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Traffic Volume Count Calculator

Work out traffic volume count instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Traffic Volume Count Calculator

Mixed traffic is converted to passenger car units so that capacity comparisons are meaningful: a two wheeler occupies about half the road space of a car and a truck about three times as much. Dividing by the count duration gives the hourly flow rate used in capacity and level of service analysis.

Formulas

Passenger car units

PCU = cars x 1.0 + two wheelers x 0.5 + heavy vehicles x 3.0

Flow rate

PCU per hour = total PCU / count duration in hours

Worked example

With the default values below, Traffic Volume Count Calculator returns Flow in passenger car units of 680.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Cars and light vehicles countedminimum 0
800
Two wheelers countedminimum 0
400
Buses and trucks countedminimum 0
120
Count durationminimum 0.1 h
2 h

Results

Flow in passenger car units
680.0 PCU/h
Total vehicles counted
1,320
Vehicles per hour
660.0 veh/h
Heavy vehicle share
9.09% %

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Passenger car units
  3. 3Flow rate
  4. 4Flow in passenger car units= 680.0 PCU/h
  5. 5Total vehicles counted= 1,320
  6. 6Vehicles per hour= 660.0 veh/h
  7. 7Heavy vehicle share= 9.09 %

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Traffic Volume Count figure worked out?

PCU = cars x 1.0 + two wheelers x 0.5 + heavy vehicles x 3.0. Mixed traffic is converted to passenger car units so that capacity comparisons are meaningful: a two wheeler occupies about half the road space of a car and a truck about three times as much.

Do PCU factors vary?

Considerably, with speed, gradient, lane width and the degree of segregation. Published factors differ between countries and should be taken from the local capacity manual.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 4 inputs: Cars and light vehicles counted, Two wheelers counted, Buses and trucks counted, Count duration. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic worked example — replace them with your own site or project figures.

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