Demand responsive transit and the integration of D/R systems with traditional transit

This paper provides a background of the development of demand-responsive transit in small communities in the U.S.A. It also backgrounds traditional transit in metropolitan areas of the United States and outlines its deficiencies in terms of today's urban sprawl and in terms of today's society in metropolitan areas. Urban sprawl has developed city-like areas around big cities, but with lower population densities. Highways and roads were built. Cars were mass-produced. These new populations have never had an alternative to the private car. Today's society includes an ever-increasing number of senior citizens and handicapped persons. Senior citizens find it difficult to get to fixed-route bus stops; handicapped persons have difficulty in boarding regular buses and wheelchair persons cannot even get on board. Particular emphasis is placed upon the examination of the development of demand-responsive transit in metropolitan Rochester, U.S.A. and a Demonstration Project, sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration of the United States Department of Transportation. The paper also examines and makes reference to the results of integrated transit in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Demonstration Project has several key objectives, the principal one of which is the integration of demand-responsive transit with the fixed-route element of traditional transit. Other important objectives of the demonstration are the balancing of peak and off-peak service so as to improve the overall utilization of resources, increase transit coverage, regular (not special) service for the elderly and the handicapped, the utilization of a computer in dispatching, digital communications, and marketing and promotional techniques.     

Mechanisms for the control of transnational shipping corporations

The author presents a model of the conflicts that arise in the transnational shipping industry with special emphasis on control alternatives during entry into shipping operations. He concludes that, since transnational shipping is a non-zero sum game, gains can be created for world shipping as a whole.     

Toward criteria in the development of urban transportation systems

Improved criteria are necessary to aid in determining awards of federal funds for metropolitan transit projects. Commuting is the main use for public transit. Thus a primary objective of an urban transit system should be to provide a flexible and balanced set of options to the workers in the metropolitan area for their journey to work. This paper discusses various facets of an appropriate balance among the three modes: rapid rail, bus, and automobile. Three cities are selected for further analysis: Baltimore, Kansas City, and Phoenix. These cities represent different stages in economic-transportation development, and also present different spatial patterns of residence and employment. The applicability of rapid rail transit to each city is examined in view of central city worker concentration and recent trends.     

Transit pricing research

Several decades of research on transit pricing have provided clear insights into how riders respond to price changes in both the transit and automobile sectors. For the most part, riders are insensitive to changes in either fare levels, structures, or forms of payments, though this varies considerably among user groups and operating environments. Since riders are approximately twice as sensitive to changes in travel time as they are to changes in fares, a compelling argument can be made for operating more premium quality transit services at higher prices. Such programs could be supplemented by vouchers and concessionary programs to reduce the burden of higher fares on low-income users. Also, cross-elasticity research suggests that higher automobile prices would have a significantly greater affect on ridership than lower fares. Most research on transit fare structures shows that the common practice of flat fares is highly inequitable, penalizing short-distance and off-peak users. Free fare programs have proven quite costly for each new transit user attracted and have rarely lured motorists to transit. Free fares limited to downtowns have been more successful than systemwide free fare programs. While prepayment schemes have met with success in the U.S. and Europe, honor fares have suffered from excessive revenue losses in at least one case in the U.S. Some of the more noteworthy fare policy successes in North America have been Bridgeport's combined pass-fare program, Allentown's deep discounts, Ottawa's major fare reduction and differentiation, and Columbus's substantial midday discount. As paratransit and other new transit alternatives to conventional bus continue to emerge, new, more differentiated fare practices can be expected in the future.     

Design of Continuous and Discrete LQI Control Systems with Stable Inner Loops

Design approaches were proposed for both continuous and discrete LQI (linear quadratic with integral) controllers, if exist, to stabilize the inner loops in addition to stabilizing the closed loops and minimizing the quadratic cost functionals. Derived from the algebraic Riccati equations involved in continuous and discrete LQI control, the design approaches were straightforward obtained by setting the quadratic cost functionals to decoupled forms with positive definite weighting matrices. Examples were provided to verify the effectiveness of the approaches.     

Reintroducing attitude theory in travel behavior research: The validity of an interactive interview procedure to predict car use

A methodological challenge is to develop methods which satisfy the need in transport planning of accurately forecasting travel behavior. Drawing on a review of the current state of attitude theory, it is argued that successfully forecasting travel behavior relies on a distinction between planned, habitual, and impulsive travel. Empirical illustrations are provided in the form of stated-response data from two experiments investigating the validity of an interactive interview procedure to predict household car use for different types of trips, either before or after participants were required to reduce use.     

Influence of Governance Context on the Management Performance of Marine Protected Area Networks

In the Philippines, networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) are more complex than individual MPAs, primarily due to involvement of multiple governance units. Hence, there is a need to understand the influence of governance context of networks on management performance. We addressed this need indirectly by evaluating the participation of network members and the governance capacity of three MPA networks with varying sizes, histories, and compositions of local governments and constituencies. We defined participation as the involvement of local governments and other stakeholders in decision-making processes. We defined governance capacity as the ability to govern interactions of social, economic, and political processes and dynamics in a political unit. We used qualitative, semi-structured key informant interviews and focus group discussions to ascertain whether participation and governance capacity are influenced by network size, institutional arrangements, and social and political contexts. We found that the sizes of the MPA networks did not affect participation and governance capacity. Instead, participation and capacity were influenced by institutional arrangements and the socioeconomic and political contexts of the local governments involved. We found that less complicated network objectives and systems for engagement, more inclusive membership, better communication, incentive systems, and strong leadership enhanced participation and governance capacity.     

Marina inventory and berthing supply projections: Mississippi's Gulf Coast

Abstract

The location as well as pace of marina development is a major issue in current coastal zone management. The supply and demand for marinas providing certain services in specific locations are growing and must be met. At the same time the environmental integrity of the coastal zone must be maintained against the many possible impacts of marina development. Compounding these problems from the view of both the developer and coastal zone manager is the absence of necessary data and accepted methodologies for estimating future supply needs for marine berthing. This paper describes a multi‐focii approach to the establishment of an information base and marina supply projections for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Data on existing marina types, services, and facilities are obtained via fieldwork; future marina slip supply needs are estimated using a combination of several techniques and data sources. The study serves two purposes. First, it initiates the basis for improved management of marina development on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Second, on a more theoretical level, it stimulates research toward developing and validating supply and demand projection techniques for marinas.