Abstract:Several intelligent vehicle-highway system demonstration projects are currently assessing the feasibility of using probe vehicles to collect real-time traffic data for advanced traffic management and information systems. They have used a variety of criteria to determine the number of probes necessary, but few generalizable algorithms have been developed and tested. The described algorithm explicitly considers the time period for travel time estimation (e.g., 5, 10, or 15 min), the number of replications of travel time desired for each link during each measurement period (reliability criterion), the proportion of links to be covered, and the length of the peak period. This algorithm is implemented by using a simulation of the Sacramento Network (170 sq mi) for the morning peak period. The results indicate that the number of probe vehicles required increases nonlinearly as the reliability criterion is made more stringent. More probes are required for shorter measurement periods. As the desired proportion of link coverage in the network increases, the number of probes required increases. With a given number of probes a greater proportion of freeway links than of major arterials can reliably be covered. Probe vehicles appear to be an attractive source of real-time traffic information in heavily traveled, high-speed corridors such as freeways and major arterials during peak periods, but they are not recommended for coverage of minor arterials or local and collector streets or during off-peak hours.