Multimodal, multicriteria dynamic route choice: a GIS-microscopic traffic simulation approach

Abstract

The demand for daily commuting that is safe, efficient, and cost-effective has given rise to the increasing use of multimodal public transport system. Single-mode and single-criterion route choice based on travel time or cost has been extensively studied. However, little has so far been reported on an integrated real-time model for multimodal and multicriteria route choice. The multiple criteria model described here is based on travel time, cost, and safety and allows for route choice across different transport modes. This model is implemented by integrating geographic information systems (GIS) with a microscopic traffic simulation system. The multimodal transport network is converted to a single-layer GIS network and the switching delays between different modes of transport are assigned to the related links. Subsequently, the link-based generalized cost from different factors is derived. Real-time traffic conditions obtained by means of simulating traffic conditions are then fed to GIS to find the time-dependent optimal route using a dynamic least generalized cost algorithm developed in this study. As different criteria influence the generalized cost for route selection differently, analytical hierarchy process is adopted for determining the weights of each factor. A prototype fulfilling the aforementioned aspects has been developed and the route choice model is demonstrated on multimodal transportation networks in the central region of Singapore.