Allocation of Link Flow Detectors for Origin‐Destination Matrix Estimation—A Comparative Study

Abstract: Origin‐destination (OD) matrices are essential for various analyses in the field of traffic planning, and they are often estimated from link flow observations. We compare methods for allocating link flow detectors to a traffic network with respect to the quality of the estimated OD‐matrix. First, an overview of allocation methods proposed in the literature is presented. Second, we construct a controlled experimental environment where any allocation method can be evaluated, and compared to others, in terms of the quality of the estimated OD‐matrix. Third, this environment is used to evaluate and compare three fundamental allocation methods. Studies are made on the Sioux Falls network and on a network modeling the city of Linköping. Our conclusion is, that the most commonly studied approach for detector allocation, maximizing the coverage of OD‐pairs, seems to be unfavorable for the quality of the estimated OD‐matrix.