Estimating the environmental benefits of ride-sharing: A case study of Dublin

Ride-sharing has often been cited as a successful method to reduce congestion and green house gas emissions. This paper examines the patterns of ride-sharing, in Dublin, and estimates the environmental benefits of ride-sharing both in terms of reductions in emissions and the vehicle kilometres travelled. Data from the 2006 Census of Ireland is used to examine the travel patterns of those that ride-share. The COPERT4 model is used in this paper to estimate the CO₂ emissions saved by ride-sharing.     

Development of commuter and non-commuter mode choice models for the assessment of new public transport infrastructure projects: A case study

This paper uses state of the art stated choice designs to parameterise modal choice models for commuting and non-commuting travel futures in the presence of new public transport infrastructure (variations of new heavy rail, light rail and dedicated busway systems). D-optimal choice experiments are developed for a set of labelled modal alternatives in which respondents establish a reference benchmark based on the existing service levels (for access, linehaul and egress trip legs) which is used in a computer aided personal interview instrument to generate future scenarios of service levels for current and prospective new modals options. We show that a fully integrated stated choice experiment provides all the information required to obtain behaviourally relevant parameter estimates (within a nested logit framework) for all but the mode-specific constants (MSCs). The MSCs can be calibrated for the current modes within a network model setting, giving the transport planner an appropriate model for predicting the patronage potential for proposed new public transport infrastructure services. A useful by-product is a new set of behavioural values of travel time savings for access, egress, linehaul and wait times.     

Coordinating buses and rapid rail in the San Francisco Bay Area: The case of Bay Area Rapid Transit

This paper examines attempts by planners and policy makers to analyze and bring about the coordination of rail and bus transit in the San Francisco Bay Area. Drawing on studies and plans before and after the creation of the rapid rail system BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), the author points to technical, analytical and political problems in attempts to link BART and buses. Some options and cautions are presented for planners considering route coordination, feeder buses, transfers and institutional arrangements to manage bus and rail services.     

Estimating the environmental costs of port related emissions: The case of Kaohsiung

This study estimates the emission costs of ships and trucks in the Port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, focusing mainly on particular matter and volatile organic compounds. By calculating annual ship and truck emissions we find that the major contributors are tankers, container ships and bulk ships and trucks. Using a bottom-up methodology, the combined environmental costs of ships and trucks are estimated to be over $123 million per year.     

Modelling the resilience of rail passenger transport networks affected by large-scale disruptive events: the case of HSR (high speed rail)

This paper deals with modelling the dynamic resilience of rail passenger transport networks affected by large-scale disruptive events whose impacts deteriorate the networks’ planned infrastructural, operational, economic, and social-economic performances represented by the selected indicators. The indicators of infrastructural performances refer to the physical and operational conditions of the networks’ lines and stations, and supportive facilities and equipment. Those of the operational performances include transport services scheduled along particular routes, their seating capacity, and corresponding transport work/capacity. The indicators of economic performances include the costs of cancelled and long-delayed transport services imposed on the main actors/stakeholder involved—the rail operator(s) and users/passengers. The indicators of social-economic performances reflect the compromised accessibility and consequent prevention of the user/passenger trips and their contribution to the local/regional/national Gross Domestic Product. Modeling resulted in developing a methodology including two sets of analytical models for: (1) assessing the dynamic resilience of a given rail network, i.e., before, during, and after the impacts of disruptive event(s); and (2) estimation of the indicators of particular performances as the figures-of-merit for assessing the network’s resilience under the given conditions. As such, the methodology could be used for estimating the resilience of different topologies of rail passenger networks affected by past, current, and future disruptive events, the latest according to the “what-if” scenario approach and after introducing the appropriate assumptions. The methodology has been applied to a past case—the Japanese Shinkansen HSR network affected by a large-scale disruptive event—the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011.     

Examining determinants of rail ridership: a case study of the Orlando SunRail system

The current study contributes to the literature on transit ridership by considering daily boarding and alighting data from a recently launched commuter rail system in Orlando, Florida – SunRail. The analysis is conducted based on daily boarding and alighting data for 10 months for the year 2015. With the availability of repeated observations for every station, the potential impact of common unobserved factors affecting ridership variables are considered. The current study develops an estimation framework, for boarding and alighting separately, that accounts for these unobserved effects at multiple levels – station, station-week and station-day. In addition, the study examines the impact of various observed exogenous factors such as station level, transportation infrastructure, transit infrastructure, land use, built environment, sociodemographic and weather variables on ridership. The model system developed will allow us to predict ridership for existing stations in the future as well as potential ridership for future expansion sites.     

Centralized versus distributed feeder ship service: The case of the Maasvlakte harbour area of Rotterdam

Coastal and inland feeder shipping is a critical factor for intercontinental container transport. The question is whether each intercontinental terminal should be equipped with its own service stations for feeder shipping, or whether pooling of the facilities would be more effective. For this paper, the service station examined for the service of feeder ships is equipped with two quay cranes operating in parallel supported by a small active quay stack. The centre for this feeder service consists of several of these stations. Simulation shows that a crane productivity of 96% is feasible with an average vehicle waiting time of 1 min, that a central service requires fewer service stations than a distributed service and that the quay transport for central and distributed transport requires the same number of terminal vehicles. The analysis shows that a centralized service is preferable, attracting 70% of the market potential.     

The impact of urban rail transit on commercial property value: New evidence from Wuhan,China

The interaction between rail transit and the urban property market is a vital foundation for planning transit-based policy such as Value Capture and Transit Oriented Development (TOD). Yet only few studies have reported the impact of transit access on commercial property value. This paper presents empirical evidence from Wuhan, China, to enrich the knowledge in the subject area. Spatial autoregressive models were employed to estimate the commercial value capture, based on 676 observations along Wuhan’s metro rail line through the main business districts. Value appreciation was discovered within the 400 m radius of road network distance from Metro stations. The transit access premiums present as two tiers: 16.7% for the 0–100 m core area and approximately 8.0% within the 100–400 m radius. The result demonstrates the potential benefit of adopting value capture and optimising TOD planning to support sustainable urban rail transit investment. Amid rapid urbanisation in China, the evidence reported here could help better inform cities, across the developing world and beyond, of the benefits of adopting rail transit-based policy.     

Measuring quality of service in dial-a-ride operations: the case of a Canadian city

In many countries, dial-a-ride services are provided by public authorities to elderly and handicapped people who cannot use regular transit. Cost minimization is key to running these services, but one can observe a growing interest in quality measurement and improvement. A first step in improving quality is to define a quality measurement scale specific to dial-a-ride services. A second step is to incorporate quality measurements in mathematical models that serve as a basis for optimization algorithms. To this end, an extensive survey of dial-a-ride users was conducted in Longueuil, the largest suburb of Montreal, Canada. This paper describes the steps of the survey and presents its main conclusions: (1) 56 attributes were identified based on interviews, (2) the questionnaire developed has proved to be reliable and valid, (3) an exploratory factor analysis allowed us to determine 13 dimensions of quality in dial-a-ride services, (4) the most important criteria for users were identified, and (5) population segmenting variables by which subgroups of users can be categorized were also determined. Managerial implications of our results are also discussed.     

A practical approach to identifying the market potential for high speed rail: A case study in the Sydney-Canberra corridor

This paper presents the methodology and selective empirical results from a study of the demand for a high speed rail system serving the Sydney-Canberra corridor currently dominated by air travel for business trips and car travel for non-business trips. We outline the steps involved in the study from problem specification, data needs, development of base year trip tables, model specification and estimation to establish switching behaviour in the presence of a new mode and calculation of induced demand for current travellers. A stated choice heteroskedastic extreme value switching model is used to evaluate the choice of fare type for business and non-business travel given the current mode used in the corridor for each sampled traveller conventional train, charter coach, scheduled coach, plane or car. Starting with the current travel profile, patronage can be predicted under alternative fare regimes, taking into account diverted traffic, induced traffic and growth. Treating fare class as endogenous enhances the real choice context facing potential patrons.     

Estimating commuter mode choice: A discrete choice analysis of the impact of road pricing and parking charges

Automobile use leads to external costs associated with emissions, congestion, noise and other impacts. One option for minimizing these costs is to introduce road pricing and parking charges to reduce demand for single occupant vehicle (SOV) use, while providing improvements to alternatives to encourage mode switching. However, the impact of these policies on urban mode choice is uncertain, and results reported from regions where charging has been introduced may not be transferable. In particular, revealed preference data associated with cost recovery tolls on single facilities may not provide a clear picture of driver response to tolls for demand management. To estimate commuter mode choice behaviour in response to such policies, 548 commuters from a Greater Vancouver suburb who presently drive alone to work completed an individually customized discrete choice experiment (DCE) in which they chose between driving alone, carpooling or taking a hypothetical express bus service when choices varied in terms of time and cost attributes. Attribute coefficients identified with the DCE were used in a predictive model to estimate commuter response to various policy oriented combinations of charges and incentives. Model results suggest that increases in drive alone costs will bring about greater reductions in SOV demand than increases in SOV travel time or improvements in the times and costs of alternatives beyond a base level of service. The methods described here provide an effective and efficient way for policy makers to develop an initial assessment of driver reactions to the introduction of pricing policies in their particular regions.     

The impact of rail transit on land use: Evidence and a change of perspective

On the basis of available evidence we cannot clearly establish a causal relationship between rail transit and changes in land use and development patterns. At best, such changes would seem to occur only in the presence of other favorable factors, such as supportive local land use policies and development incentives, availability of developable land and a good investment climate. In any event, however, determining the precise extent of rail investment's effect on urban structure is less important than assessing the role it could play in an overall strategy for reaching larger urban goals.     

Environmental equity in participation of the Clean Air School Bus Program: The case of New York State

The vast majority of American children rely on school buses for their daily trips to and from school, and almost all of these school buses operate on diesel fuel. Research has found that during their daily commute, children are exposed to unhealthy levels of diesel exhaust. We assess equity among school districts that chose to apply to the New York State Clean Air School Bus Program and those that did not. Binary logistic regression was employed to reveal the effects of demographics and other social economical factors on the choice of applying when controlling for other factors that are likely to affect a school district’s decision process. It was found that economic variables had a significant impact on the likelihood of a school district applying to the program.     

The value of time and external benefits in bicycle appraisal

We estimate the value of time savings, different cycling environments and additional benefits in cost-benefit analysis of cycling investments. Cyclists’ value of travel time savings turns out to be high, considerably higher than the value of time savings on alternative modes. Cyclists also value other improvements highly, such as separated bicycle lanes. As to additional benefits of cycling improvements in the form of health and reduced car traffic, our results do not support the notion that these will be a significant part in a cost-benefit analysis. Bicyclists seem to take health largely into account when making their travel choices, implying that it would be double-counting to add total health benefits to the analysis once the consumer surplus has been correctly calculated. As to reductions in car traffic, our results indicate that the cross-elasticity between car and cycle is low, and hence benefits from traffic reductions will be small. However, the valuations of improved cycling speeds and comfort are so high that it seems likely that improvements for cyclists are cost-effective compared to many other types of investments, without having to invoke second-order, indirect effects. In other words, our results suggest that bicycle should be viewed as a competitive mode of travel and not primarily as a means to achieve improved health or reduced car traffic.     

A field evaluation case study of the environmental and energy impacts of traffic calming

This study quantifies the energy and environmental impact of a selection of traffic calming measures using a combination of second-by-second floating-car global positioning system data and microscopic energy and emission models. It finds that traffic calming may result in negative impacts on vehicle fuel consumption and emission rates if drivers exert aggressive acceleration levels to speed up to their journeys. Consequently by eliminating sharp acceleration maneuvers significant savings in vehicle fuel consumption and emission rates are achievable through driver education. The study also demonstrates that high emitting vehicles produce CO emissions that are up to 25 times higher than normal vehicle emission levels while low emitting vehicles produce emissions that are 15–35% of normal vehicles. The relative increases in vehicle fuel consumption and emission levels associated with the sample traffic calming measures are consistent and similar for normal, low, and high emitting vehicles.     

Significant characteristics of the urban rail renaissance in the United States: A discriminant analysis

In the rebirth of light-rail in the US, there has been little quantitative work detailing the differences between cities that have built rail transit and those that have not. In this study, 18 independent variables measuring a variety of characteristics that might promote or hinder rail transit construction are examined for 13 cities that built rail and 22 that did not, but considered it. After isolating the most significant variables, a two-group discriminant analysis generates a function from a randomly chosen set of 25 cities, and then cross-validates it on a separate set of 10. That model attempts to classify the cities into their respective groups. A model with three significant independent variables is generated that correctly classifies 33 of the 35 cities. The results indicate that cities which chose to build rail already had relatively well-used bus systems. There also appears to be an image and economic development aspect associated with rail construction.     

The role of access and egress in passenger overall satisfaction with high speed rail

Passenger satisfaction is critical to ridership growth of high speed rail (HSR). Each HSR trip includes at least four segments: access to HSR stations, waiting, line-haul, and egress from HSR stations. Satisfaction with any segment influences the HSR passenger experience. Previous studies often focus on passenger satisfaction with the line-haul segment, but overlook the effects of all four segments on overall HSR satisfaction, especially access and egress. Using a path analysis on the data collected from the Shanghai-Nanjing HSR corridor in 2016, this study explores the influence of access and egress segments on overall HSR satisfaction and the correlates of satisfaction with HSR access and egress segments. We find that HSR line-haul satisfaction dominates overall HSR satisfaction; HSR access and egress satisfaction together have an equivalent effect. Travel time and route familiarity are important to both access and egress satisfaction. Mode choice affects satisfaction with HSR egress, with egress by car carrying the largest utility of egress satisfaction, followed by rail transit, taxi, and then bus. Thus, to improve HSR experience, traveler information service and the integration of HSR with urban transportation system are critical.

     

The treatment of traffic in the Dutch environmental outlooks: the role of science in policy making and policy evaluation

The Dutch National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection publishes Environmental Outlooks in which 25‐year projections are made. These Outlooks quantifying the environmental problems, form the scientific basis for Dutch environmental policy. Traffic and transport is one of the main sectors causing environmental problems. The emissions and energy use of all relevant categories (road traffic, non‐road traffic) are based on model simulations with models. This paper describes the main models used.

If present policy is implemented only a minority of the environmental targets will be met.

If a sustainable transport system for the Netherlands means a large reducton in CO₂ emissions and energy use after 2010 a stronger emphasis on both technical and non‐technical measures (such as land‐use planning combined with public transport improvements) for the period until 2010 is needed than proposed in the Second Transport Structure Plan, unless a sustainable energy source becomes available.