Economically Justified ITS Traffic Control Systems for the 20th ITS World Congress Tokyo 2013

摘要

Increasingly, our motorways are becoming clogged with traffic; affecting our lives, frustrating drivers and restricting economic growth. Should we continue to build / widen roads or manage better what we have? Managed Motorways is a toolbox of techniques which represent a step change in how networks are managed; the application of control techniques based on traffic flow theory to the motorway environment. These systems are being used more and more overseas. Why? What safety and operational benefit do they bring? Will they work in New Zealand? How can we test their effectiveness and measure their potential economic benefits? Information from overseas provides a strong guide to the design and functionality of these systems. Microsimulation modeling can mimic this infrastructure and directly measure the change in behaviours brought about by the ITS systems - how they could improve journey times, reliability, and reduce congestion on an actual New Zealand motorway, and manage traffic better when incidents occur.