Vehicular Traffic Through Signals in Hierarchical Small-World Directed Networks

We investigate the movement of vehicles moving through a series of traffic signals on a main road with bypasses where signals are controlled by a synchronized strategy. A hierarchical small-world directed network is considered for the traffic network. A node represents a signal, and no signals exist on bypasses. A bypass without signals serves as a short path. A vehicle is driven on the main road or bypasses to avoid signals such that the travel time can be reduced. In this study, we focus on a method to reduce the travel time in small-world networks. The vehicular movement is described in terms of nonlinear maps, and it changes significantly by the signal control in hierarchical small-world networks. The small-world networks are effective in reducing the travel time.