Impact of connected and automated vehicles on the travel time reliability of an urban network

Abstract

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) have the potential to revolutionise the transportation industry, with a plethora of research already revealing considerable gains in safety, travel time and mobility, as well as reduced congestion and pollution. As the number of CAVs on the road grows, rigorous testing for various market penetration rates (MPRs) of CAVS is essential to determine under what conditions the benefits can be realised. For the studies investigating the impact of CAVs on travel time reliability specifically, the MPRs in which the network most thrives have been inconsistent. The majority of the research is concerned with highway networks with only a few travel time reliability studies that focus on urban networks. In this simulation study, the impact of varying MPRs of CAVs on travel time reliability is evaluated in an urban network for different traffic demands. Travel time reliability metrics are assessed, including the standard deviation, buffer time index and misery index. The study demonstrated that from 0% to 100% MPR, the overall weighted average travel time decreased by 28%, and the standard deviation of the weighted average travel time declined by 35%, highlighting the significant increase in travel time reliability. Travel time improvements were visible from the MPR of 10%; however, the reliability metrics highlighted the greatest benefits occurred at higher MPRs. This study presents valuable results about the reliability that CAVs can bring to urban networks during the fleet transition to CAVs.