Using automatic vehicle identification and global positioning system data for travel time estimation in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper presents a Real-time Traveler Information System (RTIS) for Hong Kong, in which a novel solution algorithm is proposed for estimating current travel times using automatic vehicle identification (AVI) and global positioning system (GPS) data. The proposed algorithm can deduce the travel times on road links either with or without real-time traffic data by integration of real-time and off-line traffic database together. The travel time estimates are displayed on a GIS-based RTIS website portal and updated once every five-minute interval. Observation surveys are carried out during different time periods at a selected path in Hong Kong urban area to validate the RTIS travel time estimates. The estimations of travel times on the road segments of the selected path have been conducted in the case of with and without real-time data available. The validation results show that the performance of RTIS is satisfactory and acceptable.