System optimum dynamic traffic assignment with departure time choice on two-terminal networks

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper addresses the system optimum dynamic traffic assignment (SO-DTA) problem with departure time choice on a two-terminal network, where the travel cost consists of travel time and an early schedule delay cost. Under a certain condition, we show that SO-DTA reduces to the latest departure earliest arrival flow (LDEAF), and hence methodologies of LDEAF can be used to study SO-DTA. A successive shortest path (SSP) algorithm is used to solve the LDEAF problem. The benefit is that the SSP algorithm involves only the shortest path computations on a static network. System marginal costs, externalities and dynamic user equilibrium tolls are analyzed in the LDEAF context, and used to provide a better understanding of the SO-DTA problem characteristics. Further, the study findings can be used for the morning commute problem as it is a special case of the SO-DTA problem on a two-terminal network.