Dynamic tradable credit scheme for multimodal urban networks

A Tradable Credit Scheme (TCS) is a demand management policy aiming for more sustainable travel behavior. The regulator defines the total credit cap and the credit distribution; it also determines the credit charges for each travel alternative at different times of the day, which modifies the perceived users’ costs. The credit price is determined by trading of credits between travelers. Defining the credit scheme at the urban level and estimating its impacts on user travel decisions and the network congestion dynamics is challenging. We propose a framework wherein travelers change their departure times and choose between solo car driving, Public Transportation (PT), and carpooling to complete their trips under a dynamic TCS, meaning the credit charge is time-dependent. A multimodal macroscopic traffic simulator based on a generalized bathtub model captures the congestion dynamics for the different transport modes. Additionally, we consider different values of time, trip lengths, and desired arrival times for the demand profile.