An improved cellular automaton model considering the effect of traffic lights and driving behaviour

This paper proposes an improved cellular automaton model to describe the urban traffic flow with the consideration of traffic light and driving behaviour effects. Based on the model, the characteristics of the urban traffic flow on a single-lane road are investigated under three different control strategies, i.e., the synchronized, the green wave and the random strategies. The fundamental diagrams and time-space patterns of the traffic flows are provided for these strategies respectively. It finds that the dynamical transition to the congested flow appears when the vehicle density is higher than a critical level. The saturated flow is less dependent on the cycle time and the strategies of the traffic light control, while the critical vehicle density varies with the cycle time and the strategies. Simulated results indicate that the green wave strategy is proven to be the most effective one among the above three control strategies. © 2011 Chinese Physical Society and IOP Publishing Ltd.