Optimization and Comparative Analysis of Traffic Restriction Policy by Jointly Considering Carpool Exemptions

Xueyan Wei, Weijie Yu, Wei Wang, Zhao De and Xuedong Hua
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Xueyan Wei: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban ITS, Southeast University, No.2 Southeast University Road, Nanjing 211189, China
Weijie Yu: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban ITS, Southeast University, No.2 Southeast University Road, Nanjing 211189, China
Wei Wang: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban ITS, Southeast University, No.2 Southeast University Road, Nanjing 211189, China
Zhao De: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban ITS, Southeast University, No.2 Southeast University Road, Nanjing 211189, China
Xuedong Hua: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban ITS, Southeast University, No.2 Southeast University Road, Nanjing 211189, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: As a countermeasure to urban exhaust pollution and traffic congestion, traffic restriction policy (TRP) and carpooling strategy have been widely introduced throughout the world. However, their effects are largely determined by the rationality of implementing policies, and unreasonable policies make them controversial on the long-term implementation benefits. To more effectively manage traffic demand and maintain the sustainability of transportation system, it is necessary to make optimization for management policy before implementation. In this paper, the elastic demand model and equilibrium assignment model are developed under TRP. Considering the negative impact of the mandatory TRP on the public acceptance, we propose a novel TRP strategy, namely TRP with carpool exemptions (TRP-CE), that is, a proportion of high occupancy vehicles (HOV) are allowed to travel in the restricted district even if their license plate numbers are restricted. Then, a bi-level programming model is proposed to solve the optimal schemes by combining multi purposes of ensuring travel convenience, alleviating traffic congestion, and reducing the exhaust pollution. Finally, a numerical experiment is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed models and make comparative analysis between separate TRP and TRP-CE. The results indicate that TRP-CE has benefits in the following aspects: (1) Carpool exemptions provide an incentive to carpool for travelers by private cars; (2) the public acceptance of TRP is improved by introducing carpool exemptions as a compensatory mitigation strategy for mandatory TRP; (3) the implementation effect of demand management can be well achieved by joint optimization; and (4) there is no need to design and reconstruct HOV lanes for the implementation of TRP-CE, which is convenient for practical application.

Keywords: traffic restriction; traffic demand management; carpooling; traffic policy; bi-level programming model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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