Multi-Agent Simulation of a Demand-Responsive Transit System Operated by Autonomous Vehicles:

Shared mobility solutions improve traffic efficiency in cities. This paper addresses the design of an urban demand-responsive transit system operated by a fleet of autonomous modules as a public transportation service. We introduce a discrete event-based multi-agent simulation to reflect system dynamics at an operational level. Vehicles, customers, and intelligent stops are modeled as software agents. Each entity has its own decision-making and planning component. Vehicles compete for a limited number of order requests, and decentralized stops manage the matching between a customer and a prospective vehicle. Scheduling and routing events take place highly dynamically. A simulation study evaluates a demand-responsive operation as a replacement for a fixed-route bus service. Results show that a total demand of 2.3 million rides can be fulfilled with a fleet of around 43,000 six-seater modules. In comparison with the current bus system, the total energy consumption and the system’s utilization are improved, ...