System optimum dynamic traffic assignment with departure time choice on two-terminal networks

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the system optimum dynamic traffic assignment (SO-DTA) problem with departure time choice on a two-terminal network, where the travel cost consists of travel time and an early schedule delay cost. Under a certain condition, we show that SO-DTA reduces to the latest departure earliest arrival flow (LDEAF), and hence methodologies of LDEAF can be used to study SO-DTA. A successive shortest path (SSP) algorithm is used to solve the LDEAF problem. The benefit is that the SSP algorithm involves only the shortest path computations on a static network. System marginal costs, externalities and dynamic user equilibrium tolls are analyzed in the LDEAF context, and used to provide a better understanding of the SO-DTA problem characteristics. Further, the study findings can be used for the morning commute problem as it is a special case of the SO-DTA problem on a two-terminal network.

KEYWORDS:

• Dynamic traffic assignment
• departure time choice
• early schedule delay
• system optimum
• latest departure earliest arrival flow
• morning commute

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work is based on funding provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the NEXTRANS Center, the USDOT Region 5 University Transportation Center. The authors are solely responsible for the contents of this paper.