Modelling daily activity program generation considering within-day and day-to-day dynamics in activity-travel behaviour

This paper presents a comprehensive econometric modelling framework for daily activity program generation. It is for day-specific activity program generations of a week-long time span. Activity types considered are 15 generic categories of non-skeletal and flexible activities. Under the daily time budget and non-negativity of participation rate constraints, the models predict optimal sets of frequencies of the activities under consideration (given the average duration of each activity type). The daily time budget considers at-home basic needs and night sleep activities together as a composite activity. The concept of composite activity ensures the dynamics and continuity of time allocation and activity/travel behaviour by encapsulating altogether the activity types that are not of our direct interest in travel demand modelling. Workers’ total working hours (skeletal activity and not a part of the non-skeletal activity time budget) are considered as a variable in the models to accommodate the scheduling effects inside the generation model of non-skeletal activities. Incorporation of previous day’s total executed activities as variables introduces day-to-day dynamics into the activity program generation models. The possibility of zero frequency of any specific activity under consideration is ensured by the Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions used for formulating the model structure. Models use the concept of random utility maximization approach to derive activity program set. Estimations of the empirical models are done using the 2002–2003 CHASE survey data set collected in Toronto.

Identifying peer states for transportation system evaluation &; policy analyses

The majority of comparisons between state transportation systems do not control for characteristics that may vary greatly between states (e.g., vehicle miles traveled). A shortcoming of such analyses is that a state’s individual characteristics can be highly influential in determining how transportation policy is set and funds are spent. The purpose of this paper is to extend previous efforts to create groups of similar peer states by developing a new methodological framework that incorporates demographic, temporal, and locational variability into the peer group delineations. We collected historical data for 42 variables on transportation infrastructure, population, economy, growth, topography and weather. To examine trends before and after the passage of ISTEA we gathered data over two time periods: 1985 through 1990 and 1995 through 2000. Using principal components analysis (PCA) we reduced variables into seven components, and then statistically clustered states into peer groups for each time period based on the components and the remaining variables. We identified a range of cluster solutions and demonstrate how cluster statistics help to describe the contextual basis behind the peer grouping. The results of this study are to provide government agencies, researchers and the public with a systematic methodological framework for identifying peer states that reflect similar attributes contributing to the development and maintenance of state transportation systems.

Curbing automobile use for sustainable transportation: analysis of mode choice on short home-based trips

This paper analyzes transportation mode choice for short home-based trips using a 1999 activity survey from the Puget Sound region of Washington State, U.S.A. Short trips are defined as those within the 95th percentile walking distance in the data, here 1.40 miles (2.25 km). The mean walking distance was 0.4 miles (0.6 km). The mode distribution was automobile (75%), walk (23%), bicycle (1%), and bus (1%). Walk and bicycle are found less likely as the individual’s age increases. People are more likely to drive if they can or are accustomed to. People in multi-person families are less likely to walk or use bus, especially families with children. An environment that attracts people’s interest and provides activity opportunities encourages people to walk on short trips. Influencing people’s choice of transport mode on short trips should be an important part of efforts encouraging the use of non-automobile alternatives.

Ship resistance of quadramaran with various hull position configurations

Multihull ships are widely used for sea transportation, and those with four hulls are known as quadramarans. Hull position configurations of a quadramaran include the diamond, tetra, and slice. In general, multihull vessels traveling at high speeds have better hydrodynamic efficiency than monohull ships. This study aims to identify possible effects of various quadramaran hull position configurations on ship resistance for hull dimensions of 2 m length, 0.21 m breadth, and 0.045 m thickness. We conducted a towing test in which we varied the hull spacing and speed at Fr values between 0.08 and 0.62 and measured the total resistance using a load cell transducer. The experimental results reveal that the lowest total resistance was achieved with a diamond quadramaran configuration at Fr = 0.1-0.6 and an effective interference factor of up to 0.35 with S/L = 3/10 and R/L = 1/2 at Fr = 0.62.     

Effects of a classroom-based bridge resource management training on knowledge,attitudes, behaviour and performance of junior naval officers

This study asses the effectiveness of classroom-based bridge resource management (BRM) training for junior naval officers, in which general principles of human behaviour and performance in teams and under stress were conveyed. Although BRM training is recommended by the International Maritime Organization and is increasingly common in seafaring, very little is known about whether the adaptation of crew resource management (CRM) training from aviation to the maritime domain has been successful and what type of training is effective. A study with a quasi-experimental, two-factorial mixed design was conducted with BRM training as the between factor and time as the within factor. For 117 study participants, evaluation criteria were assessed on all levels as defined by Kirkpatrick (Train Dev J, 178–192 1979): subjective training evaluation, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour as well as performance while commanding a vessel during a real-world exercise. BRM participants showed better subjective training evaluations and more BRM-related knowledge than controls. Training did not produce differences between groups regarding BRM-related attitudes, the demonstration of non-technical skills or the overall success in the real-world exercise. Overall, BRM training effectiveness was rather low, which can most probably be attributed to the focus of training on generalizable knowledge, skills and attitudes at the expense of their specific application to the context of the real-world exercise. In the design of BRM and CRM training courses alike, the effective application of general principles to a given context must be defined, and the application must be emphasised during training delivery.     

Metadata-based Needs Assessment for Emergency Transportation Operations with a Focus on an Aging Population: A Case Study in Florida

In the aftermath of disasters, evacuating aging victims and maintaining an optimal flow of critical resources in order to serve their needs becomes problematic, especially for Gulf Coast states in the USA such as Florida, where more than 6.9 million (36.9%) of the population are over age 50. Scanning the literature, there is no substantial prior work that has synthesized the requirements for a multi-modal emergency needs assessment that could facilitate the safe and accessible evacuation of aging people, and optimize the flow of resources into the affected region to satisfy the needs of those who remain. This paper presents a review of the aging population-focused emergency literature utilizing a knowledge base development methodology supported with a geographic information system-based case study application set in Florida. Importance is given to both ensuring the resiliency of the transportation infrastructure and meeting the needs of aging populations. As a result of this metadata-based analysis, critical research needs and challenges are presented with planning recommendations and future research directions. Results clearly indicate that transportation agencies should focus on clear and fast dissemination of disaster-related information to the aging populations. The use of paratransit services for evacuating aging people, especially those living independently and/or in rural areas, is also found to be of paramount importance.     

Establishing value of time for the inter-island passenger transport of the Western Visayas region,Philippines

Transportation infrastructure planning process requires cost–benefit analysis in the evaluation of project proposals. Value of time (VOT) facilitates the conversion of travel time savings, which is a significant proportion of benefits in monetary terms. In cases where VOT has not been established, planners resort to crude estimates that often results in erroneous or biased measurements of benefits. This is the case of the Western Visayas region in the Philippines where transportation studies are rare. Secondary cities and its peripheral regions have often been overlooked subjects of transportation studies. In this study, multinomial logit models using revealed preference data were estimated to facilitate the calculation of the VOT. The total cost, square of the total cost, and total time were identified as significant explanatory variables affecting mode choice. The square of the total cost term was introduced in the models in order to account for income effect. Results indicate that VOT estimates for the inter-island passenger transportation between Iloilo and Negros Occidental generally range from 78.15PHP to 179.15PHP (1.91USD to 4.37USD) depending on trip and traveller characteristics.     

Examining the effects of out-of-home and in-home constraints on leisure activity participation in different seasons of the year

Using multi-day, multi-period travel diaries data of 56 days (four waves of two-week diaries) for 67 individuals in Stockholm, this study aims to examine the effects of out-of-home and in-home constraints (e.g. teleworking, studying at home, doing the laundry, cleaning and taking care of other household member[s]) on individuals’ day-to-day leisure activity participation decisions in four different seasons. This study also aims to explore the effects of various types of working schedules (fixed, shift, partial- and full-flexible) on individuals’ decisions to participate in day-to-day leisure activities. A pooled model (56 days) and wave-specific models (14 days in each wave) are estimated by using dynamic ordered Probit models. The effects of various types of working schedules are estimated by using 28 days of two waves’ data. The results show that an individual’s leisure activity participation decision is significantly influenced by out-of-home work durations but not influenced by in-home constraints, regardless of any seasons. Individuals with shift working hours engage less in day-to-day leisure activities than other workers’ types in both spring and summer seasons. The thermal indicator significantly affects individuals’ leisure activity participation decisions during the autumn season. Individuals exhibit routine behaviour characterized by repeated decisions in participating in day-to-day leisure activities that can last up to 14 days, regardless of any seasons.     

A reference-dependent user equilibrium model for activity-travel scheduling

Existing user equilibrium models of activity-travel scheduling generally fall short in representing travelers’ decision-making processes. The majority have either implicitly or explicitly assumed that travelers follow the principle of utility maximization. This assumption ignores the fact that individuals may be loss–averse when making activity-travel decisions. Allowing for the situation that travelers possess accurate information of the urban-transportation system due to modern technologies, studies on reference-dependent decision-making under near-perfect information are receiving increasing attention. In view of traveler heterogeneity, individuals can be divided into multiple classes according to their reference points. In this paper, we propose a reference-dependent multi-class user equilibrium model for activity-travel scheduling, which can be reformulated as a variational inequality problem. Moreover, comparative analyses are conducted on the equilibrium states between utility-maximization (no reference) and reference-dependency of exogenous and endogenous references. A numerical example regarding combined departure-time and mode choice for commuting is conducted to illustrate the proposed model. The simulated results indicate that reference points and loss aversion attitudes have significant effects on the choice of departure time and mode.     

New routes on old railways: increasing rail’s mode share within the constraints of the existing railway network

This paper describes an integrated methodology for identifying potential ‘quick wins’ for mode shift from road to passenger rail transport. Firstly, a procedure for analysing rail’s relative competitiveness in the market for passenger transport between large urban areas is developed and then applied to a UK case study. The purpose of such analysis is to allow the identification of flows where rail is currently relatively uncompetitive (in terms of journey time in particular) and to assess the reasons for this poor performance, so that the issues which suppress rail use may be addressed. In parallel, a framework, methodology and tool for the assessment of existing and potential capacity (trains, seats, TEUs, etc.) is developed for both passenger and freight traffic, to identify and address network constraints. An illustrative example of the use of these demand and capacity assessment tools is then presented, with the tools used to identify and evaluate flows where rail demand is suppressed by poor service quality and where spare capacity exists which would allow the passenger rail service to be improved without requiring significant investments in infrastructure. The effects of such improvements on demand are predicted, and the cost implications of operating such additional services are discussed. The analysis suggests that there may be significant potential for increasing rail’s mode share by providing additional inter-urban services where rail currently offers an inferior service.