Information-based network control strategies consistent with estimated driver behavior

This study proposes a fuzzy control based methodology to determine information-based network control strategies that are consistent with the controller’s objectives and its estimation of driver response behavior. It is the core of the broader problem where the objective is to enhance the performance of a vehicular traffic system through real-time information-based network control strategies. The controller seeks behavior consistency by solving a fixed-point problem that estimates drivers’ likely reactions to the controller-proposed information strategies while determining them. Experiments are performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The results suggest the importance of using a behavior-consistent approach to determine the information-based network control strategies. That is, the effects of driver response behavior to information provision may require more meaningful strategies than those provided under the traditional dynamic traffic assignment models to reliably estimate or control system performance. Information strategies that are not behavior-consistent can potentially deteriorate system performance.