Stabilization Analysis of Mixed Traffic Flow with Electric Vehicles Based on the Modified Multiple Velocity Difference Model

Electric vehicles have gained popularity in modern society as a solution to both traffic pollution and energy consumption. However, the stabilization of the mixed traffic flow with both electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel electric vehicles (FVs) in the road network has been explored very little. In this study, a modified multiple velocity difference model is developed by taking into account the unique features of EVs. The stability criterion is obtained by the linear analysis, and the coexisting curves are drawn. In addition, the traffic behavior of the modified model is further investigated with numerical simulations. The results show that the characters of different type of vehicles have a great impact on the stability of the mixed traffic flow. Yet, EVs always show better performance in stabilizing the stream than FVs, which indicates that more EVs on the road would help make the traffic much more quickly back to the steady state.