Mental models of driving and speed: biases,choices and reality

This paper provides a review of research performed by Svenson with colleagues and others work on mental models and their practical implications. Mental models describe how people perceive and think about the world including covariances and relationships between different variables, such as driving speed and time. Research on mental models has detected the time-saving bias [Svenson, O. (1970). A functional measurement approach to intuitive estimation as exemplified by estimated time savings. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 86, 204–210]. It means that drivers relatively overestimate the time that can be saved by increasing speed from an already high speed, for example, 90–130?km/h, and underestimate the time that can be saved by increasing speed from a low speed, for example, 30–45?km/h. In congruence with this finding, mean speed judgments and perceptions of mean speeds are also biased and higher speeds given too much weight and low speeds too little weight in comparison with objective reality. Replacing or adding a new speedometer in the car showing min per km eliminated or weakened the time-saving bias. Information about braking distances at different speeds did not improve overoptimistic judgments of braking capacity, but information about collision speed with an object suddenly appearing on the road did improve judgments of braking capacity. This is relevant to drivers, politicians and traffic regulators.     

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.     

Link travel time inference using entry/exit information of trips on a network

This paper studies link travel time estimation using entry/exit time stamps of trips on a steady-state transportation network. We propose two inference methods based on the likelihood principle, assuming each link associates with a random travel time. The first method considers independent and Gaussian distributed link travel times, using the additive property that trip time has a closed-form distribution as the summation of link travel times. We particularly analyze the mean estimates when the variances of trip time estimates are known with a high degree of precision and examine the uniqueness of solutions. Two cases are discussed in detail: one with known paths of all trips and the other with unknown paths of some trips. We apply the Gaussian mixture model and the Expectation–Maximization (EM) algorithm to deal with the latter. The second method splits trip time proportionally among links traversed to deal with more general link travel time distributions such as log-normal. This approach builds upon an expected log-likelihood function which naturally leads to an iterative procedure analogous to the EM algorithm for solutions. Simulation tests on a simple nine-link network and on the Sioux Falls network respectively indicate that the two methods both perform well. The second method (i.e., trip splitting approximation) generally runs faster but with larger errors of estimated standard deviations of link travel times.     

Application of Lagrangian relaxation approach to α-reliable path finding in stochastic networks with correlated link travel times

This study investigates the important problem of determining a reliable path in a stochastic network with correlated link travel times. First, the distribution of path travel time is quantified by using trip records from GPS probe vehicles. Second, the spatial correlation of link travel time is explicitly considered by using a correlation coefficient matrix, which is incorporated into the α-reliable path problem by Cholesky decomposition. Third, the Lagrangian relaxation based framework is used to handle the α-reliable path problem, by which the intractable problem with a non-linear and non-additive structure can be decomposed into several easy-to-solve problems. Finally, the path-finding performance of this approach is tested on a real-world network. The results show that 15 iterations of calculation can yield a small relative gap between upper and lower bounds of the optimal solution and the average running time is about 5 s for most OD settings. The applicability of α-reliable path finding is validated by a case study.     

基于多参数状态时间序列的交通状态预测方法

利用多个参数描述交通状态时,交通流数据表现为多维空间数据。提出了将属于每个状态的多维空间数据转换为一维时间序列的方法,对于此状态时间序列采用BP神经网络进行了下1个时段的交通状态预测。实验结果表明,多参数状态时间序列比单个参数时间序列能更准确地描述交通流状态变化过程,且算法简单,具有较强的预测实时性。     

窄桥面悬索桥非线性抖振时域分析

以一主跨278 m,桥面宽4 m的钢桁架加劲梁窄桥面悬索桥--新疆赛吾迭格尔大桥为工程背景,对窄桥面悬索桥的风致抖振响应进行有限元仿真模拟分析,并对可能影响抖振分析结果的非线性因素进行了分析.分析结果表明:对于该类型悬索桥,结构的大变形效应对抖振响应影响为负,计算动力响应可以偏保守不考虑结构的大变形,各因素对主梁各方向抖振响应的影响各不相同,抖振对横向位移的影响比较大,应该重点考虑.     

An efficient and exact event-based algorithm for solving simplified first order dynamic network loading problems in continuous time

In this paper a novel solution algorithm is proposed for exactly solving simplified first order dynamic network loading (DNL) problems for any generalised network. This DNL solution algorithm, termed eLTM (event-based Link Transmission Model), is based on the seminal Lighthill–Witham–Richards (LWR) model, adopts a triangular fundamental diagram and includes a generalised first order node model formulation. Unlike virtually all DNL solution algorithms, eLTM does not rely on time discretisation, but instead adopts an event based approach. The main advantage of this approach is the possibility of yielding exact results. Furthermore, an approximate version of the same algorithm is introduced. The user can configure an a-priori threshold that dictates the approximation error (measurable a-posteriori). Using this approximation the computational effort required decreases significantly, making it especially suitable for large scale applications. The computational complexity is investigated and results are demonstrated via theoretical and real world case studies. Fixed periods of stationary demands are included adopting a matrix demand profile to mimic basic departure time demand fluctuations. Finally, the information loss of the approximate solution is assessed under different configurations.     

Estimating the bus user time benefits of implementing a median busway: Methodology and case study

This paper presents a general framework to estimate the bus user time benefits of a median busway including the effects on travel time and access time. Unlike previous models, we take into account the effects of geometry and the interaction with the demand structure. Models for predicting the bus in-vehicle time benefits of a median dual carriageway busway against mixed traffic condition on 2 and 3 lanes roads are estimated using data from a case study in Santiago (Chile), using a bus travel time model empirically estimated and considering different base case situations, including mixed traffic operations and bus lanes. Results of the application show that the expected in-vehicle time savings of a median busway might be reduced by access time losses due to increased walking distances and road crossing delays. Also, that net time benefits can vary significantly according to the base situation and the structure of demand considered. These findings point out to the need of including a wider set of impacts when studying the benefits of median busways, beyond in-vehicle time savings only. The empirical work presented here is completely based on passive data coming from GPS and smartcards, what makes easier and cheaper to conduct this type of analysis as well as to do it with a comprehensive scope at an early stage of the development of a BRT project. This framework can be extended to other types of dedicated bus lanes provided that a corresponding bus travel time savings model is available.     

The cost of equity: Assessing transit accessibility and social disparity using total travel cost

Social equity is increasingly incorporated as a long-term objective into urban transportation plans. Researchers use accessibility measures to assess equity issues, such as determining the amount of jobs reachable by marginalized groups within a defined travel time threshold and compare these measures across socioeconomic categories. However, allocating public transit resources in an equitable manner is not only related to travel time, but also related to the out-of-pocket cost of transit, which can represent a major barrier to accessibility for many disadvantaged groups. Therefore, this research proposes a set of new accessibility measures that incorporates both travel time and transit fares. It then applies those measures to determine whether people residing in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods in Montreal, Canada experience the same levels of transit accessibility as those living in other neighborhoods. Results are presented in terms of regional accessibility and trends by social indicator decile. Travel time accessibility measures estimate a higher number of jobs that can be reached compared to combined travel time and cost measures. However, the degree and impact of these measures varies across the social deciles. Compared to other groups in the region, residents of socially disadvantaged areas have more equitable accessibility to jobs using transit; this is reflected in smaller decreases in accessibility when fare costs are included. Generating new measures of accessibility combining travel time and transit fares provides more accurate measures that can be easily communicated by transportation planners and engineers to policy makers and the public since it translates accessibility measures to a dollar value.     

Integrating capacity analysis with high-speed railway timetabling: A minimum cycle time calculation model with flexible overtaking constraints and intelligent enumeration

Compared with most optimization methods for capacity evaluation, integrating capacity analysis with timetabling can reveal the types of train line plans and operating rules that have a positive influence on improving capacity utilization as well as yielding more accurate analyses. For most capacity analyses and cyclic timetabling methods, the cycle time is a constant (e.g., one or two hours). In this paper, we propose a minimum cycle time calculation (MCTC) model based on the periodic event scheduling problem (PESP) for a given train line plan, which is promising for macroscopic train timetabling and capacity analysis. In accordance with train operating rules, a non-collision constraint and a series of flexible overtaking constraints (FOCs) are constructed based on variations of the original binary variables in the PESP. Because of the complexity of the PESP, an iterative approximation (IA) method for integration with the CPLEX solver is proposed. Finally, two hypothetical cases are considered to analyze railway capacity, and several influencing factors are studied, including train regularity, train speed, line plan specifications (train stops), overtaking and train heterogeneity. The MCTC model and IA method are used to test a real-world case involving the timetable of the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway in China.