A Study of the traffic impact on the opening of Multi-Lane Free Flow (M-Flow) on the Chalong Rat Expressway

Abstract

M-Flow (Multi-Lane Free Flow), an Automatic Toll Collection System without a barrier, is a new alternative to pay the toll fees. The launch of M-Flow reduces congestion at toll plazas, thereby affecting traffic conditions. This research has developed a traffic model to assess the traffic conditions that will occur if M-Flow starts operating on the Chalong Rat Expressway. The study analyzed a comparative traffic impact between the existing toll collection project (Manual and Easy pass) and the availability of M-Flow in the 1st year, 5th year, and 10th year, and divided the analysis into two periods; peak hours and off-peak hours. According to the results, the launch of the M-Flow system is able to reduce more delay-time than the traditional system. When comparing the delay time, the study finds that as the proportion of M-Flow users increase, the delay values decrease even more. Furthermore, the launch of M-Flow system will cause higher reduction in delay times during peak hours than off-peak hours.