Estimation of delay variability at signalized intersections for urban arterial performance evaluation

Urban arterial performance evaluation has been broadly studied, with the major focus on average travel time estimation. However, in view of the stochastic nature of interrupted flow, the ability to capture the characteristics of travel time variability has become a critical step in determining arterial level of service (LOS). This article first presents a stochastic approach that integrates classic cumulative curves and probability theories in order to investigate delay variability at signalized intersections, as a dominant part of the link travel time variability. This serves as a basis for arterial travel time estimation, which can be obtained through a convolution of individual link travel time distributions. The proposed approach is then applied in the estimation of travel time along one arterial in Shanghai, China, with abundant automatic vehicle identification (AVI) data sources. The travel time variability is evaluated thoroughly at 30-min intervals, with promising results achieved in comparison to the field measurements. In addition, the estimated travel time distributions are utilized to illustrate the probability of multiple LOS ranges, namely, reliability LOS. The results provide insights into how we might achieve a more reliable and informative understanding of arterial performance.     

Plate scanning tools to obtain travel times in traffic networks

The management of vehicle travel times has been shown to be fundamental to traffic network analysis. To collect travel time measurement, some methods focus solely on isolated links or highway segments, and where two measurement points, at the beginning and at the end of a section, are deemed sufficient to evaluate users' travel time. However, in many cases, transport studies involve networks in which the problem is more complex. This article takes advantage of the plate scanning technique to propose an algorithm that minimizes the required number of registering devices and their location in order to identify vehicles candidates to compute the travel times of a given set of routes (or subroutes). The merits of the proposed method are explained using simple examples and are illustrated by its application to the real network of Ciudad Real.     

Subjective-utility travel time budget modeling in the stochastic traffic network assignment

ABSTRACT

In this article, we propose a new model called subjective-utility travel time budget (SU-TTB) model to capture travelers' risk-averse route choices. In the travel time budget (TTB) and mean-excess travel time (METT) model, a predefined confidence level is needed to capture the risk-aversion in route choice. Due to the day-to-day route travel time variations, the exact confidence level is hard to be predicted. With the SU-TTB model, we assume travelers' confidence level belongs to an interval that they may comply with in the route choice. The two main components of SU-TTB are the utility function and the TTB model. We can show that the SU-TTB can be reduced to the TTB and METT model with proper utility function for the confidence levels. We can also prove its equivalence with our recently proposed nonlinear-expectation route travel time (NERTT) model in some cases and give some new interpretation on the NERTT with this equivalence. Finally, we formulate the SU-TTB model as a variational inequality (VI) problem to model the risk-averse user equilibrium (RAUE), termed as generalized RAUE (GRAUE). The GRAUE is solved via a heuristic gradient projection algorithm, and the model and solution algorithm are demonstrated with the Braess's traffic network and the Nguyen and Dupuis's traffic network.     

Effectiveness of travel time reliability indicators in the light of the assessment of dynamic managed lane strategy

ABSTRACT

The aim of traffic management is to ensure a high quality of service for a maximum number of users by decreasing congestion and increasing safety. Uncertainty of travel times decreases the quality of service and leads end users to modify their plans regardless of the average travel time. Indicators describing travel time reliability are being developed and should be used in the future both for the optimization and for the assessment of active traffic management operations. This article discusses the efficiency of certain reliability indicators in an ex-post assessment of a traffic management strategy. Ex-post assessment is based on an observational before–after study. As some factors other than the studied management strategy may intervene between the two periods, and as most reliability indicators require knowledge of the full travel time distribution and not only its average, a methodology is developed for the identification of the impact of these exogenous factors on the whole distribution. Many reliability indicators are split into different parts allowing the identification of the part due to the management strategy impact. The methodology is tested numerically on a managed lane operation consisting of Hard Shoulder Running (HSR) at rush hour on a section of a French motorway. The variation of some reliability indicators appears misleading, whereas the splitting of the indicators increases our understanding of the strategy and highlights its impact. The paper gives the reliability assessment of the HSR field test and discusses different reliability indicators to identify their potential performances and shortcomings.     

Robust traffic assignment model: Formulation,solution algorithms and empirical application

ABSTRACT

The deterministic traffic assignment problem based on Wardrop's first criterion of traffic network utilization has been widely studied in the literature. However, the assumption of deterministic travel times in these models is restrictive, given the large degree of uncertainty prevalent in urban transportation networks. In this context, this paper proposes a robust traffic assignment model that generalizes Wardrop's principle of traffic network equilibrium to networks with stochastic and correlated link travel times and incorporates the aversion of commuters to unreliable routes.

The user response to travel time uncertainty is modeled using the robust cost (RC) measure (defined as a weighted combination of the mean and standard deviation of path travel time) and the corresponding robust user equilibrium (UE) conditions are defined. The robust traffic assignment problem (RTAP) is subsequently formulated as a Variational Inequality problem. To solve the RTAP, a Gradient Projection algorithm is proposed, which involves solving a series of minimum RC path sub-problems that are theoretically and practically harder than deterministic shortest path problems. In addition, an origin-based heuristic is proposed to enhance computational performance on large networks. Numerical experiments examine the computational performance and convergence characteristics of the exact algorithm and establish the accuracy and efficiency of the origin-based heuristic on various real-world networks. Finally, the proposed RTA model is applied to the Chennai road network using empirical data, and its benefits as a normative benchmark are quantified through comparisons against the standard UE and System Optimum (SO) models.     

城市公交GPS轨迹路线图制作研究

以哈尔滨市104路公交为主要研究对象,详细介绍城市公交的GPS轨迹路线图制作时所需的软硬件,以及数据的采集方法,叙述数据的整合与分类过程。通过将主要公交站点周围兴趣点信息增添到轨迹点附近,构成包含有站点轨迹信息、站点影像信息的沿途轨迹信息。经过整合与分类,通过HOLUX ezTour软件对数据进行处理,阐述轨迹查询、地标的新增与删改和轨迹的添加与变换等功能。并使用Google Earth三维图像对轨迹路线全面整合,最终制作成城市公交GPS轨迹路线图。     

湖北城际铁路动车组选型与交路优化研究

以湖北城际铁路为例,通过比照区间运行速度、参考我国高级动车的技术配置合理选择车型,并优化原交路,最终对原、现两种方案的成本效益对比分析,实证表明,该方案有助于减少动车购置成本,降低亏损,并简化原有运输组织工作.     

深圳市交通需求管理政策的法治思考

深圳市制定和实施了若干小汽车交通需求管理政策,完善相关政策的法制保障成为政策实施的关键问题。首先结合深圳市交通需求管理实践经验,梳理小汽车增量调控、停车收费政策的制定与实施情况。指出交通需求管理政策的制定与实施面临经济杠杆存在法理争议、行政手段法律依据不足和程序合法性存疑等法治障碍。进而提出在国家层面构建交通管理法治体系、在地方层面完善法律法规以及规范交通需求管理政策出台程序等完善路径。     

考虑多人相互影响的舰船通道最短路径规划

将时间维引入既定舰船通道网络,把考虑多人相互影响的动态最优路径规划问题转化为时间依赖网络中的最优路径搜索问题。首先,论文的算法为所有人员随机生成走行路径,为了预测网络中的弧(路段)的走行时间,按人员速度从慢到快的顺序依次计算并记录人员到达路径中的各路段首节点的时刻,先记录到的人员将成为后记录到的人员的动态障碍。然后,将遗传算法与网络中弧的走行时间预测方法相结合,借助遗传算法的个体多样性天然地解决了人员走行任意性问题,因而获得了全局动态最优路径算法,并仿真计算了两人以及三人的最短时间路径;经与不考虑人员间相互影响时获得的最优路径相比较,论文的算法获得了人员遇到障碍时(或跟行或绕行)的最优走行路径。最后,借助时间依赖网络中的最优路径充要条件定理,说明了算法的有效性。     

城市客车内饰风道设计简述

城市客车内饰风道设计的好坏对车辆的运行性能似乎没有什么影响,往往容易被忽视。风道不仅影响到内饰的美观而且对空调客车内室的保温、减少空调系统的损失,提高运行经济性起到至关重要的作用。这里对城市客车风道的结构设计、材料应用及其隔热措施保温提出了自己的见解,并着重叙述了风道的保温。