Elasticity Analysis of Hierarchical Road Network Performance Based on Modified Logit Models

This paper investigates the impact of Variable Message Sign (VMS), stochasticity and hierarchy on the performance of a road network in the context of four typical Logit model types. These models are multinomial Logit (MNL), C-Logit (CL), Path Size Logit (PSL) and Cross-nested Logit (CNL). We quantify the road hierarchy and use the quantified hierarchy to calculate generalized path costs. Then, VMS information is quantified and integrated with the hierarchical property to calculate road “length. Furthermore, these calculation methods are applied to propose modified versions of the MNL, CL, PSL and CNL. Numerical calculations produce negative values of the dispersion elasticity and hierarchical elasticity of total travel time costs obtained from each Logit model. The results also show that the dispersion parameter, hierarchical structure and VMS information have significant and different impacts on the elasticity. The quantitative interactions among these factors, models and performance are practically useful for network design and management.