Modelling Intelligent Transportation Systems and Their Implications for Climate Change

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) have been promoted as a way to enhance transportation system performance through application of advanced technology to the planning, management, and operation of transportation services and infrastructure. Improvements in operational efficiency brought about through ITS may also have significant environmental benefits, including a reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Given the complex interactions which characterize the urban transport system, a comprehensive modelling framework is needed to fully understand the potential implications of ITS technologies from a climate change perspective. This paper reports on a research project that is currently being carried out to examine the operational and environmental benefits of adopting ITS measures in Ottawa, Ontario. One of the primary objectives of the project is to develop a realistic, integrated freeway / arterial network model which is capable of capturing the system-wide effects of ITS initiatives at a traffic operations level of detail using a traffic microsimulation approach. The model was implemented using the software INTEGRATION and is currently being used to analyze a variety of ITS measures, including variable message signs, incident management, en-route traveler information, in-vehicle navigation, and electronic toll collection.