Signal optimization in urban transport: A totally asymmetric simple exclusion process with traffic lights

TL;DR

This paper models urban traffic flow using a time-dependent exclusion process with traffic lights, analyzing how signal timing, system size, and vehicle density influence flow, density distribution, and waiting times.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of the asymmetric simple exclusion process with periodic defective bonds to simulate and analyze urban traffic signals.

Findings

Traffic flow depends on signal timing and vehicle density.

Existence of shock profiles in vehicular density distribution.

Waiting times are closely related to traffic flow efficiency.

Abstract

We consider the exclusion process on a ring with time-dependent defective bonds at which the hoping rate periodically switches between zero and one. This system models main roads in city traffics, intersecting with perpendicular streets. We explore basic properties of the system, in particular dependence of the vehicular flow on the parameters of signalization as well as the system size and the car density. We investigate various types of the spatial distribution of the vehicular density, and show existence of a shock profile. We also measure waiting time behind traffic lights, and examine its relationship with the traffic flow.