Dynamic Modelling of Traffic Networks
B. Heydecker (Centre for Transport Studies, University College London)
Road transport networks are used by private individuals to meet their needs for travel, choosing their frequency, mode, departure time and route according to their own preferences. Models of this travel behaviour have been developed and solved for networks of practical size. This can be applied to design networks, including information, management, pricing and control systems that will perform well when the traffic flows are in equilibrium: this corresponds to a bi-level programme that is generally non-convex. Formulations to calculate the optimal dynamic loading of a transport network are harder to solve but can be used to devise pricing strategies.