Comparing operator and users costs of light rail, heavy rail and bus rapid transit over a radial public transport network

A model to compare three alternative forms of public transport - light rail, heavy rail and bus rapid transit - is developed for an urban network with radial lines emanating from the borders to the city centre. The theoretical framework assumes an operation aimed at minimising the total cost associated with public transport service provision, which encompasses both operator and users costs. The decision variables are the number of lines (network density) and the frequency per period for each mode. This approach has no prejudices a priori in respect of whether a specified delivery scenario is aligned with existing modal reputation. Rather, we establish the conditions under which a specific transit mode should be preferred to another in terms of the operator (supply) and user (demand) side offerings. The model is applied using data from Australian cities, suggesting that in most of the scenarios analysed a high standard bus service is the most cost-effective mode, because it provides lower operator costs (infrastructure, rolling stock and operating cost), access time costs (due to a larger number of lines) and waiting time cost (due to larger frequencies of operation). A rail mode, such as light rail or heavy rail, may have a lower total cost only if it is able to run faster than bus rapid transit, and the difference in speed is enough to outweigh the bus advantage on operator cost and access and waiting times.     

光纤传感器系统在土工结构的静动应变测量上的应用

评估了光纤传感器作为完整的结构部件在恶劣的环境条件下,进行长期或短期应变监测的可行性.不同的规模和材料的土工试验过程中已经使用了光纤传感器.实例研究包括静力轴向的钻孔桩测试、钻孔测斜、试验室的单轴压缩测试.     

Creating bus timetables with maximal synchronization

This paper addresses the problem of generating a timetable for a given network of buses so as to maximize their synchronization. It attempts to maximize the number of simultaneous bus arrivals at the connection (transfer) nodes of the network. Transit schedulers, taking into account the satisfaction and convenience of the system's users, appreciate the importance of creating a timetable with maximal synchronization, which enables the transfer of passengers from one route to another with minimum waiting time at the transfer nodes. In this paper, the problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem, and a heuristic algorithm is developed to solve the problem in polynomial time. The efficiency of this algorithm, compared to optimal solutions, is illustrated through a series of examples.     

Do driver training programs reduce crashes and traffic violations? — A critical examination of the literature

This paper reviews the evaluation literature on the effectiveness of classroom and behind-the-wheel driver training. The primary focus is on North America programs as originally taught in high schools but now also by private instructors. Studies from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Scandinavia are also included.By far the most rigorous study to date was the experimental study in DeKalb, Georgia, U.S.A. This study used a randomized design including a control group and a very large sample size to provide reasonable statistical precision. I reexamine the DeKalb data in detail and conclude that the study did show evidence of small short-term crash and violation reductions per licensed driver. However, when the accelerated licensure caused by the training is allowed to influence the crash and violation counts, there is evidence of a net increase in crashes.The other studies reviewed present a mixed picture but the better designed quasi-experimental evaluations usually showed no effects on crash rates but almost all suffer from inadequate sample size. I show that as many as 35,000 drivers would be required in a two group design to reliably detect a 10% reduction in crash rates.The advent of GDL laws in North America and other countries has largely remedied the concern over accelerated licensure of high risk teenage drivers by delaying the progress to full licensure. Conventional driver training programs in the U.S. (30 h classroom and 6 h on-the-road) probably reduce per licensed driver crash rates by as little as 5% over the first 6-12 months of driving. The possibility of an effect closer to 0 cannot be dismissed.Some GDLs contain an incentive for applicants to complete an advanced driver training program in return for shortening the provisional period of the GDL. The results of Canadian studies indicate that any effects of the driver training component are not sufficient to offset the increase in accidents due to increased exposure.There is no evidence or reason to believe that merely lengthening the number of hours on the road will increase effectiveness. Programs directed toward attitude change and risk taking better address the underlying cause of the elevated crash risk of young drivers but these behaviors are notoriously resistant to modification in young people.     

Le transport ferroviaire régional de voyageurs : un processus collectif d’apprentissage

Regional passenger rail services are prevalent in France, as opposed to the more marginal role they play elsewhere in the world. It is indeed at the regional level that reforms have been successfully implemented, probably because the process was gradual and cautious. Initially in 1997, seven regions began experimenting with a decentralized system of regional passenger transportation services. By 2002, all metropolitan regions, with the exception of Corsica and Ile-de-France, were involved. Today we have reached a point where this process can be retrospectively and prospectively assessed. This article is first a retrospective assessment of the role of actors and the emerging dynamic between regional passenger rail transport supply and demand. Then, a prospective evaluation is offered since regionalization is best understood as an ongoing learning process that can be discontinuous or continuous.     

刺桐基督教与摩尼教遗迹概述

刺桐(泉州)是中世纪各大宗教之家,有着丰富的宗教遗存,其中以石刻为多,引起中外学者的浓厚兴趣。澳大利亚研究团多次造访泉州,对泉州的宗教石刻(主要是基督教石刻)进行详尽的考证。研究团成员刘南强教授首先对泉州宗教石刻存在的历史背景和收藏保护情况做了简要概述,重点介绍访问的成果主要是碑文的解读与译释情况。     

20世纪美国应对机动性的交通构想及高速公路发展历程

为了阐述20世纪除汽车机动性外,交通发展经历的最重要的进程——城市高速公路的出现,考察了过去100年来美国城市交通规划的历史。通过回顾各种研究资料,认为资助州际公路发展所采用的方法使联邦和州公路工程师成为主管,这影响了公路的选线及设计。联邦公路工程师只关注机动车通过效率的最大化,而在很大程度上忽略了城市的其他利害关系。没有先进的规划理念指导、过度建设、稀疏、放射环状的道路网对于加强机动性取得了极大的效益,但通常要为此付出巨大的社会和环境成本。最后指出,在实践中要重新审视具有百年历史的协调交通与土地利用规划的观点,而且,公共财政权宜之计式的政治决策方式将对工程、出行和城市形态产生深远的影响。·     

Fault detection method for electric parking brake (EPB) systems with sensorless estimation using current ripples

A fault detection method with parity equations is proposed in this paper. Due to its low cost implementation, the velocity of the motor is not measurable in electric parking brake (EPB) systems. Therefore, residuals are not reliable when estimating the motor velocity with a low-resolution encoder. In this paper, we propose a fault detection method with sensorless estimation using current ripples that estimates the position and velocity of the motor by detecting periodical oscillations of the armature current caused by rotor slots. In addition, this method can estimate the position and velocity of the motor with less computational effort than a state observer. Moreover, the method is less sensitive to motor parameters than model-based estimation methods. The effectiveness of this method is validated with experimental data, and the simulation results show that various faults have their own residual patterns. Therefore, we can detect the presence of faults by monitoring the residual signals.     

Approximations to the magic formula

Pacejka’s tire model is widely used and well-known by the automotive engineering community. The magic formula describes the brake force, side force and self-aligning torque in terms of the longitudinal slip and slip angle, plus several corrections. This paper uses approximation theory to obtain different types of approximations to the magic formula: rational functions (RA) resulting from the Remez algorithm, expansions in a series of Chebyshev polynomials (ACh), a series of Chebyshev rational polynomials (ARChPs), a series of rational orthogonal functions (ORF) and a series of ARChPs that result from grade-1 ORFs. The last expansion shows the fastest convergence and most effective computation. Jacobi rational polynomials can also be obtained to complement this expansion and facilitate fine-tuning in specific areas of the error curve. This work is complemented by obtaining the original rational approximations to the inverse tangent function, which take advantage of the curve symmetry to reduce the computation load and provide models that include the influence of the vertical load. The convergence properties of the development in series and the error values resulting from numeric examples for the three types of stress are shown. The proposed final ARChP expressions show very low error (1%) compared to the original magic formula. They can be computed 20 times faster; they can be evaluated, derived and integrated analytically easily; and their coefficients can be obtained from tests using common least-squares algorithms.     

Robust lane markings detection and road geometry computation

Detection of lane markings based on a camera sensor can be a low-cost solution to lane departure and curve-over-speed warnings. A number of methods and implementations have been reported in the literature. However, reliable detection is still an issue because of cast shadows, worn and occluded markings, variable ambient lighting conditions, for example. We focus on increasing detection reliability in two ways. First, we employed an image feature other than the commonly used edges: ridges, which we claim addresses this problem better. Second, we adapted RANSAC, a generic robust estimation method, to fit a parametric model of a pair of lane lines to the image features, based on both ridgeness and ridge orientation. In addition, the model was fitted for the left and right lane lines simultaneously to enforce a consistent result. Four measures of interest for driver assistance applications were directly computed from the fitted parametric model at each frame: lane width, lane curvature, and vehicle yaw angle and lateral offset with regard the lane medial axis. We qualitatively assessed our method in video sequences captured on several road types and under very different lighting conditions. We also quantitatively assessed it on synthetic but realistic video sequences for which road geometry and vehicle trajectory ground truth are known.