Effects of Connected Vehicle Technology on Mobility and Mode Choice

Abstract

Connected vehicle is a fully connected transportation system in which vehicles, infrastructure, and mobile devices are enabled to exchange information in real-time to bring advancements in transportation operations. It is important to incorporate the new characteristics of the connected vehicle in the transportation planning process. Also, it is vital for planning and road agencies to better understand the impacts of connected vehicle on transportation networks, system demand, and travel behavior of road users in order to properly prepare for them. In addition, developers of connected vehicle systems can gain insight into how their systems will impact road users and network performance. When a change in performance of a transportation network occurs it can potentially cause users to change travel modes, known as mode choice. In this research, the change in mode choice, due to the change in network performance by introduction of connected vehicle is studied. This provides a more accurate depiction of the performance of the network and indicates how connected vehicles could change travellers’ preference in travel mode. The effect of this technology is explored on the performance of the Toronto waterfront, in a microsimulation environment. The results show that average travel time increases for high market penetrations when a dynamic route guidance algorithm is implemented, a phenomenon that occurs in dense, and complex traffic networks. Analysis of mode choice shows a loss in the auto mode share, for high market penetrations, due to the increased auto travel times. This loss in the auto mode share is compensated by increases in the other modes.