Route swapping in dynamic traffic networks

A dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) model typically consists of a traffic performance model and a route choice model. The traffic performance model describes how traffic propagates (over time) along routes connecting origin-destination (OD) pairs, examples being the cell transmission model, the vertical queueing model and the travel time model. This is implemented in a dynamic network loading (DNL) algorithm, which uses the given route inflows to compute the link inflows (and hence link costs), which are then used to compute the route travel times (and hence route costs). A route swap process specifies the route inflows for tomorrow (at the next iteration) based on the route inflows today (at the current iteration). A dynamic user equilibrium (DUE), where each traveller on the network cannot reduce his or her cost of travel by switching to another route, can be sought by iterating between the DNL algorithm and the route swap process. The route swap process itself takes up very little computational time (although route set generation can be very computationally intensive for large networks). However, the choice of route swap process dramatically affects convergence and the speed of convergence. The paper details several route swap processes and considers whether they lead to a convergent system, assuming that the route cost vector is a monotone function of the route inflow vector.     

The use of the bicycle

The rediscovery of the bicycle by the public, by politicians and by professional urban transportation planners as a mode of transport which is perfectly in harmony with the goals of environmental protection, energy saving and personal fitness has stimulated this empirical study on the actual use of the bicycle by various population groups for obligatory and discretionary trip purposes. The influence on bicycle usage of such factors as age, education, car availability, residential density and town size, topography and time of year is analysed in this paper for selected population groups. For housewives from motorized households logit‐models were designed and calibrated to model their modal choice for shopping trips with special references to the bicycle. From the empirical results, the groups with the largest potentials for cycling are identified and the extent to which the potentials could be activated by specific policies is discussed. The research is based on a large sample held to be representative for the Federal Republic of Germany in 1976 and is supplemented by more recent surveys in selected German cities conducted by SOCIALDATA Munich.     

A discrete dynamical system of formulating traffic assignment: Revisiting Smith’s model

Through relaxing the behavior assumption adopted in Smith’s model (Smith, 1984), we propose a discrete dynamical system to formulate the day-to-day evolution process of traffic flows from a non-equilibrium state to an equilibrium state. Depending on certain preconditions, the equilibrium state can be equivalent to a Wardrop user equilibrium (UE), Logit-based stochastic user equilibrium (SUE), or boundedly rational user equilibrium (BRUE). These equivalence properties indicate that, to make day-to-day flows evolve to equilibrium flows, it is not necessary for travelers to choose their routes based on actual travel costs of the previous day. Day-to-day flows can still evolve to equilibrium flows provided that travelers choose their routes based on estimated travel costs which satisfy these preconditions. We also show that, under a more general assumption than the monotonicity of route cost function, the trajectory of the dynamical system converges to a set of equilibrium flows by reasonably setting these parameters in the dynamical system. Finally, numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the application and properties of the dynamical system. The study is helpful for understanding various processes of forming traffic jam and designing an algorithm for calculating equilibrium flows.     

基于监测量值变化速度特征的围岩稳定动态综合评判模型

隧道施工中围岩力学行为受较多因素影响,考虑多因素对围岩稳定的综合评判被越来越多研究者所共识。监控量测是隧道围岩应力、变形状态最直接的反映,其变化速度特征是围岩稳定性评价的重要指标;从围岩稳定性的综合评判模型构建角度来说,所建立的模型必须考虑时间因素进行动态综合评判。据此,文章利用具有速度特征的动态综合评价模型可将评价对象速度状态和趋势融合的特点,提出了基于监测量值变化速度特征的隧道围岩稳定动态综合评判模型的构建方法和评判准则。该模型从多因素角度出发,可以全面地对多时段内被评价对象的变化速度进行测度;所采用的被评价对象变化速度状态和速度趋势计算方法使模型在短时量测或量测数据拟合程度不高时同样适用。该模型的可行性在华蓥山隧道围岩稳定判别中得到了验证,为隧道围岩稳定的综合判定提供了一种新的途径。     

Managing network mobility with tradable credits

A system of tradable travel credits is explored in a general network with homogeneous travelers. A social planner is assumed to initially distribute a certain number of travel credits to all eligible travelers, and then there are link-specific charges to travelers using that link. Free trading of credits among travelers is assumed. For a given credit distribution and credit charging scheme, the existence of a unique equilibrium link flow pattern is demonstrated with either fixed or elastic demand. It can be obtained by solving a standard traffic equilibrium model subject to a total credit consumption constraint. The credit price at equilibrium in the trading market is also conditionally unique. The appropriate distribution of credits among travelers and correct selection of link-specific rates is shown to lead to the most desirable network flow patterns in a revenue-neutral manner. Social optimum, Pareto-improving and revenue-neutral, and side-constrained traffic flow patterns are investigated.     

Bush-based sensitivity analysis for approximating subnetwork diversion

Subnetwork analysis is often used in traffic assignment problems to reduce the size of the network being analyzed, with a corresponding decrease in computation time. This is particularly important in network design, second-best pricing, or other bilevel problems in which many equilibrium runs must be solved as a subproblem to a master optimization program. A fixed trip table based on an equilibrium path flow solution is often used, but this ignores important attraction and diversion effects as drivers (globally) change routes in response to (local) subnetwork changes. This paper presents an approach for replacing a regional network with a smaller one, containing all of the subnetwork, and zones. Artificial arcs are created to represent “all paths” between each origin and subnetwork boundary node, under the assumption that the set of equilibrium routes does not change. The primary contribution of the paper is a procedure for estimating a cost function on these artificial arcs, using derivatives of the equilibrium travel times between the end nodes to create a Taylor series. A bush-based representation allows rapid calculation of these derivatives. Two methods for calculating these derivatives are presented, one based on network transformations and resembling techniques used in the analysis of resistive circuits, and another based on iterated solution of a nested set of linear equations. These methods are applied to two networks, one small and artificial, and the other a regional network representing the Austin, Texas metropolitan area. These demonstrations show substantial improvement in accuracy as compared to using a fixed table, and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.     

Transaction costs and tradable mobility credits

Artificial markets for mobility credits have been proposed as an alternative to conventional congestion pricing schemes. This paper examines the effects of transaction costs on two types of markets: an auction market and a negotiated market. In an auction market, users purchase all of the needed mobility credits through a competitive bidding process. In a negotiated market, the users initially receive certain amount of mobility credits from the government and trade with each other through negotiation to fulfill their needs. We assume that a brokerage service is built in both markets to facilitate transactions and accordingly, the users have to pay a commission fee proportional to the value of trade. The users are also given the option to purchase credits from the government if for some reasons they cannot use or wish to avoid the markets. Our analyses suggest that the auction market can achieve the desired equilibrium allocation of mobility credits as long as the government sets its price properly and the unit transaction cost is lower than the price that the market would reach in absence of transaction costs. However, in the negotiated market, transaction costs could divert the system from the desired equilibrium regardless of their magnitude. More importantly, the initial allocation of mobility credits may affect the final equilibrium even when marginal transaction costs are constant.