The impact of the existence of the volunteer on handling the waiting time at unsignalized intersection in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

This research focuses on the impact of the existence of the volunteer (VO) in managing traffic at unsignalized intersections. VO is a person who manages traffic at unsignalized intersection without the legality of operations but in exchange for financial compensation from the road users. VO is a unique phenomenon that only occurs in Indonesia's cities. The location of this research was qualified at unsignalized intersections in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, which had a high traffic volume and had VO managing the traffic. The selected data were those during peak traffic conditions, each of which was one day at the same time with and without VO. Traffic volume, speed, waiting time, and vehicle conflict were the data collected and analyzed in this research. The results indicated that although the existence of VO was needed psychologically to lessen the chaotic traffic situation at unsignalized intersection, it did not have a significant impact on reducing the waiting time for vehicles from the minor road to cross and merge to the major road. The difference in waiting time was only around an average of two seconds as a result of the existence of VO compared to non-VO. According to the findings, this research proposes to prohibit the untrained VO since the benefits derived in controlling the chaotic traffic is not proportional to the potential risk of getting hit or lawsuits from drivers who are disturbed by their existence.

Keywords

• Volunteer
• Vehicle conflict
• Waiting time
• Unsignalized intersections
• Chaotic traffic