A Framework for Developing Driving Cycles with On‐Road Driving Data

Abstract

This paper attempts to propose a framework on driving cycle development based on a thorough review of 101 transient driving cycles. A comparison of the driving cycles highlighted that Asian driving is the slowest but most aggressive while European driving is the fastest and smoothest. Further review of the cycle development methodologies identified three major elements for developing a driving cycle; test route selection, data collection and cycle construction methods. A framework was eventually proposed based on these findings and recommendations from this review. First, traffic activity patterns and quantitative statistics should be considered in determining the test routes. Speed data can be collected by using chase car method, on‐board measurement techniques or their hybrid. As for the construction of driving cycle, the matching approach has been more commonly used. It is recommended that the tendency of zero change in acceleration, which has been commonly ignored in the literature, and the application of succession probability at second‐by‐second level should be further explored. A fifth mode, creeping, is also recommended for modal analysis for characterizing urban congested driving conditions.     

Driving by choice or necessity?

From just about all accounts, Americans are driving more than ever, not just to work but to shopping, to school, to soccer practice and band practice, to visit family and friends, and so on. Americans also seem to be complaining more than ever about how much they drive—or, more accurately, how much everyone else drives. However, the available evidence suggests that a notable share of their driving is by choice rather than necessity. Although the distinction between choice and necessity is not always so clear, it is important for policy makers. For necessary trips, planners can explore ways of reducing the need for or length of the trip or ways of enhancing alternatives to driving. For travel by choice, the policy implications are much trickier and touch on basic concepts of freedom of choice. This paper first develops a framework for exploring the boundary between choice and necessity based on a categorization of potential reasons for and sources of “excess driving”, and then uses in-depth one-on-one interviews guided by this framework to characterize patterns of excess driving. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of travel behavior and provides a basis for developing policy proposals directed at reducing the growth in driving.     

Driving to save time or saving time to drive? The enduring appeal of the private car

Use of the private car is often viewed as highly problematic. It is regularly associated with global physical, social and ecological harms such as climate change and the high incidence of lifestyle diseases, including heart disease. Attempts to address these problems generally include provision for day-to-day physical mobility based on alternatives to the private car. Labelled alternative transport, these modes include public transport, walking and cycling. Yet the private car continues as the preferred way to travel in many cities. A deeper understanding of this preference can reveal under explored sites of resistance to alternative transport modes.This paper contributes to these understandings by examining the role the car as a time saving device plays in sustaining automobility. Its central proposition is that individual decisions to drive are not necessarily motivated by the desire to save time. The paper draws on empirical evidence on the journey to work in Australia’s largest city, Sydney. Using a systematic process of trip substitution analysis, a group of people were identified who could use alternative transport to get to work in the same amount of time it currently takes them to drive. These people then participated in a series of in-depth interviews where deeper attachments and motivations for private car use were explored.This approach has enabled development of the multi-layered understanding that informs the central proposition that individual decisions to drive are not necessarily motivated by the desire to save time. Instead, automobility is sustained by appeals to flexibility and autonomy, as well as the interminable pull of the sensory experience provided by the cocoon of the car. This way of thinking about resistance to alternative transport exposes a series of inconsistencies between the expectations of those planning for, and those anticipated to one day use, alternative transport.     

What Does Happen to Our Driving When We Get Older?

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to uncover the main antecedents associated with driving errors among older drivers in order to establish a framework for analyzing potential skill improvements using other approaches, for example, games. The article also aims at classifying age-related declines in seniors' abilities associated with their driving performance. The research undertakes an analysis of attempts made through the investigation of the literature. We have systematically searched papers and extracted (1) prevalent driving errors among seniors and (2) underlying age-related declines in seniors' abilities associated with their driving performance. We have also identified some characteristics of the research in this area (e.g. the research methods and geographical distribution of the research). Our expert panel mapped the functional declines in seniors' abilities to the driving errors to identify the relationship between these findings. A reliability test resulted in 81% reliability of findings. We have identified eight groups of driving errors, which could be affected by physical, visual, and cognitive declines among seniors. According to the experts' opinions, the underlying relationship of physical, visual, and cognitive declines among seniors and their driving errors were also presented. Our findings show that there is a potential for the use of innovative interventions such as playing video games to create an inexpensive, motivational, and enjoyable method that may provide a transfer effect to specific driving skills. This could help improve seniors' driving performance by improving specific functional abilities associated with driving.     

Are multi-car households better suited for battery electric vehicles? – Driving patterns and economics in Sweden and Germany

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) could reduce CO₂ emissions from the transport sector but their limited electric driving range diminishes their utility to users. The effect of the limited driving range can be reduced in multi-car households where users could choose between a BEV and a conventional car for long-distance travel. However, to what extent the driving patterns of different cars in a multi-car household’s suit the characteristics of a BEV needs further analysis. In this paper we analyse the probability of daily driving above a fixed threshold for conventional cars in current Swedish and German car driving data. We find second cars in multi-car households to require less adaptation and to be better suited for BEV adoption compared to first cars in multi-car households as well as to cars in single-car households. Specifically, the share of second cars that could fulfil all their driving is 20 percentage points higher compared to first cars and cars from single-car households. This result is stable against variation of driving range and of the tolerated number of days requiring adaptation. Furthermore, the range needed to cover all driving needs for about 70% of the vehicles is only 220 km for second cars compared to 390 km for the average car. We can further confirm that second cars have higher market viability from a total cost of ownership perspective. Here, the second cars achieve a 10 percentage points higher market share compared to first cars, and to cars in single-car households for Swedish economic conditions, while for Germany the corresponding figure is 2 percentage points. Our results are important for understanding the market viability of current and near-future BEVs.     

High- Speed railway lines in Germany:Experience in Tunnelling in Karstic Geology and Discussion Of Tunnel Driving Methods

In the course of Deutsche Bahn's new high - speed railway line between Nuremberg and Ingolstadt, a number of tunnels are being constructed, with a total length of about 15 km. One of the longest tunnel is the 7,250 m long Irlahüll tunnel.The tunnel was driven in karst geology. It was not expected that karst phenomena would be so widespread. This forced client, designer and contractor to take a new approach to the project. Different tools were developed to handle the problems on site. Additional site investigations had to be performed to identify karst phenomena in the vicinity of the tunnel. For validating the stability and serviceability of the tunnel, a new way of defining the probability of failure of the construction had to be found. Based on the experience of the tunnel driving at the high - speed railway line in Germany between Nuremberg and Ingolstadt, two different methods of tunnelling are discussed: Drill and blast ( New Austrian Tunnelling Method: NATM) and the use of tunnel boring machines (TBM).     

Ranking the substantive problems in the Dutch Cost–Benefit Analysis practice

This paper investigates the perceptions of key participants in the Dutch Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA) practice regarding substantive problems when appraising spatial-infrastructure projects with CBA. Two research methods were applied. Firstly, 86 key participants in the Dutch CBA practice were interviewed in-depth in order to obtain an overview and a ranking of perceived substantive problems with CBA in the Netherlands. Secondly, the people interviewed were also asked to fill in a written questionnaire in which they were asked to rank the substantive problems once again, in order to improve the validity of the ranking; 74 of the participants completed this questionnaire. The most important conclusions of this paper are, firstly, that key participants in the Dutch CBA practice consider ‘problems with the estimation of the non-monetized project effects’ as the most important substantive problem cluster and ‘problems with monetizing project effects’ as the second most important substantive problem cluster. Secondly, key participants in the Dutch CBA practice consider the ‘problem analysis’ in a CBA to be a very important substantive problem. Thirdly, there is, in a broad sense, consensus among the different groups in the Dutch CBA practice concerning their perception of the seriousness of problem clusters and the way they rank the problem clusters. Fourthly, a large part of the substantive problems mentioned by the key participants in the Dutch CBA practice are non-specific CBA problems.     

Does the choice model method and/or the data matter?

The opportunity to have seven data sets associated with a stated choice experiment that are very similar in content and design is rare, and provides an opportunity to look in detail at the empirical evidence within and between each data set in the context of a range of discrete choice estimation methods, from multinomial logit to latent class to scale multinomial logit to mixed logit, and the most general model, generalized mixed multinomial logit that accounts for preference and scale heterogeneity. Given the problems associated with data from different countries and time periods, we estimate separate models for each data set, obtaining values of travel time savings that are then updated post estimation to a common dollar for comparative purposes. We also pooled all data sets for a scaled MNL model, treating each data set as a set of three separate utility expressions, but linked to the other data sets through scale heterogeneity. This is not behaviourally appropriate with MNL, latent class or mixed logit. The main question investigated is whether there exists greater synergy in the willingness to pay evidence within model form across data sets compared to across model forms within data sets. The evidence suggests that there is a relatively greater convergence of evidence across the choice models, with the exception of generalized mixed logit, after controlling for data set differences; and there is strong evidence to suggest that differences between data sets do matter.     

The “Ubernomics” of ridesourcing: the myths and the reality

ABSTRACT

This paper looks at the economics of ridesourcing (or app-based ride-hailing) with a particular focus on the US. It brings together the rather dispersed literature on the subject focusing on the economic characteristics of the underlying industry and sets this within the broader context of transportation economics. In particular, it sorts out the realities of ridesourcing from some of myths that were perpetrated in its early days and, in many cases, still persist. It considers some of the empirical evidence that has emerged regarding the key parameters that determine the way Uber and the like operate, and the welfare implications of this, together with comments on some of the regulatory reactions to the new transportation platform. It concludes by suggesting some ways in which recent developments in economic could move forward our understanding of the industry as technologies and markets change.     

Deregulating the bus industry in Britain — (A) the proposals

Abstract

Over the past five years there has been an unprecedented stream of transport legislation in Britain, and policy has switched significantly towards the provision of services commensurate with market demand. The most important single document has been the recent publication of the White Paper on ‘Buses’ which could bring about dramatic changes in the road passenger transport industry. This introductory section outlines the arguments for and against change and then summarizes the proposals.     

Estimated mortality of mammals and the costs associated with animal–vehicle collisions on the roads in the Czech Republic

We use questionnaires to estimate the mortality of mammals on the roads in the Czech Republic and estimate the costs involved. Annual mortality was quantified for eleven species/groups of mammals, and the highest mortality was recorded for common species such as Lupus europaeus and Capreolus capreolus. The vehicle damage is most frequent after collisions with ungulates, which also impose the highest vehicle repair costs. If the animal loss were compensated by releasing animals into the wild, the highest costs would be associated with the release of C. capreolus and L. europaeus. Overall annual compensation costs would exceed €100 million.     

Use of combinatorial auctions in the railway industry: Can the “invisible hand” draw the railway timetable?

Rail capacity is currently administratively allocated in Europe, whereas the economic literature has often contemplated the opportunity of introducing market mechanisms, auctions in particular, into this industry. This article tries to fill the gap between practice and theory. It first describes the properties of rail capacity (rigidity and non-homogeneity) and shows that because of its very nature, this capacity must be allocated through combinatorial auctions. As identified by the economic literature, using combinatorial auctions introduces a lot of complexity (winner determination and information burden) into the allocation process. To deal with this complexity, some form of centralized planning is necessary to design the right market mechanisms and to allocate capacity. This could have strong consequences on the current deregulation process.     

“Cutting costs to the bone”: the Portuguese experience in renegotiating public private partnerships highways during the financial crisis

Transportation - How can governments renegotiate public private partnerships (PPPs) in order to reduce public expenditures? In 2011, in the aftermath of the financial and sovereign debt crisis,...     

Waterproofing Underground Structures:Lessons from the Past,Systems for the Future

The paper describes some of the key issues that need to be addressed in the design and execution of underground structures to ensure their long term suitability as watertight units and outlines through practical examples of structures that have not achieved their design requirements which situations need to be considered. Waterproofing is not an exact science but a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical experience based on the five key factors: Environment, Design, Materials, Application and Use of the Structure.In conclusion the paper outlines the advances in crack control to date that can provide the necessary long term guarantees.The adoption of re - injectable crack inducers permitted the Client to save over 10% on construction costs and reduced the construction time by six months.     

Transport deregulation and the economy wide implications of the wheeler‐Gilmour hypothesis

This paper focuses on the effects of deregulation of motor carriers in Australia. It is particularly concerned with the implications of regulatory reform beyond the transport sector and uses a general equilibrium approach to examine the economy wide effects of deregulation. Among other things the paper shows that the effects of deregulation are not evenly distributed across all types of industries. Furthermore it concludes that the magnitude of the effects from deregulation in any given industry is not necessarily correlated with the share of total costs devoted to the purchase of transportation services.

     

Do the selected Trans European transport investments pass the cost benefit test?

This paper assesses the economic justification for the selection of priority projects defined under the auspices of the Trans-European transport network. Three different transport models are used to analyse the costs and benefits associated with the current list of 30 priority projects. Most of these projects fail the cost-benefit test and few of the economically justifiable projects would need European subsidies to ensure their viability. Two remedies are proposed to minimise the inefficiencies surrounding project selection. The first remedy would oblige each member state or group of states to perform a cost-benefit analysis, followed by peer review and ensure that the results were published publicly prior to the ranking of federally funded priority projects. The second remedy would require federal funding to be made available only for projects with important spillovers to other countries in order to avoid pork barrel political behaviour.     

Computer aided design of the operation and the track layout of the passenger railway stations: interactive—graphic model AFAIG

This paper presents a software model for the planning of passenger railway stations. The aim of this model is the elaboration of operation programs within stations, and the evaluation of projects for the track layout.

This model allows the planner to elaborate interactively an operation program, through a man‐computer dialogue, in a way similar to the manual procedure with which he is familiar. On the other hand, the model includes an optimization algorithm which can be used to automatically set routes to the trains, through the station.     

When is getting there half the fun? Modeling the liking for travel

This paper analyzes empirically measured values of Travel Liking––how much individuals like to travel, in various overall, mode-, and purpose-based categories. The study addresses two questions: what types of people enjoy travel, and under what circumstances is travel enjoyed? We first review and augment some previously hypothesized reasons why individuals may enjoy travel. Then, using data from 1358 commuting residents of three San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods, a total of 13 ordinary least-squares linear regression models are presented: eight models of short-distance Travel Liking and five models of long-distance Travel Liking. The results indicate that travelers’ attitudes and personality (representing motivations) are more important determinants of Travel Liking than objective travel amounts. For example, while those who commute long distances do tend to dislike commute travel (as expected), the variables entering the models that hold the most importance relate to the personality and attitudes of the traveler. Most of the hypothesized reasons for liking travel are empirically supported here.     

How perceptions mediate the effects of the built environment on travel behavior?

This study provides a better understand the mechanism underlying the built environment-behavior connection by systematically exploring the relationships between the objective (actual) environment and people’s perceptions of the environment, and their relative effects on travel behavior using the Stimuli-Organism-Response framework. Based on data for the Twin Cities, this study explores (1) How do perceptions mediate the effects of the objective environment on travel behavior? (2) How do travel attitudes influence the effects of perceptions on travel behavior? Among the eight empirical models tested here, six are consistent with the framework: objective built environment affects travel behavior through its influence on perceptions. Moreover, the framework fits walking and bicycling behavior better than transit and driving behavior. Furthermore, travel attitudes greatly moderate the influences of perceptions on travel behavior.