TRAFFIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL AND NECESSARY PENETRATION RATES

This article addresses the potential of vehicle-based traffic data acquisition for generating traffic information and local hazard warnings. An increasing number of vehicles are equipped with telematics applications which can be used to acquire FCD (floating car data) about traffic flow and road conditions. Extended vehicle generated traffic data (XFCD) is being collected using mobile communication interfaces. Feedback channel referencing enables information already sent to be updated and checked for currency. To achieve a sufficiently high traffic situation detection quality, a certain percentage of the total number of vehicles on the road need to be equipped for XFCD. A method of determining XFCD penetration rates via arrival probabilities is presented, but penetration rates depend on traffic volume and so this must also be analysed. Rates differ on motorways and on urban or non-urban roads. XFCD penetration is demonstrated by a case study in the city of Munich, Germany. Three different future scenarios are considered with penetration rates of 2%, 4% and 10%.