CEE Seminar (ZOOM): Integrating Dynamic Mobility-on-demand Fleet Models into Transportation System Simulation Models

Abstract: Motivated by the presence and significant growth of mobility-on-demand (MOD) services provided by transportation network companies in cities, researchers have made significant advancements modeling MOD vehicle fleets over the past six to seven years. One stream of research has focused on optimizing fleet performance via developing smart (model-based) control policies and solution algorithms. A second stream of research has focused on integrating reasonable MOD vehicle fleet models into transportation system simulation models to analyze their potential transportation system impacts (e.g. congestion, mode choice, destination choice, accessibility, emissions, etc.). The scalability of the former set of MOD fleet models and control policies to very large vehicle fleets is questionable at best; whereas, the fleet performance of the latter set of MOD vehicle fleet models is typically poor. Hence, the goal of this research is to develop MOD fleet models and control policies that are computationally efficient yet reasonably resemble an MOD fleet operator focused on optimizing operational performance. To meet this goal, the study presents several modeling strategies that significantly reduce the computational complexity of the vehicle-traveler assignment problem, while not degrading the MOD fleet performance. The modeling strategies take advantage of the known spatial distribution of travelers and available vehicles at each time step. Computational results in medium (e.g. Bloomington, IN, USA) and large (e.g. Chicago, IL, USA) size cities/networks illustrate the very large computational benefits and the significant fleet performance benefits of the proposed strategies. The presentation will discuss the modeling and planning implications of this study.

Bio: Michael Hyland is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine, where he is affiliated with the Institute of Transportation Studies. Michael works to improve the modeling, analysis, planning and control of urban transportation systems to help create smarter (i.e. more efficient, sustainable and affordable) cities through research and teaching. His research interests include emerging transportation systems such as bikesharing, ridesharing and shared-use automated vehicle mobility services, as well as the integration of these emerging services with existing transportation modes. Before joining the faculty at UC Irvine, Hyland earned his doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from Northwestern University and his bachelor's and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Cornell University. He is a two-time recipient of the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship and was named one of the Top 20 Future Leaders in Transportation by the Eno Center for Transportation in 2016. He has received best student paper awards from the Illinois Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Transportation Research Forum.