bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimization of Handling Equipment in the Container Terminal of the Port of Barcelona, Spain
Authors: Soriguera F. , Robuste F. , Juanola R. , Lopez-Pita A.
Published: May 2018

Most studies concerning port operations focus on the operation between ship and wharf. However, other port activities may also lead to congestion. In general, the capacity of the handling equipment used to transfer the container between the wharf and the storage yard is critical. This paper analyzes the internal transport subsystem in a marine container terminal and investigates the effect of the type of handling equipment used. The aim is to analyze the behavior of the handling equipment and to model its optimization. Determining a better equipment type to use is not the main concern of this paper. Queuing theory is applied, and simulation is conducted to analyze the system. To perform the analyses, measurements of parameters related to the terminal are required. These parameters were obtained from the container terminal at Barcelona, Spain, one of the best-positioned logistic platforms on the Mediterranean Sea. The results indicate that assignment of the handling equipment resources to an individual wharf crane in a particular berth is not advisable, since any decentralized decision system involves more resources. The handling equipment resources must be assigned to the berth as a whole to obtain greater efficiency, but then a focus on operation planning and reliability is required. The availability of two or three wharf cranes in a berth is not crucial in terms of efficiency; however, it could increase productivity in the berth significantly.
Difference between Area-Based and Cordon-Based Congestion Pricing
Authors: Maruyama Takuya , Harata Noboru
Published: May 2018

Modeling the effects of congestion pricing has become the focus of many researchers, and several have analyzed the cordon-based congestion pricing problem. However, few have attempted to investigate area-based congestion pricing because it is considered difficult to analyze precisely. Cordon-based pricing can be expressed easily in a traffic assignment procedure by the addition of a charge to the inbound links of a cordon area, but the impedance of area-based pricing cannot be expressed with a link-based formulation. The objectives of this study are to propose a sound network model for evaluating area-based pricing and to compare the effects of area-based pricing and cordon-based pricing. First, it is pointed out that an exact treatment of area-based congestion pricing requires consideration of the nonadditive trip-chain–based path cost. Such consideration appears complicated, but a simple trip-chain–based network equilibrium model with nonadditive path cost is formulated here, and a convex minimization problem that is equivalent to the model is presented. This formulation enables the evaluation of the effect of area-based congestion charging more exactly than the traditional trip-based model, even for a large network. Finally, the model is applied to a real urban area (Okinawa, Japan) and area-based pricing is compared with cordon-based pricing. In this example application, the optimal toll level for area-based pricing is found to be higher than that for cordon-based pricing.
Reverse Supply Chain Network Design Problem
Authors: Chen Huey-Kuo , Chou Huey-Wen
Published: May 2018

The reverse supply chain network design problem is formulated as a bilevel model. In the upper level, the total cost incurred in the reverse supply chain network is minimized subject to the budget constraint, among others, whereas in the lower level the corresponding flow pattern in the network is characterized by the variable demand equilibrium conditions; this is essentially a variation of the Wardrop second principle. A sensitivity analysis–based algorithm, with special treatment of the material conversion factor at each recycler processor agent, or both, is proposed for solutions. A numerical example is then provided for demonstration.
Doubly Uncertain Transport Network
Authors: Siu Barbara W. Y. , Lo Hong K.
Published: May 2018

Minor incidents such as signal failure and vehicle breakdown are common in day-to-day travel. These incidents cause random link capacity degradations, leading to travel time uncertainty. Over time, commuters take account of the routes’ travel time variability and factor it into their route choice decisions. To hedge against this travel time uncertainty, travelers typically add a travel time margin to the expected travel time of a trip to form the travel time budget (i.e., the time set aside for the trip so as to maintain a preferred probability of punctual arrival). Nevertheless, in this learning process, commuters may experience perception variations in the traffic conditions that they actually encounter. To sum up, travelers face two types of uncertainty in their daily commutes: uncertainty in the actual travel time due to random link capacity degradations and perception variations in their travel time budget due to imperfect traffic information. In this study, a stochastic equilibrium was formulated to address both types of uncertainty. With this stochastic formulation as a platform, through a set of numerical studies, the effects of network link strengthening and traffic information provision were studied. The results showed that the provision of quality information was effective only in certain situations, whereas network link strengthening always improved system performance.
Tabu-Based Heuristic Approach for Optimization of Network Evacuation Contraflow
Authors: Tuydes Hediye , Ziliaskopoulos Athanasios
Published: May 2018

In urban evacuations, especially in response to an expected disaster, capacity reversibility (also known as contraflow) has been considered a workable strategy to reduce traffic congestion and to meet evacuation time deadlines. Currently, contraflow strategies are mostly planned by relying on engineering judgment because of the lack of appropriate large-scale decision support tools. A tabu search-based heuristic approach is introduced here that can be applied on realistic-size networks. The approach relies on insights from an analytical formulation of optimal reversibility design that reduces total system travel time. Computational results on a hypothetical and an urban network example network are presented and discussed.
Heuristic Priority Ranking of Emergency Evacuation Staging to Reduce Clearance Time
Authors: Mitchell Steven W. , Radwan Essam
Published: May 2018

Hazardous events, both natural and human-made, present tremendous risks to communities throughout the world. These events typically necessitate the evacuation of local or regional populations to safe destinations or shelters and have warning times ranging from minutes to hours or even days. The size and scope of these events present a challenge to the emergency management or agency personnel who must see to the health and safety of those living or working in their jurisdiction. This study evaluated various heuristic strategies to improve evacuation of an at-risk region by using a representative traffic roadway network. Finding evacuation strategies that reduce clearance time would lead to saving lives, time, and money. For the given test network, population density, or total number of trips, has an effect on overall clearance times; as densities (trips) increase, a greater potential for improved clearance time is indicated. Six different shift strategies were evaluated, each strategy based on origin-to-destination distances. For departure volumes greater than five vehicles per acre (approximately 12 vehicles per hectare), clearance times showed statistically significant improvements when departure times were shifted for groups within the network. In addition, the amount of the departure shift has an effect on clearance time.
Quantifying Opportunity Costs in Sequential Transportation Auctions for Truckload Acquisition
Authors: Figliozzi Miguel Andres , Mahmassani Hani S. , Jaillet Patrick
Published: May 2018

The principal purpose of this research is to quantify opportunity costs in sequential transportation auctions. The focus of the study is a transportation marketplace with time-sensitive truckload pickup-and-delivery requests. Two carriers compete for service requests; each arriving service request triggers an auction in which carriers compete with each other to win the right of servicing the load. An expression for evaluating opportunity costs is derived. The impact of evaluating opportunity costs is shown to be dependent on the competitive market setting. A simulation framework is used to evaluate different strategies. Some results and the overall simulation framework are also discussed.
Toward Demonstrating Predictability of Bottleneck Activation on German Autobahns
Authors: Lindgren Roger V. , Bertini Robert L. , Helbing Dirk , Schönhof Martin
Published: May 2018

Traffic conditions were examined along 30 km (18.6 mi) of northbound Autobahn 5 near Frankfurt, Germany, with archived inductive loop detector data recorded at 1-min intervals. With a focus on the spatiotemporal evolution of traffic between freely flowing and queued conditions, it was possible to identify 15 bottleneck activations and to characterize reproducible features related to their formation, discharge, and dissipation. This was done by systematically probing the excess vehicle accumulation (spatial) and travel time (temporal) that arose between measurement locations. Bottlenecks became active in the vicinity of on- and off-ramps. The evolution of a steady shock of low flow, low velocity, and relatively short duration was traced over 16 km (10 mi). Its cause is not known definitively, but some indications of its formation were revealed. Once a bottleneck became active, its measured outflow was reproducible across multiple activations and multiple days. The analysis tools used were transformed curves of cumulative vehicle count and cumulative time mean velocity, with loop detector data in their most raw form. These cumulative curves provided the resolution necessary to reveal the spatial and temporal aspects of dynamic freeway traffic flow phenomena. With increasing availability of reliable freeway sensor data, it is important to continue the systematic empirical analysis of freeways in different countries with different geometric configurations. The results of this kind of research program will assist with all aspects of traffic flow modeling, operations, and control.
Preprocessing Volume Input Data for Improved Traffic Simulation
Authors: Xin Wuping , Hourdos John , Michalopoulos Panos
Published: May 2018

Microsimulation has become an increasingly indispensable tool in demanding intelligent transportation systems and planning applications. To build reliable and realistic simulation models, high-quality input data, including roadway geometry, vehicle and driver characteristics, traffic volumes, and composition, are required. Volumes of these data are important but hard to obtain; even when collected with advanced surveillance systems, they are susceptible to miscounting, gaps in time and space, and other inaccuracies. Data that appear to be accurate often do not balance out (i.e., they are inconsistent in terms of maintaining conservation throughout the system). These problems could lead to anomalies or errors during the simulation, seriously tainting the reliability and accuracy of the outputs and weakening the credibility of the conclusions. A comprehensive methodology is proposed for improving the quality of freeway traffic volumes for simulation purposes. Established and enhanced procedures for checking and correcting temporal errors are integrated with an optimization-based algorithm for reconciling spatial inconsistencies in traffic counts. A real-life freeway section was selected to show the effectiveness of the methodology over several days of varying demands. The proposed methodology improved goodness-of-fit measures like root-mean-square percentage, correlation coefficient, and Theil's coefficients. Typical traffic measures of effectiveness produced with reconciled data are closer to ground truth than those produced with corrupted data.
Simple Traffic Model for a Simple Problem
Authors: Buisson Christine
Published: May 2018

As the capabilities of automated license plate recognition (ALPR) devices increase, their applicability to measure individual travel times becomes appealing and the question of sizing the total number of devices becomes an important one. ALPR cameras have been deployed along a road of about 50 km in the French Alps. This road is highly congested, and users experience travel times of 35 to 120 min. Traffic managers plan to inform road users of their travel times on variable message signs. Slicing the complete journey into small sections (between two cameras) makes it possible to be more reactive to sudden changes in travel times. This is especially true if those changes are due to a congestion occurring at the beginning or in the middle of the journey. But increasing the total number of cameras is not cost-effective and must be avoided as much as possible. This paper presents the formulation and results of a simplified model for studying the impact of the total number of cameras on the precision of displayed travel times. The model was kept as simple as possible. Maximum use was made of the small amounts of data available. Comparison with on-site preliminary results proves that the model gives robust results.
Simulation and Evaluation of International Border Crossing Clearance Systems
Authors: Khoshons M. Kevan , Lim Clark C. , Sayed Tarek
Published: May 2018

This paper presents the development of a framework for the evaluation of commercial vehicle border preinspection systems. The evaluation framework consists of accounts that are described by several measures of effectiveness (MOEs). A discrete-event simulation model was developed to provide the main source of input for the calculation of the MOEs. In a case study of a hypothetical preinspection system for commercial vehicles entering Canada from the United States, 10 scenarios of varying degrees of preinspection system implementations were tested with the simulation model. The scenarios consisted of varying degrees of industry and agency participation rates and comprised the application of rules and corresponding parameter settings of the hypothetical implementations of the border preinspection system. The case study evaluation resulted in increases in the efficiencies of border operations and increases in industry and agency participation.
Intermodal Freight Transport between Europe and Asia
Authors: Giannopoulos George A. , Tyrinopoulos Yannis
Published: May 2018

Strategic cooperation in all fields of economic activity between Europe and Asia is seen as beneficial for both sides and of outmost importance for the economic development and prosperity for both regions. Transport of goods between the two regions is by definition almost in its totality intermodal transport. Any actions or policies that facilitate such international intermodal transport are likely to contribute to better trade and better economic, political, social, and cultural exchanges. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential policies as well as areas of the European and Asian experience and practice in the field of intermodal freight transport that could best be adopted for the improvement of intermodal freight and maritime transport between the two regions. It also provides the most important findings and conclusions from a series of events made by experts and industry on both sides and the recommendations made concerning the areas for the potential exchange of knowledge and best practices between the two regions and their future cooperation prospects. The results and findings clearly demonstrate that the focused improvement of transport infrastructures and services (especially in the Asian part) during the following years will provide specific opportunities and perspectives for improvement and that cooperation at transnational and international levels will be the key to success. The European experience and knowledge in the relevant fields of common transport policy, technology, and financing and its successful adaptation in the Asian realities, can provide a good basis and a decisive factor in this strategic cooperation.
Shipper–Carrier Dynamic Freight Assignment Model Using a Variational Inequality Approach
Authors: Agrawal Bhuwan Bhaskar , Ziliaskopoulos Athanasios
Published: May 2018

This paper develops a dynamic freight assignment model that captures the shipper–carrier mechanism of the freight industry. The shippers minimize their cost by choosing a carrier with the lowest shipping cost for each shipment. The market reaches equilibrium when no shipper can reduce its cost further by changing the carrier for any shipment. Each carrier optimizes its operations so that it can reduce its shipping costs and attract more business from the shippers. An iterative variational inequality (VI) formulation is used to model the market equilibrium including the feedback from the carriers to the shippers. The cost function in the VI is obtained from a carrier submodel that is a dynamic, multimodal, multicommodity network-assignment model based on a linear programming formulation. The formulation and solution algorithms are presented in this paper. A test network is used to implement the solution algorithm to demonstrate the applicability of the model.
Performance-Based Design of an Innovative Truck-Trailer Configuration
Authors: Di Cristoforo Rob , Blanksby Chris , Germanchev Anthony
Published: May 2018

This paper describes the process whereby one of Australia's major fuel distributors recently gained approval to operate an innovative truck-trailer configuration that was needed to overcome some prescriptive truck size and weight limits and to satisfy the company's new policy on the improvement of fleet safety. Using Australia's newly developed performance-based standards for truck size and weight regulation as the design driver, the process began with field testing of the company's safest existing vehicles, went on to the iterative design of an improved concept by vehicle dynamics simulation, and ended with field testing and calibrated computer simulation of a prototype vehicle for certification. While demonstrating a quantum improvement in dynamic stability, the concept also offers a substantial increase in payload capacity. The process was a valuable learning experience for Australia's truck size and weight regulators and performance-based standards practitioners and is expected to pave the way for continued innovation by this company and others.
Field Monitoring of Moisture Variations under Flexible Pavement
Authors: Liang Robert Y. , Al-Akhras Khaled , Rabab'ah Samer
Published: May 2018

A research program was conducted to study the behavior of different drainable base and subbase materials used by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). Two construction sites were chosen from this program to be built with different base course materials. Site I (ATB-90–19.56) consisted of ODOT 306 cement-treated, ODOT 308 asphalt-treated, and ODOT 304 sections. Site II (ATB-90-0.00) consisted of 307-NJ, 307-IA, 307-CE, ODOT 306 cement-treated, ODOT 304, and ODOT 308 asphalt-treated sections. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) probes were installed in subgrade and unbound subbase layers to provide continuous monitoring of the moisture variation in the pavement system. The laboratory calibration for TDR probes resulted in the development of suitable calibration coefficients for the studied materials and more accurate conversion of TDR field measurements to the in situ water content. The monitored moisture content variation was used to determine the drainage efficiency of different drainable base materials used by ODOT. The treated base materials (cement and asphalt) exhibited better drainage performance than did the other unbound materials.
Kalman Filter–Based Tracking System for Automated Inventory of Roadway Signs
Authors: Wang Kelvin C. P. , Hou Zhiqiong , Gong Weiguo , McCann Roy , Strickland Ron
Published: May 2018

Roadway signs represent a substantial investment of public money in road and highway infrastructure. However, the current level of automation in sign identification and recognition, size dimensioning, and location identification is unsatisfactory. In an effort to improve the automation level of sign inventory, feature extraction and Kalman filter–based tracking techniques for road signs in right-of-way (ROW) images are developed. A framework that combines the conventional image-processing methods with the Kalman filter tracking method is applied to improve the accuracy and efficiency of ROW image processing. With this tracking technique, the candidate region of the road sign in an image can be predicted on the basis of the image in the previous frame. With image processing used near the candidate region of a sign, detection efficiency and accuracy can be improved. The methodologies described fit a dynamic and moving environment, appropriate for a highway survey vehicle.
Policy Instruments in Injury Crashes
Authors: Eger Robert J.
Published: May 2018

Alcohol prohibition and law enforcement deployment are important policies designed to increase traffic safety and reduce injury crashes. This study uses data on county-level law enforcement and injury crashes to analyze the effect of traffic law enforcement and alcohol prohibition. The analysis controls for other factors that affect injury crashes such as age groups, road factors, and behavioral factors including driving under the influence convictions and suspended licenses. Analysis is presented through a negative binomial regression methodology. Results indicate that both increasing law enforcement personnel and alcohol prohibition reduce the number of injury crashes within a county. Moreover, if policymakers’ goals are to reduce the count of injury crashes to zero, law enforcement and alcohol prohibition are important combined factors in this goal.
Road Safety Audits
Authors: Gibbs Margaret , Zein Sany R. , Nabors Dan , Ward Louisa , Allred Craig
Published: May 2018

Road safety audits (RSAs) are emerging as an effective tool for proactively improving the safety performance of a road project while it is still in the design or planning stage or for identifying and mitigating safety concerns in existing transportation infrastructure. The authors are nearing the end of a yearlong series of nine pilot RSAs conducted across the United States, sponsored by FHWA's Office of Safety Design and conducted for a variety of agencies at the local (county, city, and tribal) and state levels. The purpose of this paper is to inform the transportation community of this pilot RSA series, to discuss six important lessons learned in the process of conducting the pilot audits, and, on the basis of these lessons, to advise how the usefulness and effectiveness of a road safety audit can be maximized.
Traffic Characteristics of Motorcycles on Tangent Sections of Expressways
Authors: Su Jau-Ming , Wu Chi-Hung Evelyn , Hung Chi-Yuan
Published: May 2018

In early 2005, the Taiwan government announced a 6-month pilot project permitting motorcycles with engine capacity over 250 cc to go on Expressways 68 and 72. Because of the long-term ban on motorcycles traveling on the expressways, motorists have limited experience in sharing the roads with motorcyclists. Therefore, it is essential to investigate traffic characteristics of motorcycles on expressways from a safety viewpoint. Traffic characteristics of motorcycles on the tangent sections of expressways were investigated during the trial period. The survey showed that motorcycles traveled faster than did other types of vehicles. The mean speed of motorcycles reached 86 km/h, 8 km/h faster than other vehicles. The 85th percentile speed was 108 km/h, 18 km/h higher than the posted speed. Motorcyclists kept shorter following distances than did other drivers, and other types of vehicles tailgated motorcycles as well. Most motorcyclists rode in the center-to-right of the inside lane and the center-to-left of the outside lanes. This study found a few cases in which motorcyclists shared the same lane, sometimes side by side with other vehicles, on the road. Although no motorcycle crash was reported during the trial period, episodes of speeding, tailgating, and lane sharing caused significant safety concerns for riders and drivers on the expressways. It was recommended that the government strictly enforce the laws against speeding, tailgating, improper overtaking, and driving in the same lane. In addition, it is essential to educate expressway users about sharing roads safely.
Establishment of Precision of Dynamic Angle Validation Kit with Hot-Mix Simulator for Superpave Gyratory Compactors
Authors: Hall Kevin D. , Easley Tamara
Published: May 2018

Superpave® hot-mix asphalt (HMA) specimens are compacted in the laboratory with the Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC) through the application of pressure and an applied angle of gyration. The original compaction specification for the SGC requires the angle of gyration to be 22 ± 0.35 mrad (1.25 ± 0.02 degrees), measured externally to the compaction mold. Questions concerning the ability of different compactors to produce HMA specimens of the same mix with the same density led to the development of the dynamic angle validation (DAV) kit, which measures the angle of gyration internally (on the inside of the mold). The DAV procedure requires the use of HMA to measure the internal angle of gyration. Because of practical limitations of performing measurements with HMA and questions concerning the proper HMA mix to use in the measurements, a companion device—the hot-mix simulator (HMS)—was introduced, which effectively simulates the load placed on the SGC by an HMA specimen when used in conjunction with the DAV. An interlaboratory study was conducted in accordance with ASTM E691–99 to establish the precision of the internal angle measurement provided by the DAV-HMS combination. A total of 10 DAV-HMS units and five SGC models were included in the study. Estimates were developed of both repeatability (within laboratory) and reproducibility (between laboratories) for the DAV-HMS device for all five SGC models.
Pavement Design Analysis with 2002 Design Guide Software
Authors: Robinette Christopher , Williams R. Christopher
Published: May 2018

There has been a continuous evolutionary process in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavement design. In the beginning it was primarily based on past experience. Through research, empirical methods were developed on the basis of the materials’ response to specific loading in the AASHO Road Test. Today pavement design has progressed to a mechanistic-empirical method. This methodology takes into account the mechanical properties of the individual layers and uses empirical relationships to relate material properties to performance. The mechanical tests that are used as part of the current methodology include dynamic modulus and flow number, which have been shown to correlate with field pavement performance. The use of the dynamic modulus test and its impact on pavement design with the current design guide (2002) and its associated software are examined here. The three pavement structures that are examined were derived from the 1972 AASHTO design guide approach and were constructed in Wisconsin during the 2004 construction season. Through iterative changes in the HMA layer thickness, the major distresses of permanent deformation and fatigue were examined. Included in the examination were changes in air voids and asphalt binder content over ranges that were believed to be typical of HMA production and paving. All three pavements were predicted to perform well in terms of permanent deformation for the as-designed layer thicknesses. The 2002 design guide software, however, indicates that two of the three pavements considered may be prone to fatigue cracking, specifically at higher air void contents (+7.0%).
Method for Balancing Observed Boarding and Alighting Counts on a Transit Line
Authors: Kikuchi Shinya , Mangalpally Sharat , Gupta Anuj
Published: May 2018

The number of passengers boarding and alighting at each transit stop is basic information used in analyses of transit operations. Observed counts (manual or mechanical) of total boardings and total alightings, however, often do not match. This paper proposes a method that adjusts boarding and alighting counts so that their totals match and the cumulative boardings at each stop is greater than the cumulative alightings at that stop. The method considers observed values as approximate numbers, represents them with a range, and seeks the adjusted value within this range. In this fuzzy optimization search process, the range is represented by a fuzzy set of values, and the membership grades of the fuzzy set guide the direction of the search. The process is capable of incorporating knowledge about ridership patterns along the route and the accuracy of individual observed values. The method is tested with real-world data, and the results are compared with those obtained from the commonly used least squares method. The model yields solutions that are consistent with the available information and with degree of uncertainty.
Modeling Consumer Preference for Global Positioning System–Based Taxi Dispatching Service
Authors: Hwang Kevin P. , Wu Kitty Hsiu-Ching , Jian Ren-Jr
Published: May 2018

Compared with traditional taxi services, a taxi dispatching service based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) provides a higher level of service and safety in transporting customers. This type of new service, however, requires taxi companies and wireless communication companies to take on return-on-investment risks. Whether this new service induces people to use taxi service more often or attracts new riders will influence significantly the decision to invest in the service. This paper identifies primary factors that affect consumer preference for using the new service in Taichung City, Taiwan, by analyzing consumer responses from a survey conducted in that city. Both cluster analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques were used to analyze the data. The results of cluster analysis established that GPS-based taxi dispatching service would draw customers who value quality of service. The SEM analysis verified that three constructs—vehicle comfort, convenience, and reliability—had positive relationships with consumers’ choice of taking GPS-based taxicabs. In contrast, the safety construct was related negatively to preference; that is, users did not perceive that taking GPS-based taxicabs was much safer. This finding was just the opposite of that anticipated by the Taiwan government and by academic and business sectors. These results can guide regulators and taxi organizations in improving the quality of taxicab services and public outreach programs. The data also can be used to identify peer cities for further comparison and analysis.
Potential Uses of Transit Smart Card Registration and Transaction Data to Improve Transit Planning
Authors: Utsunomiya Mariko , Attanucci John , Wilson Nigel
Published: May 2018

New automated fare collection systems being implemented on urban rail and bus transit systems offer the potential of tapping a rich source of customer usage data to improve transit planning. This is especially true of transit systems that offer smart cards as a payment option allowing long-term individual travel behaviors to be tracked and analyzed. This paper presents an initial analysis of the access and usage patterns of Chicago Transit Authority, Illinois, smart card holders during September 2004. The types of analyses that can be conducted with smart card registration and transaction data are discussed, the potential difficulties encountered in conducting such analyses are described, and recommendations are offered for improvement and expansion of the use of smart card data sets. The findings reported focus on walking access distances, frequency and consistency of daily travel patterns, and variability of smart card customer behaviors by residential area.
Implementation of Nationwide Public Transport Smart Card in the Netherlands
Authors: Cheung Francis
Published: May 2018

In the Netherlands, public transport plays an important role in meeting the public's travel demands. The country's 19 public transport authorities are required by the central government to implement innovative business practices. The primary objectives are to facilitate competition, improve efficiency, and increase ridership. Smart card technology is seen as a means of aiding in the liberalization of the market and providing management information for planning and marketing. The country's major urban and regional transport system operators agreed in November 1998 to work together to develop a national smart card system. The Dutch Transport Ministry commissioned a cost–benefit analysis to guide the development and implementation of the technology nationwide. The study not only examined the overall potential impact but also appraised effects on different stakeholders under various scenarios. In addition, sensitivity analyses were undertaken to enhance the study's robustness. The methodology used provided a consistent and integrated framework allowing the findings to be assessed in a structured manner to facilitate decision making. The results indicated that the project would involve a wide range of socioeconomic advantages and that, overall, benefits would exceed costs.
Proxy Responses in Self-Completion Travel Diary Surveys
Authors: Richardson A. J.
Published: May 2018

This paper examines the characteristics of proxy respondents and those completing survey forms for proxy respondents in self-completed questionnaire travel diary surveys. With data from the Coastal South-East Queensland (Australia) Travel Survey, in which a special question was included about who completed the travel diary, it was found that about 30% of respondents were proxy respondents. The young were more likely to be proxy respondents, and males of all ages were more likely to be proxy respondents than females of the same age. Females were most likely to be the ones completing the travel diary for people younger than 35 years, whereas persons of the opposite sex were most likely to complete the forms for proxy respondents older than 35 years. Proxy respondents were more likely not to make any trips on the travel day; those who did travel had fewer stops and less travel time and travel distance than those who self-reported their travel. However, one has to be careful in interpreting these results because of the confounding effects of the demographics of proxy respondents versus self-reported respondents. In particular, it is known that younger people, who have fewer stops and less travel time and distance, are much more likely to be proxy respondents. Therefore, the stops, travel time, and travel distance for proxy respondents will automatically be lower than for self-reported respondents even if there were no effect of proxy reporting on reported daily travel.
Nonresponse, Selectivity, and Data Quality in Travel Surveys
Authors: Kuhnimhof Tobias , Chlond Bastian , Zumkeller Dirk
Published: May 2018

Since 1994, the German Mobility Panel (MOP) has been one of the oldest multiday and multiperiod travel surveys. Along with the need to understand behavioral processes, the demand for such detailed and extensive data is increasing. However, for respondents to take part in a survey like the MOP is often time-consuming. Therefore, with generally declining response rates, it is even more difficult to recruit a suitable sample of test participants for a multiday or multiperiod survey. If a selective nonresponse problem exists, this calls into question the representativeness of such a survey. For the MOP, respondents were recruited in a multistage process that provided an opportunity to study selectivity. The findings indicate that sociodemographics dominate selective nonresponse. There is also some mobility-related selectivity because people for whom mobility is an everyday issue take a stronger interest in the survey topic and are therefore more likely to participate in the survey. It was also found that recruiting households instead of individuals is advantageous because it partly remedies selectivity problems. In addition, the study produced insight about the reliability and trustworthiness of computer-assisted telephone interview data and how they should be interpreted.
Enhanced System for Link and Mode Identification for Personal Travel Surveys Based on Global Positioning Systems
Authors: Tsui Sheung Yuen Amy , Shalaby Amer S.
Published: May 2018

This project developed an integrated Global Positioning System–geographic information system (GPS-GIS) to automate the processing of GPS-based personal travel survey data. Two versions of the analysis system were developed in this project: a GPS-alone system, which uses only GPS travel data as input, and a GPS-GIS integrated system, which uses both GPS travel data and topologic information on GIS platform as input. The GPS-alone system includes an activity identification algorithm and a fuzzy logic–based mode identification algorithm. The GPS-GIS integrated system includes link identification on a GIS platform as well as an interactive link matching-mode identification subsystem, which further refines the results from previous identifications performed separately. This project demonstrates how GPS travel data analysis can be automated and highlights the benefits brought by an interactive analysis system, providing an innovative analysis method for personal-based GPS multimodal travel surveys.
Transit Ridership Model Based on Geographically Weighted Regression
Authors: Chow Lee-Fang , Zhao Fang , Liu Xuemei , Li Min-Tang , Ubaka Ike
Published: May 2018

This paper describes the development of a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to explore the spatial variability in the strength of the relationship between public transit use for home-based work (HBW) trip purposes and an array of potential transit use predictors. The transit use predictors considered include demographics and socioeconomics, land use, transit supply and quality, and pedestrian environment. The best predictors identified through model estimation include two global variables (regional accessibility of employment and percentage of households with no car) and three local variables (employment density, average number of cars in households with children, and percentage of the population who are black). The models were estimated on the basis of the 2000 Census Transportation Planning Package data for Broward County, Florida. Model testing indicates the GWR model has improved accuracy in predicting transit use for HBW purposes over linear regression models. The GWR model also indicates that the effects of the independent variables on transit use vary across space. The research points to future research to explore different model structures within a geographic area.
Speed Changes Due to Transverse Rumble Strips on Approaches to High-Speed Stop-Controlled Intersections
Authors: Thompson Tyrell D. , Burris Mark W. , Carlson Paul J.
Published: May 2018

The objective of this research was to determine whether the presence of transverse rumble strips is an effective warning device for drivers approaching rural stop-controlled intersections. Rural highways are associated with long tangents and infrequent intersections, which can cause drivers to become inattentive. To evaluate the effectiveness of transverse rumble strips, vehicle speeds were measured at three locations along the approach to rural stop-controlled intersections both before and after the installation of transverse rumble strips. The researchers evaluated nine rural stop-controlled intersection approaches in Texas during both day and night conditions on both weekends and weekdays. Overall, the installation of transverse rumble strips generally produced small but statistically significant ( p ≤ .05) reductions in approach speeds. There were no clear indications that the transverse rumble strips had a greater or smaller impact during day, night, weekend, or weekday periods. In a few instances, speed change reductions of greater than 1 mph occurred; however, the overall trend was for speed change reductions to be equal to or less than 1 mph.
Effectiveness of Speed-Monitoring Displays in Speed Reduction in School Zones
Authors: Lee Choulki , Lee Sangsoo , Choi Bongsoo , Oh Youngtae
Published: May 2018

Speeding is one of the major causes of the frequent and severe traffic accidents that occur in school zones. Two field studies were conducted to assess the short-term and long-term effectiveness of speed-monitoring displays (SMDs) for speed reduction in school zones. The performance difference is discussed according to several dependent variables, including the average speed, the 85th percentile speed, and the distribution of speeds. The short-term study results showed that the speed of vehicles began to be reduced when the driver recognized the presence of an SMD, and the average speed was reduced by about 17.5% (8.2 km/h) at the SMD location. This speed reduction was observed throughout the day, regardless of the time of day. A similar performance trend was identified from the long-term study results, but the average speed reduction was slightly reduced to 12.4% (5.8 km/h) at the SMD location. However, statistical analyses showed that the speed differences were statistically significant. In addition, analysis of the results of the speed distribution showed that the number of speeding vehicles was greatly reduced after the SMD was installed, and the 85th percentile speed also decreased from 54.3 to 46.3 and 45.0 km/h in the short-term and the long-term studies, respectively. Therefore, it was concluded that the application of SMDs in school zones produced a positive impact on the drivers’ behaviors for a long period of time.
Evaluation of Erratic Maneuvers Associated with Installation of Rumble Strips
Authors: Miles Jeffrey D. , Pratt Michael P. , Carlson Paul J.
Published: May 2018

An important consideration for any traffic control device is drivers’ responses to the installation of that device. One way to measure driver response or driver behavior is to study erratic maneuvers. Erratic maneuvers demonstrate confusion or surprise experienced by the driver and can possibly compromise road safety. It is especially important to understand drivers’ responses to traffic control devices like rumble strips, which are designed to improve safety. In this paper, both erratic and avoiding maneuvers are investigated for three rumble strip configurations: transverse (or in-lane), centerline, and edge line (shoulder rumble strips placed directly on the marked edge line). Erratic maneuvers can include hard braking, swerving, rapid alignment or lane shifting, correcting the trajectory in the wrong direction (i.e., further onto the shoulder or into an opposing travel lane), or losing vehicular control. Avoiding maneuvers can include less severe but more frequent movements, like straddling or shifting smoothly around rumble strips. No evidence was found that suggested that the installation of transverse, centerline, or edge line rumble strips induces erratic maneuvers by drivers. Some tendency toward increasing avoiding maneuvers was observed, but the data did not show that these maneuvers compromised safety.
Evaluation of Operational Impacts of Installation of Centerline and Edge Line Rumble Strips
Authors: Pratt Michael P. , Miles Jeffrey D. , Carlson Paul J.
Published: May 2018

Research findings have shown that centerline rumble strips (CRSs) and shoulder rumble strips (SRSs) have significant safety benefits. SRSs have proved successful in reducing run-off-the-road crashes, and more recent research has shown that CRSs can potentially reduce head-on collisions. However, concerns about the operational effects of CRSs and SRSs remain. Specifically, how do the installations affect vehicle lateral position, passing operations, and shoulder usage? This paper documents the findings of research conducted for the Texas Department of Transportation on CRSs and edge line rumble strips (ERSs), a variation on SRSs that are placed directly on the marked edge line. Before-and-after analyses were conducted on Texas highways where CRSs or ERSs, or both, were installed. CRSs were evaluated with respect to passing operations and vehicle lateral position within the travel lanes; ERSs were evaluated for shoulder usage and vehicle lateral position during shoulder encroachments. The results of the study showed that CRSs generally improve vehicle lateral position by increasing the separation between opposing traffic streams on rural highways, although the results were mixed for curve sites. CRSs also have little effect on passing operations when they are installed in passing zones on rural two-lane two-way highways. ERSs were successful in reducing small, inadvertent encroachments onto the shoulder, whereas they had little impact on most normal shoulder usage.
Enhancement of Arizona Pavement Management System for Construction and Maintenance Activities
Authors: Li Yongqi , Cheetham Alan , Zaghloul Sameh , Helali Khaled , Bekheet Wael
Published: May 2018

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has used Markovian chain–based pavement management systems (PMS) to support its pavement design, construction, and preservation activities for three decades. These systems provide a strong tool for pavement network optimization. However, the probabilistic nature of the Markovian chain model means that the systems lack the flexibility to consider the distinct conditions associated with individual pavement projects or sections. Recently, a new PMS has been developed and implemented to replace the previous PMS through a research project funded by ADOT. The new system was designed to expand the use of PMS tools to support pavement design, construction, and maintenance operations. Various relevant data, including data on inventory, traffic, pavement structural history, maintenance, and performance, have been integrated into one centralized database to support the system's functions. The system has also incorporated ADOT's overlay design procedure based on the falling weight deflectometer–based; the procedure is much desired by the pavement designers. The system provides a great deal of flexibility in allowing individual pavement sections under different conditions to be treated differently in performance prediction analysis and project prioritization. The system's functional module for statewide needs and budget analysis provides detailed and deterministic information about the selected projects such as project limits, optimal treatments, and resulting performance. However, the new system requires users to set up many parameters for the analyses; this demands a great deal of engineering experience and judgment.