Modeling different penetration rates of eco-driving in urban areas: Impacts on traffic flow and emissions

Garcia-Castro, Alvaro; Monzon, Andres; Valdes, Cristina; Romana, Manuel · 2017 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1080/15568318.2016.1252972

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Summary

This study investigates the network-wide impacts of eco-driving penetration rates on traffic flow and emissions in urban environments, addressing a gap in literature that primarily focuses on individual vehicle fuel savings. While eco-driving is known to reduce individual consumption, its effect on surrounding traffic and aggregate emissions when adopted by a significant portion of drivers remains unclear. The research aims to determine how varying percentages of eco-drivers influence CO2 and NOx emissions across different road types and traffic demand levels. The methodology employs a traffic microsimulation tool (VisSim) calibrated with real-world floating car data collected in Madrid, Spain. Data were gathered from nine drivers using three vehicles, recording instantaneous speed, acceleration, and fuel consumption via On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) devices. A statistical analysis identified three key variables explaining fuel consumption variance: number of stops, time spent accelerating, and time spent cruising. The simulation model was calibrated to replicate eco-driving behaviors characterized by smoother acceleration, increased headways, and reduced speed oscillations. The study simulated 72 scenarios across four road types (urban motorway, arterial, collector, and local street), three traffic conditions (peak, off-peak, and night), and six eco-driving penetration rates (0% to 100%). Emissions were estimated using the VERSIT+ microscopic emission model. The results indicate that the impact of eco-driving is non-linear and highly dependent on traffic density. In scenarios with low or medium traffic demand (night and off-peak hours), increasing eco-driving penetration rates consistently reduced CO2 and NOx emissions. However, under high traffic demand (peak hours), high penetration rates of eco-drivers led to increased global emissions. This negative outcome was driven by the eco-driving behavior of maintaining larger headways and smoother, slower accelerations, which reduced road capacity and increased congestion. For instance, on urban motorways during peak hours, 100% eco-driving penetration resulted in higher CO2 emissions compared to the base case due to significant drops in average speed and vehicle-kilometers traveled. Similarly, on urban arterials and collectors, peak-hour emissions rose when penetration rates exceeded certain thresholds, as the resulting congestion outweighed individual efficiency gains. The study concludes that while eco-driving offers environmental benefits in uncongested conditions, it can exacerbate emissions in congested urban networks if adopted at high penetration rates. The findings highlight a critical trade-off between individual driving efficiency and network-level traffic performance. Policymakers must consider traffic volume when promoting eco-driving, as widespread adoption in high-demand scenarios may inadvertently increase pollution due to induced congestion. This research provides essential evidence for designing complementary traffic management strategies to mitigate these negative network effects.

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Topics

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• eco driving
• traffic density