Providing personalized system optimum traveler information in a congested traffic network with mixed users

The advancement of information and communication technology allows the use of more sophisticated information provision strategies for real-time traffic management in a congested network. This article proposes a personalized system optimum traveler information (PSOI) system under ubiquitous communication, which allows traffic system operators to fully optimize and coordinate individuals' trip plans according to the personal attributes, such as real-time location, value of time, allowable budgets for congestion tolling, and willingness to take detours. We also developed an efficient queue-based evaluation and solution heuristic algorithm using mesoscopic simulation models to solve for near-optimal PSOI strategies—route suggestions for each individual traveler. The simulation optimization algorithm can account for different information users and provide predictive information that robustly accounts for potential decisions of other travelers in real time. Case studies were carried out on a test network and a real-world network, and the proposed heuristic algorithm is proven effective. Also, sensitivity analyses show that PSOI not only is an effective traffic management method in reducing average system travel time, but also potentially provides travelers with reasonable or even shorter travel times compared with other information users. Further, simulation results showed that even in mixed traffic, PSOI is able to shorten travel times for both users without information and users of other information types. Thus, PSOI is recommended by this article as an advantageous way for next-generation advanced information systems and dynamic traffic management.