The feasibility of using mobility performance measures for congestion analysis in South Africa

Abstract

Paper presented at the 28th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 6 - 9 July 2009 "Sustainable Transport", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

Urban areas across the globe have experienced alarming increases in traffic congestion over the past twenty years. As a result performance measures based on average travel time (referred to as mobility performance measures) have been studied by various institutions.Several transport authorities in the United States have adopted these measures to monitor trends in travel patterns and to provide a platform for the comparison of congestion levels.The most important functions of mobility performance measures are to;Evaluate existing mobility conditions;Indicate trends in traffic congestion; Assess the impact of public and private infrastructural investment; Compare levels of traffic congestion between major routes and cities; and determine the impact of travel delays on the economy.South Africa is also affected by increasing levels of traffic congestion, spurred by the rapid economic growth of the past fifteen years. There is currently no standardized system to monitor congestion and South Africa can therefore benefit from the use of mobility performance measures.The objective of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using mobility performance measures in South Africa to monitor trends in traffic congestion and the impact of transport improvement projects on urban transport networks.