Real Time Optimisation of Traffic Signals to Prioritise Public Transport

Plötz, Per-Arno; Wittpohl, Milan; Urquhart, Neil

Abstract

This paper examines the optimisation of traffic signals to prioritise public transportation (busses) in real time. A novel representation for the traffic signal prioritisation problem is introduced. Through the novel representation a creative evolutionary process, while ensuring safe solutions that comply with real-world traffic signal constraints, is possible. The proposed system finds near optimal solutions in 20 seconds, enabling real-time optimisation. The author examines a specific junction in Hamburg, Germany. Based on real-world traffic data a variety of different problem scenarios ranging from low to exceptional traffic saturations are generated. In collaboration with domain experts a fitness function is defined to reduce the journey time of a bus while maintaining an overall stable traffic system. Candidate solutions are evaluated using the microscopic traffic simulator SUMO allowing for precise optimisation and addressing of the flow prediction problem. The results show good scaling of the proposed system, with more significant improvements in more congested scenarios. Given the results, future research on bigger and multiple road junctions is motivated.
This work contributes to the field in four ways. Firstly, by defining a realworld problem containing the actual intersection layout and traffic signal parameters. Secondly, by presenting a software design that integrates highly efficient SUMO simulation into an evolutionary algorithm. Thirdly, by introducing a novel representation that allows creative, unconventional solutions while ensuring compliance with traffic signal regulations at all times. Lastly, by testing the suggested approach on various problem scenarios of the real-world problem.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (Published)
• Conference Name: EvoApplications 2021
• Start Date: Apr 7, 2021
• End Date: Apr 9, 2021
• Acceptance Date: Jan 20, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Apr 1, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 2, 2022
• Publisher: Springer
• Pages: 162-177
• Series Title: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Series Number: 12694
• Series ISSN: 1611-3349
• Book Title: Applications of Evolutionary Computation: 24th International Conference, EvoApplications 2021
• ISBN: 978-3-030-72698-0
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72699-7_11
• Keywords: Traffic Signal Prioritisation, Real-Time Traffic Simulation, Flow Prediction Problem, SUMO, Real-World Application
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2717731