Multi-Attribute, Multi-Class, Trip-Based, Multi-Modal Traffic Network Equilibrium Model: Application to Large-Scale Network

Transportation systems are dynamically driven not only by non-linear interactions between the different components but also by significant feedbacks between network state and user decision. In this work, we consider a trip-based multi-modal approach to network equilibrium. We assume that mode and path choice is carried out at the same level; therefore, travel time depends on the travel path and the mode attributes of travelers. First, we analyze the existing approaches in the literature to model users’ heterogeneity. Second, we present a formulation for static traffic network equilibrium and propose a hybrid formulation of the cost function for trip-based traffic assignment. Third, we consider dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) and propose a variational inequality formulation of the trip-based fixed demand function for the multi-class dynamic traffic equilibrium problem. Finally, we analyze the equilibrium in a large-scale DTA test case (Lyon 6e + Villeurbanne) by a simulation-based approach. Moreover, we propose a novel trip-based algorithm to solve the discrete DTA problem and compare it with the gap function-based method.