Carrier Agents and Interactions with Traffic Flows

拟议的项目旨在发展一个可操作的多代理（MA）模型，以模拟货运需求，重点是城市地区。在该模型中，考虑了托运人、收件人和负责组织和执行物理运输的代理人所做的物流决策。特别强调货运市场中供需双方的相互作用。这是通过将物流决策（如批量大小选择）和市场相关决策（如承运人选择）合并到MA模型中来完成的。重要的创新是对整个决策链的一致表示，从托运货物的托运人到物流服务提供商再到承运人，以及从观察到的数据生成车辆旅行模式。这个项目关注的是过程中那些更接近货物实际运输的部分。它建立在一个已经存在的模型基础设施上，允许运营商及其机队，它关注的是对运营商代理的拥堵反馈和他们对拥堵的反应，以及运营商代理对物流服务提供商的反馈。它还关注交通拥堵之外的外部性，比如排放和噪音。

The proposed project aims at the development of an operational multi agent (MA) model to simulate freight transport demand, with focus on urban areas. In the model, logistics decisions made by shippers, recipients, and agents in charge of organising and performing physical transports are considered. Special emphasis is put on the interaction of the demand and supply sides in the freight transport market. This is done by incorporating both logistics decisions (such as lot size choice) and market related decisions (such as carrier choice) into the MA model. Important innovations are a consistent representation of the whole chain of decision makers from the shipper of a consignment via the logistics service provider to the carrier, and the generation of vehicle tour patterns from observed data.This project is concerned with those parts of the process that are closer to the physical transport of the goods. Building on an already existing modelling infrastructure that allows for carriers and their fleets, it is concerned with congestion feedback to the carrier agents and their reaction to it, and the feedback of the carrier agents to the logistics service providers. It is also concerned with externalities beyond congestion, such as emissions and noise.