A time-dependent TRANSYT traffic model for area traffic control

Abstract

Traffic signals have been used in many countries and found to be one of the most effective ways to resolve conflicting traffic movements. Conventional methods for the calculation of signal settings use stage-based specification of timings and assume the traffic demand is time-stationary. With the advent of microprocessor controller technology, a higher degree of flexibility for the specification of signal settings becomes possible by using a group-based representation of signal timings. In this paper, the original TRANSYT traffic model is modified to deal with the problem of time-varying demand. This time-dependent TRANSYT traffic model employs a newly calibrated set of sheared formulae for queues and delays, based on group-based signal specification. This opens the ways of extending the traffic model for solving the time-dependent signal setting problem in road networks for area traffic control. The performance index evaluated from the time-dependent TRANSYT traffic model is compared with the results obtained from a microscopic simulation model NETSIM. © 2004 ASCE.