A bi-level programming for bus lane network design

This paper proposes a bi-level programming model to solve the design problem for bus lane distribution in multi-modal transport networks. The upper level model aims at minimizing the average travel time of travelers, as well as minimizing the difference of passengers’ comfort among all the bus lines by optimizing bus frequencies. The lower level model is a multi-modal transport network equilibrium model for the joint modal split/traffic assignment problem. The column generation algorithm, the branch-and-bound algorithm and the method of successive averages are comprehensively applied in this paper for the solution of the bi-level model. A simple numerical test and an empirical test based on Dalian economic zone are employed to validate the proposed model. The results show that the bi-level model performs well with regard to the objective of reducing travel time costs for all travelers and balancing transit service level among all bus lines.     

Dynamic ride sharing using traditional taxis and shared autonomous taxis: A case study of NYC

This study analyzes the potential benefits and drawbacks of taxi sharing using agent-based modeling. New York City (NYC) taxis are examined as a case study to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of ride sharing using both traditional taxis (with shifts) and shared autonomous taxis. Compared to existing studies analyzing ride sharing using NYC taxi data, our contributions are that (1) we proposed a model that incorporates individual heterogeneous preferences; (2) we compared traditional taxis to autonomous taxis; and (3) we examined the spatial change of service coverage due to ride sharing. Our results show that switching from traditional taxis to shared autonomous taxis can potentially reduce the fleet size by 59% while maintaining the service level and without significant increase in wait time for the riders. The benefit of ride sharing is significant with increased occupancy rate (from 1.2 to 3), decreased total travel distance (up to 55%), and reduced carbon emissions (up to 866 metric tonnes per day). Dynamic ride sharing, wich allows shared trips to be formed among many groups of riders, up to the taxi capacity, increases system flexibility. Constraining the sharing to be only between two groups limits the sharing participation to be at the 50–75% level. However, the reduced fleet from ride sharing and autonomous driving may cause taxis to focus on areas of higher demands and lower the service levels in the suburban regions of the city.     

Increasing the capacity of signalized intersections by allocating exit lanes to turning movements

Unconventional intersection designs have been used to increase the capacity of intersections that are over‐saturated under conventional ones. However, existing unconventional designs typically require extra land space and their effectiveness often depends on drivers' familiarity with the uncommon operating rules. To overcome these challenges, we propose a new unconventional design, where movements that are mutually incompatible under the conventional design can be made compatible of each other by allocating exit lanes to them appropriately, thereby creating opportunities for capacity improvement. We develop a lane‐based capacity optimization model that incorporates the allocation of exit lanes as decision variables. The model is formulated as a Binary Mixed Integer Linear Programming problem, which can be efficiently solved by standard branch‐and‐bound algorithms. Numerical experiments show that significant capacity improvement can be obtained under our design. Besides proposing a new unconventional design, we also contribute to the literature of lane‐based signal optimization methods by providing a novel linear formulation for the latest, yet nonlinear, model described in Wong and Heydecker [Transportation Research Part B 45(4):667–681]. This improvement is methodologically beneficial as linear models are computationally more convenient than nonlinear ones. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Operation of signalized diamond interchanges with frontage roads using dynamic reversible lane control

Signalized diamond interchanges (SDI), connecting major highways and surface streets in urban and suburban areas, are probably the most widely used interchange patterns. The limited storage space between the two closely joined intersections coupled with heavy traffic volumes may easily oversaturate the facility and cause spillback problems, especially with the presence of frontage roads. This paper presents an innovative design and operational model for SDI by dynamically reversing certain lanes in the internal link on a regular basis with the deployment of overhead reversible lane control signs. A Binary-Mixed-Integer-Linear-Program (BMILP) is formulated to simultaneously optimize lane markings, dynamic usage of the reversible lane, and signal timings for the new SDI system. Results from extensive numerical analyses reveal the promising property of the proposed design and operational model in expanding capacity and reducing congestion at the SDI with frontage roads.     

Qualitative evaluation study of urban shared spaces in New Zealand

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative analysis using on-street perception and expert interview surveys of city centre streets that have been transformed into shared spaces in Auckland, New Zealand. The principal purpose was to investigate how well the shared streets performed, especially in relation to movement, access and place functions. The shared space sites at the Elliott, Lorne and Fort Street areas were measured against the performance criteria of Placemaking, Pedestrian Focus, Vehicle Behaviour Change, Economic Impetus and Safety for all users. On-street perception surveys totalling 360 responses (120 per site) were used in this study, together with an additional set of 40 responses from a survey of a control site in O’Connell Street that remained as a traditional street. Fifteen professionals with background in transportation and urban planning participated in semi-structured expert interviews. The main results of the Median Perception Ratings from the on-street surveys confirmed that the shared spaces generally performed positively. The statistical analysis revealed that the performance criteria of ‘Pedestrian’ and ‘Safety’ had a commanding influence over the other performance measures, and with the interconnectivity of the five objectives the perceived success of the urban shared spaces.     

Preferences for shared autonomous vehicles

Shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) could provide inexpensive mobility on-demand services. In addition, the autonomous vehicle technology could facilitate the implementation of dynamic ride-sharing (DRS). The widespread adoption of SAVs could provide benefits to society, but also entail risks. For the design of effective policies aiming to realize the advantages of SAVs, a better understanding of how SAVs may be adopted is necessary. This article intends to advance future research about the travel behavior impacts of SAVs, by identifying the characteristics of users who are likely to adopt SAV services and by eliciting willingness to pay measures for service attributes. For this purpose, a stated choice survey was conducted and analyzed, using a mixed logit model. The results show that service attributes including travel cost, travel time and waiting time may be critical determinants of the use of SAVs and the acceptance of DRS. Differences in willingness to pay for service attributes indicate that SAVs with DRS and SAVs without DRS are perceived as two distinct mobility options. The results imply that the adoption of SAVs may differ across cohorts, whereby young individuals and individuals with multimodal travel patterns may be more likely to adopt SAVs. The methodological limitations of the study are also acknowledged. Despite a potential hypothetical bias, the results capture the directionality and relative importance of the attributes of interest.     

How to restrain participants opt out in shared parking market? A fair recurrent double auction approach

We propose a fair recurrent double VCG (FRD-VCG) auction mechanism to approach the emerging shared parking management problem. In a given shared parking environment with a parking management platform and a double-side perspective, the proposed mechanism considers how to restrain the potential participants (parking slot demanders and slot suppliers) opt out, which is based on the participants’ priority attributes and are calculated with respect to historic auction records provided by the parking platform. Participants’ fairness bids are then generated combining their priority attributes and their submitted bids (bid price and parking time) with the support of a novel evaluation function, which integrates priority attributes, bid price and parking time into an output value. The parking slot allocation rule and transaction payment rule are further designed to dealing with these issues include winner determination and price setting, respectively. Simulations show advantages of the proposed FRD-VCG mechanism, i.e., comparing with the double VCG (D-VCG) mechanism for the shared parking management problem where priority attributes and evaluation function are not considered, the proposed FRD-VCG mechanism has the potential to persuade participants to remain in the market whilst it improves the market’s retention rate, the parking slot’s utilization rate and the participants’ utilities.     

车辆辅助驾驶系统中的三车道检测算法

本文中提出了一种基于车道线特征的三车道检测算法。首先,在车道线预提取过程中对道路消失线以下部分的整个车道图像进行模糊化和边缘检测,并根据边缘点位置和方向角对消失点进行定位,同时基于消失点位置提取直线并结合车道模型对构成三车道的直线进行筛选和补充。接着在车道跟踪阶段,根据前一帧图像检测出的直线和消失点位置,对车道图像局部区域分别进行边缘点、直线的跟踪检测,并对消失点位置进行重定位。最后,对车道参数进行寻优以计算车道线曲率和车道宽度。试验结果表明,提出的边缘检测算法能有效检测模糊车道线边缘并抑制噪声,消失点和直线的检测方法耗时少且准确性高。在直线检测的基础上进行车道模型匹配能提高车道识别实时性,算法在车道线模糊、雨天、大雾和大曲率等环境下均具有较好的适应性。     

考虑车道变换影响的高速公路交通事故预测模型研究

考虑车道变换可能对交通安全造成不利影响,结合广东省3条高速公路64个路段的交通运行状况数据和交通事故历史数据,利用负二项分布预测方法,建立并标定了基于交通量、路段长度、车道变换次数、大型车变道比例、单位里程变道次数等5个解释变量10组不同组合的交通事故预测模型.通过计算各组模型的Akaike信息量准则指标,得到了3组权衡了模型结构(即解释变量数量)和数据拟合度的最优模型.结果表明,虽然3组最优预测模型的预测精度仍有待提高,但是考虑车道变换影响的交通事故预测模型明显优于其他模型.这说明与车道变换相关的变量可以作为交通事故预测的有效解释变量,并且引入该类型变量可以更好地预测高速公路交通事故的发生.     

车道限制策略下八车道高速公路交通流特征

为掌握车道限制策略的实施效果,应用某八车道高速公路非高峰期和高峰期的实测数据,对交通量、速度和车头时距等3项交通流参数的特征进行分析,并得出结论.限制货车通行的车道1、2比不限货车的车道3、4交通量大且速度高,说明限制货车对于提高车道的服务水平有明显效果.车道1、2的车头时距用M3分布拟合效果较好,车道3、4用2阶爱尔朗分布或移位负指数分布拟合效果较好,说明前者易结成车队,而后者的行驶自由度相对较大,交通量仍有提升空间.综上所述,车道限制策略实质上是对车道进行差异化管理,限制货车和不限货车的车道分别以提高服务水平和通行能力作为首要目标,以期获得整体运行质量的优化,但实施条件和保障机制仍有待探索.