18. Analysis and Modelling of the Operational and Tactical Behaviour of Bicyclists

Microscopic traffic simulation tools, which are often used to evaluate road infrastructure design, signal control, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), are limited in their capacity to realistically simulate bicycle traffic. Due to their small size and high manoeuvrability, bicyclists are one of the most flexible road user groups. They are faced with tactical choices that do not apply to other road users, such as the choice between using a bicycle lane, the roadway or the sidewalk, the option of travel with or against the mandatory direction of travel and the selection between multiple possibilities for executing a left turn. This flexibility makes it important to understand and accurately simulate not only the operational behaviour, such as speed and acceleration, but also the tactical decisions of bicyclists. In this chapter, the data collection, data processing, behavioural analyses and model development carried out within the project Urban Space: User oriented assistance systems and network management (UR:BAN) are presented. Analyses and modelling approaches for three aspects of the operational behaviour of bicyclists are presented in detail; speed, acceleration and spacing. The methods used to analyse and model the tactical behaviour of bicyclists are briefly introduced.