Connected and efficient multimodal traffic and fleet management systems
July 2024
Cooperative Connected Autonomous Mobility (CCAM) offers connectivity and automation possibilities that can improve multimodal traffic and fleet
management by providing richer, more reliable information on supply and demand. Exploiting this data aids the development of solutions and tools
to improve network performance, achieve higher levels of road safety and reduce environmental impact.
Which tools can model and assess CCAM systems?
Reliable and holistic mobility simulation systems are a key tool to facilitate the design, integration and demonstration of advanced traffic
and fleet management.
The CONDUCTOR project team uses transport simulation models to virtually assess the impact of traffic and fleet management strategies in
combination with new mobility services and connected and automated transport systems. Innovative multimodal traffic management solutions at
network level, incident management and optimised last mile delivery services are integrated into simulation tools and assessed as part of
different use cases in the project’s pilot cities Athens, Almelo and Madrid.
Depending on the scope of the application, different simulation tools can be used.
Aimsun contributes to the adaptation and upgrading of multi-resolution and multi-modal simulation models, ensuring interoperability between
the fleet and the traffic management strategies developed with the virtual transport ecosystem. In collaboration with the project partners Deusto
and Nommon, Aimsun will demonstrate and validate the proposed approaches in a simulation context using two use cases for the city of Madrid:
Use case 1: Managing disruptive events. Recovering transport network operations after a disruptive event is a challenging and complex problem for
many cities. This use case focuses on improving traffic management by proposing effective intervention strategies considering vehicle connectivity
and testing various levels of CCAM penetration.
The study area is the Madrid ring road M-30, a 32 km long urban highway that surrounds the central districts of Madrid. The secondary roads in the
adjacent urban road network offer possible detour options.
The use case is based on a simulated environment using Aimsun traffic simulation software. The simulation is a highly efficient tool for testing
what-if scenarios. By stipulating KPIs, the simulation enables the CONDUCTOR team to identify and quantify the impacts of planned and unplanned events
on the network.
Planned events can be, for example, road works that last from a few weeks to years and can have a serious impact on traffic by causing delays and
safety risks. Unplanned events, on the other hand, are unexpected situations, such as traffic accidents, which can cause congestion and disturbances
in network operations.
The simulation will emulate the communication of vehicles with the environment and receive personalised information, such as optimal departure
times and routes, lane selection and speed adaptation. An integrated optimisation module will adapt the schedule and develop new CAV routes, which
will be transmitted to the simulator.
The expected benefits of this UC are the reduction of: (i) recovery time, (ii) average travel time and travel distance per connected vehicle,
(iii) economic losses due to travel delays and (iv) total vehicle emissions of CO2 and NOx.
Use case 3: Urban distribution of goods. Leveraging the excess capacity of CCAM-enabled Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) vehicles during periods
of lower demand for urban parcel delivery, this UC aims to develop coordination and integration strategies for last-mile urban delivery of parcels
and DRT services.
How can we assess the potential benefits and effectiveness of such strategies before deploying them in real-life? We will use machine learning,
data fusion techniques and traffic simulations in the following steps:
- Estimating demand for last mile deliveries and generating demand for DRT services
- Integration of DRT-CCAM and delivery demand through optimal demand-supply balancing strategies and routes
- Simulation-based evaluation of the DRT and parcel delivery service, capturing the interactions with the“background” traffic" on the network
The aim is to enhance the capabilities of authorities and operators and make them real conductors of future mobility networks.
