Citation

Zhang X, Zhang HM, Li L. Int. J. Sustain. Transp. 2010; 4(1): 56-74.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15568310601060036

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

For decades, bottleneck models have served as analytical tools in analyzing urban rush-hour traffic congestion, which is a recurrent problem that affects the sustainability of a transportation system. However, most analytical studies up-to-date on the bottleneck models are dealing with bottlenecks with temporally constant capacities, whereas analysis regarding the bottlenecks with time-varying capacities has so far received little attention. In this paper, we investigate how travelers behave and react on bottlenecks with time-varying capacities, examine the user equilibrium and system optimal traffic patterns and derive pricing regimes that lead to the system optimum pattern. Finally, some practical applications using the analytical models are presented, and the implications of these results are discussed.