Statistical and activity-based modeling of university student travel behavior

Abstract

This paper conducts a statistical analysis of student travel behavior at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The data source is the ‘University NHTS’ project launched by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in 2009. Through this empirical study, it has been found that university student travel behavior is different from that of the general population; urban universities have lower percentages of nonmotorized trips than college-town universities; undergraduate students are likely to make more daily trips than graduate students – similarly, on-campus students make more frequent trips than off-campus students; the most frequent student activities are home and academic activities; and student group categories have virtually no impact on daily activity profiles, though activity types do have a dramatic impact on daily activity profiles. Based on these research findings, the paper makes a series of recommendations regarding trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and activity-based modeling.     

The role of the air transport service in interregional long-distance students’ mobility in Italy

This study investigates the role of air transport service in the attractiveness of universities to national students, examining how it might stimulate local economic development by attracting highly skilled labor. Examining the flow of Italian university students at the provincial level in 2003–2012, we find that the air transport service affects university attractiveness for long-distance students living at least 300 km from their university. Specifically, accessibility increases with the proximity of universities to airports, when low-cost carriers serve university routes and more alternative airports exist at the origin. Further, our results suggest that, over the last decade, air transport service has facilitated mobility of long-distance students from southern areas to universities in the north of Italy, where students generally move to increase their future prospects.     

The Asian economic crisis and the aviation industry: Impacts and response strategies

Most airlines across Asia are struggling to cope with an unprecedented economic crisis which they have very little control over, and the survival of some remains in doubt. The continuing uncertainty generated by the crisis has accelerated the process of change in the aviation industry and has highlighted the need for adaptability, and its effects have been deeper and longer lasting than previously anticipated. After a year-long slump in the Asian travel market, airlines are now considering a range of options and rehabilitation programmes including a series of cost-cutting measures. There appears to be a trend towards the extension and consolidation of strategic alliances, structural and operational reorganization, and the application of new technologies. The success of these measures will become apparent over time, but action is necessary to minimize the adverse consequences of the crisis which has dominated the region since 1997.     

Valuing Freight Transport Time using Transport Demand Modelling: A Bibliographical Review

The value of time for freight transport is of major importance in infrastructure-related cost–benefit analysis and yet its study has been largely neglected when compared with its passenger counterpart. In fact, one of the attributes that could decide the profitability of a project is how much can be saved if freight vehicles use new infrastructure. Despite being the primary benefit of most investments in transport infrastructure, researchers have not yet reached agreement over either the size or the nature of the values of time that should be used when evaluating projects. This article provides a review of the estimation of freight value of time through transport demand modelling and extant empirical evidence on this topic. Similarly, the bibliographic review of studies undertaken has allowed us to pinpoint the most critical issues when modelling freight transport demand and the position of various research teams regarding these aspects. Such issues include identifying the decision-maker, heterogeneity in the transport flows and transport attributes considered by decision-makers.     

Contractual PPPs for Transport Infrastructure in Spain: Lessons from the Economic Recession

In this paper, we analyse the successes and failures of contractual public-private partnerships (PPPs) for delivering and operating transport infrastructure in Spain from the award of the first toll highway concession programme to the present. To that end, we show the risk allocation principles used in Spain and explore the evolution of the contracting approaches over the years. We found that the performance was reasonably good until the arrival of the economic crisis in 2008. Taking advantage of that, we make a review of contractual PPPs for different transport modes and assess the impact that the economic crisis has had on their business performance and the capacity of the central and regional governments to fulfil their commitments with the private sector. This analysis enabled us to identify measures that, if had been applied, would have improved the resilience of these contract during the economic crisis.     

The development of the railway university of southwest Jiaotong,China

This article outlines the history, present size, achievements and future development of Southwest Jiaotong University since it was set up. It describes its teaching situation, its training of railway talents in science and technology, and its achievements in scientific research. In order to make the education there meet the needs of railway modernization, the university is making great efforts to transform itself into a new type of comprehensive university with more levels of science, engineering and management.     

Travel,transport and energy implications of university-related student travel: A case study approach

This study highlighted significant cultural differences and complexity in travel behaviour associated with travel to university across the UK and Ireland. This paper examines university travel behaviours and the implications for emissions, across the 2012–2013 academic year, based on responses from 1049 students across 17 universities in Ireland and the UK. Surveys were analysed to examine the trips of students both during term time and when accessing the universities each year. The data analysis in this paper examines three aspects of the transport implications of travel to and from university. Firstly the journey between university and term time address (or permanent address if the respondent does not have a separate term time address), secondly the journey between the university area and a separate permanent address where relevant; and thirdly implications for emissions resulting from university-related travel.The study found that student car users were more likely to be female, older students, or studying part time; male students were more likely to use active modes. The study indicated interesting differences between students living in different parts of the UK and Ireland. For example, it was found that there was a higher level of car dependence amongst Northern Irish students compared to other areas; and a greater variability in travel distances in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In England, car use was more pronounced when students travelled from their permanent address to term time address, and, as in Ireland, there was evidence of more car sharing on such trips. Public transport usage was more pronounced amongst Scottish students. The effect of these transport choices on emissions is significant and demonstrates the importance of education related trips to the development of a transport policy response. The analysis shows that annual emissions are highest for regular travel to and from university when a student has a permanent address rather than a separate term time and permanent address.     

Rail-road crossing impacts: an international synthesis

Rail-road crossings generate a range of transport, economic, social and environmental impacts. While much research has focused on selected impacts such as safety, little consideration has been given to wider impacts. The aim of this research was to therefore develop a holistic understanding of the impacts of rail-road crossings (both at-grade and grade-separated) and to identify key gaps in knowledge in this field. An international synthesis of rail-road crossing impacts was developed through a detailed literature review, which revealed a total of 18 different types of impacts associated with rail-road crossings. The review found that most research to date has focused on quantifying transport and economic impacts, particularly safety and road vehicle delay, with little consideration given to social and environmental impacts. A number of research gaps have been identified which provide a clear agenda for future research. These gaps include the use of empirical evidence to support impact assessments, and the need to better understand the impacts of grade-separating rail-road crossings in terms of safety, travel time variability, land use, traffic flow, rail vehicle delay, disability access, and crime.     

Analysis of cost estimation disclosure in environmental impact statements for surface transportation projects

Reliability in cost estimates in publicly funded projects is more important today than ever with increased governmental funding to infrastructure projects and associated accountability requirements, but surface transportation projects, large and small, in the United States have a legacy of cost overruns. The problems with these overruns start with the cost estimation process before projects begin. Studies have shown that early cost estimations reflect best-case scenarios rather than realistic expectations, and have attributed technical, economic, psychological, and political reasons for underestimation. The primary objectives of this research were to determine how costs have been presented and updated in environmental impact statements, to identify endemic technical problems with cost estimation during the environmental review of surface transportation projects, and to develop recommendations for improving cost estimation and disclosure. Cost estimation methods were analyzed from the documents of 100 projects, including draft environmental impact statements, final environmental impact statements, and records of decision. The study concluded that the lack of guidance on how to include cost estimation in environmental review revealed itself in the level of detail and attention given to estimating costs. Agencies omitted or included various aspects of cost estimation randomly. Professional organizations should fill the gap of the need for specific guidance to cost estimation for environmental review so it can evolve as a state of the practice.     

Travel attitudes and mode use among Asian international students at an Australian university

International students and immigrants in general are fuelling the growth in Australia’s population and the pressure that is putting on its urban transport systems. Yet, we know very little about their travel habits and limited previous research has been previously undertaken to address this gap. To address this research need, this study draws on a survey that was designed and distributed online and on-campus to students at Australia’s largest university (Monash University). Using multivariate statistical tools including factor analysis and multinomial logistic regression, significant differences were found between native-born Australian and Asian international students with regards to their mode perceptions, present travel habits and socio-demographics. For Asian students, attitudes towards non-car mode decrease and car-dependency increases the longer they reside in Australia. The findings of this research further highlight the need to encourage newer immigrants to use more sustainable travel options and highlight the relevance for local government and policy planners to support further research in this area, given that these international students have the potential to be key agents for travel behaviour change.     

What Curriculum for Mobility and Transport Studies? A Critical Exploration

To understand the complex meanings of mobility and to engage in transport planning and management processes, a variety of disciplines, skills, and tools are potentially useful. Universities have a limited amount of time and resources to train future professionals though. This poses a problem: where should the teaching priorities be? By means of a web-survey, this study has asked academics based at a number of universities what the disciplines, skills, and tools that — according to their personal viewpoints — are the most relevant for practitioners in the mobility and transport sector. The respondents generally support curricula that facilitate a holistic, non-specialised, understanding of mobility and transport issues.     

Universities and the cycling culture

Environmental analysis consistently shows transport as being amongst the top three contributors to a university’s ecological footprint. This paper reports on a study undertaken at the Mawson Lakes Campus of the University of South Australia into cycling as a sustainable transport option. First, the paper analyzes the campus as a text: an artifact which addresses a particular audience and is actively read and interpreted by those who travel through it. In reading the campus, we go beyond examining levels of cycling infrastructure provision to consider the way infrastructure provision constitutes and positions different travelers as (ab)normal. Second, the paper looks at different groups of cyclists on campus, why some commuted to university and others did not and the experiences of each of these groups. It is found that cyclists are largely written out of the Mawson Lakes text which challenges their legitimacy as travelers and as users of campus space. The research also found substantial differences between groups of commuter and non-commuter cyclists and this division fell along staff and student lines. We conclude by suggesting ways that this and other universities might legitimize cyclists and facilitate cycling as a mode of travel.     

Airline industry deregulation and changes in systematic risk

Deregulation of U.S. Airline Industry may have lowered systematic risk because pricing freedom and route flexibility improved airline management reaction to various economic conditions. Reduced systematic risk offers lower cost of equity capital for the industry as a whole as well as for individual carriers. Previous research has had mixed results in identifying a relationship between deregulation and airline industry cost of capital. This study plots airline industry Beta coefficients across the years 1963 to 1987 and clears up previously conflicting research findings. Beta coefficients had been falling since the fuel crisis of 1974 and continued to fall through 1980. Fluctuations since deregulation have been relatively minor and systematic risk has leveled off at a significantly lower value than before deregulation. Studies which concentrate on the fluctuation in Beta since 1978 are dependent on the exact time period of analysis, and their conclusions that deregulation raised or lowered systematic risk are likewise suspect. A broader view of systematic risk changes in the deregulatory era shows airline Betas peaking from 1971 to 1973 and a gradual decrease as deregulation was being discussed, implemented, and legally mandated. This gradual decline from 1974 to 1980 may be attributed to such factors as fuel prices, interest rates, general inflation as well as deregulation. In any case systematic risk of the U.S. Airline industry has been lower since deregulation than in decades before.     

Public sector comparators for UK PFI roads: inside the black box

A public sector comparator (PSC) represents the hypothetical, risk-adjusted cost of a project—such as a road scheme—when that project is financed, owned and implemented by government. A PSC is commonly used in public procurement decision-making as a yardstick against which private investment proposals are evaluated. Using original material released by the UK Highways Agency for the first time, the author recreated the PSCs used for the evaluation of the first eight road projects to be promoted under the UK’s private finance initiative (PFI). Alternative assumptions regarding project risks were modelled using different levels of optimism-bias uplift, and the impact on value-for-money of using different discount rates was evaluated. Public sector comparators have attracted considerable attention in the literature as they retain a pivotal role in the policy decision to use—or not use—private finance. However the fact that their detail is usually kept confidential by public sector procuring agencies—because of commercial sensitivities—has restricted informed discussion and open debate. Now the architecture of these comparators is laid bare for critical examination. It has generally been assumed that any reduction in the discount rate used in PSC calculations will favour conventional procurement over PFI-type contracting arrangements. The research reported in this paper demonstrates that the relationship between the discount rate and the attractiveness of using private finance is not as simple as has been assumed, and the outcome in terms of value-for-money is not as predictable as has previously been reported.     

Market Orientation in Public Transport Research—A Review

It is commonly argued that, in order to meet increasing competition, public transport organizations and systems need to be market oriented. Even though the notion of market orientationhas not been explicitly addressed in public transport research, studies relevant to market orientation have been conducted. The aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of market orientation into the field of public transport, to review previous research into market orientation in public transport research, and to suggest directions for future research. Market orientation is defined as the generation and dissemination of market intelligence by organizations, as well as responses to it. The review suggests that previous academic research has focused on intelligence generation by developing and using models for measuring travel behaviour, stated preferences, perceived customer quality, and satisfaction. Studies of responsiveness have mainly addressed the physical improvements made in public transport organizations, which is also the primary concern of the industry research accounted for. There has been less research into the dissemination of market intelligence, the drivers of market orientation, the relations between the elements, and the overall concept of market orientation in public transport. It is thus concluded that future public transport research needs to address these issues.     

Can regional transportation and land-use planning achieve deep reductions in GHG emissions from vehicles?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) must be cut 40–70% by 2050 to prevent a greater than 2 °Celsius increase in the global mean temperature; a threshold that may avoid the most severe climate change impacts. Transportation accounts for about one third of GHG emissions in the United States; reducing these emissions should therefore be an important part of any strategy aimed at meeting the IPCC targets. Prior studies find that improvements in vehicle energy efficiency or decarbonization of the transportation fuel supply would be required for the transportation sector to achieve the IPCC targets. Strategies that could be implemented by regional transportation planning organizations are generally found to have only a modest GHG reduction potential. In this study we challenge these findings. We evaluate what it would take to achieve deep GHG emission reductions from transportation without advances in vehicle energy efficiency and fuel decarbonization beyond what is currently expected under existing regulations and market expectations. We find, based on modeling conducted in the Albuquerque, New Mexico metropolitan area that it is possible to achieve deep reductions that may be able to achieve the IPCC targets. Achieving deep reductions requires changes in transportation policy and land-use planning that go far beyond what is currently planned in Albuquerque and likely anywhere else in the United States.     

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.     

The impact of transportation demand management policies on commuting to college facilities: A case study at the University of Trieste,Italy

Universities, like other types of public and private institutions, when located in a city, have both positive and negative impacts on the area where they are situated. On the one hand, they contribute to the prestige of the area; on the other hand, they are large generators/attractors of traffic. The ability to successfully balance the pros and cons of the urban location of these large traffic-generating institutions is crucial for their success and for the livability of the city. In this paper this issue has been analyzed selecting as a representative case the University of Trieste.The aim of the research is to understand: (a) how mode choice decisions are made by the teaching and administrative staff and by the students at the various locations where academic activities take place, and (b) how they would be affected by 8 different transport management policies. It is found that changing the parking regulations (via the annual permit cost, the hourly parking fee, the number of parking spaces and the location of the parking lots) greatly influences mode choice in favor of bus use, especially for teaching and administrative staff and in the suburban locations. The students would be impacted by such changes only if an hourly parking tariff is introduced. The alternative approach of fully subsidizing the bus services would also have a large impact on bus ridership, affecting the mode choice in particular of the teaching staff and in the main university suburban sites.Since the implementation of these bus-favoring policies could face the opposition either of the university staff or of the bus company, two more balanced policy mixes were tested: the first one, increasing parking price and imposing new parking restrictions, would increase bus ridership by 19%; the second one, reducing both bus and parking subsidies, would increase bus ridership by 13%.     

Modelling Externalities using Dynamic Traffic Assignment Models: A Review

Recently, there has been a growing interest in externalities in our society, mainly in the context of climate and air quality, which are of importance when policy decisions are made. For the assessment of externalities in transport, often the output of static traffic assignment models is used in combination with so-called effect models. Due to the rapidly increasing possibilities of using dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) models for large-scale transportation networks and the application of traffic measures, already several models have been developed to assess the externalities using DTA models more precisely. Different research projects have shown that there is a proven relation between the traffic dynamics and externalities, such as emissions of pollutants and traffic safety. This means that the assessment of external effects can be improved by using temporal information about flow, speed and density, which is the output of DTA models. In this paper, the modelling of traffic safety, emissions and noise in conjunction with DTA models is reviewed based on an extensive literature survey. This review shows that there are still gaps in knowledge in assessing traffic safety, much research is available concerning emissions, and although little research has been conducted concerning the assessment of noise using DTA models, the methods available can be used to assess the effects. Most research so far has focused on the use of microscopic models, while mesoscopic or macroscopic models may have a high potential for improving the assessment of these effects for larger networks.     

Review of GPS Travel Survey and GPS Data-Processing Methods

Abstract

Global positioning system (GPS) devices have been utilised in travel surveys since the late 1990s. Because GPS devices are very accurate at recording time and positional characteristics of travel, they can correct the trip-misreporting issue resulting from self-reports of travel and improve the accuracy of travel data. Although the initial idea of using GPS surveys in transport data collection was just to replace paper-based travel diaries, GPS surveys currently are being applied in a number of transport fields. Several general reviews have been done about GPS surveys in the literature review sections in some papers, but a detailed systematic review from GPS data collection to the whole procedure of GPS data processing has not been undertaken. This paper comprehensively reviews the development of GPS surveys and their applications, and GPS data processing. Different from most reviews in GPS research, this paper provides a detailed and systematic comparison between different methods from trip identification to mode and purpose detection, introduces the methods that researchers and planners are currently using, and discusses the pros and cons of those methods. Based on this review, researchers can choose appropriate methods and endeavour to improve them.