The current transportation infrastructure in most cities and municipalities is not designed to cope with the continually increasing volume of traffic, especially during rush hours. Furthermore, in many cases, the increasing pressure has not yet been adequately compensated by sufficient expansion. The dynamic nature of this problem makes it very challenging to solve. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to investigate the causes and effects and their dynamics of the increasing strain on transportation infrastructure in suburban municipalities. This research is necessary in order to determine what needs to be changed to reduce traffic congestion effectively. Moreover, this study assesses the expectations of commuters regarding mobility. It is essential to take their opinions into account, as they are a significant cause of traffic congestion. Therefore, they need to accept any implemented solution in order to ensure a high adoption rate. In the process, the dynamics of the system and the opinions of commuters result in conceptual solutions aimed at improving the traffic situation in the long term.   The research involved conducting a single case study in a suburban municipality of the German city of Munich. In the course of this research, primary data was collected by means of a commuter survey and secondary data was also provided from an existing household survey. Moreover, empirical data was collected through a literature review as well as from numerous recognised online sources. The causes and effects of traffic dynamics were analysed by considering traffic as a system using Systems Thinking and System Dynamics methodology. The interrelated variables were visualised by creating a Causal Loop Diagram and drawing conclusions from it. In addition, conceptual solutions were developed by reviewing the works of previous researchers and taking into account the results from the System Dynamics analysis. The results of the commuter survey also played a crucial role in ascertaining the commuting habits and expectations of commuters regarding the transportation infrastructure.   The analysis of the Causal Loop Diagram revealed that in order to reduce traffic congestion, road expansion alone is not a viable solution due to rebound effects, which eventually result in increased car use and hence more traffic congestion. Therefore, in order to solve the problem in the long term, car use needs to be reduced to a significant degree. This can be achieved by implementing various solutions to nudge people towards using alternative modes of transport. Various pricing techniques such as free public transport are a possible method of approaching this topic. Furthermore, improving public transportation services and infrastructure using digitalisation and centralising various alternative modes of transport are among a number of appropriate ways of effectively reducing the traffic congestion problematic studied in this project. Hereby, the method of Change Management, usually used within organisations, can be applied to change the behaviour of society.

Taxis equipped with GPS sensors are an important sensory device for examining people's movements and activities. They are not constrained to a pre-defined schedule/route. Big taxi GPS data recording the spatio-temporal traces left by taxis provides rich and detailed glimpse into the motivations, behaviours, and resulting dynamics of a city's mobile population through the road network. In this dissertation, we aim to uncover the "hidden facets" regarding social and community dynamics encoded in the taxi GPS data to better understand how urban population behaves and the resulting dynamics in the city. As some "hidden facets" are with regard to similar aspect of social and community dynamics, we further formally define three categories for study (i.e. social dynamics, traffic dynamics, and operational dynamics), and explore them to fill the wide gaps between the raw taxi GPS data and innovative applications and smart urban services. Specifically, 1. To enable applications of real-time taxi fraud alerts, we propose iBOAT algorithm which is capable of detecting anomalous trajectories "on-the-fly" and identifying which parts of the trajectory are responsible for its anomalousness, by comparing them against historically trajectories having the same origin and destination. 2. To introduce cost-effective and environment-friendly transport services to citizens, we propose B-Planner which is a two-phase approach, to plan bi-directional night bus routes leveraging big taxi GPS data. 3. To offer a personalized, interactive, and traffic-aware trip route planning system to users, we propose TripPlanner system which contains both offline and online procedures, leveraging a combination of Location-based Social Network (i.e. LBSN) and taxi GPS data sets. Finally, some promising research directions for future work are pointed out, which mainly attempt to fuse taxi GPS data with other data sets to provide smarter and personalized urban services for citizens

Taxis équipés de capteurs GPS sont un dispositif sensoriel important pour examiner les mouvements et les activités des gens. Dans cette thèse, nous cherchons à découvrir les facettes cachées en ce qui concerne les dynamiques sociales et communautaires codés dans les données de taxi GPS pour mieux comprendre comment se comporte la population urbaine et la dynamique résultant de la ville. Comme certains « aspects cachés» sont en ce qui concerne l'aspect similaire de la dynamique sociale et de la communauté, nous avons encore définissons formellement trois catégories pour l'étude, et les explorer à combler les écarts importants entre la première circuler des données GPS et des applications innovantes et des services urbains intelligents. Plus précisément, 1. Pour permettre aux applications d'alertes de fraude de taxi en temps réel, nous vous proposons algorithme iBoat qui est capable de détecter des trajectoires anormales "à la volée " et déterminer quelles parties de la trajectoire sont responsables de sa "anomalousness", en les comparant historiquement trajectoires ayant la même origine et de destination. 2. Pour introduire des services de transport respectueux de l'environnement aux citoyens rentable et, nous vous proposons B -Planner qui est une approche en deux phases, à planifier des itinéraires de bus de nuit bi- directionnelles de levier grands taxis données GPS. 3. Afin d'offrir un système de planification voyage d'itinéraire personnalisé, interactif, et le trafic-courant pour les utilisateurs, nous proposons système Tripplanner qui contient à la fois hors ligne et des procédures en ligne, en s'appuyant sur une combinaison de géolocalisation réseau social et des ensembles de données de taxi GPS. Enfin, certaines directions de recherche prometteuses pour les travaux futurs sont signalées, qui tentent essentiellement de fusionner les données de taxi GPS avec d'autres ensembles de données pour fournir des services urbains plus intelligents et personnalisés / Taxis equipped with GPS sensors are an important sensory device for examining people’s movements and activities. They are not constrained to a pre-defined schedule/route. Big taxi GPS data recording the spatio-temporal traces left by taxis provides rich and detailed glimpse into the motivations, behaviours, and resulting dynamics of a city’s mobile population through the road network. In this dissertation, we aim to uncover the “hidden facets” regarding social and community dynamics encoded in the taxi GPS data to better understand how urban population behaves and the resulting dynamics in the city. As some “hidden facets” are with regard to similar aspect of social and community dynamics, we further formally define three categories for study (i.e. social dynamics, traffic dynamics, and operational dynamics), and explore them to fill the wide gaps between the raw taxi GPS data and innovative applications and smart urban services. Specifically, 1. To enable applications of real-time taxi fraud alerts, we propose iBOAT algorithm which is capable of detecting anomalous trajectories “on-the-fly” and identifying which parts of the trajectory are responsible for its anomalousness, by comparing them against historically trajectories having the same origin and destination. 2. To introduce cost-effective and environment-friendly transport services to citizens, we propose B-Planner which is a two-phase approach, to plan bi-directional night bus routes leveraging big taxi GPS data. 3. To offer a personalized, interactive, and traffic-aware trip route planning system to users, we propose TripPlanner system which contains both offline and online procedures, leveraging a combination of Location-based Social Network (i.e. LBSN) and taxi GPS data sets. Finally, some promising research directions for future work are pointed out, which mainly attempt to fuse taxi GPS data with other data sets to provide smarter and personalized urban services for citizens

The thesis is composed of two main parts. The first part deals with a microscopic traffic flow theory. Models describing the individual acceleration, deceleration and lane-changing behavior are formulated and the emerging collective traffic dynamics are investigated by means of numerical simulations. The models and simulation tools presented provide the methodical prerequisites for the second part of the thesis in which a novel concept of a traffic-adaptive control strategy for ACC systems is presented. The impact of such systems on the traffic dynamics can solely be investigated and assessed by traffic simulations. The focus is on future adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems and their potential applications in the context of vehicle-based intelligent transportation systems. In order to ensure that ACC systems are implemented in ways that improve rather than degrade traffic conditions, the thesis proposes an extension of ACC systems towards traffic-adaptive cruise control by means of implementing an actively jam-avoiding driving strategy. The newly developed traffic assistance system introduces a driving strategy layer which modifies the driver's individual settings of the ACC driving parameters depending on the local traffic situation. Whilst the conventional operational control layer of an ACC system calculates the response to the input sensor data in terms of accelerations and decelerations on a short time scale, the automated adaptation of the ACC driving parameters happens on a somewhat longer time scale of, typically, minutes. By changing only temporarily the comfortable parameter settings of the ACC system in specific traffic situations, the driving strategy is capable of improving the traffic flow efficiency whilst retaining the comfort for the driver. The traffic-adaptive modifications are specified relative to the driver settings in order to maintain the individual preferences. The proposed system requires an autonomous real-time detection of the five traffic states by each ACC-equipped vehicle. The formulated algorithm is based on the evaluation of the locally available data such as the vehicle's velocity time series and its geo-referenced position (GPS) in conjunction with a digital map. It is assumed that the digital map is complemented by information about stationary bottlenecks as most of the observed traffic flow breakdowns occur at these fixed locations. By means of a heuristic, the algorithm determines which of the five traffic states mentioned above applies best to the actual traffic situation. Optionally, inter-vehicle and infrastructure-to-car communication technologies can be used to further improve the accuracy of determining the respective traffic state by providing non-local information. By means of simulation, we found that the automatic traffic-adaptive driving strategy improves traffic stability and increases the effective road capacity. Depending on the fraction of ACC vehicles, the driving strategy "passing a bottleneck" effects a reduction of the bottleneck strength and therefore delays (or even prevents) the breakdown of traffic flow. Changing to the driving mode "leaving the traffic jam" increases the outflow from congestion resulting in reduced queue lengths in congested traffic and, consequently, a faster recovery to free flow conditions. The current travel time (as most important criterion for road users) and the cumulated travel time (as an indicator of the system performance) are used to evaluate the impact on the quality of service. While traffic congestion in the reference scenario was completely eliminated when simulating a proportion of 25% ACC vehicles, travel times were significantly reduced even with much lower penetration rates. Moreover, the cumulated travel times decreased consistently with the increase in the proportion of ACC vehicles. / In der Arbeit wird ein neues verkehrstelematisches Konzept für ein verkehrseffizientes Fahrverhalten entwickelt und als dezentrale Strategie zur Vermeidung und Auflösung von Verkehrsstaus auf Richtungsfahrbahnen vorgestellt. Die operative Umsetzung erfolgt durch ein ACC-System, das um eine, auf Informationen über die lokale Verkehrssituation basierende, automatisierte Fahrstrategie erweitert wird. Die Herausforderung bei einem Eingriff in das individuelle Fahrverhalten besteht - unter Berücksichtigung von Sicherheits-, Akzeptanz- und rechtlichen Aspekten - im Ausgleich der Gegensätze Fahrkomfort und Verkehrseffizienz. Während sich ein komfortables Fahren durch große Abstände bei geringen Fahrzeugbeschleunigungen auszeichnet, erfordert ein verkehrsoptimierendes Verhalten kleinere Abstände und eine schnellere Anpassung an Geschwindigkeitsänderungen der umgebenden Fahrzeuge. Als allgemeiner Lösungsansatz wird eine verkehrsadaptive Fahrstrategie vorgeschlagen, die ein ACC-System mittels Anpassung der das Fahrverhalten charakterisierenden Parameter umsetzt. Die Wahl der Parameter erfolgt in Abhängigkeit von der lokalen Verkehrssituation, die auf der Basis der im Fahrzeug zur Verfügung stehenden Informationen automatisch detektiert wird. Durch die Unterscheidung verschiedener Verkehrssituationen wird ein temporärer Wechsel in ein verkehrseffizientes Fahrregime (zum Beispiel beim Herausfahren aus einem Stau) ermöglicht. Machbarkeit und Wirkungspotenzial der verkehrsadaptiven Fahrstrategie werden im Rahmen eines mikroskopischen Modellierungsansatzes simuliert und hinsichtlich der kollektiven Verkehrsdynamik, insbesondere der Stauentstehung und Stauauflösung, auf mehrspurigen Richtungsfahrbahnen bewertet. Die durchgeführte Modellbildung, insbesondere die Formulierung eines komplexen Modells des menschlichen Fahrverhaltens, ermöglicht eine detaillierte Analyse der im Verkehr relevanten kollektiven Stabilität und einer von der Stabilität abhängigen stochastischen Streckenkapazität. Ein tieferes Verständnis der Stauentstehung und -ausbildung wird durch das allgemeine Konzept der Engstelle erreicht. Dieses findet auch bei der Entwicklung der Strategie für ein stauvermeidendes Fahrverhalten Anwendung. In der Arbeit wird die stauvermeidende und stauauflösende Wirkung eines individuellen, verkehrsadaptiven Fahrverhaltens bereits für geringe Ausstattungsgrade nachgewiesen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer zu erwartenden Verbreitung von ACC-Systemen ergibt sich damit eine vielversprechende Option für die Steigerung der Verkehrsleistung durch ein teilautomatisiertes Fahren. Der entwickelte Ansatz einer verkehrsadaptiven Fahrstrategie ist unabhängig vom ACC-System. Er erweitert dessen Funktionalität im Hinblick auf zukünftige, informationsbasierte Fahrerassistenzsysteme um eine neue fahrstrategische Dimension. Die lokale Interpretation der Verkehrssituation kann neben einer verkehrsadaptiven ACC-Regelung auch der Entwicklung zukünftiger Fahrerinformationssysteme dienen.

The thesis is composed of two main parts. The first part deals with a microscopic traffic flow theory. Models describing the individual acceleration, deceleration and lane-changing behavior are formulated and the emerging collective traffic dynamics are investigated by means of numerical simulations. The models and simulation tools presented provide the methodical prerequisites for the second part of the thesis in which a novel concept of a traffic-adaptive control strategy for ACC systems is presented. The impact of such systems on the traffic dynamics can solely be investigated and assessed by traffic simulations. The focus is on future adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems and their potential applications in the context of vehicle-based intelligent transportation systems. In order to ensure that ACC systems are implemented in ways that improve rather than degrade traffic conditions, the thesis proposes an extension of ACC systems towards traffic-adaptive cruise control by means of implementing an actively jam-avoiding driving strategy. The newly developed traffic assistance system introduces a driving strategy layer which modifies the driver's individual settings of the ACC driving parameters depending on the local traffic situation. Whilst the conventional operational control layer of an ACC system calculates the response to the input sensor data in terms of accelerations and decelerations on a short time scale, the automated adaptation of the ACC driving parameters happens on a somewhat longer time scale of, typically, minutes. By changing only temporarily the comfortable parameter settings of the ACC system in specific traffic situations, the driving strategy is capable of improving the traffic flow efficiency whilst retaining the comfort for the driver. The traffic-adaptive modifications are specified relative to the driver settings in order to maintain the individual preferences. The proposed system requires an autonomous real-time detection of the five traffic states by each ACC-equipped vehicle. The formulated algorithm is based on the evaluation of the locally available data such as the vehicle's velocity time series and its geo-referenced position (GPS) in conjunction with a digital map. It is assumed that the digital map is complemented by information about stationary bottlenecks as most of the observed traffic flow breakdowns occur at these fixed locations. By means of a heuristic, the algorithm determines which of the five traffic states mentioned above applies best to the actual traffic situation. Optionally, inter-vehicle and infrastructure-to-car communication technologies can be used to further improve the accuracy of determining the respective traffic state by providing non-local information. By means of simulation, we found that the automatic traffic-adaptive driving strategy improves traffic stability and increases the effective road capacity. Depending on the fraction of ACC vehicles, the driving strategy "passing a bottleneck" effects a reduction of the bottleneck strength and therefore delays (or even prevents) the breakdown of traffic flow. Changing to the driving mode "leaving the traffic jam" increases the outflow from congestion resulting in reduced queue lengths in congested traffic and, consequently, a faster recovery to free flow conditions. The current travel time (as most important criterion for road users) and the cumulated travel time (as an indicator of the system performance) are used to evaluate the impact on the quality of service. While traffic congestion in the reference scenario was completely eliminated when simulating a proportion of 25% ACC vehicles, travel times were significantly reduced even with much lower penetration rates. Moreover, the cumulated travel times decreased consistently with the increase in the proportion of ACC vehicles. / In der Arbeit wird ein neues verkehrstelematisches Konzept für ein verkehrseffizientes Fahrverhalten entwickelt und als dezentrale Strategie zur Vermeidung und Auflösung von Verkehrsstaus auf Richtungsfahrbahnen vorgestellt. Die operative Umsetzung erfolgt durch ein ACC-System, das um eine, auf Informationen über die lokale Verkehrssituation basierende, automatisierte Fahrstrategie erweitert wird. Die Herausforderung bei einem Eingriff in das individuelle Fahrverhalten besteht - unter Berücksichtigung von Sicherheits-, Akzeptanz- und rechtlichen Aspekten - im Ausgleich der Gegensätze Fahrkomfort und Verkehrseffizienz. Während sich ein komfortables Fahren durch große Abstände bei geringen Fahrzeugbeschleunigungen auszeichnet, erfordert ein verkehrsoptimierendes Verhalten kleinere Abstände und eine schnellere Anpassung an Geschwindigkeitsänderungen der umgebenden Fahrzeuge. Als allgemeiner Lösungsansatz wird eine verkehrsadaptive Fahrstrategie vorgeschlagen, die ein ACC-System mittels Anpassung der das Fahrverhalten charakterisierenden Parameter umsetzt. Die Wahl der Parameter erfolgt in Abhängigkeit von der lokalen Verkehrssituation, die auf der Basis der im Fahrzeug zur Verfügung stehenden Informationen automatisch detektiert wird. Durch die Unterscheidung verschiedener Verkehrssituationen wird ein temporärer Wechsel in ein verkehrseffizientes Fahrregime (zum Beispiel beim Herausfahren aus einem Stau) ermöglicht. Machbarkeit und Wirkungspotenzial der verkehrsadaptiven Fahrstrategie werden im Rahmen eines mikroskopischen Modellierungsansatzes simuliert und hinsichtlich der kollektiven Verkehrsdynamik, insbesondere der Stauentstehung und Stauauflösung, auf mehrspurigen Richtungsfahrbahnen bewertet. Die durchgeführte Modellbildung, insbesondere die Formulierung eines komplexen Modells des menschlichen Fahrverhaltens, ermöglicht eine detaillierte Analyse der im Verkehr relevanten kollektiven Stabilität und einer von der Stabilität abhängigen stochastischen Streckenkapazität. Ein tieferes Verständnis der Stauentstehung und -ausbildung wird durch das allgemeine Konzept der Engstelle erreicht. Dieses findet auch bei der Entwicklung der Strategie für ein stauvermeidendes Fahrverhalten Anwendung. In der Arbeit wird die stauvermeidende und stauauflösende Wirkung eines individuellen, verkehrsadaptiven Fahrverhaltens bereits für geringe Ausstattungsgrade nachgewiesen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer zu erwartenden Verbreitung von ACC-Systemen ergibt sich damit eine vielversprechende Option für die Steigerung der Verkehrsleistung durch ein teilautomatisiertes Fahren. Der entwickelte Ansatz einer verkehrsadaptiven Fahrstrategie ist unabhängig vom ACC-System. Er erweitert dessen Funktionalität im Hinblick auf zukünftige, informationsbasierte Fahrerassistenzsysteme um eine neue fahrstrategische Dimension. Die lokale Interpretation der Verkehrssituation kann neben einer verkehrsadaptiven ACC-Regelung auch der Entwicklung zukünftiger Fahrerinformationssysteme dienen.