Coordinated Congestion Pricing for Bi-Modal Multi-Region Urban Networks

Extensive studies have explored designing pricing schemes for single-mode or homogeneous networks. The development of bi-modal Macroscopic Fundamental Diagrams (3D-MFD) facilitates real-time coordinated control strategies for bi-modal multi-regional urban networks. This research explores the traffic dynamics of mixed networks with urban networks and expressways, proposing two 3D-MFD-based coordinated pricing schemes for bi-modal multi-region urban networks. The first scheme utilizes a Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach to integrating toll rates into the 3D-MFD-based optimization problem. The second scheme applies feedback control theory to simultaneously determine the dynamic price and estimate the value of Time (VOT) and trip length distribution of commuters. The proposed coordinated pricing schemes are further compared with uncoordinated pricing schemes. Numerical examples indicate that coordinated pricing by comprehensively considering the traffic flow and demand across different regions of the urban network achieves more effective congestion alleviation.