EFFECTS OF MOTORCYCLES ON TRAFFIC OPERATIONS ON ARTERIAL STREETS

Abstract

This study analyses the effects of motorcycles on traffic operations at signalized intersections and a mid-block section of an urban road. Data collection was done at two intersections, one with motorcycle queue storage and the other without. Discharge headway was used to identify the relationship between a number of motorcycles discharged in each signal cycle and the start-up lost time of passenger cars. In addition, the effectiveness of motorcycle queue storage is also examined. Start-up lost time of passenger cars is found to be linearly correlated with the number of motorcycles in the waiting queue. Motorcycle queue storage is found to increase start-up lost time of the traffic. At mid-block, Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE) of motorcycle at different traffic volume and proportion of motorcycles in traffic stream are determined. It is found that PCE of motorcycles consistently decreases with the share of motorcycle in total traffic.