Evaluating the Operational Status of Freeway Networks Based on DSRC Data

In this paper, the feasibility of evaluating traffic operation status at freeway networks by utilizing dedicated short range communications (DSRC) data is discussed. The method of data processing as well as the data analysis algorithm are proposed. The data analysis and processing method is done based on the DSRC data and the toll dataset of an operational freeway network from 1st to 15th of July 2015. This includes some fundamental pieces of information, such as the penetration rate of electronic toll collection (ETC) vehicle, the ETC vehicle flow analysis, the proportion of missing data, the speed calculation, and the freeway corridor traffic operation index. The analysis shows that it is feasible to evaluate the traffic operation status of freeway networks by DSRC data when the ETC penetration is big enough, and that the outputs of DSRC data can be used for real-time traffic information service.