Commercialising the management and maintenance of trunk roads in the United Kingdom

Public funding of new infrastructure from money raised through taxes or borrowing has been questioned globally in recent years. One alternative solution has been to finance major capital projects through Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) schemes. In the United Kingdom, the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has become established as the procurement method of choice for many projects and services in central and local government. It is a natural development of other changes in government administration which have been introduced over the past few years. Projects delivered in this way enable government to become a buyer of services on behalf of the public rather than a direct provider of those services to the public, taking advantage of private sector management skills and resources in their delivery. The PFI has demonstrated its ability to deliver value for money solutions in projects across a range of capital-intensive public services, but the greatest success in delivering projects has been in the transport sector. This paper outlines how the British Government's Highways Agency has restructured and commercialised the management and maintenance of the strategic road network for which it is responsible, and how it has been at the forefront of developing successful privately financed projects. The paper explains the Agency's particular version of BOT – Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) projects. These projects are delivering new and improved road construction and maintenance, providing better services to users of the country's strategic road network and achieving significant value for money savings for taxpayers.     

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.     

西部交通科技项目成果十年回顾

伴随着西部大开发的发展进程,西部交通建设科技项目迎来第十个年头。在这十年里,西部项目为交通运输行业奉献了一大批重大关键技术成果,有力支撑了西部地区的交通发展,推动了行业创新体系的建设。本篇对十年来的西部交通科技项目建设成果进行了回顾,以进一步推广应用。     

Problems of the carless in the United Kingdom and the United States

An examination of current population statistics shows that in the U.S. more than half of the population is without immediate access to a car, and in the U.K. more than three-fifths of the population is without access to a car. This phenomenon has been accentuated by national investment in both countries in major highway programs. The term carless refers to more than just households that own no cars. It extends, in households with cars to those without licenses (old and young), the handicapped, and even the licensed drivers who have no access to the family car when it is in use elsewhere (e.g. at work). The most severely effected are those in urban areas and especially the urban poor. Transportation expenses are limited for the poor when other family expenditures (food, shelter) take a high priority. Once the work trip has been satisfied, money for other trips, for the poor, is not always available. One solution to cost-free travel is pedestrianism (walking), but this too is difficult in urban areas where the pedestrian has been overlooked in favor of the car. Solutions to problems of the carless include dial-a-ride, better public transit, and better design of urban form.     

模拟计算法在重型车辆燃油经济性标准中的应用研究

随着节能减排压力的日益严重,世界各国均开始制定重型车辆的燃油经济性标准。在对重型车燃油经济性的测量方面,模拟计算法由于操作简单、可重复性好、成本低的优点越来越受到行业的重视,在日本、中国和美国的标准中都得到了应用。本文在分析模拟计算法测量车辆燃油经济性的原理基础上,对比研究了日本、中国和美国标准中模拟计算法的应用情况,分析了各国在模拟计算法关键环节上策略的异同。     

Development of driving cycles for electric vehicles in the context of the city of Florence

Strong efforts are spent in automotive engineering for the creation of so called Driving Cycles (DCs). Vehicle DC development has been a topic under research over the last thirty years, since it is a key activity both from an authority and from an industrial research point of view. Considering the innovative characteristics of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and their diffusion on certain contexts (e.g. city centers), the demand for tailored cycles arises. A proposal for driving data analysis and synthesis has been developed through the review and the selection of known literature experiences, having as a goal the application on a EVs focused case study. The measurement campaign has been conducted in the city of Florence, which includes limited traffic areas accessible to EVs. A fleet of EVs has been monitored through a non-invasive data logging system. After data acquisition, time-speed data series have been processed for filtering and grouping. The main product of the activity is a set of DCs obtained by pseudo-randomized selection of original data. The similarity of synthetic DCs to acquired data has been verified through the validation of cycle parameters. Finally, the new DCs and a selection of existing ones are compared on the basis of relevant kinematic parameters and expected energy consumption. The method followed for the creation of DCs has been implemented in a software package. It can be used to generate cycles and, under certain boundary conditions, to get a filtered access to the measured data and provide integration within simulation environment.     

造价工程师在项目管理中的投资控制

投资控制工作的方法是否合理,直接影响到工期和质量,投资控制工作的好坏,直接影响整个项目的的管理效果,在保障工程质量和工程进度的前提下,保证工程投资不超投资计划。     

Adjusting the service? Understanding the factors affecting bus ridership over time at the route level in Montréal,Canada

Transportation - Like many cities across North America, Montréal has experienced shrinking bus ridership over recent years. Most literature has focused on the broader causes for ridership...     

Operator workforce planning in the transit industry

Workforce planning in the transit industry has received increased attention in the last few years as management emphasis has shifted from expanding transit service to increasing service efficiency and effectiveness. This paper builds upon recent work on the optimal level of reserve personnel and extends the analysis approach to incorporate the probabilistic aspects of absenteeism by day of week and season, workforce attrition, and extra, non-scheduled work such as new operator on-street training and special events requiring extra service. It presents an integrated framework for operator workforce planning which includes three interrelated models: strategic, tactical and operational. A case study of workforce planning at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is used to demonstrate the potential of the general approach proposed in the paper.     

Uni- and bi-directional pedestrian flow in the view-limited condition: Experiments and modeling

In this paper, the impact of vision on the uni- and bi-directional flow has been investigated via experiment and modeling. In the experiments, pedestrians are asked to walk clockwise/anti-clockwise in a ring-shaped corridor under view-limited condition and normal view condition. As expected, the flow rate under the view-limited condition decreases comparing with that under the normal view condition, no matter in uni- or bi-directional flow. In bidirectional flow, pedestrians segregate into two opposite moving streams very quickly under the normal view condition, and clockwise/anti-clockwise walking pedestrians are always in the inner/outer ring due to right-walking preference. In the first set of experiment, spontaneous lane formation has not occurred under the view-limited condition. Pedestrian flow does not evolve into stationary state. Local congestion occurs and dissipates from time to time. However, in the later sets of experiments, spontaneous lane formation has re-occurred. This is because participants learned from the experience and adapted right-walking preference to avoid collision. To model the flow dynamics, an improved force-based model has been proposed. The driving force has been modified. The right-walking preference has been taken into account. The fact that pedestrians cannot judge the moving direction accurately under limited-view condition has been considered. Simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental ones.     

Evaluation of the policies in British local transport plans with regard to the promotion of rail freight

Over the last couple of decades there has been a trend in Western Europe and North America towards making the railway industry more able to compete successfully with road for freight haulage through deregulation and/or structural change. This trend has been drive, partly, by a concern to produce more commercially viable railway industries, but also by concerns to reduce the environmental impacts of road haulage through modal shift. The latter in particular has led to the development of public policies supportive of rail freight, particularly at the national or international levels. This paper reports on qualitative research that analysed public policy aimed at promoting rail freight in Britain but, unusually, the focus was on local rather than national policy. The research was an investigation of the approach of local authorities to the encouragement of rail freight as evidenced through their Local Transport Plans. The paper concludes that in Britain there has been a significant amount of local policymaking for rail freight and that although national policy matters are of overriding importance, the role of local policy is significant and can be developed further.     

"RDS-8固化酶"在道路工程中的应用

文章简要地介绍了RDS-8固化酶稳定土的研究,通过室内试验和试验路,证明了RDS-8固化酶稳定土较优良的路用性能及适用范围,在道路工程应用中达到使用安全方便、减少筑路造价、节约能源等效果。     

The successful transportation system and the regional planning problem: An evaluation of the Munich rapid transit system in the context of urban and regional planning policy

The development of the Munich Rapid Transit System, coupled with the growth of the Munich region, has had a major effect on the spatial structure of the region. The radial form of the rapid transit system has led to an outward movement of higher income families and a strengthening of the service function of the city centre, to the cost of local centres. Lower income families are tending to settle in the city centre fringe areas, although their primary employment opportunities, in manufacturing industry, are increasingly moving to the urban fringe. There is, thus, a growing spatial separation between homes and workplaces and although the rapid transit system has reduced traffic congestion in Munich, it has encouraged the development of an urban structure which is not compatible with the objectives of either the state or the region.     

A review of the evidence for induced travel and changes in transportation and environmental policy in the US and the UK

This paper reviews recent research into the demand inducing effects of new transportation capacity. We begin with a discussion of the basic theoretical background and then review recent research both in the UK and the US. Results of this research show strong evidence that new transportation capacity induces increased travel, both due to short run effects and long run changes in land use development patterns. While this topic has long been debated amongst transportation planners, the fundamental hypothesis and theory has long been apparent in studies of transportation economics and planning that evaluated different issues (e.g. travel time budgets and urban economic development effects). We summarize much of this work and relate the theoretical issues to recent empirical research. We then proceed to examine recent changes in transportation and environmental policy in the US and the UK. The role of the new knowledge of induced travel effects would be expected to lead to changes in the conduct of transportation and environmental policy. Changes in policy and implementation of those policies are still occurring and we provide some suggestions on how to move forward in these areas.     

Controlling vehicular emissions in Beijing during the last decade

The vehicle population of Beijing is sharply increasing at an average annual rate of 14.5%, causing severe transportation and environmental problems. The Beijing municipal government and the public have worked hard to control vehicular emissions since 1995. Strategies and measures have been introduced to regulate land use and traffic planning, emission control of in-use vehicles and new vehicles, fuel quality improvement, introduction of clean fuel vehicle technology and fiscal incentives. New development plans for Beijing will change the transportation structure by encouraging public transportation. For in-use vehicles, the I/M program has employed ASM tests since early 2003 and the government has encouraged the retirement of high-emission vehicles. For new vehicles, Beijing introduced Euro 1 and Euro 2 emission standards in early 1999 and 2003, respectively. It is also confirmed that Euro 3 standards will be introduced in 2005. At the same time, the fuel quality in Beijing was improved significantly, by banning lead and reducing sulfur among other changes. CNG and LPG were introduced in 1999 and are used in buses and taxis. Today Beijing has the largest CNG bus fleet in the world with more than 2000 dedicated CNG buses. Beijing has also focused on fiscal incentives such as tax deductions for new vehicles meeting enhanced emission standards to encourage their sales. These strategies and measures have had an impact on the control of vehicular emissions. Despite the rapid increase of the vehicle population by 60% between 1998 and 2003, total vehicular emissions have not increased. With the enhancement of vehicular emission control, the air quality in Beijing is improving as the city strives to its goal for a “Green Olympics”.     

盾构刀盘中心区域磨损研究

文章介绍了刀盘中心区域磨损的原因,并对结泥饼引起的扭矩变化进行了分析。通过工程实例对比指出,在刀盘中心区域加装搅拌棒是比较有效的解决方案。     

Urban transport in Germany: providing feasible alternatives to the car

With the second highest level of car ownership in the world, and the third highest population density in Europe, Germany has adopted a range of policies to balance the many private benefits of car use with its serious social and environmental problems. In order to ‘tame’ the car, most German cities have implemented a twofold strategy of expanding and improving pedestrian, bicycling and public transport alternatives simultaneously with restricting car use and making it more expensive. That has increased political acceptability since the car‐restrictive measures are not perceived as mere punishment of car drivers. The results of this coordinated urban transport strategy have been impressive. Germany, as a whole, has managed to increase public transport use and to stabilize the car share of modal split. Some cities, of course, have been more successful than others, and this paper examines three of the most successful cities: Münster, Freiburg and Munich. In each of the cities, the percentage of travel by bicycling, walking and public transport has been raised over the past 20 years, while the car's share of modal split has fallen. This article documents the range of policies used to restrict car use, both in Germany as a whole, and in the three case‐study cities in particular. The key to success is found to be mutually reinforcing transport and land‐use policies. It is the combination of a whole set of coordinated policies that explains the dramatic success in changing travel behavior.     

The management of the rural transportation problem in Nigeria

In spite of the fact that about 70% of Nigeria's population live in rural areas, these areas have remained largely inaccessible. Not only do they lack motorable roads and organized public transport but also field surveys indicate that nearly all rural inhabitants do not have a private car. A Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure has been set up to manage the inaccessibility problem, among others. Whereas there are several conventional approaches to the management of the rural transportation problem, the Nigerian approach relies on the provision of roads. This restrictive approach with an emphasis on locational to the neglect of personal accessibility has various limitations which are analysed.     

对上海地铁车站独立出入口形式的思考

上海数百个地铁车站出入口对方便乘客进出站及城市景观和谐产生了不容忽视的影响。通过对上海地铁车站独立出入口形式变化的分析与思考,寻找出其演变的规律,并提出一种能够兼顾有盖式与开敞式优点的敞篷式出入口方案,以供同行参考。     

探地雷达在路基灌浆效果检测中的应用

探地雷达自出现以来,在工程领域得到了极其广泛的运用,获得了较好的应用效果。文章结合工程实例,介绍探地雷达在路基灌浆检测中的应用情况,实践证明,探地雷达用以检测路基的注浆质量,获得了较好的检测效果。