Applications of the generalized macroscopic fundamental diagram

The generalised Macroscopic FundamentalDiagram (g-MFD) relates the network traffic density and the spatial variation of this density. Recent work of the authors show that by using both the average and the standard deviation in the density, a very crisp relation can be found, also in case the network conditions are inhomogeneous. This paper presents results for the g-MFD using empirical data collected for the freeway network around Amsterdam. Next to presenting the g-MFD, we will show how the dynamics in the network relate to the evolution of the network state in terms of average density and spatial density variation. The paper discusses regular dynamics, as well as the dynamics in case of incidents occurring in the network. The presented results justify using the g-MFD for a number of applications that will be detailed in the rest of the paper. First of all, the g-MFD can be used to determine the network-wide service-level, both for recurrent and non-recurrent situations. The results for incident situations motivate the second application, namely the analysis of the resilience of the network by studying the changes in the service level for specific network states. We will illustrate these applications using the aforementioned Amsterdam test case.