Three-phase traffic theory and highway capacity

Abstract

Hypotheses and some results of the three-phase traffic theory by the author are compared with results of the fundamental diagram approach to traffic flow theory. A critical discussion of model results about congested pattern features which have been derived within the fundamental diagram approach to traffic flow theory and modeling is made. The empirical basis of the three-phase traffic theory is discussed and some new spatial–temporal features of the traffic phase “synchronized flow” are considered. A probabilistic theory of highway capacity is presented which is based on the three-phase traffic theory. In the frame of this theory, the probabilistic nature of highway capacity in free flow is linked to an occurrence of the first order local phase transition from the traffic phase “free flow” to the traffic phase “synchronized flow”. A numerical study of congested pattern highway capacity based on simulations of a KKW cellular automata model within the three-phase traffic theory is presented. A congested pattern highway capacity which depends on features of congested spatial–temporal patterns upstream of a bottleneck is studied.