vw) in the westbound direction
can then be obtained from the Eq. (2):

(Ne + Ow – Pw) 60
Vw = Equation (2)
T e + Tw

Where:
(Ne + Ow – Pw) is the number of vehicles travelling
westward that cross the line X-X during the time
(Te + Tw) in mins., Vw (in veh/hr)
Similarly, the average travel time Tw (in min.) in
the westbound direction is obtained from Eq. (3):

Tw = Tw - (Ow – Pw) , multiply by 60, then

60 60 Vw
Equation (3)
Tw = Tw – 60(Ow – Pw)
Vw
Note:

If the test car is travelling at the average speed of all

vehicles, it will most likely pass the same number of
vehicles as the number of vehicles that overtake it.
Since it is probable that the test car will not be
travelling at the average speed, the second term
of Eq. (3) corrects for the difference between the
number of vehicles that overtake the test car and
the number of vehicles that are overtaken by the
test car.
 Example:

Volume and Travel Time Using

Moving-Vehicle Technique
Example
Example (con’t)
Methods Not Requiring a Test Vehicle:

i) License-Plate Method

ii) Interview Method

iii) Elevated Observer Method

License-Plate Method
• License-plate method requires that observers be
positioned at the beginning and end of the test
section.

• Observers also can be positioned at other locations

if elapsed times to those locations are required.

• Each observer records the last three or four digits of

the license-plate of each car that passes together
with the time at which the car passes.
• The reduction of the data is accomplished in the
office by matching the times of arrival at the
beginning and end of the test section for each
vehicle.

• The average of these is the average travelling time

on the test section.

• It has been suggested that a sample size of 50

matched license plate will give reasonably accurate
results.
Interviews
• The interviewing method is carried out by obtaining
information from people who drive on the study site
regarding their travel times, their experience of
delays, and so forth.

• This method facilitates the collection of a large

amount of data in a relatively short time.

• However, it requires the cooperation of the people

contacted, since the result depends entirely on the
information given by them.
Elevated Observer Method
• In urban areas, it is sometimes possible to station
observers in high buildings or other elevated points
from which a considerable length of route may
• be observed.

• These observers select vehicle at random and

record: time, location and causes-of-delay.

• The drawback is that it is sometimes difficult to

secure suitable points for observation throughout
the length of the route to be studied.
End