Analysis of Micro-cars' Influence on Traffic Network Using a Microscopic Simulator

The environmental effects and network performance of mixed traffic, consisting of micro-cars and conventional cars, on a small network are investigated using microscopic simulations. After calibrating the simulation model, the effects of three assumptions concerning micro-car speeds are investigated using the model. First, the parameters needed for network performance evaluation are determined iteratively. The power required to meet total travel demand is then computed to predict emissions. A higher ratio of micro-cars in the traffic reduces emissions, as does a lower micro-car speed. To investigate travel efficiency, the main parameters used are average speed, total travel time and total delay time. The results suggest that a higher ratio of micro-cars has a positive effect on the network when their speed is the same as or a slightly lower than that of conventional cars, while a higher ratio of micro-cars has a negative effect when their speed is close to the average traffic speed of the base model. To obtain a suitable balance between desired environmental effects and road network performance, we recommend that the desired speed of micro-cars be set to 40–45 km/h on a small urban traffic network.