Developing and evaluating an eco-speed harmonization strategy for connected vehicles

As an active traffic and demand management (ATDM) strategy that has been implemented for decades, speed harmonization may improve traffic flow by regulating traffic speed upstream of bottlenecks. In this paper, we propose a new speed harmonization strategy with a focus on environmental factors, called eco-speed harmonization (ESH). ESH takes advantage of individual vehicle´s real-time information via Connected Vehicle (CV) technologies to reduce energy and environmental impacts of vehicular traffic. Simulation studies based on a complex real-world network have shown that the introduction of the proposed ESH strategy with full CV technology penetration can reduce energy consumption by up to 4 percent and criteria pollutant emissions (e.g., fine particles) by up to 17 percent, depending on the level of traffic congestion. Sensitivity analyses indicated that energy and emissions reduction benefits will decrease as the CV technology penetration rate decreases.