The Impact of Changing Flow of Freight Transport on Stochastic Capacity of Road Links

Abstract

Although the number of freight vehicles on the road is increasing, little attention is paid to their impact on traffic flow. Due to their size and performance characteristics compared to non-freight vehicles, the transport of goods can have an impact on road traffic. At the same time, many studies conducted on road traffic give special value to the capacity of roads. However, in this study, road capacity is analyzed according to probability distribution. This study shows that reducing the number of light and heavy vehicles used to transport goods by 3 and 5 times, respectively, will increase the capacity of road routes by 8 times and 6.5 times. Although traffic flow is not uniform and the number of vehicles is reduced, freight vehicles still have a direct and significant impact on the arterial road capacity. This study was limited to morning rush hour traffic so that subsequent research could examine the total duration of mixed traffic conditions.