Torlódási

Torlódási is a term used to describe the state in which demand for a resource exceeds its capacity, leading to accumulation, delays or overcrowding. The concept is applied across several fields, including road traffic, public transport, pedestrian flows, and data networks. In everyday language it is often used to refer to traffic jams or overcrowding in services.

In road traffic, torlódás occurs when the arrival rate of vehicles at a road section exceeds the capacity to move them at current speeds. This creates queues, increases travel times and reduces throughput. The relationship between vehicle density, speed and flow is commonly represented by the fundamental diagram of traffic. Causes include accidents, bottlenecks, adverse weather, peak-hour demand and underestimation of capacity.

In public transport and pedestrian movement, torlódás describes crowding that lowers service quality and safety. Examples include long waiting times at stations, crowded trains or bottlenecks that slow pedestrian flow.

In information networks and manufacturing, congestion refers to overload when data packets or jobs compete for limited resources, leading to delays, jitter or processing lag. Mitigation approaches include capacity expansion, traffic management, scheduling, and congestion-control mechanisms.

Measurement and management of torlódási rely on metrics such as travel time, speed, density and occupancy, with data collected from sensors, GPS, cameras and other sources. Effective strategies combine infrastructure improvements, real-time information, demand management, public transport enhancements and pricing measures. The term derives from torlódik, meaning to crowd or accumulate; torlódási denotes phenomena related to congestion.