COVID-19 pandemic impacts on traffic system delay, fuel consumption and emissions

A dramatic reduction in traffic demand has been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, producing noticeable declines in traffic delays, energy consumption, and emissions. This unprecedented event provides us with the chance to investigate how limiting the number of vehicles on the transportation network can contribute to a better environment. This paper quantifies the effects of reduced traffic demand on vehicle delays, fuel consumption, and emission levels. Microscopic simulation was used to model traffic for seven different networks. Our results show that decreased traffic demand contributes significantly to reducing delays and emissions, especially in congested urban areas. The results also show that another important contributing factor is the network configuration. Specifically, net-works with lower connectivity and fewer routing alternatives or networks with lower roadway density are more sensitive to traffic demand drops in terms of reducing vehicle delays and emissions. & COPY; 2020 Tongji University and Tongji University Press. Publishing Services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant reduction in traffic demand has led to decreases in traffic delays, energy consumption, and emissions. Research shows that reduced traffic demand plays a crucial role in reducing vehicle delays and emissions, particularly in urban areas. Additionally, network configuration also significantly impacts the effects of decreased traffic demand on reducing vehicle delays and emissions.