Passenger car equivalent

It is the factor how we try to get the same kind of vehicle in a road in
order to make the traffic impact analysis simpler. The composition of traffic
found in almost every developing countries is diverse, with a variety of vehicles,
motorized and non-motorized, using the same road space. The motorized or
fast moving vehicles include passenger cars, buses, trucks, auto rickshaws,
scooters and motorcycles; non-motorized or slow moving vehicles including
bicycles, cycle-rickshaw, and animal drawn carts. Since 1950s, considerable
research has been made to develop traffic flow models and analysis procedures
mainly for homogeneous traffic, which is representing the traffic conditions
found in developed countries.
Limited amount of studies have been done to develop an understanding
of traffic flow and capacity analysis for non-lane-based heterogeneous or mixed
traffic conditions in developing countries. The term passenger car equivalent
was introduced in the 1965 U.S., Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) and defined
as the number of passenger cars displaced in the traffic flow by other transport
modes under the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions. PCE factors are
usually used to convert heterogeneous traffic environment into homogenous
stream in which it is assumed that only cars are travelling.
PCE factors have an important significance in the subject of traffic
engineering, as these factors are utilized in many traffic analysis methods and
procedures which are developed considering homogeneity in traffic conditions
such as capacity analysis, saturation flow rate determination and traffic flow
models. PCE are derived from various characteristics of the traffic streams,
such as headway, speed and volume along with vehicular and roadway
characteristics.
As indicated above, PCE factors are dependent on the traffic flow
parameters, these values are subject to variations due to the factors influencing
the traffic flow parameters. Therefore, it may not be precisely correct to adopt a
constant set of PCE values under different roadway and traffic

The road traffic systems, travel patterns and other traffic characteristics
are different for each country due to differences in geometric patterns of a
country, available transport facilities for commuters, rate of development in the
transport sector and so on. This is the reason why many standard relations and
factors used in one region may not be suited for others. Therefore, an issue
comes up to determine the different traffic engineering parameters which are
appropriate to local urban transport system characteristics. One such endeavor
is to determine the passenger car equivalent (PCE).
Methods of Estimating PCE
Several approaches to estimate PCE values have been used. The most
commonly applied approaches are as follows:
1. The constant volume-to-capacity ratio approach;
2. The equal-density approach; and,
3. The headway approach.
The constant volume-to-capacity ratio approach was developed based on
the output of a multilane freeway simulation model developed at the Midwest
Research Institute. PCE values were based on mixed traffic volumes that
consumed the same proportion of roadway capacity (produced the same
volume to-capacity ratio) as PC-only volumes. The constant volume-to-capacity
ratio approach was appropriate for calculating PCEs when LOS was a
consideration for PCE calculation.
The headway (time between successive vehicles in the traffic stream)
approach uses actual measurements of the relative position maintained by
drivers in the traffic stream under prevailing conditions to arrive at PCE values.
The basic formula of PCE using the headway approach is as follows:

This equation takes into account the effect of larger truck size and lower
truck acceleration characteristics; truck drivers are expected to keep longer
headways than PC following PC, thus PCE values are expected to be greater
than 1.
Two factors which affect PCE magnitude have traditionally been
considered in PCE estimation: HV length and HV operating capabilities. Trucks,
take up more space than PC; therefore headways for PC following trucks will be
longer than those for PC following PC- the equation shown above, will be larger
than the denominator, increasing with truck length. In addition, inferior truck
operating capabilities (lower acceleration rates and lower travel speeds) 8
compared to PC require truck drivers to maintain longer headways from leading
vehicles than PC drivers maintain, contributing to a large numerator in equation
shown above.
Ideally the numerator and denominator of the equation are based on
actual field observations. Field measurements include the effects of both above
mentioned factors and maybe other factors as well that are yet to be identified.
Krammes et al. analyzed a mixed traffic stream and developed an equation
considering headway differences between trucks and other vehicles, as shown
below:

Krammes et al. recommended this equation as the final formulation for

use in highway capacity analysis instead of that equation because it accounts
separately (and thus more accurately) for the impact of trucks leading or
following PC or other trucks.