Development and applications of TPModel, a queuing model describing traffic operations during electronic toll collection (ETC).

摘要

The Toll Plaza Model or TPModel is a queuing model and methodology to estimate the total rush hour traffic delay at a toll facility. The estimated rush-hour-delay depends upon the specific characteristics of the rush hour traffic as well as the lane configuration of the plaza. The plaza may provide the Electronic Toll Collection, ETC, as well as the traditional collection services: manual toll collection, in which a toll collector handles transactions, and the automatic toll collection, in which coin-machines are utilized.;In addition to single service lanes, TPModel allows for lanes providing mixed services in which ETC is installed in conjunction with traditional services. TPModel is a unique queuing model because it can process queues consisting of a mixture of customers requiring different service times.;In order to demonstrate the methodology, TPModel is customized, calibrated and validated using arrival and departure data collected on videotapes at the Holland East Plaza, HEP, in Orlando, Florida. Furthermore, TPModel is used to determine the HEP's performance under different lane configurations and under a variety of traffic volumes and compositions. Recommended plaza configurations are constructed for the HEP using TPModel's estimated-rush-hour-delay (in units of vehicle-minutes) as the primary measure of effectiveness.