Causes of traffic congestion in urban areas. Case of Poland

Abstract

The dynamic development of urban areas poses increasingly more challenges for the provision of transport services for the population. The concentration of the economic potential and population in the metropolitan areas results in the occurrence of large transport needs, and when these needs are met at the same time, the phenomenon of congestion occurs. The purpose of the article is to research the relationship between various factors contributing to congestion in urban traffic and the level of congestion in Polish cities. The authors have used statistical methods such as correlation and regression analysis. The research has shown that the most statistically significant relationships have occurred in the case of the number of business entities and the number of passenger cars. It can be concluded that the demand side factors are more important in Polish cities than the supply side factors or perhaps the current transport policy is ineffective. When effectively applied, transport policy instruments can play a special role. These instruments can contribute to reducing congestion in various ways, i.e. by implementing various sub-objectives, which include reducing the need to travel, reducing the use of passenger cars, improving the functioning of public transport and use of the infrastructure. The results of this study can be useful for transport policy makers at central, regional and local levels.

Framework and Methodology for Establishing Port-City Policies Based on Real-Time Composite Indicators and IoT: A Practical Use-Case

“…However, there are other factors influencing the congestion level, such as port activities (e.g., by the number of ships being operated), the weather conditions (e.g., by affecting port operations decreasing productivity [102] or noticing that rainfall leads to more traffic congestion in cities [103]), the seasonality (season, month, day within the week) and, naturally, the contribution for the city itself, i.e., traffic on the port surroundings attributable to the city. Higher number and of more complex nature requirements could be argued to be considered [104], but for the scope of this work, the main factors affecting the congestion were the previous.…”

Analysis of Incentives to Eco-Driving for Car Rental Companies’ Customers

“…Moreover, the increasing number of private cars in cities is also the cause of the uncontrolled growth of cities, which contributes to extending the distance covered by passengers, and ultimately to an increase in travel costs. What is more, this phenomenon contributes to the increase in traffic intensity not only in the centers of large urban agglomerations, but also in the suburbs, becoming one of the more serious causes of road congestion also outside the city boundaries [19].…”

Platoon Merging Approach Based on Hybrid Trajectory Planning and CACC Strategies

“…Traffic jams in urban or highway scenarios are complex environments for implementing automated driving functionalities due to the multiple interactions with the surrounding vehicles. Traffic congestion is defined as the mutual obstruction of vehicles due to the existing interrelation among the vehicles’ speed and traffic flows [ 1 ]. On urban roads, it is common to have traffic congestion in the metropolitan areas with a high level of socio-economic development [ 2 ].…”