A comparative study of traffic flow models: a case study in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The hassle-free travelling environment is one critical factor that will make any city attractive to its residents and visitors. However, Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka, faces massive traffic problems. Therefore, recalibrating and revalidating traffic model parameters are essential to better predict Colombo traffic characteristics for better transport planning and operation. The attribute values estimated for Sri Lanka from previous studies have become outdated. Moreover, no comparison of traffic flow models has been conducted based on current or recent Sri Lankan vehicle mix or road designs. Further, finding models developed to derive traffic flow variables on different road sections are hard to find. Hence, this study fulfils the above gap by estimating new attribute values using R software for different road sections in the Colombo District using Greenshields, Greenberg, Underwood models and their extended modifications.