Bicycle Flow Dynamics of Cyclist Loading and Unloading Processes at Bottlenecks

Ning Guo (), Wai Wong (), Rui Jiang (), S. C. Wong (), Qing-Yi Hao () and Chao-Yun Wu ()
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Ning Guo: School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, People’s Republic of China
Wai Wong: Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
Rui Jiang: School of Systems Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, People’s Republic of China
S. C. Wong: Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, People’s Republic of China; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Laboratory for Smart Cities, Shenzhen 518060, People’s Republic of China
Qing-Yi Hao: School of Mathematics and Computational Science, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, People’s Republic of China
Chao-Yun Wu: School of Mathematics and Computational Science, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, People’s Republic of China

Transportation Science, 2024, vol. 58, issue 2, 340-354

Abstract: Cycling has emerged as one of the most important green transport modes in recent years, with cities increasingly prioritizing cycling in their sustainable policy agenda. However, the associated traffic dynamics, especially the evolution of bicycle flow at bottlenecks, have not been extensively studied. In this study, real-world experiments were conducted to investigate the dynamics of bicycle flow at bottlenecks under various cycling demands generated by the cyclist unloading and loading processes. Upon the activation of the bottleneck, its capacity remained largely constant. For the same physical system, the bottleneck capacity of the cyclist loading process exceeded that of the unloading process, indicating the occurrence of capacity drop and hysteresis. Statistical analyses demonstrated that the capacity drop was attributable to the difference in speeds of the two processes for the same cycling demands after the bottleneck activation. These findings could potentially be explained by behavioral inertia. Further analysis revealed that, compared with the unloading process, the cyclist loading process was associated with higher cycling speeds owing to the higher overtaking rates. The outcomes of this study can advance our understanding of the physics of bicycle flow dynamics and provide valuable insights for transport planning professionals involved in facility planning and control of existing networks.

Keywords: bicycle flow dynamics; bottleneck capacity; capacity drop; hysteresis; behavioral inertia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ortrsc:v:58:y:2024:i:2:p:340-354

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