A microsimulation-based framework for assessing intelligent mobility solutions at urban transit hubs: a case study of Bhubaneswar

Abstract Indian cities are undergoing rapid urbanisation and associated challenges related to transportation such as congestion, increased travel time, environmental pollution, and overall reduction in the efficiency of the system itself. While several smart mobility solutions have been proposed at a global level, there is a lack of an integrated framework to assess the efficacy of these intelligent solutions in the Indian context. The present work develops a microsimulation-based analytical framework to assess and help improve the traffic scenario in an urban corridor in a smart city of India called Bhubaneswar. This study utilized socio-technical and physical infrastructure data obtained from both secondary and primary sources. A detailed simulation model is developed using PTV VISSIM to assess the current traffic scenario and forecast a future mobility pattern after implementing critical intelligent mobility solutions. Indicators such as travel time, delay, queue length, speed, vehicular tailpipe emission, and fuel consumption are used to measure the efficacy of the mobility solutions. The model is calibrated and validated using primary data collected from the field. This ensures a realistic representation of the traffic dynamics. Based on the results of the simulation runs, key lacunas in the study are identified. The identified areas primarily include excessive delays, inefficient signal operations, and reduced reliability of the public transportation system. Specifically, the following two solutions related to intelligent mobility are used in the simulation model (i) adaptive traffic signal control and (ii) bus priority systems. The results of the simulation show significant improvement in the indicators of the system performance, such as speed, delays, tailpipe emissions, and fuel consumption. The demonstrated methodology to perform the present work is a novel contribution of the present work, as it is replicable, data-driven, and a simulation framework. It also offers context-specific policy recommendations for Indian smart cities. The findings highlight the role of intelligent mobility solutions in improving urban transportation system efficiency, which is in line with Sustainable Development Goal 11.