How do early-stage active smart facilities influence traffic efficiency and energy consumption? A quantitative inquiry through panel driving data

The Cooperative Vehicle Infrastructure Systems (CVIS), which provides drivers with recommended speeds to achieve sustainable transportation, is a type of active smart facilities. However, drivers need time to familiarize themselves with the active guidance function of CVIS, which may hinder its optimal optimization. To investigate this phenomenon, this study designed a comprehensive evaluation framework for traffic efficiency and energy consumption to analyze panel driving data from 44 vehicles that used CVIS for a continuous period of 31 days. The research findings indicate that as drivers use CVIS for more days, the probability of successfully optimizing its functionalities increases, resulting in higher vehicle travel speed and reduced travel duration. However, due to limited proficiency with CVIS optimization functionalities, drivers exhibit more instances of high-speed and high-acceleration behavior when adjusting vehicle speed, which leads to increased energy consumption. Importantly, this study establishes relationships between various indicator variables and the number of days drivers use CVIS, based on empirical data, achieving a good fit. The research findings contribute to the sustainable development of urban road traffic systems. • Collect driving data of 44 drivers over 31 days within active smart facilities (CVIS). • A framework for vehicle operation and energy consumption evaluation is proposed. • The unfamiliarity of drivers with CVIS has led to more aggressive driving behavior. • With more trips, vehicle travel delays decrease but energy consumption rises. • The correlation between CVIS usage duration and evaluation metrics is established.