MICRO SIMULATION FOR TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT MODEL APPLICABLE TO ON-TRIP DRIVER INFORMATION SYSTEM: TISS-NET WIN

Although traffic assignment model that allows changing route during the trip of each vehicle is necessary to estimate the effectiveness of on-trip driver information system, there has been no system to respond to such needs. The authors developed an innovative traffic assignment model that considers route change during the trip by responding, for example, to information about congestion. The system, named tiss-NET WIN (traffic impact simulation subsystems for road NETwork for WINdows), is the revised version of tiss-NET that was originally developed by the authors. An outline of tiss-NET follows. Streets are divided into 5-m length "compartments" to express car by car movement in the street. Each vehicle proceeds from origin to destination via minimum path that is calculated using actual record of trip time considering any kind of micro behavior including turning delay in intersections and influences of on-street parking. Result of the simulation is expressed by animation as well as by statistics. Although tiss-NET is a unique system integrating micro traffic simulation and traffic assignment in network, it has had the limitation that route should be fixed at the origin. The revised points in tiss-NET WIN are as follows: 1) when each vehicle arrives at an intersection where it is judged that the driver can change the route, the minimum path from the intersection and the destination is calculated; and 2) graphical user interface function is fully improved by using WINDOWS platform.