Target-Oriented User Equilibrium Considering Travel Time, Late Arrival Penalty, and Travel Cost on the Stochastic Tolled Traffic Network

Abstract

In this paper, we employ a target-oriented approach to analyze the multi-attribute route choice decision of travelers in the stochastic tolled traffic network, considering the influence of three attributes, which are (stochastic) travel time, (stochastic) late arrival penalty, and (deterministic) travel cost. We introduce a target-oriented multi-attribute travel utility model for this analysis, where each attribute is assigned a target by travelers, and travelers’ objective is to maximize their travel utility that is determined by the achieved targets. Moreover, the interaction between targets is interpreted as complementarity relationship between them, which can further affect their travel utility. In addition, based on this travel utility model, a target-oriented multi-attribute user equilibrium model is proposed, which is formulated as a variational inequality problem and solved with the method of successive average. Target for travel time is determined via travelers’ on-time arrival probability, while targets for late arrival penalty and travel cost are given exogenously. Lastly, we apply the proposed model on the Braess and Nguyen-Dupuis traffic networks, and conduct sensitivity analysis of the parameters, including these three targets and the target interaction between them. The study in this paper can provide a new perspective for travelers’ multi-attribute route choice decision, which can further show some implications for the policy design.