The processes of traffic control and the behaviour of travellers influence each other, because they have different 'actors' which can have different goals. Traffic control decisions taken by road managers are aimed at achieving a system optimum, but influence the possibilities of travellers to choose their preferred mode, departure time and route. On the other hand, road users will search for their own optimum (for example the fastest or cheapest way to travel from A to B) and this will influence the traffic flows and therefore traffic control. The problem then is to optimise traffic control in such a way that the system is at an optimum, taking into account the reactions of travellers. In this paper the influence of a given type of control on the traffic assignment is shown with some simple examples, using an iterative approach and simulation for determining the travel times. The results confirm that the type of control can have a big influence on the travel times and therefore also on the equilibrium flows. For the covering abstract see ITRD E114174.
Samenvatting