The evaluation of transportation energy efficiency: An application of three-stage virtual frontier DEA

In this paper, transportation energy efficiency is newly defined and its inputs and outputs are obtained through literature review. Labor input, capital input and energy input are selected as the inputs, passenger turnover volume and freight turnover volume are defined as the outputs. A new model—three-stage virtual frontier DEA (three-stage virtual frontier Data Envelopment Analysis) is proposed to evaluate transportation energy efficiencies. The case of thirty Chinese PARs (provincial administrative regions) from 2003 to 2012 is applied to verify its rationality. In the three-stage virtual frontier DEA, the reference DMU (decision-making unit) set and the evaluated DMU set are two different sets so that it can distinguish the DEA efficient DMUs. And in the evaluating process, the reference DMU set remains unchanged to assure its results more reasonable than Super DEA model. The results show that transport structure and management measures have important impacts on transportation energy efficiency.     

Sustainability assessment of inland transportation in China: A triple bottom line-based network DEA approach

The transport sector accounts for nearly one third of the world’s total energy use, while inland transport alone is responsible for half of the global petroleum consumption. The expansion of motorization in newly industrialized economies necessitates setting realistic targets. To support decision-makers in better assessment of transport sustainability performance, we introduce a systematic triple bottom line-based approach to evaluate inland transport, considering social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The proposed network data envelopment analysis (DEA) measure organizes the three components of the system into a parallel structure, allocates shared input across subsystems, and incorporates undesirable output. The empirical application determines the efficiency of regional inland transportation systems in China from 2006 to 2015. The results indicate a rise in overall transport efficiency between China’s 11th and 12th five-year development plan periods and link the economic growth with a decrease in environmental transport efficiency in the Central and Western zones and with a decline in social efficiency in the Eastern zone. Since 2012, the social sustainability remains the weakest component of inland transport, which requires special attention by policy-makers to support vulnerable groups of transport users. This study provides further insight into the investigated measures and proposes recommendations for the improvement of inland transport in China.     

加快推进我国交通一体化发展的建议

本文首先提出推进我国交通一体化发展既是必然选择,也具备较好基础,其次分析目前我国交通一体化发展不足的主要制约因素,提出我国交通一体化的内涵和目标,并从基础设施一体化、客运服务一体化、货运服务一体化、天地一体的交通通信和信息支撑保障体系、区域交通一体化几个方面提出推进我国交通一体化的发展重点。     

Freight Data Assembling and Modeling: Methodologies and Practice

Abstract

In comparison to personal travel, freight movements within large metropolitan areas are much less studied. Most conventional transportation models and planning analysis that disregarded freight flows have been criticized on the plausibility of their results and conclusions. To alleviate these problems, this study proposes a non-survey based approach to assemble and process freight data in a systematic way. A freight origin–destination (OD) matrix of freight flows can be developed using secondary data sources. The estimated freight flows can be loaded together with conventional passenger flows onto the regional highway network of a large metropolitan area. As a case study, this non-survey based approach was applied to build a freight OD and study the traffic flows in Los Angeles. It concluded that this approach can be used to analyze urban freight movement in a low-cost way in which planning agencies can overcome the common omission of freight flow information in their transportation plans.     

Assessing the technical efficiency, service effectiveness, and technical effectiveness of the world’s railways through NDEA analysis

This paper presents an approach to include both the unstorable feature of transportation service and the technological differences within railway companies in efficiency and effectiveness measurements. We explore efficiency and effectiveness for a group of 40 global railways in the year 2002, using traditional data development analysis (TDEA) and network data development analysis (NDEA). Comparing the results obtained from the NDEA model with those from the TDEA indicate that performance measures are quite different in terms of the magnitude, and even using different DEA type models to evaluate railway system performance does not distort the ranking of their performance. We also analyze the inter-related effects among three performance measures, finding that transportation service characteristics have positive effects on the evaluation of performance. Generally speaking, the NDEA model provides deeper insight regarding the sources of inefficiency and process-specific guidance to railway managers so as to help them improve their railway’s performance.     

An integrated transportation decision support system for transportation policy decisions: The case of Turkey

From the point of view of the feasibility of providing growth in road capacity parallel to the predicted growth in traffic as well in terms of impact on the environment and health, current trends in transportation are unsustainable. Transport problems are expected to worsen due to the fact that worldwide automobile ownership tripled between 1970 and 2000, and the movement of goods is projected to increase by 50% by 2010. Similar trends can be seen in an even more dramatic way in Turkey. The Turkish transport network has not followed a planned growth strategy, due to political factors. There is no transportation master plan which aims to integrate the transport modes in order to provide a balanced, multimodal system. This study proposes a decision support system that guides transportation policy makers in their future strategic decisions and facilitates analysis of the possible consequences of a specific policy on changing the share of transportation modes for both passenger and freight transportation. For this purpose, based on the wide spectrum of critical issues encountered in the transportation sector, several scenarios have been built and analysed.     

高铁枢纽建设与城市功能空间协同发展效率评价

随着我国高铁迅速发展,高铁建设如何与城市功能空间协同发展的问题引起广泛关注。为了评价高铁与城市协同发展的效率,本文从城市协同性、高铁枢纽建设、站城距离等角度,构建高铁枢纽建设与城市功能空间协同发展效率评价指标体系。并引入DEA模型进行分析计算其效率匹配度,为城市既有高铁站与城市协同发展程度提供依据。最后以京沪高铁为案例分析了24个车站与所在城市的协同关系效率值,结果表明,北京南站、上海虹桥站等高铁枢纽发展较好,常州北站、苏州北站、天津南站等较差,尤其是天津南站的通过能力、客流量等产出指标还需要进一步加强。     

New routes on old railways: increasing rail’s mode share within the constraints of the existing railway network

This paper describes an integrated methodology for identifying potential ‘quick wins’ for mode shift from road to passenger rail transport. Firstly, a procedure for analysing rail’s relative competitiveness in the market for passenger transport between large urban areas is developed and then applied to a UK case study. The purpose of such analysis is to allow the identification of flows where rail is currently relatively uncompetitive (in terms of journey time in particular) and to assess the reasons for this poor performance, so that the issues which suppress rail use may be addressed. In parallel, a framework, methodology and tool for the assessment of existing and potential capacity (trains, seats, TEUs, etc.) is developed for both passenger and freight traffic, to identify and address network constraints. An illustrative example of the use of these demand and capacity assessment tools is then presented, with the tools used to identify and evaluate flows where rail demand is suppressed by poor service quality and where spare capacity exists which would allow the passenger rail service to be improved without requiring significant investments in infrastructure. The effects of such improvements on demand are predicted, and the cost implications of operating such additional services are discussed. The analysis suggests that there may be significant potential for increasing rail’s mode share by providing additional inter-urban services where rail currently offers an inferior service.     

基于客户满意度的货运动车组开行方案研究

高铁货运逐渐兴起,本文对货运动车组开行方案优化进行了研究。针对高铁运输安全、快捷、运输成本较低等特性,提出以货运动车组及客货混编动车组为主,客运动车组捎带运输为补充的开行模式,结合运输需求、线路通过能力等限条件,以运输成本最小和货主满意度最大为目标,建立多目标综合优化模型,运用线性加权组合法,以lingo软件为依托进行求解。通过算例给出具体开行方案,并对同一运输区间各种运输方式的单位成本及用时进行对比分析。结果表明,相对于传统运输方式,高铁货运综合运输成本较低,用时更短,能够兼顾运输企业与货主的双重要求;所建模型优化效果明显,可为未来货运动车组的开行提供参考。     

The influence of locomotive diesel engine transient operating modes on energy usage

This paper analyzes the influence of transient operating modes in the Cat 3512B-HD and MTU 4000 R41 locomotive diesel engines on their energy usage. This analysis represents an integral component of the technological research and development performed at Lietuvos Geležinkeliai AB (JSC Lithuanian Railways) with the objective of increasing the efficiency of freight transportation with the upgraded 2M62M and modern ER20CF/2ER20CF diesel locomotives. The influence of transient modes on the operating variables of the locomotive diesel engines was evaluated under operational load-cycling conditions to aid in the selection of appropriate parameters (e.g., the train weight, the diesel locomotive type, and the technical characteristics of the diesel locomotive to be modeled) for freight transportation on Lithuanian railway lines. It was determined that the engine’s electronic control system compensates for the negative effects of transient operations on the engine’s energy usage. As a result, the increase in fuel consumption is less than 3% during transient operation when compared to steady-state operation. Through this research, methodological foundations have been formulated and adapted for the use of the mathematical modeling of the transient modes of locomotive diesel engines to optimize freight transportation, resulting in an expected decrease of 10–15% in fuel consumption.     

“十三五”时期我国综合交通投资和运输形势分析

以综合交通运输行业发展中的建设投资、路网设施、旅客运输、货物运输方面统计数据指标为基础,通过分析总量指标在“十三五”时期的绝对值、增速,以及各交通运输方式结构指标变化情况,并与“十二五”时期相关指标变化进行对比分析,总结了“十三五”时期的综合交通建设投资、旅客运输和货物运输形势,表明“十三五”时期是综合交通运输从高速度增长向高质量发展的过渡阶段,具体表现为总量扩张趋缓、结构优化明显、升级动力减弱等三大特征,体现在交通投资和供给需求规模增速放缓,高快速交通方式的供需比重增加,交通生产投入的边际产出趋向递减等方面。     

Energy consumption in China’s logistics industry: A decomposition analysis using the LMDI approach

The logistics industry plays a critical role in boosting China’s economic development, although at significant externality costs. Using the 1980–2010 data, we examine the historical evolution of energy consumption in China’s logistics industry. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method was used to analyze the key factors that drove the chronicle changes in logistics energy consumption in China. Changes in energy consumption of China’s logistics industry are attributed to growth in logistics activity, modal shift in freight transportation, increases in transport intensity, and overall improvements in energy intensity: (1) China’s logistics industry enjoyed fast growth with an average annual growth rate of 9.65% from 1980 to 2010. Increase in logistics activity has been the major force driving up logistics energy consumption (accounting for 48.8% of logistics energy increase); (2) Logistics energy consumption increased by 22.91 times, averaging at 11.9% growth per year. Fuel consumption in highway transportation has become more dominant in logistics energy consumption; (3) While changes in logistics activities, transportation modes and transport intensity pushed up logistics energy consumptions, improvements in energy intensity helped significantly to curb the energy rise in China’s logistics industry.     

Evaluating locational accessibility to the US air transportation system

Although there are hundreds of airports that support commercial air passenger traffic in the United States (US), not all areas are equivalently served by the commercial air transportation system. Locations in the US differ with respect to their level of access to the commercial air network and their overall accessibility within the system. Given the complexity of the domestic commercial air passenger network and supporting infrastructure, past research has only been able to provide a limited assessment of locational accessibility within the United States. To address these complexities, this paper proposes a new metric that incorporates measures of access to air transport as well as accessibility within air transportation networks. Using a comprehensive dataset on scheduled airline service, the developed approach is then applied to the US domestic commercial passenger air transportation network to explore geographic differentials in accessibility. Results suggest marked differences between core-based statistical areas throughout the US.     

道路货物网络化运输的服务类别和发展模式

基于我国道路货物运输的发展现状,以探索推行道路货物运输网络化的发展模式为主线,以提高道路货物运输组织效率和行业发展水平为最终目标,阐述道路货物网络化运输的概念及内涵,对网络化运输服务进行了划分,构建了我国推行道路货物网络化运输的两类发展模式,并利用图示和文字结合的方式对其进行了分析评价。     

Performance evaluation and obstacle factors analysis of urban public transport priority

ABSTRACT

Through the comprehensive consideration of four subsystems – overall development level, infrastructure construction, public transportation service level and policy support – an index system of public transport priority performance evaluation is established. A performance evaluation of bus priority implementation in Wuhan City from 2007 to 2016 is carried out by applying the difference coefficient CRITIC-TOPSIS model. The obstacle factor model is also used to diagnose the factors affecting the priority performance of urban public transport. The research results show that, during this decade, the comprehensive performance of Wuhan City’s public transport priority developed from poor to medium, then to good and finally to excellent. The overall development level and infrastructure construction performance subsystems have the highest obstacle degree, followed by public transportation service levels and policy support performance subsystems. The research idea and method of this paper provide a realistic basis for promoting the priority performance of urban public transport.     

英国的客运交通发展及启示

作者考察了英国客运交通的发展情况,文章结合我国及广西的实际情况,就如何吸收和借鉴英国有益的经验和做法,提出了加快道路运输发展的措施和建议。     

Railway transportation and environmental efficiency in China

Railway is one of the most efficient and environmental-friendly ways to transport people and goods. High-speed railway has been developing rapidly and the railway mileage has increased by 21.18% in China during the period of 2006–2011 and thus it is interesting to evaluate whether the railway transportation has reduced the environmental impact of transport in China. In this paper, we first use a non-radial DEA under managerial disposability to measure the environmental efficiency of 30 regions in China; then we propose a panel beta regression with fixed effects to model the impact of railway transportation on environmental efficiency. The results indicate that the environmental efficiency slowly increased during 2006–2011 and it exhibits regional disparities with the eastern area having the highest environmental efficiency and the western area being the lowest one; Moreover, we also find a significant positive impact of railway transportation on higher environmental efficiency.     

Isolating high-priority metro and feeder bus transfers using smart card data

Fixed-rail metro (or ‘subway’) infrastructure is generally unable to provide access to all parts of the city grid. Consequently, feeder bus lines are an integral component of urban mass transit systems. While passengers prefer a seamless transfer between these two distinct transportation services, each service’s operations are subject to a different set of factors that contribute to metro-bus transfer delay. Previous attempts to understand transfer delay were limited by the availability of tools to measure the time and cost associated with passengers’ transfer experience. This paper uses data from smart card systems, an emerging technology that automatically collects passenger trip data, to understand transfer delay. The primary objective of this study is to use smart card data to derive a reproducible methodology that isolates high priority transfer points between the metro system and its feeder-bus systems. The paper outlines a methodology to identify transfer transactions in the smart card dataset, estimate bus headways without the aid of geographic location information, estimate three components of the total transfer time (walking time, waiting time, and delay time), and isolate high-priority transfer pairs. The paper uses smart card data from Nanjing, China as a case study. The results isolate eight high priority metro-bus transfer pairs in the Nanjing metro system and finally, offers several targeted measures to improve transfer efficiency.     

Cost effective future derailment mitigation techniques for rail freight traffic management in Europe

Safe and reliable traffic management is vital for uninterrupted and successful operation of the European rail network, where mixed traffic (i.e. freight and passenger) services are run. Although rail freight derailment is infrequent, its consequences can be severe and may result in different forms of costs, including infrastructure; rolling stock; traffic disruptions; injuries and fatalities. The objective of this research paper is to conduct a cost benefit analysis (CBA) to identify cost effective mitigation techniques for efficient rail freight traffic management in Europe, by 2050. Reviewing previous derailments and studies, eight sets of derailment causes are analysed and, for each of them, sets of mitigation techniques are aimed at for their alleviation. The study finds that the highest cumulative costs of derailment are associated with ‘wheel failure’, while the lowest cumulative cost is identified for ‘excessive track width’. Regarding mitigation techniques, the lowest cumulative benefits are demonstrated for ‘track height’ interventions, whereas ‘wheel failure’ alleviation demonstrates the highest benefits, in value terms (all by 2050). In most cases, the benefit to cost ratio did not exceed 2.6; in two cases (‘track height’ and ‘rail failures’) the ratio remained below 1 – a negative outcome where cost is higher than benefit. The study suggests that the most cost-efficient interventions are those applied to ‘hot axle box and axle rupture’ and ‘spring and suspension failure’.     

多式联运条件下标准化道路货运装备的若干思考

目前我国正在大力推进多式联运,然而长期以来,我国货运装备的标准化水平较低,且与国际相比仍缺少相应的国家标准,因此,以道路运输装备为主体的装备很难实现与其他运输装备的兼容。本文综合分析了国内外多式联运工具及相关法规的基础上,提出了多式联运装备应具有的特点。