Abstract
In crowded cities, vehicle occupancy rate is a concern as low passenger occupancy rate contributes to an increase in vehicles on the road and traffic congestion. To assess how a successful high occupancy policy affects the flow of passenger vehicles and passenger movement, simulations to evaluate the impact on vehicle traffic flow are needed. Ridesharing and carpooling are approaches to increase vehicle occupancy. Increasing the vehicle occupancy rate by one has been found to reduce morning peak hour travel time into Singapore’s city centre by 31%. The improvement in travel time due to higher vehicle occupancy might encourage the adoption of these practices. The intention of promoting high vehicle occupancy is to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. Empirical evidence was collected show the distribution of Singapore’s vehicle occupancy rates during a weekday AM peak period in the central business district area. Using the collected data, traffic simulation utilising vehicle flow and occupancy rates were used to obtain simulate the effects of vehicle occupancy. The simulation model considers the dynamic nature of travel time differential during peak and non-peak period for simulation. The paper’s main contribution is its empirical data collection, traffic simulation and discussing its findings on average passenger occupancy in Singapore.