Traffic assignment: A survey of mathematical models and techniques

This chapter presents the fundamentals of the theory and techniques of traffic assignment problem. It first presents the steady-state traffic assignment problem formulation which is also called static assignment, followed by Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA), where the traffic demand on the network is time varying. The static assignment problem is shown in a mathematical programming setting for two different objectives to be satisfied. The first one where all users experience same travel times in alternate used routes is called user-equilibrium and another setting called system optimum in which the assignment attempts to minimize the total travel time. The alternate formulation uses variational inequality method which is also presented. Dynamic travel routing problem is also reviewed in the variational inequality setting. DTA problem is shown in discrete and continuous time in terms of lumped parameters as well as in a macroscopic setting, where partial differential equations are used for the link traffic dynamics. A Hamilton–Jacobi- based travel time dynamics model is also presented for the links and routes, which is integrated with the macroscopic traffic dynamics. Simulation-based DTA method is also very briefly reviewed. This chapter is taken from the following Springer publication and is reproduced here, with permission and with minor changes: Pushkin Kachroo, and Neveen Shlayan, “Dynamic traffic assignment: A survey of mathematical models and technique,” Advances in Dynamic Network Modeling in Complex Transportation Systems (Editor: Satish V. Ukkusuri and Kaan Özbay) Springer New York, 2013. 1-25.