Simulation Tool to Assess Impacts of Parameters of Service Patrol Operations

Freeway service patrol (FSP) programs constitute one of the most popular elements of intelligent transportation systems and have been increasingly implemented around the United States. Despite the successes and the benefits of these programs, however, recent budget cuts have increased the need to demonstrate the benefits of the programs, to show the differences in the benefits of different operation schedules, and to select the parameters of the operations to make the best use of available resources. This paper reports on an effort to develop a tool (a) to assess the performance of FSPs under different operation parameters and the impacts of FSP performance on transportation network measures and (b) to select operation parameters. The tool was developed by means of a general purpose simulation modeling environment. The output from the simulation is fed into a spreadsheet that allows assessment of changes in incident durations on transportation network performance in terms of delays, fuel consumption, emission, safety, and dollar values. The applications of the tool indicate that it can be used to assess FSP operation parameters and the systemwide and economic impacts of changing these parameters.