| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 721745 | IFAC Proceedings Volumes | 2009 | 7 Pages |
Traffic congestion during peak hours has become one of the major problems affecting the road networks. GPS, in coordination with data retrieving software has been used for various purposes ranging from commercial utilization (route guidance systems) to monitoring traffic by different transportation organizations. In this research, collection of travel time and delay data on a congested network is used to obtain results that enable a commuter to make intelligent choices regarding his or her route. Travel time and delay data retrieved from a GPS instrument attached to a test vehicle traversing the study area during peak hours has been used to determine an optimal route between any given origin and destination in the area.The data collected on each road segment was analyzed and fitted into distributions. Using these distributions, the estimated travel time on each segment was inferred and the probability of being delayed was determined. The travel time and delay data in the form of Microsoft Access tables was imported into the GIS and programmed using a Visual Basic code, such that a user-friendly tool written in Visual Basic using ArcObjects was developed which provides the user with the optimal route between two selected points in the network, the travel time required to traverse the route, and the probability of being delayed on the route. In addition to this data, travel time maps are generated for the network, which provide a visual display illustrating the road network around a reference point for a given time.
