Transportation Engineering 101: Traffic Flow & Forecasting
Transportation Engineering 101: Traffic Flow & Forecasting, Unlock the secrets of traffic operations, time/space mean speeds, and transportation planning with a 4-step model.
Course Description
Welcome to one of the most comprehensive courses in Transportation Engineering, designed to give you a deep understanding of Traffic Engineering. This course is divided into two key sections: Traffic Operations and Traffic Forecasting.
In the first section, you will explore traffic stream parameters such as speed, density, and flow, along with their interrelationships. You’ll also learn about time headway, space headway, and time-space diagrams, essential for analyzing traffic streams in both academia and practice. The moving observer method, used to collect real-world traffic data, will be covered in detail. Additionally, you will study statistical modeling of vehicle arrivals using headways and Poisson distribution, laying the foundation for traffic simulation in tools like VISSIM. Key concepts like capacity, level of service (LOS), ramp metering strategies, and queuing theory will also be discussed.
The second section focuses on traffic forecasting—predicting road traffic for the next 20 to 30 years to aid in development planning. You will learn about the four-step model: Trip Generation, Trip Distribution, Mode Choice, and Traffic Assignment. You’ll also explore ITE trip generation rates and understand utility equations in mode choice models.
This course is taught by Parth Loya, a Senior Traffic Engineer from Mumbai and an alumnus of ITS, Berkeley, the world’s top institute for transportation engineering.
