Assessing Highway Travel Time Reliability using Probe Vehicle Data

Probe vehicle data (also known as “floating car data”) can be used to analyze travel time reliability of an existing road corridor in order to determine where, when, and how often traffic congestion occurs at particular road segments. The aim of the study is to find the best reliability performance measures for assessing congestion frequency and severity based on probe data. Pilot surveys conducted on A2 motorway in Poland confirm the usefulness and reasonable accuracy of probe data for measuring speed variation in both congested and free-flowing traffic. Historical probe vehicle data and traditional traffic counts from Polish S6 expressway were used to analyze travel time reliability on its 24 road sections. Travel time indexes and reliability ratings for the whole year 2016 were calculated to identify segments with lower reliability and higher expected delay. It is concluded that unlike the HCM-6 method, travel times obtained from probe data should be averaged in 1-hour intervals. Delay index is proposed as a new reliability indicator for road segments. Delay map diagrams are recommended for showing how the congestion spots move in space and with time of day.