基于多时间尺度的城市轨道交通短时OD估计

基于状态空间模型构建了城市轨道交通短时OD估计的多模型组合方法,估计早晚高峰期间15 min内进站客流的去向目的站.组合模型以不同时间尺度下的进站客流分流率为状态变量,并利用历史数据预估其中通勤客流的分流率,然后通过交互多模型算法加权融合不同时间尺度下的分流率估计结果.以北京地铁为案例,研究表明:早高峰期间的15 min分流率估计误差的平均值和最大值分别为16.4%和21.8%,晚高峰期间分别为22.7%和24.6%,比既有文献的估计误差减小了约一半.本文的研究成果可为实时的线网客流分布预测提供更准确的输入数据,以辅助运营管理部门实现客流预警和应急响应.     

考虑拥挤的轨道交通网络时刻表协调优化建模

以非连通型城市轨道交通网络为研究对象,根据城市轨道交通网络周期性运行特点,在深入考虑拥挤及换乘客流脉冲性到达特征的前提下,给出1个循环周期内城市轨道交通网络运营费用及乘客出行费用计算方法.并在此基础上,以各运营线路发车间隔及发车时刻相位差为决策变量,以乘客及运营企业的综合费用最小为目标,以列车发车间隔、列车容量、站台容量、运营补贴等为约束,建立城市轨道交通网络列车时刻表优化模型.根据模型特点,提出了一种基于仿真的遗传算法对模型进行求解.算例结果显示,与既有优化方法相比,本文模型能够更加细致地刻画乘客换乘过程,有效降低系统综合费用,并确保各项服务指标在安全范围之内.     

Cellpath: Fusion of cellular and traffic sensor data for route flow estimation via convex optimization

A new convex optimization framework is developed for the route flow estimation problem from the fusion of vehicle count and cellular network data. The issue of highly underdetermined link flow based methods in transportation networks is investigated, then solved using the proposed concept of cellpaths for cellular network data. With this data-driven approach, our proposed approach is versatile: it is compatible with other data sources, and it is model agnostic and thus compatible with user equilibrium, system-optimum, Stackelberg concepts, and other models. Using a dimensionality reduction scheme, we design a projected gradient algorithm suitable for the proposed route flow estimation problem. The algorithm solves a block isotonic regression problem in the projection step in linear time. The accuracy, computational efficiency, and versatility of the proposed approach are validated on the I-210 corridor near Los Angeles, where we achieve 90% route flow accuracy with 1033 traffic sensors and 1000 cellular towers covering a large network of highways and arterials with more than 20,000 links. In contrast to long-term land use planning applications, we demonstrate the first system to our knowledge that can produce route-level flow estimates suitable for short time horizon prediction and control applications in traffic management. Our system is open source and available for validation and extension.     

Autonomous cars: The tension between occupant experience and intersection capacity

Systems that enable high levels of vehicle-automation are now beginning to enter the commercial marketplace. Road vehicles capable of operating independently of real-time human control under an increasing set of circumstances will likely become more widely available in the near future. Such vehicles are expected to bring a variety of benefits. Two such anticipated advantages (relative to human-driver vehicle control) are said to be increased road network capacity and the freeing up of the driver-occupant’s time to engage in their choice of leisurely or economically-productive (non-driving) tasks.In this study we investigate the implications for intersection capacity and level-of-service of providing occupants of automated (without real-time human control), autonomously-operating (without vehicle-to-X communication) cars with ride quality that is equivalent (in terms of maximum rates of longitudinal and lateral acceleration) to two types of rail systems: [urban] light rail transit and [inter-urban] high-speed rail. The literature suggests that car passengers start experiencing discomfort at lower rates of acceleration than car drivers; it is therefore plausible that occupants of an autonomously-operating vehicle may wish to instruct their vehicle to maneuver in a way that provides them greater ride comfort than if the vehicle-control algorithm simply mimicked human-driving-operation.On the basis of traffic microsimulation analysis, we found that restricting the dynamics of autonomous cars to the acceleration/deceleration characteristics of both rail systems leads to reductions in a signalized intersection’s vehicle-processing capacity and increases in delay. The impacts were found to be larger when constraining the autonomous cars’ dynamics to the more-restrictive acceleration/deceleration profile of high-speed rail. The scenarios we analyzed must be viewed as boundary conditions, because autonomous cars’ dynamics were by definition never allowed to exceed the acceleration/deceleration constraints of the rail systems. Appropriate evidence regarding motorists’ preferences does not exist at present; establishing these preferences is an important item for the future research agenda.This paper concludes with a brief discussion of research needs to advance this line of inquiry.     

Towards data-driven car-following models

Car following models have been studied with many diverse approaches for decades. Nowadays, technological advances have significantly improved our traffic data collection capabilities. Conventional car following models rely on mathematical formulas and are derived from traffic flow theory; a property that often makes them more restrictive. On the other hand, data-driven approaches are more flexible and allow the incorporation of additional information to the model; however, they may not provide as much insight into traffic flow theory as the traditional models. In this research, an innovative methodological framework based on a data-driven approach is proposed for the estimation of car-following models, suitable for incorporation into microscopic traffic simulation models. An existing technique, i.e. locally weighted regression (loess), is defined through an optimization problem and is employed in a novel way. The proposed methodology is demonstrated using data collected from a sequence of instrumented vehicles in Naples, Italy. Gipps’ model, one of the most extensively used car-following models, is calibrated against the same data and used as a reference benchmark. Optimization issues are raised in both cases. The obtained results suggest that data-driven car-following models could be a promising research direction.     

Recursive estimation of average vehicle time headway using single inductive loop detector data

Vehicle time headway is an important traffic parameter. It affects roadway safety, capacity, and level of service. Single inductive loop detectors are widely deployed in road networks, supplying a wealth of information on the current status of traffic flow. In this paper, we perform Bayesian analysis to online estimate average vehicle time headway using the data collected from a single inductive loop detector. We consider three different scenarios, i.e. light, congested, and disturbed traffic conditions, and have developed a set of unified recursive estimation equations that can be applied to all three scenarios. The computational overhead of updating the estimate is kept to a minimum. The developed recursive method provides an efficient way for the online monitoring of roadway safety and level of service. The method is illustrated using a simulation study and real traffic data.     

Estimating traffic volumes for signalized intersections using connected vehicle data

Recently connected vehicle (CV) technology has received significant attention thanks to active pilot deployments supported by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT). At signalized intersections, CVs may serve as mobile sensors, providing opportunities of reducing dependencies on conventional vehicle detectors for signal operation. However, most of the existing studies mainly focus on scenarios that penetration rates of CVs reach certain level, e.g., 25%, which may not be feasible in the near future. How to utilize data from a small number of CVs to improve traffic signal operation remains an open question. In this work, we develop an approach to estimate traffic volume, a key input to many signal optimization algorithms, using GPS trajectory data from CV or navigation devices under low market penetration rates. To estimate traffic volumes, we model vehicle arrivals at signalized intersections as a time-dependent Poisson process, which can account for signal coordination. The estimation problem is formulated as a maximum likelihood problem given multiple observed trajectories from CVs approaching to the intersection. An expectation maximization (EM) procedure is derived to solve the estimation problem. Two case studies were conducted to validate our estimation algorithm. One uses the CV data from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment (SPMD) project, in which around 2800 CVs were deployed in the City of Ann Arbor, MI. The other uses vehicle trajectory data from users of a commercial navigation service in China. Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the estimation is found to be 9–12%, based on benchmark data manually collected and data from loop detectors. Considering the existing scale of CV deployments, the proposed approach could be of significant help to traffic management agencies for evaluating and operating traffic signals, paving the way of using CVs for detector-free signal operation in the future.     

A nested recursive logit model for route choice analysis

We propose a route choice model that relaxes the independence from irrelevant alternatives property of the logit model by allowing scale parameters to be link specific. Similar to the recursive logit (RL) model proposed by Fosgerau et al. (2013), the choice of path is modeled as a sequence of link choices and the model does not require any sampling of choice sets. Furthermore, the model can be consistently estimated and efficiently used for prediction.A key challenge lies in the computation of the value functions, i.e. the expected maximum utility from any position in the network to a destination. The value functions are the solution to a system of non-linear equations. We propose an iterative method with dynamic accuracy that allows to efficiently solve these systems.We report estimation results and a cross-validation study for a real network. The results show that the NRL model yields sensible parameter estimates and the fit is significantly better than the RL model. Moreover, the NRL model outperforms the RL model in terms of prediction.     

多模式区域公交协调调度模型和算法

考虑公交内部及公交和地铁、长途客运之间的换乘衔接问题,满足最小和最大发车间隔等现实约束因素,建立了一类多目标多模式公交协调时刻表模型,在某时段内分别追求非换乘和换乘出行者在所有站点的等车时间最少和所有车辆到达站点时的泊位数最多.利用约束法将该问题转化为单目标规划问题.根据模型特征,设计求解该问题的改进细菌觅食优化算法,定义解的编码方案,设计产生初始种群的启发式算法,将梯度概念引入移动步长进而改进细菌觅食操作.最后,结合一个简单算例,比较单模式和多模式区域公交协调调度之间的差异,分析了站点通行能力对调度结果的影响,并将该算法与其他智能算法进行了比较分析,从而验证了模型和算法的正确性和有效性.     

环形交叉口交织区通行能力的一个新理论模型

为了对环形交叉口采取有效的控制与管理措施,必须提高环形交叉口通行能力计算方法的准确性。以排队论为基础,假设环道上无超车行为,环行车辆的车头时距服从泊松分布,车辆换道时间服从独立同分布,推导出了普遍适用的环形交叉口通行能力理论计算模型。通过仿真模拟验证了该模型的准确性,能更好的适应环形交叉口的规划设计以及我国实际交通状况。