Queue Replacement Approach to Dynamic User Equilibrium Assignment with Route and Departure Time Choice

Abstract: This study develops a hybrid analytical and numerical approach for the dynamic user equilibrium (DUE) assignment with route and departure time choice (RDTC) for homogeneous users. The core concept of the proposed approach is the generalized queue replacement principle (GQRP). The GQRP is an equivalence between the equilibrium queueing delay pattern and the solution to a linear programming (LP) problem obtained by relaxing certain conditions in the original DUE-RDTC problem. We present a systematic method to determine whether the GQRP holds. Based on the GQRP, we develop a systematic procedure to obtain an exact DUE solution by sequentially solving two LPs: one for the equilibrium cost pattern (including the queueing delay pattern) and the other for the equilibrium flow pattern. Furthermore, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method through detailed illustrative examples and numerical examples for networks of various scales, including Sioux Falls and Eastern Massachusetts networks.