Advisory Committee Chair
Virginia P Sisiopiku
Advisory Committee Members
Andrew Sullivan
Jason T Kirby
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2012
Degree Name by School
Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) School of Engineering
Abstract
The performance of the transportation sector is popularly regarded as one of the key indicators of a nation's economic development. Travel time reliability is of paramount importance to the transportation sector performance as it relates to quality transportation network operation, improved traveler satisfaction, and on-time arrival of shipments of goods. Travel time reliability refers to the consistency in travel times over the day or across days. The objective of this thesis is to identify measures and methods appropriate to measure travel time reliability; and apply those methods to study the reliability of travel time along urban freeway corridors under varying operating conditions. More specifically, a case study was undertaken to study travel time reliability along the I-65 corridor in the State of Alabama. The main objectives of this study were to: a. Calculate reliability metrics including standard deviation, % variability, buffer time, buffer time index, travel time index, and planning time index using travel time data collected from INRIX for a study corridor in Alabama; b. Investigate effect of traffic accidents on travel time reliability, and c. Compare the field planning time index (PTI) with PTI values calculated using model proposed by SHRP2 L03 project by Cambridge Systematics (2009). The data used in this study was collected in 2010 with the help of geographic position systems (GPS) technology in freight vehicles and INRIX, a leading provider of traffic information conducted data processing. Traffic incident data was provided by the Alabama Service and Assistance Patrol (ASAP) and was used to analyze the effect of traffic accidents on travel time reliability. The findings from this study are expected to help the authorities and agencies responsible for the planning, design, and implementation of transportation facilities. The findings will also help to understand travel time under incident and non-incident conditions.
Recommended Citation
Islam, Md Saidul, "Travel Time Reliability under Varying Freeway Operating Conditions" (2012). All ETDs from UAB. 2014.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/2014