PATH

Addressing Equity Challenges to Implementing Road Pricing

Taylor, Brian D., PhD
Kalauskas, Rebecca, MA
Iseki, Hiroyuki
2010

Many public officials looking for ways to increase the efficiency, equity, and financial stability of transportation systems are turning to metering road use with electronic tolls.  While tolling today is easier and cheaper than ever, officials face many obstacles to implementing tolling – especially concerning equity.  Accordingly, this paper examines road pricing equity from a variety of perspectives.  We begin by developing an evaluation framework that defines three distinct bases for evaluating equity – free markets, equal opportunities, and equal outcomes....

Use Of NASS Data For Evaluation Of AVCS Devices

Hitchcock, Anthony
1991

This report examines the applicability of the 1986 National Accident Sampling System (NASS) in providing sufficient information about a traffic accident to determine if an advanced vehicle control system (AVCS) could have had an impact in preventing that accident. The author states that, in general, NASS raw data are useful for evaluation of AVCS whenever a driver' s choices are limited to keeping a straight course at an appropriate speed

Developing Calibration Tools for Microscopic Traffic Simulation Final Report Part II: Calibration Framework and Calibration of Local/Global Driving Behavior and Departure/Route Choice Model Parameters

Zhang, Michael
Ma, Jingtao
Dong, Hu
2008

The central goal of this research is to develop a systematic framework and the support tools to ease, streamline and speed up the calibration of micro simulation projects. Part II of the final report documents the accomplishments achieved in the first phase of the research project(a review of practice and calibration guidelines is documented in a Part I). These accomplishments include: 1) developed a calibration framework that decouples the calibration process into five components: project scoping and error checking, global parameter calibration, local parameter calibration, departure/...

California Intersection Decision Support: A Systems Approach to Achieve Nationally Interoperable Solutions

Chan, Ching-Yao
2005

The overall IDS research plan was constructed to realize, in slightly more than three years, the requirements, tradeoffs assessment, and technology investigations necessary to define an IDS. Toward the end of the project we will combine our understanding of the problem definition, IDS technologies and our integration experience with a standard Caltrans intersection (with advanced controller) and design a deployable IDS demonstration that can be field tested.

Modeling, Design and Implementation of Longitudinal Control Algorithm for Automated Vehicle Merging

Lu, Xiao-Yun
Tan, Han-Shue
Shladover, Steven E.
Hedrick, J. Karl
2000

This report presents the work on the development of the regulation layer for automated merging. It includes system modeling, control system synthesis, theoretical analysis and real-rime implementation and field test. The essential part is a rather general adaptive merging algorithm. Key words: automated highway systems, advanced vehicle merging maneuvers, automated vehicle merging maneuvers, longitudinal control, speed control, distance control, vehicle platooning, virtual platooning, adaptive realtime merging algorithm, back-stepping control, magnet distance measurement

A Tool for the Incorporation of Non-Recurrent Congestion Costs of Freeway Accidents in Performance Management

Recker, Will
Chung, Younshik
Golob, Tom
2005

In this research, we develop and apply an analytic procedure that estimates the amount of traffic congestion (vehicle hours of delay) that is caused by different types of accidents that occur on urban freeways in California. A key feature of this research is the development of a method to separate the non-recurrent delay from any recurrent delay that is present on the road at the time and place of a reported accident, in order to estimate the contribution of non-recurrent delay caused by the specific accident. Our analysis involves a case study of accidents that occurred on freeways in...

An Assessment Of Ivhs-apts Technology Impacts On Energy Consumption And Vehicle Emissions Of Transit Bus Fleets

Jolibois, Jr., Sylvan C.
Kanafani, Adib
1994

This study seeks to examine the potential impacts of Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS) technologies in terms of vehicle emissions, air quality, and fuel consumption. The potential impact of APTS technologies on pollutant emissions and fuel consumption are examined. The results invite some skepticism about the potential benefits of APTS technologies in these areas. Areas of concern are discussed, and recommendations are made regarding how program emphasis be given to those APTs technologies and services that can attract travelers from auto to transit without increasing bus miles...

Macroscopic Roadway Traffic Controller Design

Chien, C. C.
Zhang, Y.
Stotsky, A.
Dharmasena, S. R.
Ioannou, P.
1995

In this paper, a roadway controller is designed, analyzed and simulated for a single automated highway lane that achieves desired traffic densities along the lane. A macroscopic traffic flow model that is modified for AHS (Automated Highway Systems) operation is used for control design and analysis. The authors show that the proposed roadway controller guarantees exponential convergence of the traffic density at each section of the lane to the desired density. Simulation results are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller and the significant benefits AHS may bring...

Assessment of MeMS Sensors in an Urban Traffic Environment

Varaiya, Pravin
2004

The objective of this "innovative new research topics" proposal was to investigate the potential of a vehicle detection system that combines an acoustic or magnetic sensor, a microprocessor, a radio, and a battery. If such a system is feasible, it would be a low-cost, flexible alternative to loop detection systems. The wireless sensor system could be installed in a few minutes, without the expensive loop installation that requires cutting the pavement, power and loop cabling, and extended traffic disruption. Four tasks were proposed: (1) detecting a stationary vehicle, (2) detecting a...

On-Ramp Metering Experiments to Increase Freeway Merge Capacity

Cassidy, Michael J.
Rudjanakanoknad, Jittichai
2005

Observations of two freeway/on-ramp merges unveil the mechanism that causes their capacities to diminish when queues form just upstream. Field experiments at one of the sites demonstrate that by responding to occupancies measured near the merge, ramp metering can reverse this mechanism, or postpone its occurrence, and thereby generate higher merge capacities. Detailed observations at the second site imply that higher merge capacities can also be achieved using traffic control schemes that regulate inflows to the merge from the freeway shoulder lane. Collectively, the findings point to...