Systematic Evaluation of a Multi-Lane Green-Driving Algorithm in a Mixed Connected Environment

Vehicles traveling under oscillated traffic have low energy efficiency and high air pollutant emissions. Green driving with the help of connected vehicles (CVs) attracts a lot of research effort to improve vehicle energy efficiency. However, it is very challenging to perform green driving on multi-lane freeways under a mixed connected environment. In the researchers’ previous work, one innovative green-driving algorithm was proposed to solve the multi-lane problem with only one CV. In this study, a systematic analysis of the algorithm is conducted to understand its benefits and limitations on smoothing traffic oscillations. The effect of the steady states and the number of lanes is also analyzed. In addition, the algorithm is extended to a more general scenario with multiple CVs. The extended system coordinates multiple CVs to form multiple moving bottlenecks to mitigate traffic oscillation more efficiently as well as providing more realistic instructions to CVs. The evaluation of the extended system concludes with the most effective strategies to control CVs to smooth oscillations.