Hysteresis and the Unobserved Congestion Branch in the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram: Theoretical Considerations and Modeling

The macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) is developed to describe traffic operations aggregated over an area. The MFD is defined by network traffic states as a relationship between the accumulation of vehicles and flow or speed of vehicles. The concept of the MFD has been applied to model traffic dynamics and to design control strategies....

Dynamica van verkeersnetwerken: Individuele oorzaken, collectieve gevolgen

In het Nederlandse wegverkeer is veel vertraging. Een vermindering van het verkeer zorgt ook voor een vermindering van die vertraging. Dit kan bereikt worden door maatregelen als beprijzing of spitsrechten. Het verkeerssysteem is één samenhangend systeem over grote afstanden. Om de effecten van deze maatregelen op netwerkschaal te beoordelen,...

Large-Scale Bicycle Flow Experiment: Setup and Implementation

Cycling research at the operational behavioral level is limited, mainly because of the lack of empirical data. To overcome this data shortage, we performed a controlled, large-scale cycling experiment in the Netherlands. In this paper we describe the methodology for setting up and implementing such an experiment, from the motivation of its...

Multi-class traffic flow on a partially space-shared road

Scarce urban space makes urban streets have to be partly shared by cars and cyclists. Traffic flow can be considerably influenced by cyclists, which are comparatively slower than cars. The fundamental diagram (FD) can change greatly, correlating to bike lane length and the cyclist flow. Models for the traffic dynamics on the space-shared streets...

A geometric Brownian motion car-following model: towards a better understanding of capacity drop

Traffic flow downstream of the congestion is generally lower than the pre-queue capacity. This phenomenon is called the capacity drop. Recent empirical observations show a positive relationship between the speed in congestion and the queue discharge rate. Literature indicates that variations in driver behaviors can account for the capacity drop....

A microscopic investigation into the capacity drop: Impacts of longitudinal behavior on the queue discharge rate

The capacity drop indicates that the queue discharge rate is lower than the free-flow capacity. Studies show that the queue discharge rate varies under different traffic conditions. Empirical data show that the queue discharge rate increases as the speed in congestion increases. Insights into the underlying behavioral mechanisms that cause...

Capacity drop: A comparison between stop-and-go wave and standing queue at lane-drop bottleneck

A kinematic wave model in Lagrangian coordinates incorporating capacity drop: Application to homogeneous road stretches and discontinuities

On freeways, congestion always leads to capacity drop. This means the queue discharge rate is lower than the pre-queue capacity. Our recent research findings indicate that the queue discharge rate increases with the speed in congestion, that is the capacity drop is strongly correlated with the congestion state. Incorporating this varying...

A Microscopic Investigation into the Capacity Drop: Impacts of the Bounded Acceleration and Reaction Time

The capacity drop indicates that the queue discharge rate is lower than the free-flow capacity. Studies show that queue discharge rates vary under different traffic conditions. Empirical data show that the queue discharge rate increases as the speed in congestion increases. Insights into the underlying behavioral mechanisms that result in such...

Capacity drop: Relationship between speed in congestion and the queue discharge rate

It has been empirically observed for years that the queue discharge rate is lower than the prequeue capacity. This difference is called the capacity drop. The magnitude of capacity drop varies over a wide range, depending on the local traffic conditions. However, it is unknown what determines the capacity drop value. No thorough empirical...