The effect of inaccurate traffic data for ramp metering: Comparing loop detectors and cameras using information utility

This paper introduces a topic which is of growing interest in the traffic control and management community, namely the relation between traffic data quality and the efficiency of traffic management. After some explanatory background and state of the art, it will become clear that no standard approach is available for traffic engineers to determine which accuracy of traffic data is needed for a certain traffic management application. In this paper we will show how the effect of inaccurate measurements on network level can be quantified by determining information utility functions. This approach is illustrated by presenting the results of a simulation study into the effect of inaccurate loop detector measurements on a ramp metering system. The relation between different accuracies of flow and speed measurements as input for a ramp metering system and the corresponding effect on the network performance is studied with a micro simulation model. The results of the simulation are used in a cost-benefit analysis for a case comparing loop detectors with camera measurements, where loop detectors are considered more accurate but also more expensive. We will show that higher measurement accuracy will lead to a better performance of the ramp metering system, resulting in a higher average network speed, and also quantify this relationship.Transport & PlanningCivil Engineering and Geoscience