Determining passenger car equivalent (PCEs) for pretimed signalized intersections with severe motorcycle composition using Bayesian linear regression

Pretimed signalized intersection is known as a common source of congestion, especially in urban heterogeneous traffic. Furthermore, the accuracy of saturation flow rate is found to cause efficient and vital capacity estimation, in order to ensure optimal design and operation of the signal timings. Presently, the traffic also consists of diverse vehicle presence, each with its own static and dynamic characteristics. The passenger car equivalent (PCE) in an essential unit is also used to measure heterogenous traffic into the PCU (Passenger Car Unit). Based on the collection of observed data at three targets in Banda Aceh City, this study aims to redetermine the PCEs by using Bayesian linear regression, through the Random-walk Metropolis-Hastings and Gibbs sampling. The result showed that the obtained PCE values were 0.24, 1.0, and 0.80 for motorcycle (MC), passenger car (PC), and motorized rickshaw (MR), respectively. It also showed that a significant deviation was found between new and IHCM PCEs, as the source of error was partially due to the vehicle compositions. The present traffic characteristics were also substantially different from the prevailing conditions of IHCM 1997. Therefore, the proposed PCEs enhanced the accuracy of base saturation flow prediction, provided support for traffic operation design, alleviated congestion, and reduced delay within the city, which in turn improved the estimation of signalized intersection capacity.

Passenger Car Equivalent Value for Commercial Vehicles: A New Approach

Within the framework of the present paper an attempt has been made to develop a methodology for the calculation of a Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE) factor in order to express the number of commercial vehicles in the equivalent number of passenger cars. The methodology is based on the Highway Capacity Manual, the examination of the international literature and an extended field survey. The research area is the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Greece and specifically 27 at-grade, signalized intersections which were examined. The field survey was performed during two time-periods in order a comparison to be possible.

The effect of the traffic composition on the urban traffic capacity. Passenger car equivalent coefficients

Predicting the traffic capacity and its elements requires bringing the traffic flow represented by various vehicles to uniformity expressed in the equivalent number of passenger cars, through the use of the passenger car equivalent coefficients (PCE). The currently used in Russian Federation passenger car equivalent coefficients are taken on the basis of studies of the capacity of the Russian Federation, carried out in the 70s - 80s of the last century on rural roads, where most of the vehicles were heavy vehicles. Currently, the traffic flow is mostly represented by passenger cars. The riding qualities of cars, especially trucks, have changed significantly. This situation is especially common to Moscow. In this regard, the question of clarifying the traffic flow composition and revising the passenger car equivalent coefficients becomes relevant. The article presents the methodology and results of studies carried out on the route sections between road crossings to determine the passenger car equivalent coefficients and the traffic composition in Moscow.

Passenger Car Equivalents on Downgrades of Two-Lane Roads

In this paper, empirical research about Passenger Car Equivalents (PCEs) on the longitudinal downgrade of two-lane roads in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been conducted in order to determine the influence of vehicle structure under free traffic flow conditions. The research has been carried out considering the classes of vehicles at cross-sections on the downgrade of two-lane roads. As a result, the negative influence of vehicle structure under free traffic flow conditions using passenger car equivalents (PCEs) has been determined. The results show that on the downgrade of two-lane roads, the value of passenger car equivalent decreases from the level terrain to the boundary minimum value for the determined downgrade g = −3.00%, after which its value starts to increase slightly. Based on the obtained values, the models calibrated with a second-degree polynomial have been developed to determine the average value of passenger car equivalent as a function of its boundary value. The paper also compares the results obtained by the developed models with the models from the Highway Capacity Manual under free traffic flow conditions. In addition, models for the percentage values of PCE15%, PCE50% and PCE85% have been established.

Incorporating Autonomous Vehicles in the Traditional Four-Step Model

Automated vehicles (AVs) are a concrete possibility in the near future. As AVs may shift transportation paradigms, transportation agencies are eager to update their models to consider them in planning. In this context, the use of advanced models may be challenging, given the uncertainty in the use and deployment of AVs. In this paper, we present a general framework to extend the four-step model to include AVs, and test our extension on North Central Texas Council of Governments’ model. Our approach introduces a module for AV ownership and exogenous parameters into an existing four-step model to account for changes in travel decisions for AV owners, and for the impacts of AVs on network performance. The latter is modeled using the concept of passenger-car-equivalent to avoid imposing network-wide assumptions on AVs’ capacity consumption. We analyze five scenarios, representing different assumptions on the impacts of AVs, and include references to inform the selection of modeling parameters. We compute aggregate metrics that suggest that the model is sensitive to the proposed parameters, with the passenger-car-equivalent assumptions having the largest impact on model outcomes. Results suggest that, even when we assume that AVs can better use network capacity and that trip-making rates do not drastically increase, AVs may lead to an increase of about 2.8% in vehicle-hours traveled while also improving speeds by about 1.8%. If AVs introduce additional friction on traffic, the system performance may deteriorate. The analyses presented here suggest that existing modeling tools may be adjusted to support analyses of a future with AVs.

Passenger Car Equivalent Estimation Methods of Trucks in Traffic Stream

In Most Of Developing Countries, The Traffic Is Heterogeneous In Nature Consisting Of Wide Variety Of Vehicles Having Different Dynamic And Static Characteristics. Passenger Car Unit (PCU) / Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE) Values Show A Vital Job In Changing Over Heterogeneous Traffic Stream Into Comparable Homogeneous Traffic, Which Comprises Of Traveller Vehicles As It Were. PCE Values Are Vital In Rush Hour Gridlock Stream Investigations. This Paper Reviews The Previous Researches Carried Out About The Estimation Of Passenger Car Equivalents With Different Performance Measures At Mid-Block Sections And Summarizes PCE Variation With Percentage Of Trucks And Flow Rates In The Tabular Form.