Hot spot management benefits: Robustness analysis for a congested developing city

This paper focuses on evaluating the role intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are likely to play in alleviating traffic congestion in a developing congested city. Hot Spot Management (HSM) is selected as the ITS application for this study. The various HSM tasks and components are identified, and the detection, verification, and response techniques are discussed. A case study is presented for the introduction of ITS to Lebanon, within the context of local constraints. A simulation-based evaluation of the potential benefits of HSM is conducted using DYNASMART. Various scenarios are tested, with the main parameters being incident (hot spot) location as well as type and severity of incidents. The implication of information provision techniques and market penetration was also considered. The overall network benefits are demonstrated through change in average network trip time and speed. It is concluded that HSM application involving incident detection and response based on local information and communication infrastructure is likely to provide tangible benefits, and that such benefits are robust with respect to expected penetration rates.