Citation

Kloostra B, Roorda MJ. Transp. Plann. Tech. 2019; 42(2): 99-112.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/03081060.2019.1565159

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to considerably change urban mobility in the future. This study simulates potential AV operating scenarios in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada, and assesses transportation system performance on a regional level. For each scenario, the base capacities of certain types of road links are modified to simulate the theoretical increase in throughput enabled by AV driving behavior. Another scenario examines driverless parking operations in downtown Toronto. Simulation results indicate that the increased attractiveness of freeways relative to other routes leads to slightly increased average travel distance as vehicles divert to access higher capacity road links. Average travel time is found to decrease by up to one-fifth at the 90% AV market penetration level. Concurrently, localized increases in congestion suggest that proactive transportation planning will be needed to mitigate negative consequences of AV adoption, especially in relation to induced demand for personal automobile travel.

Language: en

Keywords

Autonomous vehicles; capacity; driverless cars; Greater Toronto Area; transportation system performance; travel time