Fuel Loss Estimation due to Idling Phase of Signalized Intersection

Hardik Gosar [1], Ravi Sekhar Chalumuri [2], Manoranjan Parida [3]
[1]
Masters Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India.
[2]
Principal Scientist, Transportation Planning Division, CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi.
[3]
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India.

Abstract
Sustained economic development and expanding road network have led to rapid increase in the
number of motorized vehicles in India. The total number of registered motor vehicles was 230
million in 2016 with a growth rate of about 10.7% annually. Presently the transport sector
accounts for nearly 18% of the total energy consumed in India. Diesel and Petrol are strategic
commodities and they play a vital role in the socio-economic development and nearly 98% of
the transportation energy needs are met through petroleum products. Rising crude oil prices
and uncertainty about their supply can have negative implications for the Indian economy. In
order to reduce this uncertainty it is important to plan and use the resources judiciously. Thus
energy conservation has become a vital national concern.

One of the ways to conserve fuel is minimize its wastage. The simplest way might just be to
switch off engines while the vehicles are in idling condition waiting for their turn to cross the
intersection at signals. Therefore it is important to quantify the fuel loss due to idling delay. In
this study two methods were considered in estimating delay namely Arrival-Departure method
and Probe Vehicle method. Video-graphy survey was carried out at the identified intersection
in Noida, Uttar Pradesh state and instead of directly measuring delay and queue lengths, a
cumulative graph was plotted with number of vehicles arriving and departing the intersection
on Y-axis and time on X-axis. For accuracy the time interval for plotting the graph was taken
as 5 seconds. Speed profiles obtained from probe vehicle were analysed. Comparative analysis
was carried out between Delay obtained from GPS based performance box and A-D analysis.
On the basis of the idle time and idle fuel consumption rate the loss of fuel is estimated and
converted in monetary terms. The outcomes of this study may help in proposing suitable
remedial measures to reduce idling fuel consumption.