Intelligent Transportation Systems Applications for the Environment and Energy Conservation (Part 2)

This second special issue of the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems contains seven articles. The first three articles present new models and algorithms for predicting emissions and evaluating signal timing optimization at signalized intersections or arterials. The first article, “A New Approach to Estimate Vehicle Emissions Using Inductive Loop Detector Data,” by S. Jeng, K. S. Nesamani, and S. G. Ritchie, develops a new method to measure travel activity that can improve the accuracy of on-road emission inventory. Reidentification-2 (RTREID-2), a core algorithm adopted in inductive signature performance evaluation, and real-time vehicle classification (RTVC) models are used with the existing inductive loop detector (ILD) data. The results on a study corridor in Irvine, CA, show that the proposed method performs better than the current practices and provides a cost-effective way for reliable emission inventory. The second article, “Prediction of Vehicle Activity for Emissions Estimation Under Oversaturated Conditions Along Signalized Arterials,” by A. Skabardonis, N. Geroliminis, and E. Christofa, also proposes a new model for predicting emissions considering the effects of traffic congestion, control devices, and driving mode, which is based on loop detector data and signal settings at each intersection. The proposed analytical model is evaluated through simulation of a major urban signalized arterial in Los Angeles, California and a real-world application. The results indicate that the proposed model estimates of vehicle ac-