The Impact of Unconditional Priority for Escorted Vehicles in Traffic Networks on Sustainable Urban Mobility

Abstract

Efficient traffic systems control in large cities, and the complex traffic management of signalized intersections is a challenging task, particularly when dealing with high traffic volumes. The city of Zagreb faces this challenge, as all administrative and governmental institutions are in the historic part of the city, and routes for escorted vehicles have a significant impact on the traffic network. This paper addresses the issue of the impact of unconditional priority for escorted vehicles on the energy efficiency of the urban traffic network in the city of Zagreb. The traffic network model is developed using the PTV Vissim microsimulation software. The evaluation was conducted with nodes (delay, queue length, and number of stops) and network evaluation parameters (CO2 emission, NOx emission, PM10 emission, and fuel consumption). The results show that unconditional priority has minimal impact on energy consumption and exhaust emission in the observed scenario. This is a significant result considering all actions that must be undertaken to manage the passage of the escorted vehicles through the traffic network.

Specifics of Creating a Public Transport Demand Model for Low-Density Regions: Lithuanian Case

“…A model is considered calibrated when 85% of the total traffic volume exhibits a GEH coefficient below 5.0. Conversely, if the GEH coefficient exceeds 10.0, the model is deemed uncalibrated, rendering the collected data and simulation model output irrelevant [54]. The use of the GEH indicator as an acceptability criterion for travel demand forecasting models is recognized in the UK Highways Agency's Road and Bridge Design Guide, the Wisconsin Microscopic Modelling Guidelines, the Transport for London Traffic Modelling Guidelines, and other references [28].…”