A route-based traffic flow model accounting for interruption factors

In this paper, we utilize route flow to propose a network traffic flow model with consideration of interruption factors. The proposed model is then used to study the effects of two typical interruption factors (e.g., bus station and accident) and the divergence effect at the shared node on each link’s traffic flow. The model is conducted under the stochastic route choice behavior in a network with an origin–destination (OD) pair and two routes, where the numerical results indicate that the proposed model can qualitatively describe some complex physical phenomena (e.g., shock, rarefaction wave, stop-and-go, jam and route divergence). The above phenomena are related to each route’s initial density, where the formation and propagation speed are affected by network structure and route choice behavior.