Question

The ratio of passenger car unit of pedal cycle to passenger car unit of car is

• A. \( 1.0 \)
• B. \( 0.5 \)
• C. \( 4 \) to \( 6 \)
• D. \( 2.8 \)

Hint:

PCU values are crucial for capacity analysis of roads, enabling engineers to convert heterogeneous traffic streams into an equivalent homogeneous stream of passenger cars. These values vary depending on road conditions (e.g., urban vs. rural, level vs. gradient), traffic composition, and driver behavior.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The Passenger Car Unit (PCU) is a metric used in traffic engineering to assess the impact of different types of vehicles on road capacity, expressed as a ratio compared to a standard car. The PCU is crucial for roadway design and traffic flow analysis. For this specific problem, we need to understand the relative impact of a pedal cycle (bicycle) compared to a passenger car.

The given options are:

• \( 1.0 \)
• \( 0.5 \)
• \( 4 \) to \( 6 \)
• \( 2.8 \)

In traffic engineering, a pedal cycle typically has a lower PCU value than a car. The reason is that a bicycle takes up less road space and generally travels at a slower speed compared to a car, causing less disruption to overall traffic flow.

Usually, the PCU for bicycles relative to cars is considered as:

• Bicycle (pedal cycle): 0.5 PCU per unit
• Car: 1 PCU per unit

Thus, the ratio of the PCU of a pedal cycle to the PCU of a car is: \[ \frac{0.5}{1.0} = 0.5 \]

Therefore, the correct answer is \( 0.5 \).