Analysis of variability in multi-day GPS imputed activity-travel diaries using multi-dimensional sequence alignment and panel effects regression models

The use of GPS devices and smartphones has made feasible the collection of multi-day activity-travel diaries. In turn, the availability of multi-day travel diary data opens up new avenues for analyzing dynamics of individual travel behavior. This paper addresses the issue of day-to-day variability in activity-travel behavior. The study, which is the first of its kind in China, applies a unique combination of methods to analyze the degree of dissimilarity between travel days using multi-day GPS data. First, multi-dimensional sequence alignment is applied to measure the degree of dissimilarity in individual daily activity-travel sequences between pairs of travel days. Next, a series of panel effects regression models is used to estimate the effects of socio-demographics and days of the week. The models are estimated using multi-day activity-travel patterns imputed from GPS-enabled smartphone data collected in Shanghai, China. Results indicate that (1) days of the week have significant effects on day-to-day variability in activity-travel behavior with weekday activity-travel sequences being more similar and thereby different from weekend sequences; (2) the degree of dissimilarity in activity-travel sequences is strongly influenced by respondent socio-demographic profiles; (3) individuals having more control over and flexibility in their work schedule show greater intra-personal variability. Day-to-day variability in activity-travel behavior of this sample is similar to patterns observed in developed countries in some aspects but different in others. Strict international comparison study based on comparative data collection is required to further distinguish the sources of travel behavior differences between developing countries and developed countries. The paper ends with a discussion of the limitations of this study and the implications of the research findings for future research.     

Long-term trends in domestic US passenger travel: the past 110 years and the next 90

Based upon a long-term historical data set of US passenger travel, a model is estimated to project aggregate transportation trends through 2100. One of the two model components projects total mobility (passenger-km traveled) per capita based on per person GDP and the expected utility of travel mode choices (logsum). The second model component has the functional form of a logit model, which assigns the projected travel demand to competing transportation modes. An iterative procedure ensures the average amount of travel time per person to remain at a pre-specified level through modifying the estimated value of time. The outputs from this model can be used as a first-order estimate of a future benchmark against which the effectiveness of various transportation policy measures or the impact of autonomous behavioral change can be assessed.     

The spatial dimensions of immobility in France

In travel surveys, immobility is often approached as a technical issue that needs to be dealt with in order to measure mobility more accurately. By covering mobility patterns over a full week, the 2008 French Travel Survey allows immobility to be analysed other than as a marginal and random phenomenon. For working days alone, 28.8% of the adults in the survey had experienced one or more immobility episodes. By considering the intensity of immobility, and by introducing latent variables into Structural Equation Modelling, we have been able to propose a model with reasonable explanatory power. Our findings agree with previous studies and also show that within suburban or rural areas, access to shops or the type of local residential fabric are also factors that influence the number of immobile days. In addition, our findings show that the effects of the determinants differ between categories of individuals, notably between working adults and students on the one hand, and between retired and non-working people on the other.     

Performance Evaluation of Short Parabolic Trough Collectors Integrated with a Small-Scale Solar Power and Heating System

An investigation is presented on the performance of a small-scale solar power and heating system with short parabolic trough collectors (PTCs). The steady-state model of the short PTCs is evaluated with outside experiments. The model mainly contains the heat loss of the receiver, the peak optical efficiency and the incident angle factor consisting of incident angle modifier and end loss. It is found that the end loss effect is essential in this model when the length of the PTCs is less than 48 m, especially in the winter. The standard deviation of the steady-state model is 1.4%. Moreover, the potential energy efficiency ratio of the solar power and heating system is considerably larger than the coefficient of performance (COP) of general air-source heat pumps, and increases with the decrease of the condensation temperature. An overall system efficiency of 49% can be reached. Lastly, the existence of a water storage tank improves the flexibility of heating the building, and the volume of the water storage tank decreases with the increase of the heating water temperature.     

All minutes are not equal: travel time and the effects of congestion on commute satisfaction in Canadian cities

Despite decades of research, it is unclear under which circumstances travel is most onerous. While studies have found that some individuals derive positive utility from aspects of commuting, others have shown that traffic congestion can entail important time, monetary, and mental stress costs. Moreover, responses to traffic congestion-related stressors differs by individual characteristics. In response, this research captures how exposure to traffic congestion events, the duration of this exposure, and individual trait susceptibility to congestion affect the utility of commuting. Working through the lens of individual satisfaction with the duration of their commute, we show that not every minute of travel is valued the same by car commuters in Canadian cities. Results suggest a complex relationship between travel time, congestion, and individual predisposition to congestion-related stress. While improvements in travel time matter for increasing commute satisfaction, it is reductions in travel in congested conditions that matter most, particularly among those susceptible to congestion-related stressors.     

Optimal allocation of fleet’s spare parts for system reliability

Allocation of fleet’s spare parts is rarely studied due to its complexity. However, this task is extremely important because the warship’s service level highly relies on the maintenance logistics’ level. In this study, the readiness ratio is proposed as a critical index in measuring the system’s reliability. A well-established mathematical model adopting the optimization method of spare part allocation is also introduced. The objective is to minimize the number of each spare part while satisfying the fleet’s system reliability. The fault tree analysis (FTA) is applied to analyze the system’s failure logic and stratify the units on ship. As a result, the strategy of spare part sharing can be introduced in detail. The solution algorithm is developed, and the simulation experiments to obtain the key parameters are conducted. The proposed model and algorithm are applied to an actual fleet of two warships, and results show that the method above is feasible and can be directly applied into practice.     

Singapore’s Vehicle Quota System and its impact on motorcycles

Singapore’s Vehicle Quota System, implemented in 1990, uses uniform-price auctions to allocate Certificates of Entitlement (COE) or registration rights in five categories presently. Four of these are restricted to small and big cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles. The fifth one is unrestricted as it allows successful bidders to register a vehicle in any restricted category of their choice. Owners are incentivised via another policy to deregister their vehicle by the tenth year expiry of the COE instead of revalidating it. Each deregistration results in a new COE. Currently, 10% of the COEs from each restricted category is channelled to the unrestricted category. However, hardly any of the expensive COEs in the unrestricted category has been used to register motorcycles. The sharp decline in the number of motorcycle COEs since 2014 has led to a surge in auction premiums at about twice the price of an entry-level motorcycle. The auction process before 2014 is shown to be exemplary with the COE premium driven by its inertia and a host of exogenous factors. After 2014 however, it appears to be unresponsive to the historically low quota levels. This undesirable auction trait needs to be remedied by a reformulation of the COE quota in order to help those most in need of a motorcycle to earn a living. Measures announced in the February 2017 Singapore Budget trudge in that direction.     

Network concentration indices for less-than-truckload transportation

An efficient and service-oriented transportation network is a necessary resource for successful less-than-truckload operations. The design and evaluation of transportation networks are mainly driven by quantitative particularly cost-oriented measures, such as transport and transshipment costs. This type of measurement, however, simply cannot represent the manifold performance of a transportation network. In particular, incorporating network concentration into network design decisions overcomes the shortcomings of purely cost-oriented decisions because spatial network concentration is at the root of many aspects of network performance (e.g., congestion and network vulnerability). This paper suggests modifications to the network concentration index and the hubbing concentration index from the passenger airline context for less-than-truckload road transportation. The modified indices enable information to be conveyed by network concentration into less-than-truckload network design decisions and provide a suitable perspective to include service-oriented aspects into network design.     

A study of the role of seafarers in combating piracy off the coast of Nigeria

Piracy off the coast of Nigeria portends grave danger to the economic, security, and sociopolitical development of the country. It also threatens both international and regional trade as well as the stability of the West African sub-region. Despite Nigerian government’s attempts to curb piracy caused by poverty, unemployment, including corrupt and weak maritime regulatory and security institutions, attacks by pirates have continued to occur off the country’s coast. Consequent upon the adverse effects of piratical attacks on their day to day activities, seafarers can facilitate the suppression of piracy off the Nigerian coast. This paper uses statistics, provisions of international instruments and domestic legislations, the United Nations Security Council resolutions, soft laws, and opinions of researchers to examine the nature, causes, and effects of piracy on seafarers in Nigeria. The author argues that seafarers are necessary partners to curb piracy off the coast of Nigeria through enforcing maritime security conventions and other related instruments as well as testifying against pirates during trials. In conclusion, this paper contends that acts of piracy adversely affect crew members’ life, health, family, job, and finance thereby providing an overwhelming motivation for seafarers to play a role in suppressing piracy off the Nigerian coast.