Daily flow profiles of urban traffic

The estimation of Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) on the basis of shortterm traffic counts provides some insight into seasonal and day-to-day variability of urban traffic flows. The insight into the differences in daily flow profiles between weekdays is however limited. In this contribution, daily flow profiles on a main route in a city in The Netherlands are analysed. As well the total amount of traffic as the shapes of the daily profiles are compared for various weekdays. The differences are analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively using ANOVA analysis. From the study it can be concluded that the daily flow profile varies throughout the week. Sunday shows a dissimilar flow profile compared to weekdays. Also the weekdays show mutual differences. On Friday, the daily flow profile is less peaked than on Monday and Tuesday. Furthermore, on Monday, the off-peak traffic flow and evening peak flow are lower than on other weekdays, resulting in a lower daily traffic flow. The differences found are probably mainly caused by variations in activity patterns. The results of this study have implications for the implementation of traffic management tools, such as traffic signals. Furthermore, the obtained insight can be used for the further development of travel demand management. Finally, when traffic is counted during a limited period of the day, the differences between the daily flow profiles of weekdays have to be taken into account.