Eco-Driving Technology Field-Tested in Ontario, Canada Estimated to Lead to Fuel Savings of 7.6 Percent.

Field Testing Results of the Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) System.

Date Posted
01/30/2023
Identifier
2023-B01709
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Eco-Drive Technology, Human Factors, and Environmental and Economic Benefits

Summary Information

Eco-drive technologies are known to reduce fuel consumption and emissions using advances in communication and traffic control technologies with capability to support infrastructure-to-vehicle connection in signalized transportation networks. This study describes a real-world research project on eco-drive technology conducted in Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) between December 2018 and early 2020. The technology considered in the project supports the Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) system that was applied to all 1,178 traffic signals in the study area. The GLOSA system was field tested with a small fleet of vehicles, each equipped with an in-vehicle human machine interface that was connected to the traffic signals that provided information/recommendations to the driver for optimal speed.

METHODOLOGY

In the eco-drive technology project described in this study, field observations were carried out over eight weeks. Field data were analyzed for speed trajectories, fuel consumption, and GLOSA compliance, and then greenhouse gas emissions and fuel cost changes were computed. Two fuel consumption measures were considered; liters of fuel consumed per hour (L/h), and the liters of fuel consumed per 100 km. Fuel consumption was computed from the per-second onboard diagnostic (OBD) outputs of travel time, liters of fuel consumed per hour, and speed (km/h). Seven vehicles, which are representative of the majority of the City of Ottawa’s light duty fleet, were selected for field studies, including six pickup trucks with different sizes of gasoline engines and one van with a turbo diesel engine. A mobile phone was mounted on the dashboard with the eco-drive app installed on each vehicle (Figure 1).

A mobile phone was mounted on the dashboard with the eco-drive app installed on each vehicle
Figure 1. In-vehicle unit. Source: The City of Ottawa program

 

FINDINGS

  • For all seven vehicles traveling on all road types, there was an average of 7.6 percent reduction in liters per hour fuel consumption and 7.8 percent reduction in liters per 100 km.
  • The average reduction in fuel consumption for travel on arterial roads amounted to 7.8 percent for liters per hour and 6.8 percent for liters per 100 km. The average reduction in fuel consumption for travel on collector roads was 28.1 percent for liters per hour and 16.5 percent for liters per 100 km. The greater effectiveness of GLOSA on collector roads compared with arterial roads was attributed to the absence of traffic congestion, where the lower traffic volumes on collector roads enabled more speed adjustments by the drivers to benefit from GLOSA.
  • The eco-drive analysis that generated the 7.6 percent savings was focused on only driving periods where GLOSA could be generated. When the City of Ottawa performed a high-level analysis using all data collected from the test vehicles during a full day of travel, the results showed a 5 percent savings overall. Therefore, it was decided that 5 percent would be a reasonable number to use when assessing the overall effectiveness of the technology on an overall fleet level.
Results Type
Deployment Locations