Cellular automaton model with non-hypothetical congested steady state reproducing the three-phase traffic flow theory

Abstract

A new assumption is assumed to explain the mechanisms of traffic flow that in the noiseless limit, vehicles’ space gap will oscillate around the desired space gap, rather than keep the desired space gap, in the homogeneous congested traffic flow. It means there are no steady states of congested traffic and contradicts with the fundamental diagram approach and three-phase traffic flow theory both of which admit the existence of steady states of congested traffic. In order to verify this assumption, a cellular automaton model with non-hypothetical congested steady state is proposed, which is based on the Nagel-Schreckenberg model with additional slow-to-start and the effective desired space gap. Simulations show that this new model can produce the synchronized flow, the transitions from free flow to synchronized flow to wide moving jams, and multiple congested patterns observed by the three-phase theory.