Road traffic distribution on public holidays and workdays on selected road transport network elements

As a rule, the road traffic volume distribution in particular hours on working days shows certain patterns on specific types of roads. Public holidays during the year cause disturbances and differences in the distribution of the daily traffic volume compared to working days. The road traffic volume distribution during the day is very important in the analysis of phenomena occurring in terms of road traffic. Knowledge of the values of traffic volumes during the day and their variability allows for the determination of a number of measures and parameters assessing traffic conditions prevailing on the elements of transport networks. Knowledge and understanding of changes in the distribution of traffic volume during a day are crucial for many aspects of transport engineering, such as road traffic control, road safety, and forecasting the traffic volume. This article evaluates the differences in the road traffic volume distributions during the day between public holidays and working days. The analysis was performed for selected intersections located in the city of Gliwice. The results of the statistical test show that on public holidays, there was less traffic volume compared to working days. The greatest decrease in the value of traffic volume occurred on 3rd May, 25th, and 26th December. This decrease ranged from 27.24% to 35.67%. It can be noticed that for all analyzed intersections, the smallest differences in the values of traffic volumes between a public holiday and a working day occurred on 1st November. Additionally, the nature of the impact of public holidays on the road traffic volume on days before and after public holidays was examined. The nonparametric hypothesis testing method was used to investigate changes in the road traffic volume patterns caused by public holidays. The results of Friedman's test show and confirm that there are differences in traffic volumes on the day before and after a public holiday and an average day.