Perceived level of service at signalized intersections under heterogeneous traffic conditions

Abstract

Level of Service (LOS) indicates the operational efficiency of traffic facilities. The method recommended by Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) for signalized intersections uses control delay as the service measure and does not incorporate users’ perception. As LOS is a measure of customer satisfaction, it is important to incorporate users’ perceptions into it. This paper attempts to evaluate the influence of user’s vehicle class on perceived LOS at signalized intersections under heterogeneous traffic conditions. An extensive user perception survey involving approximately 8500 users in motorized two wheelers, three wheelers, cars, and buses at 15 signalized intersections across India populates the database. From the model results, it has been concluded that along with perceived waiting time, other perception-related factors have significant effect on the users’ perceived LOS. The findings highlight the necessity of incorporating qualitative parameters in LOS analysis in addition to the conventional service measure (i.e. delay).

KEYWORDS:

• Level of service
• user perception
• signalized intersection
• ordered probit model
• heterogeneous traffic

Acknowledgments

This work is a part of the sponsored research project ‘Development of Indian Highway Capacity Manual (Indo-HCM)’ coordinated by CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi, India. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the members of this sponsored research project. The authors would also like to express their sincere thanks to respondents of the questionnaire survey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).