TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

AND PLANNING
(110401367)
SPRING 2019-2020

Lecture. No. 10
Traffic Assignment

Dr. Hamza Alkuime

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Topic 2 : Transportation planning

References
■ Nicholas Garber and Lester Hoel ,Traffic & Highway
Engineering, 5th Edition.. Cengage Learning, 2015
 Chapter 12 : Forecasting Travel Demand
 Section 11.4
■ Daniel J Findley, Christopher Cunningham, Bastian J.
Schroeder, Thomas H. Brown, Highway Engineering:
Planning, Design, and Operations, 2016, Elsevier
 Chapter 2.2: Planning concepts and Four-step process overview
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 Topic 2 : Transportation planning
References
■ Nicholas Garber and Lester Hoel ,Principles of Highway
engineering and traffic analysis, 5th Edition, 2012
 Chapter 8 : Travel Demand and traffic forecasting
■ Partha chakroborty and Animesh Das, Principles of
transportation engineering, 2012,
 Chapter 9: Transportation demand analysis
■ Dušan Teodorović and Milan Janić,Transportation
engineering theory, practice and modeling , 2017,
 Chapter 8: Transportation demand analysis
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Review

Study area
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 Review
5
1

4
3

Zoning
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Review
Attracted trips 5
1

The land use within

Zone 1 are 2

 120 office space

4
3
500 factory
50 educational seats
100 shopping center

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 Review
Balanced Trip 5

Productions and 1

Attractions Ta= 620

6 Ta= 650

Tp= 250 Ta= 1200 Tp= 550

Balanced trips
Zone ID Tp= 800
Production Attraction 2

1 250 403 Ta= 560

2 320 364 Tp= 400
3 150 228 4
3
4 400 273 Tp= 320
5 550 423 Ta= 420
Ta= 350
6 800 780
Tp= 150
Total trips 2470 2470

Example
Tp= 250
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Trip distribution
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 Example
Trip distribution
5
Destination zone
Origin 1 Compute
Given P
zone 1 2 3 4 5 6 dp
6 Ta= 650
1 63 20 20 Ta= 620
35 62 50 250 250
2 41 22 63 50 80 64 Ta=320
1200 320 Tp= 550
Tp= 250
3 18 22 26 60 14 10 150 150
Tp= 800
4 40 70 60 90 60 80 400 400
5 63 80 60 100 2 137 110 550 550
6 90 80 180 150
Ta= 560 140 160 800 800
Tp= 400

■ Model split Tp= 320

3
4

Ta= 420
42 % by car Ta= 350

58% by bus Tp= 150

Generated trips
Origin
Destination zone
zone
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 63 20 20 35 62 50
2 41 22 63 50 80 64
3 18 22 26 60 14 10
4 40 70 60 90 60 80
5 63 80 60 100 137 110
6 90 80 180 150 140 160

mode choice 41% mode choice 58%

Origin Trips by Car ( 41% of trip generated ) Origin Trips by Bus ( 58% of trip generated )
zone Distination zone zone Distination zone
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 26 8 8 15 26 21 1 37 12 12 20 36 29
2 17 9 26 21 34 27 2 24 13 37 29 46 37
3 8 9 11 25 6 4 3 10 13 15 35 8 6
4 17 29 25 38 25 34 4 23 41 35 52 35 46
5 26 34 25 42 58 46 5 37 46 35 58 79 64
6 38 34 76 63 59 67 6 52 46 104 87 81 93

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 Review
Travel Forecasting Process
■ Four-step process”
 Trip generation
 How many trips
 Trip distribution
 From where to where
 Modal choice
 On what mode
 Traffic assignment
 On what route
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Traffic assignment

■ Goal
What path or route will a person choose ?
What influences the choice of route?
 Path that minimizes travel cost, time, distance, speed
■ Inputs
Origin- destination matrix (trip table)
■ Output
 Path table
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 Traffic assignment
Definition
■ Used to
determine the actual street and highway routes that will be
used
The number of automobiles and buses that can be
expected on each highway segment

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Traffic assignment
Definition
■ Used to
determine the actual street and highway routes that will be
used
The number of automobiles and buses that can be
expected on each highway segment

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 Traffic assignment
Definition
■ The TAZ’s zones are interconnected by links,
 which represent the physical characteristics of the road segments and facilities of the
transportation network
■ The traffic assignment step uses the characteristics of all links when
determining which paths are most desirable for travelers, and therefore are
expected to carry the highest traffic loads.
■ A path is then represented through a series of links, each with its own set of
attributes and characteristics
These attributes can include length, speed limit, travel time, capacity, functional
classification, and a host of other variables used to describe the characteristics and expected
performance of the link
■ The link attributes are translated to the path through a process called
skimming.
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Traffic assignment
Data needed
■ number of trips that will be made from one zone to
another (this information was determined in the trip
distribution phase)
■ Available highway or transit routes between zones
■ How long it will take to travel on each route
■ A decision rule (or algorithm) that explains how motorists
or transit users select a route
■ External trips that were not considered in the previous trip
generation and distribution steps
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 Traffic assignment
Approaches
Three basic approaches can be used for traffic
assignment purposes:
■ Diversion curves
■ Minimum time path (all-or-nothing) assignment
commonly used
generally produces accurate results
adequately demonstrates the basic principles involved
■ Minimum time path with capacity restraint
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Traffic assignment
Diversion curves
■Travel Time Ratio
versus Percentage
of Travel on Route
B

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 Traffic assignment
Minimum time path (all-or-nothing) assignment
■ This method assigns all trips to those links that
comprise the shortest time path between
the two zones.
also other variables, such as lowest cost can be used

■ It assumed that a motorist or transit user will select

the quickest route between any O-D pair.
 The traveler will always select the route that represents
minimum travel time.

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Traffic assignment
skim tree
■ The results can be depicted as a tree, referred to
as a skim tree.
All trips from that zone are assigned to links on the skim tree.
Each zone is represented by a node in the network which
represents the entire area being examined.
■ The problem is finding the minimum-travel-time
paths connecting each O-D pair for a given set of link
travel time
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 Traffic assignment
skim tree
■A path is then represented through a series of
links, each with its own set of attributes and
characteristics
These attributes can include length, speed limit, travel
time, capacity, functional classification, and a host of other
variables used to describe the characteristics and expected
performance of the link
■The link attributes are translated to the path
through a process called skimming.
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Traffic assignment
skim tree
■ If evaluating a trip with origin in zone 1 and
destination in zone 4, the path is
represented
 1 4
1  3-3  4
1  5-5  4
1  2-2  4
 1 2-2  5-5  4
■ Therefore, the decision of which path
drivers will take becomes a function of the
attributes of each path, which, in turn, are
estimated from the aggregated attributes of
each link sequence

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 Traffic assignment
skim tree
■ Figure 2.14 amends the
previous example by
adding link travel times
(in minutes) for each
zone-to-zone connection
it appears that link 1  4 is
indeed the shortest travel
time between zones 1 and 4
at 2 min

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Example -1
1. Assign the vehicle trips shown in the O-D trip table to the network shown in
Figure below using the all-or-nothing assignment technique.
2. Make a list of the links in the network and indicate the volume assigned to
each.
3. Calculate the total vehicle minutes of travel.
4. Show the minimum path and assign traffic for each of the five nodes.
Trips between Zones
From/to 1 2 3 4 5
1 - 100 100 200 150
2 400 - 200 100 500
3 200 100 - 100 150
4 250 150 300 - 400
5 200 100 50 350 -

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 Example -1
Travel time between zones

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Example -1
Step 1: Find the shortest paths between zones
Nodes Shortest Path Cumlative Travel Time
From To Path ID (min)
2 1-2 1 8
3 1-2,2-3 2 11
1
4 1-5,5-4 3 11
5 1-5 4 5
1 2-1 5 8
3 2-3 6 3
2
4 2-4 7 5
5 2-4,4-5 8 11
1 3-2,2-1 9 11
2 3-2 10 3
3
4 3-4 11 7
5 3-4,4-5 12 13
1 4-5,5-1 13 11
2 4-2 14 5
4
3 4- 15 7 shortest path = The path with
5 4-5 16 6 minimum cumulative travel
1 5-1 17 5
2 5-4,4-2 18 11 time
5
3 5-4,4-3 19 13
4 5-4 20 6
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 Example -1
Step 2: Find total cumulative travel time for shortest paths between zones
Nodes Shortest Path Cumlative Travel Time
From To Path ID (min)
2 1-2 1 8
3 1-2,2-3 2 11
1
4 1-5,5-4 3 11
5 1-5 4 5
1 2-1 5 8
3 2-3 6 3
2
4 2-4 7 5
5 2-4,4-5 8 11
1 3-2,2-1 9 11
2 3-2 10 3
3
4 3-4 11 7
5 3-4,4-5 12 13
1 4-5,5-1 13 11
2 4-2 14 5
4
3 4- 15 7 shortest path = The path with
5 4-5 16 6 minimum cumulative travel
1 5-1 17 5
2 5-4,4-2 18 11 time
5
3 5-4,4-3 19 13
4 5-4 20 6
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Example -1
Step 3: Find traffic volumes (or estimated trips) for shortest paths between zones
Nodes Shortest Path Cumlative Travel Time Traffic volume on
From To Path ID (min) shortest paths
2 1-2 1 8 100
3 1-2,2-3 2 11 100
1
4 1-5,5-4 3 11 200
5 1-5 4 5 150
1 2-1 5 8 400
3 2-3 6 3 200
2
4 2-4 7 5 100
5 2-4,4-5 8 11 500
1 3-2,2-1 9 11 200
2 3-2 10 3 100 Trips between Zones
3
4 3-4 11 7 100
5 3-4,4-5 12 13 150 From/to 1 2 3 4 5
1 4-5,5-1 13 11 250 1 - 100 100 200 150
2 4-2 14 5 150
4 2 400 - 200 100 500
3 4- 15 7 300
5 4-5 16 6 400 3 200 100 - 100 150
1 5-1 17 5 200 4 250 150 300 - 400
2 5-4,4-2 18 11 100
5
3 5-4,4-3 19 13 50
5 200 100 50 350 -
4 5-4 20 6 350
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 Example -1
Step 4: Find total trips (volume) on each link
Nodes Estimated
Shortest trips
Path ID
From To Path between
zones
Used in Paths Cumulative trips on
2 1-2 1 100 Link
3 1-2,2-3 2 100 with ID link
1
4 1-5,5-4 3 200
5 1-5 4 150
1 2-1 5 400 1-2 1 and 2 =100+100=200
3 2-3 6 200
2 4 2-4 7 100
5 2-4,4-5 8 500 2-1 5 and 9 =400+200=600
1 3-2,2-1 9 200
2 3-2 10 100
3
4 3-4 11 100
5 3-4,4-5 12 150
4 5-4 20 350

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Example -1
Step 4: Find total trips (volume) on each link
Used in Paths Colmlative trips on Link travel time
Selected Link
with ID link (min [from
1-2 1, 2 =100+100=200 8
2-1 5, 9 =400+200=600 8
1-5 3, 4 =200+150=350 5
5-1 3 450 5
2-5 0 0 5
5-2 0 0 12
2-3 3,6 =200+200=400 3
3-2 9,10 300 3
2-4 7,8 600 5
4-2 14,18, 250 5
3-4 12, 250 7
4-3 19 350 7
4-5 8,12,13,16 1300 6
5-4 18,19,20 700 6
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 Example -1
Step 5: Find total vehicle minutes of travel on each link
Used in Colmlative trips Travel time (min Total vehicle minutes of travel (
Link column 3 X column 4)
Paths with ID on link [from figure)
1-2 1, 2 200 8 1600
2-1 5, 9 600 8 4800
1-5 3, 4 350 5 1750
5-1 3 450 5 2250
2-5 0 0 12 0
5-2 0 0 12 0
2-3 3,6 300 3 900
3-2 9,10 300 3 900
2-4 7,8 600 5 3000
4-2 14,18, 250 5 1250
3-4 12, 250 7 1750
4-3 19 350 7 2450
4-5 8,12,13,16 1300 6 7800
5-4 18,19,20 700 6 4200
Total 32650
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Example -1
Step 6: Assign traffic for each of the five nodes
Total vehicle Trips between Zones
Cumulative trips on minutes of From/to 1 2 3 4 5 Total
Link
link travel ( column 1 - 100 100 200 150
2 X column 3)
2 400 - 200 100 500
1-2 200 1600
3 200 100 - 100 150
2-1 600 4800
4 250 150 300 - 400
1-5 350 1750
5 200 100 50 350 -
5-1 450 2250
2-5 0 0
5-2 0 0 Node Attracted trips Volume Assigned
2-3 300 900 1 600+450 1050
3-2 300 900 2 200+300+250 750
2-4 600 3000
3 300+350 650
4-2 250 1250
3-4 250 1750 4 600+250+700 1550
4-3 350 2450 5 350+1300 1650
4-5 1300 7800
5-4 700 4200
Total 32650 32

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 Example -1
Step 6: Assign traffic for each of the five nodes
Total vehicle
minutes of
Link
travel ( column
2 X column 3)
1600 900
1-2 1600
2-1 4800
1-5 1750
5-1 2250
2-5 0
5-2 0
2-3 900
3-2 900
2-4 3000
4-2 1250
3-4 1750
4-3 2450
4-5 7800
5-4 4200
4500
Total 32650

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Example -1
Step 6: Assign traffic for each of the five nodes
Total vehicle
minutes of
Link
travel ( column
2 X column 3)
4800 900
1-2 1600
2-1 4800
1-5 1750
5-1 2250
2-5 0
5-2 0
2-3 900
3-2 900
2-4 3000
4-2 1250
3-4 1750
4-3 2450
4-5 7800
5-4 4200
4200
Total 32650

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 Example -1
Step 7: Draw the minimum path (skim trees) at each node

Nodes Shortest
Path ID
From To Path
2 1-2 1
3 1-2,2-3 2
1
4 1-5,5-4 3
5 1-5 4

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Example -1
Step 7: Draw the minimum path (skim trees) at each node (cont.)

Nodes Shortest
Path ID
From To Path
1 2-1 5
3 2-3 6
2
4 2-4 7
5 2-4,4-5 8

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 Example -1
Step 7: Draw the minimum path (skim trees) at each node (cont.)

Nodes Shortest
Path ID
From To Path
1 3-2,2-1 9
2 3-2 10
3
4 3-4 11
5 3-4,4-5 12

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Example -1
Step 7: Draw the minimum path (skim trees) at each node (cont.)

Nodes Shortest
Path ID
From To Path
1 4-5,5-1 13
2 4-2 14
4
3 4- 15
5 4-5 16

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 Example -1
Step 7: Draw the minimum path (skim trees) at each node (cont.)

Nodes Shortest
Path ID
From To Path
1 5-1 17
2 5-4,4-2 18
5
3 5-4,4-3 19
4 5-4 20

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Example -1
Step 6: Assign traffic for each of the five nodes
Total vehicle
minutes of
Link
travel ( column
2 X column 3)
4800 900
1-2 1600
2-1 4800
1-5 1750
5-1 2250
2-5 0
5-2 0
2-3 900
3-2 900
2-4 3000
4-2 1250
3-4 1750
4-3 2450
4-5 7800
5-4 4200
4200
Total 32650

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 What next

■ The process of calculating the travel

demand for an urban transportation
system is now completed.
■ The results of this work will be used
to
Determine where improvements will be
needed in the system
Make economic evaluations of project
priority
Assist in the geometric and pavement
design phases
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