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CAPACITY, LEVEL OF SERVICE, FUNDAMENTALS OF HIGHWAY

CAPACITY ANALYSIS

1. GENERAL
Transportation facilities can be classified into two categories of flow: uninterrupted and
interrupted.
Uninterrupted-flow facilities have no fixed elements, such as traffic signals, that are external
to the traffic stream and might interrupt the traffic flow. Traffic flow conditions result from the
interactions among vehicles in the traffic stream and between vehicles and the geometric and
environmental characteristics of the roadway.
Interrupted-flow facilities have controlled and uncontrolled access points that can interrupt the
traffic flow. These access points include traffic signals, stop signs, yield signs, and other types of
control that stop traffic periodically (or slow it significantly), irrespective of the amount of traffic.
Uninterrupted and interrupted flows describe the type of facility, not the quality of the
traffic flow at any given time.
Freeways (dálnice) and their components operate under the purest form of uninterrupted flow.
Multilane highways (silnice) and two-lane highways also can operate under uninterrupted flow
in long segments between points of fixed interruption (intersections). On these types of
communications, it is often necessary to examine points of fixed interruption as well as
uninterrupted-flow segments. The analysis of interrupted-flow facilities must account for (doložit,
vysvětlit) the impact of fixed interruptions. A traffic signal, for example, limits the time available to
various movements in an intersection. Capacity is limited not only by the physical space but by the
time available for movements. Transit, pedestrian, and bicycle flows generally are considered to be
interrupted.
Capacity analysis defined ability of facilities over a range of defined operational conditions. It
provides tools to assess facilities and to plan and design improved facilities.
A principal objective of capacity analysis is to estimate the maximum number of persons or
vehicles that a facility can accommodate with reasonable safety during a specified time period.
However, facilities generally operate poorly at or near capacity; they are rarely planned to operate
in this range. Accordingly, capacity analysis also estimates the maximum amount of traffic that a
facility can accommodate while maintaining its prescribed level of operation.
Operational criteria are defined by introducing the concept of level of service. Ranges of
operating conditions are defined for each type of facility and are related to the amount of traffic that
can be accommodated at each service level.

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2. DEFINITION, GLOSSARY
Base condition - The best possible characteristic in terms of capacity for a given type of
transportation facility; that is, further improvements would not increase
capacity; a condition without hindrances or delays.
Bicycle facility - A road, path, or way specifically designated for bicycle travel, whether
exclusively or with other vehicles or pedestrians.
Capacity - The maximum sustainable flow rate at which vehicles or persons
reasonably can be expected to traverse a point or uniform segment of a
lane or roadway during a specified time period under given roadway,
geometric, traffic, environmental, and control conditions; usually
expressed as vehicles per hour, passenger cars per hour, or persons per
hour.
Demand - The number of users desiring service on the highway system, usually
expressed as vehicles per hour or passenger cars per hour.
Demand to capacity ratio - The ratio of demand flow rate to capacity for a traffic facility.
Density - The number of vehicles on a roadway segment averaged over space,
usually expressed as vehicles per km or vehicles per km per lane.
Facility - A length of highway composed of connected sections, segments, and
points.
Flow rate - The equivalent hourly rate at which vehicles, bicycles, or persons pass a
point on a lane, roadway, or other trafficway; computed as the number of
vehicles, bicycles, or persons passing the point, divided by the time
interval (usually less than 1 h) in which they pass; expressed as vehicles,
bicycles, or persons per hour.
Flow ratio - The ratio of the actual flow rate to the saturation flow rate for a lane group
at an intersection.
Free flow - A flow of traffic unaffected by upstream or downstream conditions.
Free-flow speed - (1) The theoretical speed of traffic, in miles per hour, when density is zero,
that is, when no vehicles are present; (2) the average speed of vehicles over
an urban street segment without signalized intersections, under conditions
of low volume; (3) the average speed of passenger cars over a basic
freeway or multilane highway segment under conditions of low volume.
Freeway - A multilane, divided highway with a minimum of two lanes for the
exclusive use of traffic in each direction and full control of access without
traffic interruption.
Freeway facility - An aggregation of sections comprising basic freeway segments, ramp
segments, and weaving segments.
Geometric condition - The spatial characteristics of a facility, including approach grade, the
number and width of lanes, lane use, and parking lanes.
Interrupted flow - A category of traffic facilities characterized by traffic signals, stop signs,
or other fixed causes of periodic delay or interruption to the traffic stream.
Intersection delay - The total additional travel time experienced by drivers, passengers, or
pedestrians as a result of control measures and interaction with other users

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of the facility, divided by the volume departing from the corresponding

cross section of the facility.
Jam density - The density at which congestion stops all movement of persons or vehicles,
usually expressed as vehicles per km per lane or pedestrians per square m.
Mountainous terrain - A combination of horizontal and vertical alignments causing heavy
vehicles to operate at crawl speeds for significant distances or at frequent
intervals.
Multilane highway - A highway with at least two lanes for the exclusive use of traffic in each
direction, with no control or partial control of access, but that may have
periodic interruptions to flow at signalized intersections no closer than 3
km
Pedestrian flow rate - The number of pedestrians passing a point per unit of time, usually
expressed as pedestrians per 15 min or pedestrians per minute.
Potential capacity - The capacity of a specific movement at a stop-controlled intersection
approach, assuming that it is unimpeded by other movements and has
exclusive use of a separate lane, in vehicles per hour.
Quality of service - A performance indicator of a traveler’s perceived satisfaction with the trip.
Quantity of service - A measure of the utilization of the transportation system.
Roadway characteristic - A geometric characteristic of a street or highway, including the type of
facility, number and width of lanes (by direction), shoulder widths and
lateral clearances, design speed, and horizontal and vertical alignments.
Rural - An area with widely scattered development and a low density of housing
and employment.
Service flow rate - The maximum hourly rate at which vehicles, bicycles, or persons
reasonably can be expected to traverse a point or uniform segment of a
lane or roadway during a given time period (usually 15 min) under
prevailing roadway, traffic, environmental, and control conditions, while
maintaining a designated level of service; expressed as vehicles per hour or
vehicles per hour per lane.
System level of service - The quality of service provided by the transportation system.
Traffic condition - A characteristic of traffic flow, including distribution of vehicle types in
the traffic stream, directional distribution of traffic, lane use distribution of
traffic, and type of driver population on a given facility.
Two-lane highway - A roadway with a two-lane cross section, one lane for each direction of
flow, on which passing maneuvers must be made in the opposing lane.
Uninterrupted flow - A category of facilities that have no fixed causes of delay or interruption
external to the traffic stream; examples include freeways and unsignalized
sections of multilane and two-lane rural highways.
Urban - An area typified by high densities of development or concentrations of
population, drawing people from several areas within a region.
Volume - The number of persons or vehicles passing a point on a lane, roadway, or
other traffic-way during some time interval, often 1 h, expressed in
vehicles, bicycles, or persons per hour.
Volume to capacity ratio - The ratio of flow rate to capacity for a transportation facility.
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3. CAPACITY, LEVEL OF SERVICE

CAPACITY
Capacity – Maximum number of vehicles which has a reasonable expectation of passing over a
given section of a lane or a roadway in one direction during a given time period under prevailing
roadway and traffic conditions.
Prevailing (převládající) roadway, traffic, and control conditions define capacity; these
conditions should be reasonably uniform for any section of facility analyzed. Any change in the
prevailing conditions changes the capacity of the facility.

LEVEL OF SERVICE
Quality of service requires quantitative measures (rozsah) to characterize operational conditions
within a traffic stream. Level of service (LOS) is a quality measure describing operational
conditions within a traffic stream, generally in terms of such service measures as speed and travel
time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, and comfort and convenience.
Six LOS are defined for each type of facility that has analysis procedures available. Letters
designate each level, from A to F, with LOS A representing the best operating conditions and LOS
F the worst.
Level A:

Level D:

Level F:

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Each level of service represents a range of operating conditions and the driver's perception of
those conditions. Safety is not included in the measures that establish service levels.
LOS A describes free-flow operations. Free-flow speeds prevail. Vehicles are almost completely
unimpeded in their ability to maneuver within the traffic stream. The effects of incidents or point
breakdowns are easily absorbed at this level.
LOS B represents reasonably free flow, and free-flow speeds are maintained. The ability to
maneuver within the traffic stream is only slightly restricted, and the general level of physical and
psychological comfort provided to drivers is still high. The effects of minor incidents and point
breakdowns are still easily absorbed.
LOS C provides for flow with speeds at or near the FFS of the freeway. Freedom to maneuver
within the traffic stream is noticeably restricted, and lane changes require more care and vigilance
on the part of the driver. Minor incidents may still be absorbed, but the local deterioration in service
will be substantial. Queues may be expected to form behind any significant blockage.
LOS D is the level at which speeds begin to decline slightly with increasing flows and density
begins to increase somewhat more quickly. Freedom to maneuver within the traffic stream is more
noticeably limited, and the driver experiences reduced physical and psychological comfort levels.
Even minor incidents can be expected to create queuing, because the traffic stream has little space
to absorb disruptions.
At its highest density value, LOS E describes operation at capacity. Operations at this level
are volatile (nestálý), because there are virtually no usable gaps in the traffic stream. Vehicles are
closely spaced, leaving little room to maneuver within the traffic stream at higher speeds. Any
disruption of the traffic stream, such as vehicles entering from a ramp or a vehicle changing lanes,
can establish a disruption wave that propagates throughout the upstream traffic flow. At capacity,
the traffic stream has no ability to dissipate even the most minor disruption, and any incident can be
expected to produce a serious breakdown with extensive queuing. Maneuverability within the traffic
stream is extremely limited, and the level of physical and psychological comfort afforded the driver
is poor.
LOS F describes breakdowns in vehicular flow. Such conditions generally exist within
queues (fronty) forming behind breakdown points. Breakdowns occur for a number of reasons:
Traffic incidents can cause a temporary reduction in the capacity of a short segment, so that the
number of vehicles arriving at the point is greater than the number of vehicles that can move
through it.
Points of recurring congestion, such as merge or weaving segments and lane drops, experience
very high demand in which the number of vehicles arriving is greater than the number of vehicles
discharged.
In forecasting situations, the projected peak-hour (or other) flow rate can exceed the estimated
capacity of the location.

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SERVICE FLOW RATES

The analytical methods in this manual attempt to establish or predict the maximum flow rate for
various facilities at each level of service except for LOS F, for which the flows are unstable or the
vehicle delay is high. Thus (čili, tudíž), each facility has five service flow rates, one for each level
of service (A through E). For LOS F, it is difficult to predict flow due to stop-and-start conditions.
The service flow rate is the maximum hourly rate at which persons or vehicles Service flow rate
defined reasonably can be expected to traverse a point or uniform segment of a lane or roadway
during a given period under prevailing roadway, traffic, and control conditions while maintaining a
designated level of service.
Note that service flow rates are discrete values, whereas levels of service represent a range of
conditions. Because the service flow rates are the maximums for each level of service, they
effectively define the flow boundaries between levels of service. Most design or planning efforts
typically use service flow rates at LOS C or D, to ensure an acceptable operating service for facility
users.
Example service volumes for multilane highways from HCM 2000

Example service volumes for basic freeway segments from HCM 2000

FFS - Free-flow speed is the speed of traffic at low volume and low density. It is the speed at
which drivers feel comfortable traveling under the physical, environmental, and traffic-control
conditions on an uncongested section of multilane highway.

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Example service volumes for basic urban communications ČSN 736110

Category Main traffic precint LOS (czech – level of traffic quality) / lane
C D E
MS2 18/8,5/50 8,50 m 1 100 1 300 1 500
MS2p 17/12/50*) 12,00 m 1 100 1 200 1 400
MS4 25/15,5/50**) 15,50 m 1 000 1 200 1 400
MS4dp 33/21,5/50*) 21,50 m 1 000 1 100 1 300
MS6d 35,5/26/50 26,00 m 950 1 000 1 200
MS6dp 39,5/28/50*) 28,00 m 900 1 000 1 100

4. FACTORS AFFECTING CAPACITY AND LOS

BASE CONDITIONS
Base conditions assume (předpokládají) good weather, good pavement conditions, users familiar
with the facility, and no impediments (překážky) to traffic flow.
In most capacity analyses, prevailing conditions differ from the base conditions, and
computations of capacity, service flow rate, and level of service must include adjustments.
Prevailing conditions are generally categorized as roadway, traffic, or control.

ROADWAY CONDITIONS
Roadway conditions include geometric and other elements. In some cases, these influence the
capacity of a road; in others, they can affect a performance measure such as speed, but not the
capacity or maximum flow rate of the facility.
Roadway factors include the following:
Number of lanes,
The type of facility and its development environment,
Lane widths,
Shoulder widths and lateral clearances,
Design speed,
Horizontal and vertical alignments
Availability of exclusive turn lanes at intersections
The horizontal and vertical alignment of a highway depend on the design speed and the
topography of the land on which it is constructed.
In general, the severity (prudkost) of the terrain reduces capacity and service flow rates. This is
significant for two-lane rural highways, where the severity of terrain not only can affect the
operating capabilities of individual vehicles in the traffic stream, but also can restrict opportunities
for passing slow-moving vehicles.

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TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
Traffic conditions that influence capacities and service levels include vehicle type and lane or
directional distribution.
Vehicle Type:
The entry of heavy vehicles into the traffic stream affects the number of vehicles that can be
served. Heavy vehicles are vehicles that have more than four tires touching the pavement.
Heavy vehicles adversely affect traffic in two ways:
- They are larger than passenger cars and occupy more roadway space;
- They have poorer operating capabilities than passenger cars, particularly with respect to
acceleration, deceleration, and the ability to maintain speed on upgrades.
(The second impact is more critical. The inability of heavy vehicles to keep pace with
passenger cars in many situations creates large gaps in the traffic stream, which are
difficult to fill by passing maneuvers)
Heavy vehicles also can affect downgrade operations, particularly when downgrades are steep
enough to require operation in a low gear. In these cases, heavy vehicles must operate at speeds
slower than passenger cars, forming gaps in the traffic stream.
Trucks cover a wide range of vehicles, from lightly loaded vans and panel trucks to the most
heavily loaded coal, timber, and gravel haulers. An individual truck’s operational characteristics
vary based on the weight of its load and its engine performance.

Directional and Lane Distribution:

Directional distribution is a characteristic of traffic, that volume may be greater in one direction
than in the other during any particular hour on a highway.
Directional distribution has a dramatic impact on two-lane rural highway operation, which
achieves optimal conditions when the amount of traffic is about the same in each direction.
Capacity analysis for multilane highways focuses on a single direction of flow. Nevertheless, each
direction of the facility usually is designed to accommodate the peak flow rate in the peak direction.
Typically, morning peak traffic occurs in one direction and evening peak traffic occurs in the
opposite direction. Lane distribution also is a factor on multilane facilities.

CONTROL CONDITIONS
Control conditions are mainly the traffic controls and regulations in effect for a segment of
street or highway, including the type, phasing, and timing of traffic signals; stop signs; lane use and
turn controls; and similar measures.
For interrupted-flow facilities, the control of the time for movement of specific traffic flows is
critical to capacity, service flow rates, and level of service. The most critical type of control is the
traffic signal. The type of control in use, signal phasing, allocation of green time, cycle length, and
the relationship with adjacent control measures affect operations.
Stop signs and yield signs also affect capacity, but in a less deterministic way. A traffic signal
designates times when each movement is permitted; however, a stop sign at a two-way stop-
controlled intersection only designates the right-of-way to the major street. Motorists traveling on
the minor street must stop and then find gaps in the major traffic flow to maneuver. The capacity of
minor approaches, therefore, depends on traffic conditions on the major street. An all-way stop

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control forces drivers to stop and enter the intersection in rotation. Capacity and operational
characteristics can vary widely, depending on the traffic demands on the various approaches.
Other types of controls and regulations can affect capacity, service flow rates, and LOS
significantly. Restriction of curb parking can increase the number of lanes available on a street or
highway. Turn restrictions can eliminate conflicts at intersections, increasing capacity. Lane use
controls can allocate roadway space to component movements and can create reversible lanes. One-
way street routings can eliminate conflicts between left turns and opposing traffic.

TECHNOLOGY
Emerging transportation technologies, also known as intelligent transportation systems (ITS),
will enhance the safety and efficiency of vehicles and roadway systems. ITS strategies aim to
increase the safety and performance of roadway facilities. ITS may includes any technology that
allows drivers and traffic control system operators to gather and use real-time information to
improve vehicle navigation, roadway system control, or both.
Current ITS programs might have the following impacts on specific capacity analyses:
- For freeway and other uninterrupted-flow highways, ITS might achieve some decrease in
headways, which would increase the capacity of these facilities. In addition, even with no
decrease in headways, level of service might improve if vehicle guidance systems offered
drivers a greater level of comfort than they currently experience in conditions with close
spacing between vehicles.
- For signal and arterial operations, the major benefits of ITS would be a more efficient
allocation of green time and an increase in capacity. ITS features likely will have a less
pronounced impact on interrupted flow than on uninterrupted-flow facilities.
- At unsignalized intersections, capacity improvements might result if ITS assisted drivers
in judging gaps in opposing traffic streams or if it somehow controlled gaps in flow on
the major street.