On the holding-back problem in the cell transmission based dynamic traffic assignment models

Traffic holding-back is considered an undesirable issue in dynamic traffic assignment since the vehicles are artificially held back on links in spite of the availability of downstream capacity. Holding-back occurs naturally in some system optimal dynamic traffic assignment models. In this paper, we focus on the holding back issue in the cell transmission based models and review the current methods of solving holding-back to understand their advantages and drawbacks. Then, we propose improvements to overcome the drawbacks of the current models. Finally, we propose a novel model which completely eliminates holding-back in a system optimal dynamic traffic assignment for traffic networks with multiple O–D pairs. Rigorous numerical results illustrate the benefits of using the proposed models.