Simulation-based methodology for evaluation of high-occupancy-vehicle facilities

There has been an increasing interest in improving the use of transportation facilities as environmental and social concerns have grown and as financial resources for infrastructure expansion have become increasingly scarce. Numerous programs for increasing carpooling, vanpooling, and transit usage have been undertaken to decrease reliance on single-occupant vehicles and increase the use of multioccupant vehicles. One program has been to develop facilities that give preferential treatment to high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs). Although HOV facilities have been implemented, they often have been found to be unsuccessful in attaining their stated or implied goals. Because interest in the use of HOV facilities is growing, there is a need to improve the ability to evaluate and compare design alternatives in the context of realistic (stochastic) environments. Simulation modeling has long been recognized as a powerful tool for such purposes. A structured simulation-based methodology for the evaluation of HOV design alternatives is presented. An example case study for a corridor in the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area is used to demonstrate the methodology.